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What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

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What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Old 10-07-2012, 04:10 PM
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CasualRC
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Default What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Hello,

I live in an area where a small RC plane would best suit the environment. I've owned a Champ RTF which is very easy and fun to fly. However, the only place I can go to fly it, with enough space, is up in the hills where it's windy. Anyway, I've decided my best option would be something comparable to the Megatech Avion IO plane. I've owned the infrared version of the Megatech Avion and it was a blast to fly. The only problem was the infrared, and the IO seems to have a steep price tag that I can't justify.

My question:

Can anyone recommend some (or any) RC planes comparable to the Megatech Avion IO? I'm looking for something with a wingspan of less than 10" and uses radio instead of infrared controls. Also relative rudder controls would be nice, instead of the hard turning on/off steering method. I have set my price range to about $50.

Are these guidelines unreasonable? All input welcome!
Old 10-08-2012, 07:26 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Flyzone Albatros would be a good one to start with but you wll pay around $75-80 dollars for it..

2.4GHz radio for the RTF or TX-ready use your own compatible radio.


The next one that I would say would be the Flyzone Fokker DR1 "Red Baron" turns tight and can be a blast to fly but not good in breezy areas...


The Albatros is your best bet!


Mark
Old 10-08-2012, 04:29 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: Turbobearcat

Flyzone Albatros would be a good one to start with but you wll pay around $75-80 dollars for it..

2.4GHz radio for the RTF or TX-ready use your own compatible radio.


The next one that I would say would be the Flyzone Fokker DR1 ''Red Baron'' turns tight and can be a blast to fly but not good in breezy areas...


The Albatros is your best bet!


Mark

Thanks for the suggestions! The Albatros does seem tempting, and is about 6 inches less in wingspan than the Champ RTF. I'm still wondering if I'll even have enough room for the Albatross. Unfortunately, my area doesn't really have any place I can really go to fly. I'm limited to my small backyard which is cursed with trees. That Avion was perfect with its 7.5 inch wingspan and a slower flying speed.

I've also found out the Avion IO is actually quite a bit larger than the Avion. I'll have to keep thinking for now.
Old 10-09-2012, 03:26 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

If you want slow flying and tight turning- Fokker DR1. hands down.
Old 10-09-2012, 03:05 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: Turbobearcat

If you want slow flying and tight turning- Fokker DR1. hands down.

Thanks again for the response. I think I do like the sound of the Fokker D1 a bit better. They both look awesome, however the Fokker seems like it might be better for my environment. I've seen tiny micro RC planes that are smaller than my hand, however they're pretty expensive for being so small. Almost $200
Old 10-13-2012, 07:04 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

i would highly suggest the parkzone night vapor.it can fly in very small spaces i can fly mine in my living room that is 22x16 feet. its also pretty durable.
it is more than your price range but it flys great and is 3 channels with night lights for night flying!
Old 10-14-2012, 05:26 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: jonnynoz

i would highly suggest the parkzone night vapor.it can fly in very small spaces i can fly mine in my living room that is 22x16 feet. its also pretty durable.
it is more than your price range but it flys great and is 3 channels with night lights for night flying!
Thank you! This is another one I've been looking at. For slow flyers, Night Vapor certainly takes the cake. I'm having trouble deciding on what I should get. I'm extremely limited, unfortunately. Also been toying with the idea of a different vehicle type altogether.
Old 11-15-2012, 04:18 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Just ordered this for in-house flight training to keep the thumbs from getting even more stupid:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...r-bnf-PKZU1280
she's tiny and claimed to be indestructible. We'll see 'cause I just got one mailed my way...
Old 11-15-2012, 05:21 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: Saburo Sakai

Just ordered this for in-house flight training to keep the thumbs from getting even more stupid:
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...r-bnf-PKZU1280
she's tiny and claimed to be indestructible. We'll see 'cause I just got one mailed my way...
Hey, that looks really cool. I put the plane thing on hold so that I can return to my love of helicopters. I bought a WL Toys V911 and that thing rocks! I was thinking about picking up the Flyzone Fokker DR1, but the mini night vapor looks more intriguing. I really don't like foam bodies like most micros are made of. I like this look of the carbon fiber frame with fabric wings.

Let me know how this one turns out, because it looks nearly perfect for what I'd like. I just want something for a calm day outdoors, in a small area. I don't quite have enough space indoor for an indoor plane.

