quote:

Originally posted by 1s1k:

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Collins:
I started in R/C back in about 1981 with a scratch built 1/72 scale model of a Japanese Light Cruiser. I soon was lured into R/C planes in 1983 and have been doing that for the last 36 years. I have flown everything from pylon racers to warbirds, helicopters to turbine powered jets. A few years ago I went all electric for my prop planes. Here is a link to a video from 2016 of me flying one of my jets at a jet meet in Litchfield, Illinois:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3dvq1uPkYI&t=26s

I am the guy in the big straw hat with the red and white twin tail jet.

My point exactly. You never hear anyone say I've been running RC cars/trucks for 36 years. It's more like I ran my RC car years ago and it's in the garage somewhere.
With Brushless/Lipo these days even the old school airplane guys are seeing the light. I no longer have anything but electric. Starts every time, is quieter, cleaner and much quicker setup.

Plus they are FAST.

I built a foam 3' flying wing with a brushless motor driving a pusher prop behind the wing a few years ago. It hardly weighs anything, you can bounce it off the ground HARD without doing more than breaking a prop, and the thing will go 80+ mph.

For vehicles, Traxxas 4wd electric with lipo batteries. You'll love it!

I love Traxxas vehicles.


I also fly drones and rc planes.

I have 30+ planes, about 50/50 nitro and electric. I prefer nitro, but nothing beats electric just to toss in the truck and waste an hour or two. Nitro takes alot more time and effort, but the sounds and satisfaction trumps electric. (in my opinion). About 15 to 20 of us have home made dollar store foam planes with identical electric motors. We tow 30 foot streamers with them and have 4 minute combat matches with them. Very cheap to build and fix, and usually repaired with hot glue. I have 3 so I can keep doing combat if I trash one or two that day.

My main flying buddy has well over 100 planes. He just started getting into gas planes (think weedeater engines, gas and oil 2 strokes) middle of last summer. Alot cheaper to run than nitro, but more expensive of engines, and sometimes more temperamental. He now has 8 gas planes ready to fly this spring. I can't afford gassers yet. Lol. But I'm happy with nitro atm. (oh, 15-20% nitro fuel is $22 - $30 a gallon. In good flying weather months, I'll go through a gallon in 3 to 4 weeks. Usually flying on Sundays.)


If you get into flying planes, definitely join the ama. Most clubs require it, and it's nice to have insurance. Also be aware that you can't fly airplanes or drones within 5 miles of an airport or any building (mainly hospitals) with a heli port. The exception would be at a ama approved flight field that has been granted to allow flying closer than 5 miles of airports and heli ports. (our field has an airport about 3 or 4 miles away, and at least 2 hospitals under 3 miles away with heli ports)

But, I love nitro planes, and have a good assortment. From warbirds to acrobatic. Some float like gliders and do any trick you want, some do over 100 mph.

Been into R/C since 1976 with most all disciplines, but mostly airplanes and helicopters. Did do stadium trucks for a while and can heartily recommend the Traxxas Slash 4x4 which will be brushless motor and lipo-ready out of the box on the latest version. Mine was 60+ MPH and and tough as nails; only broke it twice in the 6 years I had it!!!

Sorry, but they don’t come in kit form anymore. If you want to build, you have to buy a high-end touring car meant for smooth surface road racing. I did that for several years also... open up your wallet if you go that route!

These days I’m just flying peacefully wherever I want with an R/C bush plane.

Been wanting to build a 1/10 electric car for backyard bashing again but can't figure out what to get. Last one I had was an HPI RS4 Rally. I really kick myself for selling that one, wish they still made it.

I borrowed a coworker's Traxxas 4x2 Slash truck for a while, it is a pretty good truck and can take a beating. I would prefer to build a kit - but the best deals are definitely with an RTR. I wish I had jumped on the RC10 buggy re-release right when it came out. Really hoping that Tamiya would re-release the 1/12 Porsche 959 rally car.

Been hoping my son would get hooked on them but so far he doesn't get overly excited for driving them.

My last two were both Nitro. Fun, but as mentioned finicky and a bit of a PITA to set up. I may have to look into one of the rally type electric cars or try to find a Traxxas Maxx chassis for sale local.

