beavertail

Yeah , but it makes for good watching!!

bigbri

My Feedback: (287)

say what you want about duraplanes....I taught my brother how to fly on one......and man what a beating it took !!!!!! He loves it

B-

wyflyer

My Feedback: (7)

I think that the duraplane is the second worst flying "trainer" that I have seen. I got one when I started out and it crashed into some trees on the 2nd flight due to interference. It broke and bad that I decided not to fix it. I got a Hobbico Airvista and have been alot more happy with it.

The worst flying "trainer" is the Hobbico Sturdy Birdy. A new guy showed up at the field with one powered by a Fox .40 engine. A .25 is reccommended to power it. He had a Fox .40 on it and it was very underpowered. It crashed on almost every flight. It didn't break, but I would rather have an airplane that exploded when it crashed, but flew well.

ilrcflyboy

My Feedback: (5)

I cannot comment either way on the DuraPlane, but I think it's funny that one of the new guys at our field has a homing beacon on his for when it's lost in the corn! LOL

Hearing the plane run up, then BEEP BEEP BEEP, funny!

Old Mill

Heh!!

RCM trainer here, bought the combo from tower hobbies with magnum .40 engine for 150 bucks.


Not only has it taught me how to fly, has survived a horrific run in with a fence post(snapped fencepost in half, just busted leading edge, wing spar intact), duct taped the damn hole in the leading edge, has flown ever since.

It does seem to float more then my buddies hobbico trainer, was wondering if it was just me.


Magnum engine is reliable and strong, people at my club were laughing when they saw Magnum, they all OS people, well, they aren't laughing now, I either lucked out, or magnum makes good engines now. Very powerful engine.


30 or so flights on it now, many run ins with mother earth, all repairable, has a nice grey duct tape pattern on it now, all over, and it still flying strong. I may recover it someday and fix some of the nastier dents, but has served me well.

Solo flying within 1/2 gallon of gas, including 2.5 tanks worth of engine break in.


Mill, the RCM bandit.

gus

I thought those were one and the same.... flying and not crashing!

gus

tiggerinmk

Yep, I second that. I've got a Sturdy Birdy, at least the duraplane has a tricycle gear...

My SB flys using a OS25LA. It has just enough power, but I'm thinking of an Irvine .39 for it. I would think that a 40 size engine would be too heavy, unless you get a hot .46 to make up for the extra weight.

I got mine as an alternative as I didn't want to risk wrecking my Superstar 60, but having seen it fly, I'll save it for a second plane to practice taildragger handling....

I'm also thinking about getting replacement symetrical wing cores for it......

Would you believe my intructor managed to get it to fly inverted with the standard flat wing and the 25?

KadetBuilder

Yes the Sturdy Birdy flies like a drain pipe with a bit of foam strapped to it.....oh...hang on!!!...thats what it is!!!

1. It flies far too fast for a trainer
2. Its too heavy, it doesn't glide with no power
3. Wing loading is way too high
4. I never ever had a "floater" of a landing with this plane.

But hey maybe thats just me.....i crash everything.....just crashed my arising star today...ouch....tried to do a loop without enough height and in bad light....lost orientation of the plane and didn't know whethere to pull up or down....so for safety i just ditched... :-(

Out in the Stix

I say the worst trainer world be the SU-97 Bear Nuclear bomber that appeared in one of the Model Airplane News magazines. I do not remember the exact specs but it took two pilots, had auto starts, and was three feet from ground to the tip of the fin!

airwethead

Like Tattoo said, "worst trainer" really depends on what you want to get out of the plane/hobby. In my opinion, the worst trainers are these small electric 2 or 3 channel "birds" (firebird, aerobird, fighterbird etc.) They may be fine if you just want a unique toy to fool around with, or if you are looking for a good way to frustrate yourself, but they wont teach you how to fly a radio controlled airplane. If you intend to progress to a 4 channel plane, this is not the way to go. How can you expect to learn to fly with a plane that doesn't even have an elevator (fighterbird)? I see more and more posts about these planes here in the beginner section asking if they are a good "first plane". They are more of a last plane - fun in their own right, but a completely different animal than a 4 channel glow trainer. When you say "first plane", it kind of implies that there will more to follow down the road. If you want something to toss around the backyard or the park, I'm sure these little birds are just the ticket, but if you are looking for a rewarding lifelong hobby, get a real trainer and do it right the first time.

