5 Beginner Tips for RC Flying | Flite Test

[@alexpolakis2016]

"Throttle back, Jack" (Unless you're flying a quad in which case it just drops out of the air)

[@njd834]

My version of taking the props off: Plug it in and throw it on the ground really quick. Yes, I'm a safety conscious person.

[@travisprater1709]

Lol I love how dude in the back is like pay no attention to me I'm just trying to fix my plane 😂😂😂

[@lw216316]

another tip for beginners - there is a magnetic attraction between noobie planes and trees. Stay out of the magnetic range of the tree (about 5 to 7 times the height of the tree). also - thou shalt learn to use the throttle cut option - else the prop will rise up and smite thee and similar maintain altitude else the ground will rise up and smite thee.

[@rccnc4462]

i live in australia , i found the dead puppy , yup had a prop sticking out . dam fight test at it again .

[@Aerospace_Gaming]

RC &CNC lol

[@ryanewbank9271]

@@davidb2675 aussies are too funny!

[@wordreet]

Heh, someone's bound to pop up and mention to you that each plane is different to the next. And they have shown how to launch the Bixler in the Bixler2 video. Which needs around 75% throttle, a bit of an up angle and a good throw for launching. That's due to the pusher motor position being quite high up above the CG of the plane.

[@alexyt4434]

"Don't fly for too long" My Radian flew for 3 hours

[@sleat]

Also, if an Australian RC modeler forgets to remove his prop when testing, often his plane will take off and kill a puppy in New Zealand. Yes, there are puppies over there.

[@spokehedz]

If you are cheap, and you want a quick and dirty method to get your bullet connectors to be insulated, you can use plastic drinking straws from fast food places. But unlike heatshrink you need to be fairly accurate with the diameter because they don't shrink too much and they melt fairly quickly. But they are cheap--free even--so that might be something to look into if you are super-duper cheap.

[@sethharrison9006]

Thanks for the timer suggestion. My rtf doesn't have any fancy guages, but the manual says how long the batteries should last so that will help me stick to this Swedish 80% rule.

[@coolwaterhubby5208]

I think that you guys should invite a quest on your show . So that they can hang out with you guys . You are all well know and we do not get a chance to talk one on one with you. Your all very busy and I truly understand what it's like to organize things , and thank you.

[@Chio_OB]

Good advice. I have chopped up my dx8 box with a big mx2, cut my hands, leg and broke a few props knocking the throttle during setup. My buddy gave himself multiple slashes on both his legs setting up a twin. But I'm a hypocrite too, I still leave my props on and no doubt I will pay for it in future. I often disconnect the motor wires instead. Also cutting the throttle make a huge difference! You still might not save it but at least it is not powering into the ground at full click.

[@turboninjastix]

I think you guys are great, and I am a happy subscriber. People should remember these are tips for newbies, and are not the end-all, be-all rules (except maybe the puffu battery rule). Sure, there are times when you may need to actually throttle up, or not do anything. With multirotors and helis, you may, at times, just need to go to center stick and let everything stabilize. But for the most part, these are common sense tips. I think Flite Test has t.v. quality production value.

[@87knox]

For a beginner, I would recommend going with "known good" power setups that are recommended by the person who designed the plane, for example the setups that are recommended for Flite Test's swappable series. There isn't really a cut-and-dried way to match plane/prop/motor/esc/battery. It's more of an experience thing, and there are experienced people all over the interwebz who will tell you what power system they used for a plane that they have.

[@lucianvillasenor]

@Josh The question you ask at 2:00 is what I have been racking my brain on for the past day. I had learn the difference between CW and CCW motors was just the direction of the nut on the propeller shaft. Ya'll should do a video on just this subject alone if you haven't, and put it in the multirotor playlist. Thanks for all the great videos I've learned so much from you folks.

[@stewiecasserole12]

Ok guys, as an Australian I can tell you I have one freaked out puppy now who's too scared to go outside and play...you have a lot of explaining to do.

