rsdude

I first had an Oriale 2 prop 2 channel plane. It was great. I went to the aerobird challanger due to the overwelming likness of this airplane. I even purchaced an extra wing. I have had it for a while, and still on the original wing, with no flaws on it yet. The aerobird is so easy to fly, and I have not crashed it yet. (knock on wood). That plane is an exceptional aircraft. Very fun to learn with. In the next month, I was thinking of going up to the next level. I can't decide on either the striker b, aerobird swift, or aerbird Xtreme. Would anyone have any recomendations on which might be better. The Striker can do tons of stunts, but I am afraid crashing it one time, and not being able to fix it. The Xtreme and replacment parts and is faster... and alerions. Any Ideas?
Thanks

r/cmark42

My Feedback: (8)

Before making the jump to the Stryker, I wuold reccomend working with a high wing trainer first
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=PKZ1400
Something like th super decthalon or super cub from parkzone. you might consider something with aileron's as well.
I love the Stryker but think you might be one step away from it's speed and handling

tekajo

You should buy something that is EPP. I have a superfly wth brushless that I just love. I have been flying about 6 months. I have had the plane about a month and today I was flying with loops, rolls, and a little inverted flight. Crashed once, no problem. Great plane. Look at the build thread on rcgroups.com

ozrcboy

Hi Mate,

Would suggest you get some kind of foam high wing plane with ailerons. Don't buy another three channel (like the hobbyzone supercub - as great a plane as it is) - it sounds like you are ready for something with ailerons and that is how you will develop your skills, not by buying another 3 channel plane.

GWS Estarter might be okay if you don't mind building a foamie. The Parkzone Typhoon with low rates is actually not a bad first aileron plane according to all accounts if you don't have radio gear of your own and want the whole package. If you really don't want to build at all there are some RTF Cessna's around which have scale looks and are high wing trainers with ailerons (a lot of them you need to buy a special wing for). My second plane was a GWS Big Tigermoth. It is a good plane, but the double wing setup makes her a little more breakable than is ideal (she repairs easily enough though).

Lots of people say stryker b is okay second/third plane/first aileron plane. They do fly predictably, easy to land, the only thing to watch out for is inner wing stalls when she is off power.

Cheers,

Russel-RC

ahh you will be fine since you have mastered your second plane go ahead and go forward with the stryker. I have over 2 years experience with this plane and you sound like you will do great with it but be sure to get the B version no the brushless. I am running lipo and brushless on mine and get about 110 mph on it. This plane is incredibly durable but a cheap and easy way to make it go the exra mile it cover it in packing tape. That's what I did and it was great Nothing EVER broke and I've had some nasty crashes

Flyer 1

I do NOT NOT NOT recommend a Stryker as a second or third plane under any circumstances even with an instructor.
It's a highly aerobatic plane that, although it can fly slowly when desired, is STILL twitchy to the beginner and the aileron-inexperienced in particular.
I can't for the life of me imagine why people recommend Strykers for this purpose - they do all the time. The theory seems to be "You can crash and crash and crash, and it doesn't matter because it's cheap to fix and ONE day after you've crashed enough you'll be able to fly it, so knock yourself out!"
No doubt Strykers are fun to fly. However, crashing repeatedly isn't exactly a confidence booster and unless you're absolutely determined you're going to fly the thing it's FAR more likely to end up in the trash can than the air, and you'll have lost all interest in the hobby.
I have no proof for this, but I'm betting the "Start with a Stryker!" guys are huge lovers of video games.
For a first trainer with ailerons, I'd recommend the Wing Dragon 4, available from Hobby Lobby. It's ready to go out of the box, includes everything, and is an absolutely fantastic flyer. After using it you'll THEN be ready for more advanced designs.
If you were to buy the Stryker, though, the chances of your crashing it (badly) are, roughly, 200%.
Flyer

