chemdragon

Hello all,

I am a fairly new pilot that has been flying a Multiplex Easystar and a slowstick (both great starters). I also have a little aleron experience thanks to being allowed to fly a buddy's cub. I am wanting to end up flying warbirds I love the fw 190, me 109, p-47 and of course the p-51. My question is what plane do you guys recomend I pick up next on my journy to becoming a WWII ace? I really prefer the foamys and am looking for an ARF. I was thinking about a GWS model in any one of the above planes and/or maybe a Cox Micro Warbird for those really calm evenings. If you don't think I should jump right to a low wing plane let me know what you recomend.

Thanks

Leo L

Since you seem to be happy with the performance of your EasyStar, stay with Multiplex and get their Mini-Magistar (known as the Minimag). Set the Minimag up with a decent outrunner and LiPo and by the time that you are comfortable with it, you'll be ready for just about any warbird of your choosing.

ozrcboy

Chemdragon,

If you have plenty of flights on those planes (like say 60+ in total) then you might be able to make the jump to a cheap low wing foam warbird.

I'd agree with the GWS thinking - the planes are cheap, and they will take some punishment and are readily repaired. My suggestion is the GWS Zero - probably the best behaved of the fleet although you do need to modify the wing incidence. Use a 2s LiPo while you get used to it. The other plane highly spoken of is the GWS Corsair.

I hope you've been doing plenty of practice on FMS or some other sim. I've got a low wing that flys a bit like the Zero on here:

http://www.oz********.com/2007/03/fms-downloads.html

Cheers,
Oz.

gt5500

I would go to high wing next like the minimag or e-starter, the biggest problem you will have going staright to low wing warbird is the launching can be hard as they have high stall speeds and will often torque roll, so until they get on step they need a lot of nursing, if you are not ready for it you could be in for a pile of foam quicker then you think. If you really are intent on going to low wing then settle for a something like the mini pulse, or the formosa II on low rates, both of these will be more docile and have lower stall speeds so will be able to fly slower, warbirds are notoriously hard to fly at slower speeds and the P51 is probably the hardest, if you really must have a warbird the spit's seem to do better as they have a lower wing loading.

chemdragon

Thanks for all of the advise guys. When I first got interested in flying I had a P-51 picked out when I contacted a club. The guy that became my instructor talked me out of starting with a P-51. Thank God!!! I had to glew my easy-star back together a couple times so I would have had a pile of foam right away! Since then I have developed a more realistic approach to working my way toward that P-51. I think I'll go ahead and take the high wing route for now. If nothing else it will be a nice addition to my "hanger." The buddy of mine with the cub also had a GWS Beaver that he's going to let me pilot. He also thought maybe a bi-wing, WWI style plane. I perked up right away on this as it seems like a nice stepping stone while keeping with my warbird spirit. Any suggestions on these planes. I kinda like the ElectraFly S.E.5a. or the GWS Tiger Moth. Let me know, I'm loving the responce. (This is my first thread.)

dabvid

i here that the gws toger moth 400 is a great aileron trainer, however i just got a multiplex minimnag and had my maiden flight this morning and the plane flies beautiful. Good Luck
regards,
dave

CitaFly

Some thoughts on a second plane might help here:

[link=http://www.ampaviators.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=27]Your Second Plane[/link]

Three to consider: Lightflite Bug, Multiplex Minimag and GWS Estarter. Basically you've learned on "forgiving" planes, and stepping up to an "unforgiving" plane next is not a great move.

Leo L

From the experiences of people at my flying field, I would say that the Minimag is the best choice, but the Tiger Moth and the Beaver are very good choices as well.

ozrcboy

Hi Chemdragon,

I actually got a GWS Tigermoth 400 as my second plane for most of the reasons you are talking about. I wanted to work my way towards WWII warbirds, and for a whole lot of reasons the Tigermoth appealed as a step on the journey.

The moth is a great plane. Flys well on brushed power with either 2s or 3s. Looks the goods in the air. Nice gentle, slow flyer. However, with some work she can be made to do mild aerobatics. And WWII pilots trained on them before flying the spits and the hurricanes ;-)

The Beaver and estarter are other reasonable options.

By the way, someone mentioned the difficulty of handlaunching - fair points. If you can avoid hand launching entirely. Rolling takeoffs are the safest option by a long way.

Cheers,
Oz.