I would love to get into choppers, but I just don't have the time or space with my current living arrangements. And I heard they are that much harder to leqrn than the real thing, so expect to spend $$$$.

quote:

Originally posted by wolfe 21:<<snip>>
I would love to get into choppers, but I just don't have the time or space with my current living arrangements. And I heard they are that much harder to leqrn than the real thing, so expect to spend $$$$.

The helis are quite a bit harder to learn to fly, and here’s the real problem... the bigger they are, the better and easier they are to fly, by orders of magnitude better! However, with each increase in size comes an increase in cost (usually by orders of magnitude) and complexity, so when you DO crash it, and you will, it costs a lot more to repair than the smaller, cheaper “beginner” helis.... but then those don’t fly anywhere near as well, they’re much quicker and twitchier, therefore much harder to learn on! LOL

I paid my dues learning to fly them back in the early 80’s long before they flew like they do today, and way before they were remotely reliable! But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. Even when I took a 10-year break from flying them once, when I started back, it was like riding a bicycle.... like I had never quit!

And for the record, I MUCH prefer nitro over electric when it comes to my helicopters, mostly for the extended flight duration (10 minutes plus vs 5 or 6 max), but also because I hate charging batteries at the field, and those big motor packs ain’t cheap if you’re gonna buy enough to fly all day long without recharging!!! Also, I can land, refuel and go right back up. The electric guys have to let their stuff cool down between flights! Bah humbug!!!

After seeing this thread (ignoring the aero stuff cuz I'm never going to be that hardcore), I did more research in to the Traxxas Slash and finally put down some cash to purchase the Slash VXL 2wd truck. It comes with the brushless motor and upgraded speed controller already installed. I bought a dual-charger and two LiPo batteries. Due to my research, I also bought some aluminum shock caps.

Charging the batteries proved to be the most difficult aspect. I tried reading the owners manual but quickly became overwhelmed, so I turned to YouTube and quickly found a tutorial specific to my charger on how to properly charge my batteries. During the 45 minutes it took to charge them, I installed the shock caps and batteries for the handheld controller. When the charging was complete, I headed outside for a quick tryout of the Slash.

While Traxxas includes a separate high-speed pinion gear in the box, I hadn't installed it because I plan to run it on the road outside my home. The road is pretty rough and it wouldn't be appropriate to run the higher speed gear. As it was, the truck kept popping wheelies from the insane 40+ mph speeds it was able to attain! With the on-board traction control system, the Slash did an admirable job of maintaining a straight line over the rough terrain and gave me great control as I steered it this way and that. I'm glad I made this purchase for some fun bashing around the neighborhood! Now all I've gotta do is find a nice large plot of bare dirt to let the Slash maximize its potential.

I am just about there...looking at the Traxxas Slash 4X4 Ultimate. With the lower cg chassis and some upgraded components, for the additional $ over the standard Slash, it seems worth it.

I’ve got th dual charger and a set of LiPos and a single NiMh (can’t let the son go that fast yet) and the shock caps waiting in my cart...anything else I should be considering to go along with this?

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
I am just about there...looking at the Traxxas Slash 4X4 Ultimate. With the lower cg chassis and some upgraded components, for the additional $ over the standard Slash, it seems worth it.

I’ve got th dual charger and a set of LiPos and a single NiMh (can’t let the son go that fast yet) and the shock caps waiting in my cart...anything else I should be considering to go along with this?

It’s been a few years since I raced the slash 4x4. Rear uprights and rear axles (not sliding half shafts). If it doesn’t come with a center diff that would be a good add on. Shoot me an email I sold my slab but still have some spares. I believe I have front and rear diffs. I’ll throw them in the mail to you.

I have a Traxxas 3.3 Nitro Revo 4x4. It’s been a while so some rubber parts need replaced and a new motor. I’ve been dissuaded from converting to electric but I may do anyway. It would save me putting a new motor in and refurbish just to try to sell.

It’s fast, especial when it jumps up into second gear. It’s been pretty durable as well. I need to get it running again I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
I am just about there...looking at the Traxxas Slash 4X4 Ultimate. With the lower cg chassis and some upgraded components, for the additional $ over the standard Slash, it seems worth it.

I’ve got th dual charger and a set of LiPos and a single NiMh (can’t let the son go that fast yet) and the shock caps waiting in my cart...anything else I should be considering to go along with this?

You don't have to use batteries to limit speed - most radios will let you limit the throttle range. You can start him out at 20% or something and up it as he gets comfortable.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
^ Yup, a cheap drone is about all I've got in this realm.
A decent size, but not near enough power/stability to use outside if there's any wind.