Thanks for sharing this!
Old 12-03-2012, 06:03 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Mini Vapor,  Not "mini night vapor" It flies great even in our tiny hobby shop, what they say is true, it is nearly indestructible. The Dr.1 also flies good, but it is a little cheesy, motor was loud and it burned out. Good luck.[8D]
Old 12-06-2012, 10:09 AM
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Chucksolo69
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Be warned, the Flyzone Albatross is EXREMELY fragile and will not take too many rough landings, even in grass. Mine broke the landing gear in a soft grass landing. The wing struts are very weakly glued to the wings and fuselage. The whole plane is made rather flimsy with very fragile materials. I would go with the Hobbyzone Champ or Parkzone UM T-28 Trojan.
Old 12-06-2012, 03:23 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: Chucksolo69

Be warned, the Flyzone Albatross is EXREMELY fragile and will not take too many rough landings, even in grass. Mine broke the landing gear in a soft grass landing. The wing struts are very weakly glued to the wings and fuselage. The whole plane is made rather flimsy with very fragile materials. I would go with the Hobbyzone Champ or Parkzone UM T-28 Trojan.

Hey, thank you for the tip. I actually took some more time to think about it, I STILL haven't bought a plane yet. I think I'm set on the Night Vapor. I like that it's not a foam body, and reviews have said it's very durable.
Old 01-08-2013, 08:34 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

I have the RTF version of the night vapor. It is a nice plane, but you cannot fix it if it breaks. Case in point - one of the landing gear legs broke when I landed in the grass. I paid approximately 5 dollars for replacement gear, but found the gear is glued into a triangular holder on the plane. I also bought a new wing as I had a hole about the size of a 50 cent piece in the wing. Nice new wing, but alas, the original wing is glued on and the only way you can take it off is to cut it off. I even thought about the mini vapor, but a hobby shop owner told me it is the same as the night vapor concerning repairs - all parts are glued. Oh well, I think I got about 50 flights and now it is unflyable since the motor mount broke. I'll just remove the brick and go buy a balsa plane that will take the brick and is repairable.
Old 01-09-2013, 03:25 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: fix-n-fly

I have the RTF version of the night vapor. It is a nice plane, but you cannot fix it if it breaks. Case in point - one of the landing gear legs broke when I landed in the grass. I paid approximately 5 dollars for replacement gear, but found the gear is glued into a triangular holder on the plane. I also bought a new wing as I had a hole about the size of a 50 cent piece in the wing. Nice new wing, but alas, the original wing is glued on and the only way you can take it off is to cut it off. I even thought about the mini vapor, but a hobby shop owner told me it is the same as the night vapor concerning repairs - all parts are glued. Oh well, I think I got about 50 flights and now it is unflyable since the motor mount broke. I'll just remove the brick and go buy a balsa plane that will take the brick and is repairable.
Ah, that's good to know. I would have thought they are repairable. The night vapor and mini vapor planes seem like the only ones suitable for me, so may be forced to get one of those if I decide to get a plane. I'll have to be really careful with them haha.
Old 01-12-2013, 09:47 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

The Champ hands down. Easy to repair and parts are always available.
Old 01-12-2013, 03:24 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Parkzone's Vapor is a really nice plane for beginners, Hobby Zone's Champ, Flyzone's Playmate and Nieuport 17 are nice second level planes.

We own and fly them in a local school gym and they all do very well - my younger boys fly the vapors and my older boys fly the faster planes.

They are all basically in the $75-$100 range > then your $50 budget.

Old 01-12-2013, 05:17 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

I used to own a Champ. There's no doubt that the Champ is a great plane and a great package that was put together. My only issue was it's a little too fast for where I will be able to fly. The Night Vapor's slow flying is perfect for my area. As for my $50 price range, I guess plane's just seem to be more expensive. I bought a WL Toys V911 helicopter for $50 and that is an absolutely awesome package.

For $50, you get a fancy 2.4ghz radio with digital trim and indicators to show where the trim levels are, two batteries, a dual charging cradle for the batteries, and a USB cable to charge the batteries in the cradle from a computer. The cradle also plugs into the transmitter to charge it off of that. I was trying to find the RC plane equivalent to this deal, as it's a really solid and enjoyable product.
Old 01-15-2013, 04:51 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?


ORIGINAL: Chucksolo69

Be warned, the Flyzone Albatross is EXREMELY fragile and will not take too many rough landings, even in grass. Mine broke the landing gear in a soft grass landing. The wing struts are very weakly glued to the wings and fuselage. The whole plane is made rather flimsy with very fragile materials. I would go with the Hobbyzone Champ or Parkzone UM T-28 Trojan.

I'm not sure about your Albatros but mine has been solid and tough!

It has survived encounters with 3 trees- 3 crash landings and highly recommended to buy!!!

I like flying my Albatros more than my old Fokker DR1!!
Old 07-06-2013, 10:26 AM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

At $50 your options are limited. Jump up a little and the eRC Micro Stick from Hobby Lobby is a good choice at $75. If you might go on with airplanes I would suggest the Night Vapor. I had a Vapor for 3 years and it took a beating and flew very well. Cannot handle any wind but it can actually be flown in the house unlike many other so called indoor flyers. I could also take it out on calm evenings and get it up a couple hundred feet withe the birds and just cruise around. A wonderful bit of engineering.
Old 07-15-2013, 10:57 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

I have quite a few of these planes, so I think I may be able to offer some good video footage to help everyone decide what may be the best trainer for the OP.

