[Kedumba]

Hi All,
I had my first flight on Sunday, what a buzz!!

Steve was kind enough to buddy up with me and let me have a go at his Island Hopper. After getting "3 mistakes high" he handed control over to me and I did some laps. It was a real buzz and i even managed to do a couple of loops and an Immelman or 2.

Want to say a huge thanks to Steve for the oppotunity to have a fly and for trusting me to avoid hitting the ground in his little hopper.

Mick

[smuzz]

Yes Mick, same thing here
Steve's cleverly rigged buddy-box arrangement provided me with some sense of achievement too. After writing off my "Piglet" on Saturday, it was a different day on Sunday when spending a few minutes with the "Hopper" which was rewarding.
It's this sort of commitment to help and sharing that makes a small club like this one very special

[~KevJ~]

great to hear you guys enjoying it down there
im certainly looking forward to getting back there this weekend and get in the air, as much as i love building and modifying i have tipped the scales heavily away from flying of late.. :cry:
i look forward to seeing your second flight mick :!:

[samste]

Thanks Guys

I'm glad you enjoyed Flying the island hopper. That was my first real plane (besides my fire bird which was evil to control, lasted 2 weeks) i learned on this
and still today i love flying it as it so aerobatic and not a big awkward plane to Transport and inexpensive too.
I'm surprised Venom don't make more variety of planes, i guess their really into cars and accessories.
I'm using there 60 amp Esc on Funjet and its been good to me.

You Guys and Anyone else are more than welcome to Buddy on it any time and have a go and see what It feels like flying the Island Hopper.
Just Don't hesitate to ask, Thats why were all down there, for some Fun Flying, Chit chat, mate ship and to help each other out.

Kieran had a go on it and showed me how it flies with some aerobatics and a 10/10 landing and all on mode 1 too.
( i will just keep practicing and hopefully get half as good as him i will be happy)

The Island hopper i think is still for sale at Kingsford if you want to have something cheap and fun to fly, all you need to modify is a 11.1v lipo 1200 -1500ma
and a tower pro 2408 21t motor and stick mount , 20 amp esc and away you go.

http://www.megahobbies.com.au/p-275-veno...annel.aspx

Steve

[Kedumba]

Thanks Chris, thats not a bad idea, a nice cheap Hopper to get me up in the air until I can afford the T-28.

I figure I can get a stock one first then modify as cash/missus permits. How do they fly stock (outta the box)?

I have a bunch of newbie type questions as well:

Where is a good place to get the motor from? Any suggestions? Also, is there a way to work out an equiv motor in a different brand?

What ESC do I need to get? Does it need to be matched to the motor or will any do? How do I match it if it needs to be?

Is it worth getting a larger motor for more power?

Finally, how will i know what type of lipo to get? is there any way to calculate how much flight time I would get for a particular motor/esc/batt?

and Finally some prop questions:
Would I need to ugrade/change the prop? and what do all those numbers on the prop mean? eg 7x4 or 7x6 and how do I tell what flavour I would need for my new souped up Hopper (when I eventually get one)?

Thanks
Mick

[~KevJ~]

:ugeek: :idea: :ugeek:

Hey Mick,
i am not even close to being qualified to hand out advice but i can give some food for thought until you get a more educated answer..

with the props the numbers refer to diameter and pitch(twist)
ie 6 x 4 = 6 inch long(overall prop length) and 4 is the pitch, the higher the pitch number the bigger the twist in it..something to do with how far the twist would screw for every revolution.. so a twistier prop would screw through the air further than a flat one of the same size, of course that also makes it more strain for the motor to twist it per turn, the harder it is to twist per turn the more amps the motor will draw , draw too many amps(for a given motor) and you see smoke...

here are two links to pages where you can feed info into fields to get some theoretical results for a given combination. somebody wise once said to me that its also a great idea to see what worked for more experienced ppl and copy them..

http://www.drivecalc.de
http://www.motocalc.com/data.htm

be sure to check out http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_index.asp (specially the comments posted if you go to the brushless motors[left column], reading through comments to do with all different size motors and their accesories gives you a good feel for the way things work)for a look at where we buy group orders for the club, lots of low priced goodies there.. refer this thread for how to order:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13

but also steve(samste) has a thread on places to buy well priced goodies and he is hooked up with ppl who sell crazy motors for a dollar plus postage! im sure he will let you know exactly the cheapest way to get into an island hopper thats good to go..

by the way mick , be wary of any advice i give as im learning constantly myself and im reading that much on rc planes and the hobby these last few months that i will likely overload you with ramblings!

[samste]

Hi All

Mick if you decide to buy a Hopper they do fly stock quite well not much power though, i can help you or anyone else thinking of purchasing a Hopper to set it up to fly and i do have some some spare stock stuff for hopper. they come stock with 8x6 prop and 9x7 prop. ( 8060 gws 9070 gws)

I really do recommend upgrade to brush less as you will see its not that dear at all and you will have better flying experience and be able to fly in winder conditions with the power to control it.
Though i would not use the 10x7 prop on plane as it will burn out motor, don't ask me why they supply it with this size prop.

Complete brush less upgrade kit Motor and Esc $14-34
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...oduct=4852

Stick mount recommend by a couple as front hard landings can snap mount. $2-00 each
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...oduct=3613

Lipo batteries that i use that i think are great and also i use to use in Funjet all the time
Size and weight is what you want to look at as this is what you need to fit with a slight easy mod to fit with center of gravity not altered.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/2x-25c-1500mAh-11...286.c0.m14

Hobby king alternate Lipo Battery $10-53
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store...oduct=6790

Steve

[Kedumba]

Steve,
That is really fantastic information, thanks heaps. Just gotta work out exactly what I want and place the orders now
Mick