The bigger one on the bottom will do upward of 60mph. Those were all homebuilt.

What's it run to build one of these? Any 'special' tools required?

I'd like to know too. Specifically, the one with the carbon chassis.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
^ Yup, a cheap drone is about all I've got in this realm.
A decent size, but not near enough power/stability to use outside if there's any wind.

The bigger one on the bottom will do upward of 60mph. Those were all homebuilt.

What's it run to build one of these? Any 'special' tools required?

It's like anything else, you can spend as much as you'd like. Advances in the electronics have made these builds much easier than they used to be though.

As far as tools all you really need is a decent hex driver set and a soldering iron.

Once you get into it there are four main sets of expenses for FPV flying: drone, transmitter, screen/goggles, and batteries/charger.

Initial investment for the last three I would say a minimum of around 275 ish...

The actual drone build for a 3-5 inch model probably around 300 ish is possible if you choose components carefully. Now if you build a tiny whoop (the wee red one) first, the expense is much lower as components and batteries are much less, and they're as close to indestructible as a drone can get. I would highly recommend a whoop first to see if FPV is something you're really interested in.

Feel free to email me if you wanna know more specifics or some components I have had good luck with.

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
I am just about there...looking at the Traxxas Slash 4X4 Ultimate. With the lower cg chassis and some upgraded components, for the additional $ over the standard Slash, it seems worth it.

I’ve got th dual charger and a set of LiPos and a single NiMh (can’t let the son go that fast yet) and the shock caps waiting in my cart...anything else I should be considering to go along with this?

Forget the NiMh pack... the included ESC has a "beginner mode" that you can enable that keeps the speed down for newbies until they get the hang of it. Use it for your son and don't waste the money on the (to me) useless NiMh pack! I LOVED my 4x4 Slash, and I know the Ultimate version which came out later was even better! Not sure I'd bother with the center diff upgrade at this point until you feel a need for it; run it as it is first until you feel you "need" it for some reason. Just my opinion of course after many, MANY hours with one of these things!

Oh... and buy some spare front A-arms... those are the only things I ever broke in the several years I had mine. In the event of an off-center hit on something that does not hit the front bumper, and it will happen, the A-arm will snap! They're cheap, quick and easy to replace, and no reason to not have spares on hand!

Edit to add: Me being a former road-racer, it didn't take long to become dissatisfied with the included radio (no idea what the Ultimate version has, so it may be improved). After only a week or two I upgraded to a Futaba radio system that gave me full programmability over things like steering ratios, exponential rates, adjustable endpoints and all that good stuff, with a nice graphic display that was easy to navigate. Yes, it was an additional $225.00 for just the transmitter and a receiver, but well worth it to ME... most folks will not want to cough up that kind of change for what little is gained! You can also look at the Spektrum line of road radios for much less coin and get the same results if you don't like the included set.

Lots of valuable info here — THANKS!!!

A good place to find out RC car/truck information is at a local RC track.

Racers will be happy to answer questions. You may even find some starter RC stuff used.

I found that running up and down the street got old. Racing was a lot more fun for me.

RCTECH.net is a RC forum with a lot of information.

If you want to learn more about batteries and chargers. RCGROUPS.com

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Vanwall,

The Slash showed up today. Read through the manuals, charged up the LiPo batteries and away we went. Holy crap this thing is an absolute RIOT!!! My wife and the kids were laughing as much as me.

I did order extra A arms and we’ve rubbed through the body a little, but some Gorilla Tape underneath has solved that. Kids are already looking at new bodies to paint/design on their own and started sketching out tracks they want to build.

This might be more addictive than guns!!!

quote:

Originally posted by JDHunz:
The Slash showed up today. Read through the manuals, charged up the LiPo batteries and away we went. Holy crap this thing is an absolute RIOT!!! My wife and the kids were laughing as much as me.

I did order extra A arms and we’ve rubbed through the body a little, but some Gorilla Tape underneath has solved that. Kids are already looking at new bodies to paint/design on their own and started sketching out tracks they want to build.

This might be more addictive than guns!!!

Glad you're having fun. It's a great hobby to get your kids involved in. Nice job!!

I started back in the mid 90's with 1/10th scale electric off road trucks. Now, I have a 1/5th scale gas racing truck.

We are around here, you just gotta kick some rocks to find us.