konomaniac

I realize this question might be sacreligious to many of the more experienced enthusiasts, but here goes. I'm looking for something inexpensive (cheap??) for my 11 y/o son to start with.

Does anyone have experience with the Cox Air-O-Commander??

How about with the Airhog Intruders (hey - I did say inexpensive ;-) ???

We've got a big empty lot to fly in and just want to get started.

Thanx

-Kono

mpj220

No longer support RCU

a088008

The Wattage Sky Wizard is an excellent disposable plane. I would recommend it above the others. It has better wind penetration than the others, and flies really well for a beginner's plane.

It has a motor on/of (on the transmitter) which is good for gliding around, which the plane can do when you get it high enough.

I have crashed it REALLY hard and only needed some tape to get it back in the air. Use packing tape on the complete center section of the wings to get more strength in the wings. It will be able to hit a pole in the wing and leave only a small dent in the foam wing. ( I know )

Make sure to buy an extra set of wings and tail 'cause you're going to want to throw the damaged ones away and fly with new stuff when you are more confortable with your ability to fly. Also but two extra batteries. The plane comes with a wall charger that takes 2 hours to charge one battery. There is nothing worse than finally landing the plane properly and then you got to go home and re-chargfe the battery, before you can get back in the air. One battery lasted me sometimes 15 min. when I did a lot of gliding around high up.

I have since scrapped mine and cut open the fuselage (body) to extract the radio gear. I'm going to put it into one of my own designs.

If there is anybody wanting to throw away their plane, at least take out the radio gear! Later on it will be a fun project to put it into something home built. Let me know if you want the plans for what I'm going to put my radio gear into, otherwise send me the radio gear. I'll make good use of it.

P.S. Don't do outside loops. The wings can't take the negative G's. ( I know )

-Q.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Remember, you will get what you pay for. I do not know anything about the AirHogs Intruder or the Cox Air-o-Commander, but some of these simple twin-motor, push-button designs work, and many don't.

What seems to work well are the V-tail, pod-n-boom, pusher-prop airplanes like the HobbyZone Firebird II, Firebird XL, and all the knock-offs thereof. The Firebird II is only $89.99, only a little more expensive than the Air-o-commander. The nice thing about the Firebirds are that they use "normal" R/C controls, so your son can develop piloting skills that will translate directly to a more advanced plane should he get more involved in the hobby.

konomaniac

Thanx for all the info. The reason I was considering the Cox or the Intruder was because of the price.

As I see it, the intruder at less than $50 might be a good entry level, see if he likes it plane. The Cox is a step above that - if he don't play with it, I will. The thing that I like about the Cox is that it has a quick charge unit that plugs into the cigarette lighter in my car. Many of the others are a 2 hour wall charger.

I guess one of my questions at this point is how durable will something like the Cox be. We are bound tobounce it a few times (at least ). Will a belly lander made out of foam withstand the beatings??

Thanx again.

-Kono

goofup

If you're looking along the line$ of the Cox, XC Diversion, or Hasbro, you might want to check out the Wattage Lightning.

It charges from the transmitter in about 2-3 minutes, 19" wingspan, parts are available, $10 cheaper than the Diversion, and it has tricycle landing gear.

http://www.hobby-warehouse.com/watligrtfmic.html

For what it costs, and for what it is, mine flies great!

Goofup

joebob

My Feedback: (14)

I just picked p a GWS Slow Stick from my LHS last night. The LHS put together a package that includes EVERYTHING needed to fly. I got everything except a transmitter and charger (already had one), with 3 battery packs for $124. Don't know if any other place can match this deal, but if you can find it, you you'll be more than happy with the Slow Stick. The good part about it is that you can use the gear on another plane later if you get tired of the Slow Stick.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

That's a great price.

Problem is, we're talking about someone who doesn't already have the transmitter and charger, which puts the price up over $200. He's looking at $50 airplanes like the AirHogs Intruder.

Jr Jetter

Hey,
One begginer airplane that flys great for just rudder and elevator is the Superstar EP. Comes with radio, receiver, battery, and servos. Easy to build too.
Corey Reese

woodduck-RCU

I know cost is a consideration but I have seend too many fathers bring their son to the airfield with something like an Airhog or a Cox the thing did not fly very well and they walked off never to return. I would suggest something like the Funtec Skyscooter the price is about 2 1/2 times what you want to pay but even seasoned flyers have fun with this plane. It comes with everthing needed , transmitter and battery. If you don't like it there ias always RC Universe swap shop or eBay. Try this link http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUZ75&P=7 or go to towerhobbies.com and search for Sky Scooter

imrcbob

My Feedback: (1)

I just got a Firebird 2 today. It is damaged in the box so I've been looking at park flyers. I liked the Firebird XL and the Direct 280 wing, but I came across this plane, the T-Hawk. Check out this link:

http://store.yahoo.com/toytronix/thawk3chrtf.html

This one looks cool.

GeorgefromVT

I have been flying for 15 years and really think the THawk is a great flyer and a good buy. You can purchase it minus the cheap rc system and simply install you own receiver. The installed servos and speed controll are Hitec compatible so installiation is easy. The plane flies great and is very durable plus it is 3 channel compared to the cheap 2 channel planes from Megatec. Check out www.readytoflyfun.com

flyinrog

My Feedback: (1)

The only reason I am throwing in my .02 is because you said" if he doesnt play with it I will" face it we're all big kids here ... I would recommend GWS... I got everything to get in the air (except charger cause I had one ) for around $200 ,, Radio, was like $125
plane (stick fd) $45
3 battery paks 36$ and now I have a Wattage Crazy Max waiting for a battery pak but I used my GWS radio in it and if you buy a cheap toy and cant transfer the stuff over, its just gonna cost more later..........Rog

Richie

Hobbico superstar ep. $189.00 from tower hobbies. Comes with one battery pack, 3 channel radio that you can use in other planes , and motor. All you need is a charger.

niceorange

I started on a Superstar EP, and it was really a great plane. It flys very well, as enough power for fairly fast flying, and its easy to build. I could make it loop, and even fly inverted for maybe 50-100 feet at times. Great plane, you could even toss a .20 size motor in it down the road id think.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I am totally new to this. However I have been doing alot of research, even attended a club meeting.

