schokshi

Hello.
I am absolute beginner with some experience on Flight Sim. (Real Flight G3). Which plane should I buy? I prefer J-3 but is it a beginners plane? or I should purchase Firebird Freedom. I plan to teach myself

Thanks for your help

krazycdn

The cub is a real floater and the dihedral in the wing is very forgiving I learned on a 1/5 piper with a 61 super tigre and it was awesome.

P47Tbolt

My Feedback: (20)

If you have never flown other than the flight sim,I would go with the Firebird.I
have flown the Parkzone Cub and Decathlon.The Cub is easier to fly than the Decathlon,but
it is not a beginner airplane.It is a little underpowered and it does not fly like a bigger Cub.
It is very sensitive to the elevator and rudder input even on the minimum surface movement youcan set up.
A beginner will get very frustrated trying to fly this plane.I fly bigger nitro planes that have never
made me as frustrated as the Parkzone Cub and Decathlon.Maybe with more power they
would fly better.I sold both planes and only fly nitro now.
As far as the Firebird,they fly fairly easy and have the right amount of power
for the plane.Plus parts(wings,tail surfaces)are easier and cheaper to replace than
the Parkzone planes.

Solid Hit

I suggest neither. If you want to learn with the least amount of money spent, then go with the Slo-V. It's a lot like a Slow Stick but more forgiving. It's my "go to plane" when I have someone who wants to try flying.

Any "trainer" can get into trouble when you are new and inexperienced. The sim is a good way of learning the sticks but is no substitute for hands on flying. Orientation seems to be the biggest problem with beginners and the Slo-V is gentle enough to give you time. It is also large enough to see. The only drawback is that, like the other 2 planes you mentioned, the electronics are not transferable to another plane when you are ready to move on. However, it is the most cost effective way to get in the air. It is a very calm weather plane but as a beginner you need a "floater". The last thing a new pilot needs to add to the confusion of his first flight is wind; so you should only be flying on a calm day anyway.

TenTen

Go with the Firebird Freedom, biggest advantage is that it is a pusher and you do not damage the motor-shaft-gearbox-propeler at bad landings.

I also learnt on my own with the Aerobird Challenger and the FMS simulator.

deb1033

I woulkd get the cub. It is a really fun plane that is great for a begginer. I learned the hard way that you get very bored, very fast with the V-tail plane like the freedom. i have had the cub for 8 months and it will jsut keep on going(with the ocassional motor change). I have at least 20 hours of flight time on this plane... a little tape,toothpicks, and ca here and there and it flies great. don't get the freedom though it really stinks.

jcblough

I'd say go w/ the challenger. It seems to be a better flyer than the freedom from what I've read here(I own a freedom) I'd be tempted w/ the cub if I were you too for the boredom reason, but maybe a challenger would have a better life cycle? Lots seem to hang on to them for awhile.

Leo L

The Cub is not a good plane for a beginner! Trust the manufacturer when they list is as an INTERMEDIATE plane. Beginners usually overcontrol, and the controls on the Cub are much too sensitive for a beginner. Although HobbyZone is advertising the Freedom as their great new beginner plane, it is actually not as good as the Aerobird Challenger. The ACT is a gimmick that in many ways actually makes the plane more difficult to fly.

If you have never flown before and have no experienced flyer available to help you, I suggest the following for the easiest way to learn:
First plane - Airhogs AeroAce
First "real" plane - Slow-V
Second plane - Aerobird Challenger
Third plane - Cub or Decathlon
Fourth plane - Stryker

Except for the AeroAce, I listed all HobbyZone/ParkZone planes. You can substitute equivalent other manufacturer's products, such as T-hawk for Aerobird, SlowStick for Slow-V, etc.

ryan_m

agree on turning the ACT off... plane was extremely hard to fly for me with that on. But I am not a typical gentle turn, easy climb sorta person. I like to turn harder and yank and bank a bit. Too many jet flying games as a kid I think
Anyways the freedom can be a good learning plane, a friend of mine and me both bought one and have enjoyed them. Neither of us had much experience, I had a little, he had none. We were able to fly them immediately and enjoy them alot.

Reading the posts here though it seems that a lot of people have problems with violent rolls to the left or right. I had this problem after several crashes and found that replacing my creased up tail wings solved it. I suspect that some of these problems have to do with out of alignment v-tail sections. The FF will drop a wing if you fly too slowly, but this is only a problem if you are really low, I like to keep mine 200+ feet up and have fun with it. When I come down to land I just bring it in a bit fast on a gentle down-glide and let it run out of speed. Landing is easy in grass, I have even landed on a road with the gear a few times, kinda tough since you can't steer once your are down though, tends to run off the roadway into curbs and such.

mdbuehler

I got the Cub as a first plane, and over controled the poor thing into the ground several times. As its not a pusher, I went through several props and gear boxes. Not the best first plane.

For a first, get the Firebird Scout, a 2 channel, V tail pusher. Indestructable for the most part, and less to think about. You'll get used to flying, controling, reversing inputs when flying towards yourself, etc. I got myself one when my dad bought one to learn on. Its $42 bucks new, so CHEAP!

After that, I went back to the Cub and did great with it Cub is still my favorite plane to date. My dad lost is Firebird to a thermal (remember, no elevators on that one so mind the wind!) so I got him an Aerobird Challenger and flew it a few times before sending it home to him Also a great plane with plenty of power and handles great in non-learner mode.