rjbarthel-RCU

Hi !! I have started with a SIG Kadet LT 40 . But due to the investment of time and money ,I put it away till I learned to fly hahaha dont seem to make much sence does it !! when here the story ! I was on a trainer cord for about 2 flights and I work construction so I hardly ever had a chance to fly . normal stick time was during not very good weather ! and nobody was willing to go teach in the rain hahaha !
so I got a Zagi 400x and a duraplane 40 with a tower 46 LOL... that engine really sucked !! ran only when it wanted too ! ya had lotsa guys look at it ! anyway as I gained some flight ability with the Zagi I headed to the duraplane ! and yep you gessed it I learned to dead stick land everytime and some flights were not more than 30 sec long lol.. But on the ocassional 5min flight I did learn to fly ! it took all summer LOL !! and a few new drain pipes and so on .. and replaced the tower 46 with a OS 40 FX .. Bottom line is this I agree totaly on trainer cords and instructors .. But with that said and with since flying many brands of trainers I have this to say ! the balsa trainers are all many times better flying than the Duraplane is !! My Kadet LT 40 is so sweet a flyer compared to the duraplane hahaha not even in the same class at all !! but that kadet would have been replaced only a time or 2 befor I would have thrown in the towel Im very sure of that !! but due to nearly no cost but time to repaire the duraplane I stayed with the sport !! Im so glad I did I love this hobbie or mmmmm no its a way of life now LOL.. anyway I Know first hand that the dura isnt a great flying trainer but it just may keep a new flyer in the hobby if some self teaching is the only option !

Gizmo-RCU

My Feedback: (27)

Amazing how far afield from the original question this has gotten! Forget about looking for the "worst" and take the recommendations of several seasoned instructors for the good ones! Remember it's best to obtain a trainer the Instructor likes and feels comfortable with, after all you are using his time and he wants you flying asap(the right way). Just my experiences. There is some real junk out there that is billed as a trainer, the instructor most likely recognize this even if he has not personally done anything with that particular plane.

rjbarthel-RCU

Hi GIZMO ! I was just sorta defending the duraplane I know its not a great trainer and I would even say of all trainers I flown its the worst LOL !! But yet there is a place for it in the world of trainers !! only way I would class it as a trainer is due to its repairabliity !! As someone said it flys like a brick !! but with a little morter its back in the air !!
there cant be enough good said when it comes to instructors !And so true as to using a trainer that is seen as a trainer in the eyes of your instructor is a true plus !!
I dont thinkl this tread has wondered off the beaten path of its original question!! it just looks to me that just giving a name to a worst trainer isnt working !

CafeenMan

I've helped a lot of guys at our club fly their trainers. The worst trainer is the one that is poorly built, has sloppy controls and warped surfaces. I don't care how good the kit was, if you have to battle with the plane it will impede your progress.

One guy in our club brought a little monster to the field. It simply would not roll right. He refused to even attempt to use the rudder which is the only way to turn it to the right. On top of that he refused to hook up the rudder to aileron channel and just glue the ailerons at neutral.

To make matters worse, he had a brand new Sig Kadet LT ARF that was very nicely built. But he said he didn't want to try to fly it until he learned to land the plane he was currently "flying." Everyone who helped him eventually said they would not help him any more because after 5 months he made no progress with that crappy plane he had because even our best pilots could barely control it. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone in our club who is a safety officer that has the authority to ground an aircraft. That's another issue.

So one day this guy sticks his plane in a tree and can't find it. We're all thinking, "Thank God for that!" Unfortunately he found it and repaired it. The stabilizer now had about 1" of anhedral and a one piece elevator. Obviously there was a little binding going on there. Eventually he started flying at a different club because none of use would help him any more because his plane was dangerous and he refused to listen to the voice of experience.

Bottom line is that it's not just the plane, but the person who built and maintains it.

green river rc

My Feedback: (2)

The worst trainer ever is one of those Aircore things. I tried to teach a guy to fly one once, what a hunk of junk! They weigh a ton and the fuel took the coloring right off the cloroplast. They fly like a concrete block coated with lead. 2nd worse is a Duraplane.

nukes

What is the worst trainer? The worst trainer is the trainer not flown, because someone new read this thread and feels they have made a $300 mistake. I say any bird, used to get someone into this great hobby is a wonderful trainer. What really matters is that whoever decides to fly whatever should get our support and help. And when someone new is strating, don't talk bad about their plane. "So what made you to decide to get THAT one?" They will learn best from there mistakes and alot of positive reinforcement.

http://www.spadtothebone.com

Gizmo-RCU

My Feedback: (27)

Well stated NUKES! One of my big gripes is like the guy who showed up and repeatedly asked me and several others what type of trainer to start with, I personally spent a lot of time trying to get him started in the right direction, 4 channel 40 size, etc. Guess what, he showed up with a motorized 3 channel glider and expected me to spend my time teaching him to fly. I directed him to the instructor who suggested this plane, they promptly pulled the wings off when the student got it into a dive and jerked it back, instant lawn dart from 200 ft. (these things are a bear to land in the wind and a beginner is really not ready for that, I think).