[@SGMasonKnives]

Someone may have already pointed it out, but when I know I am heading in, I hit the throttle hold. I actually use the throttle hold a lot, when I am plugging in the battery or unplugging the battery the throttle hold is on. In fact my throttle hold is on any time that I am not actually flying the plane. Its something I picked up from helicopters.

[@senorPFox]

Hello, flitetest, I am a 'noob' with little rc experience. The internet seems to REALLY suck at explaining all of the basics of getting started at rc. I still don't really know after hours of research, how to shop for parts, match them, and connect them. If you see this, could you guys PLEASE make a buy-all end-all video explaining all the arcane and confusing terminology of RC flying? E.g: How to match motors, escs, and lipos, as well as determining the specs for each part.

[@AmmonHAMMR412]

Personally, when I am maidening a new plane, I trim all of the surfaces to be flush, like I'll trim the rudder to be in line naturally. In other words: Neutral. When I take off with newer stuff, I always go off of pavement. That way, if I feel something go wrong, I can put the craft down fast! Good luck to you!

[@rogueqd]

It took me a while to work out that with multi's it's usually better to give some extra throttle instead. Quite a few crashes from cutting the throttle because my prop touched a leaf, lol.

[@SAFbikes]

Good tips, im probably only slightly above noob with quadcopter but im always trying to learn. Im glad you guys have gotten away from doing as many jokes and puns in your more recent videos. Love the channel

[@dlwrcm]

Alot of people at our club fly with puffed batteries, myself included. Some puffed batteries might be useless, but most can still be used. Manufacturers and distributors will tell you not to use a puffed battery, because they want to sell you more. Otherwise great video and tips.

[@JbotMischief]

If you're testing the amp draw of a prop motor combo... Make sure that if the prop flies off, it goes somewhere that you're not.

[@screamingiraffe]

Alt-hold saves my quad everytime. good tips

[@boomerangfreak]

true but on flite test they mainly talk about planes and multi rotors which don't have collective (yet) so they might've forgotten to mention that but you are 100% right that that would be even worse than to trying to save it (no heli flyer but I have had a blade sr that I sold)

[@scottpurdy8799]

I always have a little bit more elevator in to always have the plane gaining altitude as it's easier to trim out a model at about 200 ft

[@crenn6977]

2:02 I SAW THAT! You can't hide behind Josh and Josh.

[@freshonozone]

Usually, as a noob. Regardless of what. When you start to feel safe, thats a fragile point when shit often happen.. good channel, keep up! :)

[@MrCubcrazy]

If you are looking for a first plane, I suggest getting a Hobbyzone Super Cub. I think Flitetest would agree. You can get it ready to fly with everything in one box for around $200USD.

[@mtlracing1567]

'you can KISS your escs goodbye' haha :)

[@zacflyer99]

On most websites it will show how many amps are being drawn when a motor spins these are abbreviated as (A) so 30A. If you look on a esc rating, it will say Amps you need a equivalent, or higher amp rating for esc to motors. Lipos have ratings based on cells. 2s= 2 cells etc... Make sure that the esc and motor can handle the lipo you have or are buying. Hobbyking shows many of their specs in a table. Private message me for more help.

[@chapbix12158]

I have learned that it is a good idea to place a second heat shrink tubing over the first one to further isolate a soldered connection from the other soldered connections or anything else that might short it out. The insurance this provides is well worth the minimal amount of weight that may be added as a result.

[@nwimpney]

get an on-board battery alarm. Hobbyking has a super loud one (item # 067000002). It'll scream at you if the voltage sags when you punch the throttle, and you'll know it's getting low before it hits the LVC.

[@infinitibeast]

Just started watching your videos, and they are GREAT! But this has nothing to do with your videos, but I love your tattoo!! What a great witnessing tool! Just thought you should know! Thanks for the vids guys!

[@ChristianGuitarBlog]

Awesome vid guys! I actually just did the throttle reverse thing in my living room (nobody around but me fortunately). Scarey stuff! Really enjoy your videos! They've been an awesome resource to get me started in the hobby!

