Down N Dirty

I am trying to get into RC planes and as far as retailers go BH seems pretty solid to me. I have seen some bad post's about them though I am worried, heres the plane I'm looking at.http://www.bananahobby.com/2187.html
-Cheers, Caleb

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

I can't coment on Banana Hobbies, but the Ryan is not a beginners airplane. If just starting, you need a trainer aircraft of some type and seek flight training from a competent pilot.

Down N Dirty

On BH.com it says its a great beginners aircraft

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

I saw that. They are trying sell airplanes. It is not a good beginners plane, especially if you attempt flight on your own. I'm assuming you have never flown before. You need to seek out a club and flight instruction.

carrellh

I've never read anything good about Banana as a vendor, and have never seen their products.
If you choose to do business with them, here are two links that "appear" to be beginner models
http://www.bananahobby.com/2085.html
http://www.bananahobby.com/1651.html

Down N Dirty

What about an Easy Star? I hear those are good.

huck1199

The Easy Star is OK to train on. Many in our club have cut ailerons into the wings and ended up with a good handling trainer.

carrellh

The Easy Star (hobby-lobby) looks like a good starter, especially if you're learning without an experienced pilot to help you.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Check them out with the CA Better Business Buereau

andizzle

DONT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!

i did this same thing, got a plane through them to get into the hobby and it was junk, it flew ehhh, but when it came to landing i tore the landing gear of more than i ever landed it, horizontal stab was twisted, fuse wasnt put together to great, fireall wont hold up to much damage before it fails, motor eventually burnt up all together after having it for 3 months

fastward almost a year later my brother (against my will) ordered the ryan they have there, didnt come with enough hardware to put it together, the craptastic radio they sent had a dead spot in the throttle until u was a 1/4 way into it, he flew it twice. each time he made it maybe 5 feet off the ground and it would just fall out of the sky. i personally think it is way underpowered. and on its last flight i got it up turned up wind to trim it out no problem, as soon as i turned downwind it went into a uncontrollable spin and destroyed it

if u just want a plane that u dont care if u destroy it and want to swap the parts over to a real foamy that will fly go for it, u cant get all the parts cheaper than they want to sell a plane ready to fly. but if this is something u are wanting to get into serious please for the love of god go through a legit company that will have better quality control and quality parts.....that doesnt mean nitroplanes lol

blvdbuzzard

It is your money after all.

It seems like there are two types of purchases from BH. It either goes well and we never hear about it or it goes all wrong and we hear about it for weeks and weeks.

I myself have been to scared to order from them.

I have read mixed reviews of the Wing Tiger. I do not have any first hand information about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWk-UUz2Kig

We have (4) of these in are group. They have been real nice flying planes. (3) were Rx ready and (1) was RTF. Now, I was very surprised at the very low budget radio. The way the Rx was stuffed in with all of the servo wires on top of and wrapped around the Rx antenna, I was amazed it never lost signal. The Rx was put in, the worst possible way and it showed no sign of a problem.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a300-14...d-rtf-24g.html

About the only thing that needs to be changed is the plastic steering arm needs to be replaced with a 5/32 Dubro steering arm. My brother in law a problem with his nose gear/rudder servo. It was not so much the servo, but is 45 degree landings

Here is a good replacement servo for the 9gram servos

http://www.hobbypartz.com/9gexidimeges.html

There are a lot of other places to get this too. I use Tower Hobbies, Hobby People, Hobby King to name a few.

Toss your money and tack your chances.


Buzz.

Wild Wings

"Perfect low-wing trainer airplane and parkflyer for beginners!"

The quote above from their ad gives a hint. You need to start out with a "High Wing Trainer". This might be a choice for a second plane after you learn to fly the high wing.

bart4u

Stick with the Easystar if you are a beginner. The motor is mounted behind the nose and is more forgiving in a crash. Banana Hobby does have the worst customer service for any vendor. I would not recommend them. If you want to learn go to the AMA website and find a club near you. Most clubs have a training program and they will charge very little or they will not charge you for lessons. The clubs want you to get into the hobby so they are very friendly with beginners wanting to learn. That is how I started in this hobby along with a good computer simulator.

pmerritt

My Feedback: (118)

One would think that SOMEONE at Banana Hobby would bypass a happy hour to read that their company is losing tons of business and even worse, forfeiting their reputation with posts like this.  I, for one, appreciate the honesty I read here.  It greatly influences purchases I make.  RCU is the largest conglomerate of RC enthusiasts in the world and to see written testimony of dissatisfaction regarding their companies products, that in itself  would excite someone into making changes and making those changes in a GRAND fashion as to resurrect our confidence. 

Down N Dirty

Thanks for all the posts! Some of these planes are out of budget......I am in NO way a wealthy man so I'm looking to keep it around $100.

andizzle

if you was closer to me i would throw u together a decent nitro trainer before u sent your money to them lol

BullardRM

My Feedback: (39)

Orderd a boar from BH for my grandson. After two weeks they switch the item to a another simular item. I requested a cancellation (on line). Never heard a reply. Even called several timesno reply. Cancelled the credit card transaction, then they replied. Peronally, I would not buy a used lawn mower from themor anything else. Poor customer service.

Down N Dirty

http://www.nitroplanes.com/69a703-j3-blue-rtf-24g.html How bout a piper cub? 

pmerritt

My Feedback: (118)

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VF84sluggo

My Feedback: (55)

Go with the Hobbyzone Super Cub RTF, http://secure.hobbyzone.com/HBZ7300.html

IHMO the best bang-for-the-buck inexpensive way to explore the hobby.

Sluggo

Sessholvlaru

I have placed one order with BH (a micro MiG-15) and it got to me quickly and in good condition. No problems. I have read of lots of bad experiences with BH, but it is tough to tell how many satisfied customers there are in relation. Happy customers are less likely to post their experiences than unhappy ones.

DadsToysBG

My Feedback: (35)

I have a LHS. I've had several of their planes come in having trouble. none of them would work as advertised. I really felt sorry for the people because they wanted to be part of this hobby, but they bought on price only.
If all you have is $100. Save up until you can afford to buy better quality. Also look at the Champ by hobbyzone. $89.99. This is one of the best backyard flyers I've seen. Great for a new pilot and easy to repair. I've sold hundreds and have used them to teach with. I've been fly 30 years and now fly turbine and GS. If you have questions please PM me and we can talk on the phone. As a AMA rep i can also help you find a local club too. Dennis

CRX Turbines

You do not want a low wing of any type for a first plane. I can not think of any exceptions to this rule of thumb.

cheezer1222

My Feedback: (3)

+1

I bought one of these a few weeks ago for my dad to learn on. It's taken quite a few spills, but a little bit of glue/tape and it's back in the air. It also handles the wind a lot better than I thought it would. One of the other great things about this little plane is battery prices. You can usually find the single cell batteries for a couple bucks a piece. I think I just bought a set of five 150mah batteries for $15 shipped. I'm sure that's probably not even the cheapest you could find them.

VF84sluggo

My Feedback: (55)

If you do go with the Champ, make sure the wind is dead calm if you have no prior rc experience. The SuperCub by HZ has a more size and can tolerate a little wind better than the Champ...but I'd still look for a no-wind day for the initial flights.