1) While the firebird series only has two channels, everyone who has one seems to have had fun with it as a first plane.

2) This thread has some great advice:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...ighlight=wingo

3) whatever you get, make sure it is a very calm day for the first few flights and that you have lots of room. I think the firebird suggests a 600X600 field for first flights.

Let us know what you get and how it works out..

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

I suggest the Aerobird, my friendstarted on that plane after 1 week of practice with Real Flight Sim and lots of coaching from me. Very easy plane to fly and has throttle control. He has crashed it at least 8-10 times badly and it fefuses to die. Great slow speed handling and you can dead stick the landings as well. We take ti with us everywhere we go in case the urge to fly breaks out, hehe.

Just my opinion

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Would you recommend the Areobird for an absolute beginner? I will have some help from a friend who has a FirebirdXL and a fighterbird. I will probablly try his planes first and he has agreed to teach me.

What are your thoughts?

goofup

If you want a cheap plane for you and your 11 year old to fly in a big empty lot for fun, there are several to choose from. They are all toy planes and you will get what you pay for. Accept them for what they are and have fun!

However, if you are expecting these planes to be the first step towards getting into "real" RC planes, you'll be sadly disappointed and will be wasting your money. If that's the case, you might want to look at My Advice For Newbies on my RC Plane page of my website.

Goofup

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

agree with Goofup. These planes only give a taste as to what real RC flying is all about. Although it is in-expensive compared to a full out glow trainer etc. My opinion is to get a Aerobird or similar and see if he likes the experience and then move up if its something you know he will stick to.
If you think he is serious then you need to find your local AMA club and get him with a teacher on a buddy cord hooked to a real RC plane.

Whatever you choose the bottom line is fun. Just remember that and you will be ok.

thstone

I was facing the same challenge with my 10 year and 8 year old sons. I am a newbie and had never flown RC airplanes before.

Rather than spend a lot of money on on a "real" RC plane that they might not enjoy (remember this is the Xbox/GameCube generation - its got to be fast and fun or its outta here), I opted first for a couple of Hasbro AirSurfers.

The AirSurfers are an all foam bi-plane, dual engine, with no real control surfaces - they climb or descend using throttle on/off and turn by shutting the inside engine off momentarily. The plane, controller, engines, battery, charger - it's ALL included. They cost around $60 each at Toys R Us or go to Amazon.com.

Most everything is already assembled so it only takes about 15 minutes to attach the wings to the fuselage and get it ready to fly. It takes about 20 min for the battery to charge.

Then, we were off to the park, ready to fly. I gave it a hand-launch and we were up and flying. The plane is super easy to fly - my 10 yr old was cruising around solo in two flights and my 8 yr old was soloing in three. (For the first flights, I stood behind them, reaching over their shoulders to "correct" any mistakes until they got a handle on the controls.

Landings are a breeze, just cut the power and the AirSurfer slowly glides down for a soft landing.

We have been using a large grass park area for our flights with no problems (big and open, nothing around).

Both boys liked this so much (ok, I'll admit I had a blast too!) that last month I bought a RealFlight G2 Simulator for the three of us to begin to train for "real" RC flying. We all got to be fairly proficient on the simulator.

So, I just ordered a GWS radio and flight pack (Dream Starter kit) and a GWS Slow Stik (should be delivered by Friday) so we can move up to a "real" beginners plane.

The only downside to the AirSurfer is that the batteries don't last too long (3-5 minutes) and the kids would like to fly longer so we bought extra batteries from Hasbro for $10 ea. (We bought three extra for each plane - $30).

1. Total investment = $90 ea.
2. Flying time = 20 minutes (fly once then charge the first battery while flying the next three and then re-fly battery number one for an equivalent total of five batteries)
3. Look on their faces while flying and all of us having a great time = Priceless!

I know a lot of folks in this forum don't like the kiddie RC planes, but:

1. They are really cheap ($60 as compared to something like $200+ for the GWS radio, servos, ESC, battery, Slow Stik, and charger)
2. THEY ARE REALLY EASY TO FLY (absolutely no experience needed)
3. They are easy to repair (5-min epoxy or hot glue)
4. And they are fun!

And if you don't know whether you and your kids will stay in the sport this might be a good starting point (it was for us).

Will post results on the new Slow Stik adventure next week.

Best luck to all and I'd like to say thanks to all of the experienced flyers who post a lot of info for newbies like myself. You folks all deserve a good pat on the back and a hearty "thank you"!

Tom Stone

alzhar

i've got t-hawk, i want to sell

it's new, never flown, never assembled. $120

[email protected]

breakitfixit

I bought an Intruder a while ago and was not impressed. Although it is the most durable plane i have ever seen (you name it, i've hit it) flight times are horrible. Mine wouldn't stay up for more than 60 seconds, and it stalled like crazy.

There are mods that can improve the plane, but I have yet to try them. Some good mods--> http://yosho.port5.com/

I now have an aerobird and am much more satisfied.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

You may find this post helpful in getting the most out of your Aerobird.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...s+for+aerobird]

richmanli

Model is not a toy. For children I beleive small electric glider is the best. Easy control and safe. Safe is the most important.