[@ethanjohnson2548]

2 minutes in... One of the most awkward "I see you're filming but I need this" moments on Flite Test I've ever seen.

[@zeDoSauRus]

Ooooh I wanted to see you fly and have fun. Why don't you just make one episode where you are at the field just having fun?

[@buellbruce]

All my puppies down here are inside now!! Great video!! Bruce from OZ

[@Copper29]

fly the HL803 and do some tests and upgrading. FliteTest will do this if they like their fans!!

[@reneewojciechowski5116]

love it back to the good old flitetest

[@flyingthewingsoff]

Great video. You guys should do a swappable mustang.

[@lordgarak]

You sometimes need to throttle UP. I lost my F4U fun fighter last weekend from trying to fly too slow. It started to stall and got unstable, it was too far away and it had lost too much altitude and at some point flipped over so when I pulled up it went down behind some trees. I spent the rest of the afternoon wading through 4ft high spiky bushes and never found it. It was flying great up until that point. I was actually finished my flight and slowing down and loosing altitude to land.

[@andygsp]

It's important to not drain your batteries when flying. The Low Voltage Cut-off (LVC) in the ESC is not smart enough to know if one cell is a lot lower than the others (which one usually is when the battery is getting empty). This means that you can easily destroy one cell in your battery but still not yet trigger the LVC and hence destroy the whole battery. If you are all about being cheap (as you say you are) then protecting your investment in batteries is really important! Dont drain them!

[@scottpurdy8799]

This is how you check your battery state while you are flying, works great, I would highly recommend using a Wireless Copilot Works every time, and not killing the batteries and no dead stick landings

[@wordreet]

Another good tip is to turn your body or at least your shoulders and transmitter to face the same direction as your plane, if you are having trouble orienting your brain and thumbs to the way the plane goes. If you see what I mean.

[@SeanDuffyProductions]

It's good to see you guys are doing some stuff for noobs, keep it up! :)

[@BMSWEB]

Cool T-Shirt JS!!!

[@dungeonsound1]

im a Noobie, good stuff, more more ! like how to trim out your craft, while just trying to hold it straight. ect... any little tips on, noob Maiden"s. what to expect ? go on windless days maybe. i'm on my 3rd Maiden, of the FT Flyer. first, to much throw, second, to much wind, well see how it goes tomorrow.

[@BashMonkeyRC]

When I heatshrink bullet leads I leave a little extra shrink tube going over the connector plugs, then afterwards I just take an xacto knife slice clean across the plug. No chance of leads crossing

[@999benhonda]

the last rule about only using 80% of your battery only applies if your motor/esc setup demands nearly the amount of amps your battery can provide. I have a prop plane and a EDF. The prop plane can fly until LVC and the battery wont even be warm. The EDF I fly until just a bit before LVC and even then, the battery is warm. The EDF setup is pulling more from the battery. Since it pull near the max what the battery can provide, flying it WOT just before the LVC on the ESC kicks in will shorten the life of the battery. But flying WOT right until the LVC kicks on in the prop plane isn't putting any stress on the pack. MAH and "C" rating together determine how much your battery and put out. basically, if your lipo has a much higher "C" rating than is needed for your plane, you wont hurt it by breaking the 80% rule.

[@MacKaris]

+RCPro Driver I don't think flying until the power reduction kicks in is ever a good idea. You have a good chance of crashing if you're too low to make a good, controlled approach and landing. That's why you normally only use the 80%, that way you still have plenty of juice left if you're forced to make a go-around for what ever reason.

[@999benhonda]

***** depends more on the craft. If we are talking about light park flyers (as I was) that can usually fly with very low air speed then it isn't a issue. If its larger, heavier aircraft or those which must be landed with a decent amount of airspeed then having more battery power left is important for the reason you mentioned. But on the smaller lighter craft, 25% throttle is more than enough to make another pass if needed and even with LVC active you will have access to the needed power.

