Posts: 133
Joined: 12/7/2001 From: Las Vegas,
NV, USA Status: offline
If you want to build one from a kit, would reccommend the Carl Goldberg Gentle Lady. This is a very easy kit to assemble, and finish. It can be launched by a high start, or several other means. I hand launch mine, and I get long gentle flights. Very easy to learn to fly.
I bought a Spirit 2M ARF last year. It was a decent plane, but didn't like my abuse (I'm a leadfoot with our winch). It flew pretty well and didn't weigh a ton.
We also had several Apire ARFs compete in our contest circuit. They perfomed well for 2 meters.
A foamie should build fast and they are tough! I taught my kids to fly with an electric foamie (a Push-E-Cat) and they couldn't end its life no matter how hard they tried.
Radio brands can verge on religious wars. I fly with JR equipment but I know people who use Airtronics, Hitec and Futaba with just as much success. In all of the above, they all have lower end radios for a reasonable amount of money.
Be patient if you struggle thermalling for the first little bit. When you do catch that first thermal, it is a complete rush.
The Aspire and Spirit are both fine choices. I kinda like the Aspire a bit better because the wing joiner is a tad stronger and the one that I flew just grooved a bit better in the turns..but that was probably due to the way it was set up. If you change your mind about building the Gentle Lady gets my vote. Built my 3rd one not too long ago..re-engineered with a carbon and kevlar spar, of course Comes in at 26 oz., handles a strong winch and regularly specks out from a handlaunch.
Posts: 5
Joined: 12/10/2001 From: Jenkintown, PA Status: offline
Carver,
What's that other plane? What radio do you use? Back in '88, I tried to get into RC soaring and purchased a Sophisticated Lady, thinking that I was going to have the time to build it. I joined the Navy and flew the real deal!! Is the Gentle Lady a good choice for a beginner, assuming that you have a good instructor or should I go for the foamie ones(DAW 1-26, Highlander etc)? Thanks for the pics.
Andres
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Greetings from Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love...yeah, right!!!
Andres, The other plane is an NSP Edge Lite...122 inches of thermal grabbin' machine I use a JR 8103 because of the good amount of mixing and presets used on the Edge. Tell ya what..I'll give you both planes if you can get me a ride on an F-14!! The GL is a great beginners plane if you don't mind a little building. It's an easy plane to build, easy to fly and you don't need an expensive radio. I learned on my own with a GL a while back. Crashed it, fixed it, flew it, crashed, fixed etc.. There are a lot nicer kits out there, but not for the price of a GL. At about 35.00, they're almost disposable. A foamie is not a bad idea if you plan to learn solo. Hard to break one of those, but built-up planes fly better IMHO... The best advice I can give anyone is to seek out the local soaring club for help. They'll be able to help you set up and trim your plane (whichever you choose) and show you how the plane reacts to lift. You'll get help flying and you'll be able to SEE how things are done. BTW, do you still have the Sophisticated Lady???
Posts: 6992
Joined: 12/5/2001 From: Everett, WA, USA Status: offline
Might want to look at the DynaFlite butterfly also. Put a .15 to .25 plain Jane engine in the front, get some altitude and then throttle back and try and catch a thermal
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Art Grabow SR Senior forum Manager
US Army Special forces, mess with the best, die like the rest!
Posts: 5
Joined: 12/10/2001 From: Jenkintown, PA Status: offline
Carver,
Unfortunately, I'm not in the Navy anymore, or should I say. I would have given you a ride on the CH-47, instead. No, I got rid of the Sophisticated Lady at the time. What would be a good beginner radio or should I say a first radio with Sailplane features? I noticed that one of the Hitec Flash radios has sailplane, is this a good radio? Any advice?
Andres
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Greetings from Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love...yeah, right!!!
If you want to waltz on over to the sailplane forum there are many people there that would be more than willing to help you. Also if you give us what setting (club, by yourself, etc.) we could probably recommend something a little easier. Personally I see nothing wrong with the Hitec Flash 5XG and a MAD Highlander. Cheers, Grant
Posts: 903
Joined: 12/15/2001 From: Oxford, IN, USA Status: offline
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Andres Is the Gentle Lady a good choice for a beginner, assuming that you have a good instructor?
Andres [/QUOTE]
I think the Gentle Lady is an excellent choice! I have had 4 or 5 of them, various power set ups, from a pod, to OS .10, which was my favorite. Climb eagle-high, idle down, fly for 45 minutes. Had to do some modifications to the fuse, and experiment to get the down thrust right, (read that two new wings!!), but well worth the effort! Flew it for 8 years, before it met it's demise due to battery failure. It was an excellent trainer, as well, and ended up having the wings replaced at LEAST 6 or 7 times...
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Looking to get started in RC Soaring - 
Looking to get started in RC Soaring - 