Russel-RC

Hahahaha ahh I personally thing that he will do fine just be careful and dont go crazy on the controls, but there are better planes. Oh, Flyer 1 you are wrong on your theory most of the men who refer strykers are that... men. We don't play video games or anything like that. Though, we do fly our strykers all hte time and push them beyond the limit. I personally thought that he will do fine as long as he takes it nice and easy on the B model. And the odds of crashing arent 200%. The stryker B was my second plane to fly and I never Crashed it once. I had a few close calls but that was becuase I was being stupid. If you take it nice and easy you will do fine just remember to add some up on the elevons while turning and you can't go wrong. Oh and I made this transition fom a Sky Fly

Uncas

My Feedback: (1)

You need to advance in two areas at this point, ailerons and neutral wings. The latter will be more of an adjustment.

My third plane was a Mountain Models Dandy Sport. It flies really good and you can buy a neutral wing for it later - the Dandy GT. Mountain Models makes a lot of good planes besides the Dandy.
The GWS Formosa might also be good, but you would make both leaps at once. (Do not buy a Funny Park)
To do this however you may need to buy a "real" transmitter and all the other gear like servos, receiver, etc. Plus the whole battery thing and get into a little kit building.

Good Luck!

Flyer 1

Well, ya just did yerself in, pardner.
I fly RC, skydive, hunt, fly real aircraft, own my own Ultralight aircraft, race motorcycles, and other stuff that surely qualifies me as a "Real Man". However - I ALSO play video games. I LIKE 'em but am not a fanatic.
I re-iterate my opposition to the Stryker and up the chances of crashing to 250%. If YOU'RE telling the truth about never crashing your Stryker after learning on a SkyFly, you're a true prodigy and it wouldn't matter if you were flying a Stryker or a $20,000 1/4 scale B-52 turbine model.
Flyer

maiden-crash

Hi there, dont mean to but in or cause any more anger but I too made the stryker my third plane (2 channel, 3channel trainer then stryker) I never crashed it until one day the electronics compartment decided to blow off, It spiralled down from about 50 meters and did not even scratch (mirakle of rc), I simply added heat shrink, and off she went again. The next bad encounter was a stripped servo. Dont get me wrong, I have had PLENTY off bad landings, in the end the body looked liked frankensteins face but it kept going. I do agree though, its not really the best idea to buy a plane bacause it is easy to repair when it is crashed.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose rsdude, I hope it works out well for you.

Happy flying
Mc

rsdude

Thanks for the advice so far. Now, I have done RC cars, boats, helecopters for years. I wanted to get into aircraft. I haven't crashed my 2 channel, or my aerobird. (except for a darn tree branch in the way :} ) I find it really easy to fly. I Completly understand the physics of flying. No problem. I fly my aerobird at full speed all the time. The speed doesn't bother me. I take it high, love to stall it, hard turns and everything. I have very good cordination.... much better that my spelling ability that is. I understand alerions make the plane rotate fast, and immediatly, and then you have to counter it to get back into place. Then using the elevator to pull the turn after you rotate the plane. But what is most dangerous is that I know what to do, but doing for the first time it is nerve racking. I don't want to spend 160 dollars and throw it away, but I very much want to start inverted flights, barrel rolls, and anything else I can pull. So I undertand 2 things now. Try to get a alerion trainer, and that Foam flys different than whatever you call the aerobird. Interesting.
Thanks

rsdude

Hey flyer 1... The winged dragon looks like a simple one... not bad. One question though. When I talk about the stryker, you do know I am talking about the 3 channel B model not the 4 channel 100 MPH C model right? Though hitting a 4-channel doesn't look too difficult, I want to stick with an advanced 3 channel for now. I don't want to be distroying a 4 channel because I am too cocky.

hawk3ye

hah! you guys are funny

Seriously, my third plane (Slo-v and PZ Focke Wulf) is sitting on my dining table with some finishing touches needing to be done (hopefully this week), it's an EMI P-38 foamie kit which I've had to put all the electronics together from scratch, including setting up the controller and stuff - it's been a GREAT learning experience, I can't wait to put it up in the air

If you have access to a patient buddy to help you piece together something like this I would do it, I mean you'll learn a lot about the eletronics (dunno if you already do) that these RTF kits tend to make you skip and at the same time I think you'd enjoy the hobby more...

odiemac

I made the F-27C my second plane after a HZ SuperCub. The learning curve for the elevons and speed wasn't too steep, and I had little trouble flying and landing the plane. Taking off is another story. Hand launching the plane, especially with its powerful rear-mounted engine, is a bit tricky.