[@MacKaris]

RCPro Driver​ not always... not long ago I had to ditch my little park flyer size yak-12 foamie into the long grass when the LVC unexpectedly kicked in and there was just not enough power to allow for proper landing. I have balanced it with quite a lot of weight, though, but it still has plenty of power under normal circumstances. But yeah, with planes even smaller than the yak that you can belly land anywhere with impunity, I guess it's not a problem :)

[@1968ronron]

well i thought this was a great site til i put a comment on your video and some guy really dogged me about it and i guess he mis understood what i was saying . i have bought every plane you guys have made and this guy went off on me so i will just leave this site alone .. but i will tell you i think josh and josh are great guys !!! and all i asked was when the planes would be in the store

[@lwill53951]

do a show on puffy batts i like most have alot of batteries and am pissed at all i have to keep chucking because of PUFFY thanx guy's keep it up

[@dvvarf0242]

I have a on board alarm that plugs into the battery its loud .you can hear it there cheap to buy . It goes off when batter gets low .

[@thenerdyouknowabout]

Throttle back..... And for multicopters....... Well, crap!

[@Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay]

If you're flying a multi-rotor, then 'throttle back to avoid crash' only applies when you are actually crashed. Before that, you wanna be throttling up to maximise your control of the craft, surely ?

[@shiftymiata]

I had an Apprentice S break a flat screen TV because I dropped my DX5e.... yeah... don't even turn it on inside.

[@Graystripe000]

I like how they say "don't fly with puffy batteries," then "lets go fly with puffy batteries."

[@TheChristopher33333]

My plane (Bixler v 1.1) is stuck in a 14 m high tree. Would be cool if you would do a review of getting a plane out of mother nature's hands :) Love your show! :)

[@OfficialCytation]

1:25 You broke an ESC to show us how not to break our ESC... Yay breaking things :)

Do more of these videos for Noobs!! THANK YOU

[@joachimlarsen2k]

0:45 I've done this with my T-Rex 450 on my desk right in front of me. The rotor disk was on the same level as my throat. It could have gone really bad. Luckily (for me at least) I just ended up with a few cuts on my arm. Listen to these guys! And everybody else that tells you to either take off the propeller/blades or disconnect the motor. Don't be as lazy as me. Please.

[@Burlion]

Chad really wanted to fly right now. And did not even wait for 5 minutes. :)

[@FireMoga]

brb putting heatshrink over my esc connections :D Thanks flitetest for hopefully saving my ESC

[@geneticallyinferior1]

get 1 with an adjustable or high enough cut off voltage, at least 3.5v per cell

[@RylandH-Airsoft]

I always have throttle cut on I never leave it off unless I’m flying

[@scottpurdy8799]

You should look at wireless-copilot for battery telemetry

[@stonednbroke1]

Set ya radio to use the throttle hold. That way you keep all ya fingers

[@matttosx]

hi there, i have a question regarding esc wire length. some RCgroups topics are talking about maximum lenght (about 20 to 30cm) and never go longer some are talking about never touch power wire and add lenght to 3 wires that goes to motor some are talking that if you go above 30cm of wire, you have to add capacitors on power wires, and eventually add other every 20cms effectively, some companies (YGE, Castle, Schulze....) are selling kits with extra capacitors. What's you technical advise on that ?

[@michaelramsey82]

Now I'm all worried about the Australian puppies.

[@Sentedflight]

This was great! Make more videos for new flyers. This helped a lot!!! :)

[@electromaniac03]

what do i do with the body of that puppy?

[@lululock]

You bury it in the hole your plane made while crashing.

[@electromaniac03]

oh ok thanks

[@lululock]

lol

[@norbertfischer5855]

Easy. Collect 2 or 3 of them, put them in separate rc planes and get them in the air. its called dogfight...

[@kokoslegend4850]

@@norbertfischer5855 😂😂😂

[@Raycefan]

I think I'm in love with Jessica Biel and also Kate Upton

[@MatissRiekstins]

Helloo flitetest! Great video as always, BUT can you make more videos!? I''m starving here!

[@topxe.]

