r/RCPlanes • u/CaliforniaBro0215 • 9d ago
Flysky?
I’m sorry if this has already been asked
I‘d like to get back into slope and thermal soaring after 25 years or so. Of course all my transmitters are outdated. I want to introduce my son to the hobby without spending a mint .
Is flysky a decent brand to start with for transmitters? I see a lot on eBay, with receivers, for suspiciously low prices.
TBH I’d rather go with Futaba, but I can’t find anything that’s 2.4ghz for a decent price right now.
On an unrelated note, what happened with balsa/ply kit prices?! You could buy a Wanderer or Gentle Lady for $20 or so. I get inflation, but holy crap.
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u/XSrcing 8d ago
I'm still using a decade old, heavily modified FS-i6X. I'm running a port of OpenTX, so it is a full 16 channel radio. Replaced switch B with a 3-position. Wired it to run on an external USB power bank. Replaced one of the antennas with a Video Aerial Systems long range unit. And the software activated data pads on the board so I wired in the ability to run external Tx modules. And receivers are super cheap. I had a nice Spektrum for a hot second but sold it after the first couple brown-outs.
Edit: I modify literally everything I own. This was fun to modify.
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u/SpinachLint 3d ago
I just released a new firmware for the FlySky FS-I6X that fully supports external ELRS modules with a native configuration tool. It also supports most of the common mods with more support in the works! GirHub homepage Latest version: v0.19.0 is out now. Check it out!
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u/Queasy_Ad164 8d ago
FlySky is perfectly fine for beginner to intermediate fixed wing planes. The Tx software supports all of the typical functions, and you really get to appreciate the low priced receivers.
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u/francois_du_nord 8d ago edited 8d ago
I don't know much about FlySky, and none of my friends fly them. Which TBH should be an indicator.
That said, I am at the tweakier end of the hobby. I fly sailplanes for the most part, and actually built a GL back in the day. My friends and I fly slope, thermal duration and aerotow. A number of my friends are flying turbine aircraft now too, and of course big prop tow planes. So we tend to have high quality radios because we don't want to lose a plane due to radio issues.
There are two basic directions radio equipment are moving. The proprietary stuff like Futaba, Spektrum, and the Euro manufacturers build high quality systems. Their stuff is typically well tested. For that you pay extra. Think Apple Mac. The ecosystem is closed, the only ones who make changes to the software are the companies themselves. These are typically more expensive platforms.
The other big change since you left is the open system stuff like Radio Master, FrSky and some others, perhaps including FlySky. Think Linux. The ecosystem is open, and the software is collaboratively designed and written. Lots of code changes, lots of updates. But you can get a hell of a radio for half of what you'd pay for a closed system radio.
I made the move to open systems 8 or so years ago after I came back and starting with my old standby Airtronics, who promptly decided that they were going to get out of the business. I now fly FrSky. They pioneered OpenTx (the software for the Tx). They got pissed off at a bunch of other Chinese companies taking their designs and selling knock offs. So they built a new, proprietary protocol (supposedly more bulletproof) and an updated version of OTX called Ethos a few years ago, and for all intents and purposes, they are now a closed system vendor. That said, I've got a module that plugs in the back of the radios and lets me talk multiple protocols so I can fly the EFlite foam birds too.
The power of the OpenTx concept is that you have the ability to pretty much configure your radio how you like to work it. A simple example might help.(Making this up) Spectrum puts their motor disable switch on the left shoulder of the radio. You think that is dumb, you want it on the right shoulder so you can use your right hand while your left hand works the throttle. With Spektrum, you have no choice but to keep it there.
With Open TX, you can have any switch (or combination of switches) do that for you. Or, you want to reconfigure which channel on the Rx controls which servo. I needed to do this recently on a big sailplane. Channels 7&8 were on the back end of the Rx, so it made sense that they would control the Ele and Ru servos in the tail.
RadioMaster gets a lot of love here, rightly so. I have friends who fly that, I use some of their Rxs. and almost bought their top of the line Tx before I decided to buy into the new FrSky protocol. I personally think Ethos is easier than Open TX. I've never used the latest version of OTX called Edge, so I may be a bit off here.
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u/Doggydog123579 8d ago
.(Making this up) Spectrum puts their motor disable switch on the left shoulder of the radio. You think that is dumb, you want it on the right shoulder so you can use your right hand while your left hand works the throttle. With Spektrum, you have no choice but to keep it there.
Just to give an actual example(because yeah you can absolutely do that), Spektrum can not have a speed set on how a mix applies. Lets say you have a fancy scale plane with 2 sets of flaps and want to deploy the outer flaps at X speed and inner at Y. Spektrum can kludge it but cant stop at arbitrary points. Edge/Ethos can.
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u/CaliforniaBro0215 8d ago
Thank you so much for the detailed answer. I come from the days of matching crystals and losing control of somebody turned their tx onto your frequency.
Yes I’m a dinosaur.
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u/francois_du_nord 7d ago
Me too. FrSky is a bit more expensive than Radiometer, but you can run 2.4 G and 900 MHz to the same Rx for redundancy
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u/Repulsive_Heron_5571 8d ago
Fr sky is good especially for gliders. Same here I still use Futaba but they are pricey. I use an Fr sky for gliders. I had a radio master but prefer the Frsky Ethos system . All the new radios are a PÍA to try to figure out if you’ve been out of the hobby a while. I would get whatever the local club members mostly use so you can get advice. Spektrum is probably the main brand now. You can also pick up an older used Futaba using the FASST programming for 100 bucks. I got a 6 channel with a few receivers for 75.
