What's This Do?

Advice for the Inquisitive

DO:

• DO buy online from a store like Hobby King. You will save hundreds on the exact same items as they sell in the hobby shops.
• DO read all the reviews and comments you can get your hands on before committing to a purchase. There’s a reason they’re cheaper, but it’s not all bad.
• DO double-, triple-, and quadruple-check the measurements for everything. For instance, make sure your battery, motor, ESC, Rx/Tx and propeller all measure up in size and power.
• DO watch instructional videos online. It will give you a much better idea of how to put everything together. A simple Google search of the product name will usually get you some video results.
• DO make sure you have all the tools and consumables you need. There’s nothing like getting your brand new plane and then finding out you need glue, wire, alligator clips, drill bits, batteries, tape, pliers, soldering iron etc. etc. etc.
• DO get the measurements of the plane and make sure it will fit in your car.
• DO buy a LiPo battery charger, and ensure that it comes with a power supply, or that you can easily provide your own.
• DO check your center of gravity. A lot of flying problems can be explained by a bad CG.
• DO ensure that everything works and nothing falls apart during operation before you go to all the effort of taking it out for a flight. It sucks to drive all the way out to the park only to find that the propeller won’t stay on.

DON’T:

• DON’T test the electric motor out by attaching it directly to the battery. This will only result in smoke.
• DON’T test your aircraft inside without holding onto it and keeping yourself and everything else clear of the propeller.
• DON’T take their word for it when they say that the instruction manual is “complete”, especially if you’ve never done anything like this before. Hours can be wasted when you find out you used the big screws instead of the little screws, and now you’re out of big screws and you have to take everything apart and start again. The latest manual I read seriously said something like Step 5: Complete construction of aircraft. That was like 3/4 of the work in one step!
• DON’T assume that super-tough EPO foam is all that tough. EPO foam is only “super-tough” if it’s cut correctly. When they practically sever the wing all the way through to cut flaps that you’re not even going to use, no amount of hyperbole is going to stop that bit of foam from detaching mid-flight. Glue is more practical.
• DON’T think that you’re going to get your plane to fly well the first time, or even the fifth time. Expect to spend more time putting things back together than you do flying.