That beginner mode stuff on both the Firebird and the Challenger makes it VERY hard to turn against the wind, so turn it off no matter what you get and you'll still do fine.

A friend of mine has the Freedom, and it seems to be a good plane too, but just like the Cub I wouldn't make it my first.

Just did the Venom Fireball upgrade to my Cub and got a small video camera for it too, so I imagine I'll still be playing with this one years from now!

VERY impressed with the whole Parkzone / Hobby Zone line. My Typhoon should arive this Wed!

Leo L

I agree with most of the comments made by mdbuehler. The only one that I disagree with is the recommendation for the first plane. The Scout is a nice plane, as is the Commander, but I believe that the Slow-V is the best plane to start with. Its slow speed gives the new flyer plenty of time to decide what corrections to make, and it doesn't require nearly as much room to fly. It also starts you right away on 3-channel control, which will make transitioning to the next plane a lot easier.

I, too, like the HobbyZone/ParkZone planes. Between my son and me we have six of their planes (Commander, Freedom, Slow-V, Challenger, Cub and Decathlon). I also have a Megatech Airstrike that has been modified to operate on all PZ electronics (spare parts from the Cub and Decathlon)

gp125racer

I got my first plane about a month ago now. I had no previous rc plane exp., just rc cars. I chose the parkzone super decathalon based solely on looks, and my assumptions of what I could handle. I strongly suggest you get something like a slo-v, or the freedom. The freedom seems to be a good choice for many on this site.

On my maiden flight, I crashed her (the decathalon), and she was never quite the same after that (always nosing down and turning right).

With some help from some really nice people at the hobby shop, I was able to get her flying again (with a small cost for parts of course), for all of 2 flights. She now sits in the garage in many more pieces then the designers intended.

I then bought a slo-v. WOW what a difference! I was able to control it, even land it on the first battery pack! After about 30 flights in 2 weeks, I decided based on my skill level and the fact the wind is never below 5mph here, I needed to upgrade.

Then along came my parkzone piper. I find it really easy to control, on the "b" mode setting on the second or third set of horns.

I hope this helps you make your decision if you havent already

-=gp125racer=-

wotan1

Hello folks. I am a beginner with absolutly no experience at radio
control flying. About 50 years ago I did some minor U-control but that
has very little that translates to RC.
Anyway, for better or worse, when I got interested a couple of weeks ago
I bought a Freedom Flyer. I am trying to teach myself to fly as the
advertisments said I could. So far a mixed bag.

I have had one beautiful (for me) flite of about 7 minutes that I believe
I had at least some control of the airplane. It was from a hand launch. I
flew in oblongs in front of me and did up and down altitude changes
always staying over 100 feet (I think). It was lots of fun doing these
simple things. I must add here that this was after several crashes from
hand launches and a crash from an attempted ROG that broke a wing half in
half. We have new wings. Finally I began to lose altitude. I did not
think I was doing anything to cause this but down it came and made a
pretty good landing on its own, rough and bouncy, but definately not a
crash. The forced landing is still a mystery.

After this nice flight it took over 40 minutes to charge the battery and
I got impatient and quit charging at about 46 minutes. I was using my
wifes Toyota as I had discovered that battery pack charger that works in
a car cigarette lighter will not work in a Suburu Forester because of the
recessed hole in the dash. The wind had changed some,a little brisker. I
hand launched again and got to altitude but this time I felt like I was
not in control a lot of the time. After about 3 minutes the plane started
going away from me downwind and I started to make a turn to keep it close.
Then everything went haywire and down came the plane. Nothing I did changed
anything. There was a crash, a BAAAAD crash right on its soft nose and
then a lot of bouncing. Some pieces flew around as it came to rest.
The rubber bands on the cockpit canopy were gone and the canopy had come
off. The flite pack battery had broken loose from the plastic socket in
the plane, however it and its socket seemed to be o.k. The red wire going
into the socket in the plane had pulled out of the socket while the black
wire was still firmly in the socket. The foam thingies were all loose.
The propeller had disappeared. The v-tail was torn to bits and most of
its hardware was gone. I didn't know what to look for anyway. The ACT eye
on the bottom of the fuselage was not flush with the body looking off to
the left side of the plane. I don"t know if this crash caused that or one
of the earlier ones or if it is supposed to be that way. It has a very
small screw that is part way out so I am confidant that I can screw it
back in.

The fix for the propeller is easy!! (I think - don't want to be
overconfident). I bought a new v-tail and parts and think I've got that
fixed. It was not easy as my hands have lost a lot of small motor
ability.

Finally my questions!
Can I just glue the foam pieces inside the nose and when it is time to
fly fix the battery to them with velcro or something.
Now for the loose red wire. I can now manually push it back in
the socket and get it to work, however, if it moves too
much it will cut out. If we did manage to get back in the
air it would be subject to Murphys law and cause a even
worse crash. I have never used a soldering iron and even
if I did know how to use it I have no idea how the wire
and plastic socket would work with all that heat. Is it
possibl to drop some glue in there and adjust it or tape
it or what?????? Any ideas!! I hope I don't have to buy a new fuselage
just because of one red wire!!!

Thank you to those of you who were nice enough to read this through and
thank you in advance to anyone who has any advice.

Sincerely - wotan 0