This is a video showing the line-up of in my opinion the best (1 Champ, 2 T-28, 3 Polecat) micro plane purchase order:
http://youtu.be/zfcWLd4A3P0

Here is the Champ all by itself having fun in some wind two years after I purchased it and learned to fly with it:
http://youtu.be/pxImfQAhahY

To answer the questions about the Mini Vapor. The Mini Vapor is very very durable. See here to learn more about that watch my blooper video with it bouncing off everything in my apartment:
http://youtu.be/ZC8FV1NZuYU

My favorite is flying the Mini Vapor outside in light to no winds:
http://youtu.be/XY9Q_8oA7Rw

I hope this help!

GB

Old 07-16-2013, 03:24 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Thank you for the responses! I still haven't bought anything, it may not even be this summer. I might wait until next summer to buy a plane. I'm most likely going to go with either the Night Vapor, or the Mini Vapor. I think I am leaning more towards the Mini Vapor due to my lack of space. We'll see! I need to wait for my RC plane urge to come around again.
Old 07-24-2013, 10:41 PM
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Default RE: What is the best Micro RC Plane for beginners?

Hello,

I can't believe how long ago I posted this thread, and STILL haven't bought a plane yet. I am almost ready to do so. I almost pulled the trigger on a Night Vapor deal on eBay, which included 2 extra flight batteries. Total price was about $130. Before I decided to buy it, I forgot about a factor that might effect my flight conditions more than I thought. WIND.

It seems like, where I live, there's almost always a breeze or gusts of wind. Average weather reports show wind speeds between 5 and 10mph winds most of the time. I will get still air if I'm lucky, but most of the time there are breezes. With my helicopters, I find myself switching to high rate modes for more sensitivity so I can fight the winds if they show up.

So...I guess I need to slightly revise some of my criteria.. my new preferences would be: 2.4ghz transmitter, 2ch or 3ch controls, preferably not a foam body, can be flown in smaller areas, can hopefully handle between 5 to 11mph winds

I raised my price range to about the $150 mark, as I've gotten some extra cash. I'm not set on this exact criteria, but I'd basically like to just find something that is easy to fly and can handle the breezy conditions.

BTW, thank you for everyone who responded to my post. All of these suggestions are very helpful and much appreciated!
Old 08-08-2013, 02:42 PM
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Hello,

UPDATE! I decided to purchase 2 planes with some extra cash that I acquired. I first bought the Parkzone Night Vapor. It was a great choice! My relatively small backyard is plenty of room to thoroughly enjoy the Night Vapor. And it works great at night, too! I've been getting quite a bit of calm evenings with zero wind at all. The control of the Night Vapor really is super smooth, so I must say I am really happy with that purchase! Also, if anyone is interested...I thought this was a good deal. I got a brand new Night Vapor RTF with two aftermarket 150mah lipo batteries for $130. Those 150mah batteries gave me 28 minutes of constant enjoyable flight!

Next plane I bought was, ironically, the Champ RTF. I decided to give it another chance and try to make sure the wind conditions were suitable. I found another night with zero wind, so it was just me vs. the Champ's controls. And what do you know, it flies really great. It lasted probably about 10 to 15 minutes or so on my first flight, which is more than enough, since I bought this from the same Ebay auction and got more 150mah batteries with it. This was $90. The seller is Power Hobby from Suffern, NY. They also ship very quickly after the payment.

Another question:
While I've got this thread going, I'd like to hear more from anybody who's into this hobby, as I'm getting more interested in specifically RTF or BNF models. One thing I really don't like much about the Champ is the foam material. I've been seeing this new EPP foam around, which looks practically indestructible. Does anyone know of any good EPP planes that are either RTF or BNF, and 3 or 2 channel? One thing I'd really like is something that comes with a field charger like the Night Vapor and Champ, or charges from the transmitter.

I would consider a 4 channel if it's a more beginner 4 channel, since I'm not quite advanced enough yet I don't think. Nine Eagles has a plane here (Nine Eagles Mini Cessna 3ch), which looks practically indestructible. It's made of EPP and has a crash protected propeller system where the prop automatically detaches on impact. Only problem is it's a 7.4v system and there's no portable charging option.

I was just curious if anyone saw a plane similar to this one, made of EPP, that can be charged from the transmitter or a portable AA charger.

Thanks!
Old 08-10-2013, 04:13 PM
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My brother and I fly both the Flyzone Dr l and the Albatros. While they might be a good first plane they can be tricky in even a slight breeze. Love flying them both though. Be prepared to do some work on them before flying as there is always some minor problem with the Flyzones. We have 5 of them and the Cub was the only one that flew perfect out of the box.
Old 09-26-2013, 10:32 AM
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Hi, I learned with the Ember 2....good flying plane in a small space

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