I think the F-27B or even F-27C would make a good third plane, if you're careful with the throttle on the F-27C at first. They fly predictably, have cheap parts ($19 fuselage), and land relatively easily. And even if you crash your F-27C, you can migrate the electronics to your 4th plane .

Fisher

I purchased a Stryker for my second plane after learning on a PZ Slo-V as my first plane. Crashed the Slo-V a lot more than the Stryker. Download FMS flight simulator and the Stryker model from Gary Gunnerson's site and you can get a feel for the plane before you ever fly it. The simulator was a big help.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/mmoeller/fms/down.html

http://gunnerson.homestead.com/files/fms_models.htm

Only issue with the Stryker is that you need plenty of room on your first few flights. Throttle up 3/4 and toss it at a 30 degree angle. Make sure you follow through so your hand does not get bit by the prop. Then have fun.

Flyer 1

Yeah, I was thinking the B model.
To tell the truth, I didn't know you'd had experience with RC copters. They're as hard/harder to fly than any fixed wing plane - so, in truth, you should be good to go (with a little sim practice of course).
Flyer

Uncas

My Feedback: (1)

An aileron trainer is a good next step.

Also, it isn't that foam flys different. The Aerobird has dihedral and I think it is under cambered. Going to a straight wing with a fully symetrical airfoil will make a plane much more aerobatic and sensitive to fly. When you roll it over on its side , it will stay there, and if you do not pull the elevator to make a turn it will drop out of the sky, like right now. It will not try to self correct. I remember when I put the GT wing on the Dandy - it was a whole new world.

Another thing, if you end up buying a transmitter, consider getting a computerized one that has exponential rates in it. Some planes are so sensitive they are hard to fly without expo. I have seen the Stryker fly and I would want expo in it.

WhtBronco

Aside from previously mentioned issues with the Striker as a 2nd or 3rd plane, it's also kinda small IMO. My daughter went from a 1 channel, rudder only plane, to an Aerobird Challenger and now to a high wing, semi-symmtrical, 4 channel balsa plane. Her new plane has a 65" wing span and she likes that a lot since she can fly it a bit higher and still see it well. IMO, the Aerobird did little to teach her to fly since it basically flies itself. It certainly did nothing to help her land since it's the only plane I have ever flown that often needs down elevator to land and has no response rate at all.

However, having said that if you use a simulator you can potentially fly anything you want to if it's setup correctly. My daughter used G2 and now G3 a lot and has yet to crash in 4 years of flying.

A side note, I know alot of people like expo, but maybe we suggest it without letting people know that it's a personal thing and not almost a requirement. I can't hardly fly if I use expo(to slow the controls). However, I have been known to increase the control sensativity using expo and I always fly with the most surface deflection I can get. I tried expo for my daughter and she said "Dad what did you do to my plane, it's too slow to respond now". I took it right back out.

rsdude

I went to my LHS, and tried out the simulator. I did the splitfire, and the p51 mustang. (some others just for fun) Suprising, I did very well, if when you talk about responsiveness, when I use the alerions, the plane really does roll 5000 times faster. But I did it very well. I decided on the Aerobird Swift. I don't know how much the 2 modes on the swift well help, but I choose the swift because although I can fly inverted, roll, and many other stunts, I doesn't roll nearly as fast as the stryker, and other 3D planes, this way I have more time to react, and learn to control. Going a bit slower never hurts when learning. I get to learn the many of the acrobatics that I can do with the stryker and some others, but not being so touchy, I will have more time and less damage learning.
Thanks

VictoryRoll-91

The swift was a good choice, after that, go for the stryker for sure.