dfurhang

hi, i am (apart from experience with a 2 channel when i was 12) a beginner pilot. I have done my research, and established criteria for my first real airplane. 1 Propellor in the back, so that when i crash, it wont be damaged. 2 at least three channels, four is better, five is nice but i wouldnt know how to use it. 3 under 200$ 4 MUST BE READY TO FLY, i dont yet have the experience to mess around with ARF, or worse yet a kit. 5 This isnt a must, but i would like for it to have the option of adding an fpv rig to it.
based on these criterion, i have narrowed it down to 2 choices, the bananahobby Skysurfer V5, or the hobby king Bixler 2.
The bixler is about 50$ cheaper, which i dont understand, as they have roughly similar capabilities. If anyone can enlighten me as to why the bixler is cheaper, that would be abig help.
Additionaly, if you know of any other planes which meet the criteria, please let me know about them, as i try not to be narrow minded.
Thanks!

skylark-flier

If you're serious, PM me.

jester_s1

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Front prop planes dominate for a good reason: they fly well. Yes, you'll go through a few props while you learn, but that's better than going through a few airframes. A good beginner plane for a guy who wants to do the hobby alone is the Hobby Zone Super Cub. It's priced within your budget and can take quite a beating. Really light FPV gear might fit onto a Super Cub, but on anything but calm days it'll be too shaky to be any fun. For your first flights, fly in a grassy field so you can ditch the plane in it if you need to. Light park flyers can frequently hit tall grass fairly hard and suffer no damage.

On the planes that you mentioned, I've heard favorable comments on the Bixler, but not the Skysurfer. I'm going to recommend against both though because of the companies that sell them. Hobby King and Banana Hobby are currently in a very tight contest for the award of worst hobby supplier in the history of RC. Seriously, if you get your plane within 3 weeks of the promised arrival date and all the parts are there and everything works, you'll be lucky. If not, you'll get to deal with a $1.45 a hour customer service rep whose only job is to get you off the phone and come up with a way to keep your money. Buy from a reputable company and get a good product like the Super Cub.