Also heli's. I have throttle hold programmed for all my models so no matter what I'm flying I just hit that when things go bad. It's not good to get in the habit of jamming the "throttle" stick back, doing that on a heli in idle-up is very bad.

[@corbonzo1]

you should make a video about lipo charging

[@agp1113]

On a non pusher prop plane, does the plane go clockwise or counterclockwise?

[@gutobissaco]

Hello! What is this black and yellow airplane with the letters written CruzR-ft wing that hung on the wall? Thank you friends!

[@sleat]

Guys, Guys! Do some research! If you had, you'd know that in addition to the toilet water going the other way down here when you flush, that all dogs are born fully grown here! There aren't any puppies in Australia! Kittens? Plenty, but no puppies. None.

[@IllusiveCookie]

Can you do an introductory session for new people who have no clue what they're doing...?

[@monjon868]

So that's where all the props come from.I am sending you guys my vet bills.lol

[@SmockMountainProductions]

First is the worst second is the best... By the good video for the noobs.

[@scottpurdy8799]

And one more thing, set in some expo of about 20 on elevator, ailerons, and rudder

[@miguelboisvert7375]

Wut, so if my prop falls of it hits a puppy in Australia. BUT I LIVE IN CANADA!!!

[@Burlion]

newbee must learn very hard. :) RC hobby a whole science! :)

[@hegz1484]

lol :D 3 months ago i cut my leg badly on my fms/airfield mustang prop. i was walking over to take the battery out. the controller swung away from me then swung back and the throttle bumped up just as i was taking the hatch offf... the plane was fine apart from a broken prop but i still have a scar.

[@Hionimi]

Too bad my Spektrum DX6i complete ignores the Throttle Hold when set to Plane mode... I think it's silly they did that? Is it the same with the more expensive Spektrums?

[@mickerdoodle51]

Hello Josh I just today got my first kit. I have gone through it, I am lacking a charger. How do I order a charger?

[@FlinFlonSk8ers]

So what would you do to prevent the speed controller connections from touching each other? Would you just make sure the exposed metal is covered with the rubber shielding?

[@Ryan-vv6ff]

3 steps from must to if needed Insulated heat shrink (one piece over motor connections) electric tape a lap or two saves you from burning a few. Second Secure never leave components or wires to move (definitely not near moving parts like props!) use double sided tape cable/zip ties, hot glue or tape to keep em in place Last third separate neaten wire by keeping them together is always good but Indervidual connections like motor connectors is a big one Seperate and secure them can save you if it has an issue during flight and burns it's own insulation and doesn't have to go anywhere to continue being a brat child taking out electronics. So when possible spread connections out a little bit and secure. Plus looks neater then just bound together

[@JonathanRinny]

hey guys! love your videos. just one thing i found annoying, there seems to be a high pitch noise coming from one of the microphones. other than that it's all good

[@fairtony]

testify sister! thats how i broke my lading gear. a throttle cut switch is handy.

[@bryanlimkh]

Could we get more noobie tip videos! Thank you~

[@dpqbpqbdpqbpqb4754]

Dont solder your model with the battery still attached! The metal tip of the soldergun can cause a short!

[@Conlan0215]

I'm pretty sure I have damaged my little 3.7v 150mAh lipo due to the fact that I fly my little piper cub trainer until I have to glide it down. Unfortunately, It is a really small lipo with a really weird connector, and I'm not sure how long I can use it if I replace the battery. Does anyone have an average flight time before those batteries hit %20 on a mini or micro trainer?

[@kokoslegend4850]

So that's why 2 of my esc's started smoking indoors. That stuff is nasty... I used wires without a plug.

[@timomartens99]

great video!

[@roguedragondraksis9114]

Hit reverse on my dx6i. Good thing I had the prop off. Scared the crap outa me XD

[@9HighFlyer9]

Throttle back is bad habit to get into. Throttle Hold

[@mikaguitars1477]

Lol my prop just flew into the ceiling should have removed it... but it removed itself

[@bryanlimkh]

Could we get more noobie tip videos? Thank you~

[@hdoug5]

good tips thanks for the info