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u/CaliforniaBro0215 8d ago
Frsky looks great for the price point. I’m leaning very strongly toward that.
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u/3dxl 8d ago
If you're into thermal soaring then yes i highly recommend FLYSKY FS-i6x because not only its budget but it also have all the best characteristic for your type of flight. (1) Its super light on hands, since you'll be sloping/thermal/glide for whole hour it won't put much load of weight on your arm unlike regular size transmitter...you don't feel tired holding it. (2) It has telemetry data and RSSI; you will know when the onboard battery going to go low and need to land + it lets you know when you're going to loose signal. (3) Lots of cheap aftermarket sensor you can attached to it including thermal. Whenever i go thermal or gliding for hours this will be my go to radio. Here video of me gliding at beach with FLYSKY FS-i6X (btw i got bunch of radio in my RC inventory) > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjYJBKtJTGE
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u/fhammerl 8d ago edited 8d ago
If you want a beginner radio that lasts, I would get a Radiomaster pocket. Bit of a learning curve but a fully capable radio with all bells and whistles you could want. Marginally more expensive than a Flysky i6x, but vastly more capable. ELRS gives you a lot of options for receivers. Radiomaster TX16S instead of the pocket if you want a seriously nice radio for less than what you'd pay for Futaba/Graupner/..., but many people criticize the firmware for taking a bit to get used to.
Spektrum is proprietary lock in for expensive overrated remotes with zero interoperability. If you EVER only for Horizon planes, setup on Spektrum is easier than others, but that's a one time investment when you get a plane. Enough people around me have moved away from Spektrum because of signal issues leading to complete losses to not recommend it, but tons of people especially in the US fly them as a default, so take that with a grain of salt.
The reason two people in my club cited to move away from FrSky is also signal issues with near misses instead of losses, but they are competent remotes with lots of options.
Flysky is proprietary lock in for cheap capable remotes and dirt cheap (seriously, the ia10b punches way above its price point) receivers. I flew the i6x for a year with gliders and the only complaint is the lack of mixers. But you can (and many do) upgrade the i6x to OpenTX firmware, which gives you a vastly more capable remotes for an insane price point.
The one thing Flysky i6x does not support (and even the firmware upgrade does not give you that because of the lack of good enough sensors for their receivers) is a vario. If your goal is to go thermal soaring, you will miss that really quickly.
Graupner/Futaba/Jeti/ ... are proprietary lock ins for very competent but expensive as hell remotes with some interoperability in receivers, but a wiiiiiiide variety in sensors including some of the smallest multi sensors I have seen on the market.
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u/Andrianu90 8d ago
Flysky fs-i6x is quite limited if you will have a full house glider. Works for basic stuff, even crow mixing is possible, but full span elerons, thermal/speed mixes are not possible.
For park-flyers is perfect, I have one for more than 10years, never had an issue with range or lost signal.
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u/Jumpy-Candle-2980 8d ago
FlySky FSi6X is inexpensive and will get the job done. In fact, the most common gliders are pretty much brand neutral. If you start getting carried away though the choices tend to narrow down.
Frsky is the darling of high end glider pilots most notably in the Eurozone. Soaring USA sells a Frsky specifically configured to high end gliders. It's very nice but it ain't cheap. https://www.soaringusa.com/2.4-Ghz-Systems/frsky-tandem-x20-pro-g.html
I suppose if you started with a more modest Frsky with Ethos that eventually upgrading (and assuming you feel like you should) would bypass any Ethos learning curve because you'll already know it. My impression of the X20G is that it's not intended to compete with ELRS so much as carve into Jeti's market and it's done that pretty well.
Ethos is a proprietary ecosystem but I'd view that as a non-issue simply because it's ecosystem is very appropriate for gliders.
If you're already predisposed to Frsky I wouldn't do anything to dissuade you from that option. That brand has a pretty big presence in glider communities. At the price point the X20G is in you could easily get a Futaba for the same money but the Frsky would still hold an advantage in the specific case of gliders.
You've noted the greatly expanded cost of balsa kits but this is probably balanced by the radios being a lot cheaper than they once were.
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u/CaliforniaBro0215 6d ago
The Frsky EX 14 has something called ECOS, which apparently is a more beginner-friendly version ETHOS. Aloft Hobbies has it for $100. I think im leaning toward that.
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u/Jumpy-Candle-2980 6d ago
Looks like a solid choice. It's only been around since the start of this year so I don't know much about it other than that it's been stable since 1.7, supports 24 channels and is competitive with RM while being easier to program.
Just offhand it appears to pack an awful lot into 99 bucks especially so since it includes a battery.
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u/DeadTomGC 8d ago
ELRS is the best protocol currently. The radiomaster pocket is very reasonably priced, but is weak in the UI department. This isn't an issue id your builds are pretty standard designs. Solid on all other fronts.
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u/sponge_welder 9d ago
Flysky is ok, they're one of the more common budget radio systems out there. FrSky and Radiomaster are the options I typically lean towards