Joe Dirr

My Feedback: (8)

My 2 ¢’s:
I have a Fei Bao Panther, which I purchased in 2008 for myfirst jet.
I’ve got just over 100 flights on it and I have to say thatthe airframe is solid and it’s easy to see and easy to fly.
However, the Fei Bao landing gear system is junk. In fact, I’venot seen a Fei Bao product with an acceptable set of landing gear.
I’ve since replaced the retract units with Robart’s and reengineeredthe Fei Bao struts.
I also have a CARF Tutor in 1:4 scale under constructionwith Behotec landing gear. The glass work on the Tutor is very well done and Ireally appreciate the craftsmanship of the Behotec landing gear; beautifulstuff!!
I would recommend a ‘straight-wing’ jet of some kind,sport or scale.
I prefer scale and the Panther or Tutor would be excellentchoices for a first jet.
Good luck in your search! J
Joe D.

Denadai

I used to fly small eletric planes and them I bought a turbinator. A lot of guys told me that jet is a learning curve and I was not ready to fly jets, even a trainner.

Well, I did my first flight with my turbinator and everything was ok. The big problem in jets is the landing....fly is very easy.

Turbinator is a very nice jet to start.

Best Regards

fredo

I'm also in a boat with the first jet and have been thinking and reading a lot about it. I'm leaning towards Mb 339 Aermacchi as my first jet.
Seems like a nice transition. Still have a boomerang in a back of my head though.

dubd

Your first jet is very likely to get beat up from landing. So the question is, are you okay hurting your shining new 1/6 F-16 or would you rather put the abuse on something cheaper, simpler, and uglier first?

JRSmith

My Feedback: (47)

Grim,

i am in the same boat, I am in the proccess of planning my first jet. I have owned a couple jets and I have a had a couple of turbines but have never had the time to get them all together and ended up selling everything I have had along the way. It did not help that i also relocated from Florida to Indiana either during this last year.

Now that I am in a solid position to purchse one and complete it, I am between a couple of models. The BAE Hawk 100 1/5.5, 2M Viperjet, 1/5.25 F9F Panther, and 1/6.75 F-16, all from Skymaster/XTreme jets. I am not planning a turbine this time though and my main focus is EDF using a Schubeler 94 HST fan on 14S.

i have considered a few of the trainer jets in EDF and turbine, but, for me a scale jet is what I would rather have and I understand that the scale models can be more challenging and have a little more unforgiving flight characteristics.

I think with good situational awarness and energy management all can be flown with success. All models have there own particular flight characteristics, good and bad, just need to know where each model's flight envelope is the most problematic and account for that during flight.

I am still undecided on the model, and I may setting myself up for failure with my choices, but feel confident that with a little thought, pre flight planning, and a little help from a experienced pilot, they all can be successful.

I have flown a couple of turbine trainers and except for accounting for the turbine lag found them easy and troublefree to fly. I am coming from a large aerobatic airplane and warbird background and my last airplane was a Yak 55M with Moki 250. So I do not have a ton of jet time either.

In addition to the model choice, i am also considering the Bavarian Demon Cortex 3 axis gyro, I think it can help smooth out flight performance to an extent and give a little more confidence especially if you fly at a field with crosswinds. While not a replacement for pilot proficiency, i think it has utility for newer jet pilots.

i may be all wrong with my approach but just my thoughts on it, for what it is worth, since I understand where you are coming from, I wish the best in making a choice and wish success no matter what airframe you choose. Take care and all the best.

Sorry for the long dissertation, i tend to get long winded at times!

Jason

blainer48

My Feedback: (30)

Grim, did you get my PM? I agree with a lot of what redbiscuits is saying. I am sure when you first started flying you didn't learn on a giant scale 50cc warbird and with that, you would be better off easing into jets. Get something that you can stick a P-80, K-80 or even a 100 size turbine in that way you can use that same equipment in a scale jet later. Flying is flying. If you have the years you say, then "flying" a jet will not be an issue. It's getting it back on the ground without tearing it up. The "spool up" time is what you are going to have to get use to. The newer turbines are getting better, but no matter what you will not have instant throttle like a gasser. Also, with jets you have to remember you don't have a prop up front to throw air back over your elevator and so forth. The only thing you have is airspeed. You also don't have a big prop up front to help with slowing you down. There is nothing wrong with a Boomerang Sprint, TBM Shokjet or Shulman Turbinator. These jets are designed for excellent slow speed handling. Just watch some videos on youtube of those types and look at the slow speed handling. It's easy to get swept up in wanting a scale jet because of how they look and the cool factor. I just want you to have a chance at being as successful as possible making the jump to jets. Not taking away from what others have started with as first jets but you want something you can focus on flying and learning the odds and ends of jets without it being over complicated. Good luck and welcome to the world of jets.
Jason

edgeflyer

My Feedback: (15)

Get an aviation design scorpion or an e scorpion with a wren 44. Coolest "Trainer" out there by far. Agreed though. Start small, it is a different world. A lot of guys get turned off after buying their first turbine cause they are just too intimidated after the first few flights. The AD scorpion also looks awesome in military schemes.

Kim Couturier

My Feedback: (120)

I would recommend a Boomerang. I did not want one....did not like the way they looked. I bought one, and love it! I have over 100 flights on mine. I don't fly it like a Trainer...I fly it aggressively. It's a great first jet. Having said that, if you could find a Cermark F-16, you would like it . Very affordable, they fly great, and were made by Jet Legend for them. tamjets had the same kit, and Curtis , at Easy Tiger models, has one for sale. He was going to develope the kit to put it back on the market, but went a different direction. I think he wants 700 including retracts and servos.

Denadai

The big problem is the landing......I can bet you will destroy the F-16 in the firsts landing if you go fly alone.....alwalys have a good pilot in your side giving tips

Best Regards

drdoom

My Feedback: (9)

I built the Jet legend for my first turbine jet. I chose it because it had an absolutely Scale landing gear. And the nose was more scale than SM. With the Little P--70 in mid section, it flew great. Small Video this was the Maiden flight . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGRfDZJtzmU

blainer48

My Feedback: (30)

drdoom, any reason you didn't show the landing? Just asking. No, it looked like it flew good. I could use a new home for a P-70 so I may have to look into one of those.

Jason

PREACHHAMES

My Feedback: (58)

My first jet was a 1/8 scale TamJet F-16. Simple to set up & fly using only elevons.
Scale jets are certainly different than trainer jets when it comes to landing.
New jet pilots must learn the discipline never releasing back pressure on the elevator once your flare to land is initiated.
I've seen several pilots shoot a great approach only to see their nose gear get knocked out from allowing the elevator to return to neutral just before touch down.
Purchase what you like & are passionate about, and have a fellow jet pilot to lean on if you begin to feel overwhelmed at any point.

drdoom

My Feedback: (9)

It was shot with a still shot Kodak digital camera, on video mode. Ran out of memory. It was never intended to be a video camera. P-70 Fits well and leaves room for the Retracts.

Denadai

Maybe the F-16 1/8 is a better choice to start instead the 1/6

Jetmech

Hey Guy's, thanks a lot for spending the time to write and share there input and experience, I do believe that a jet trainer maybe the way to go initially and work my way up from there.


Safe flying.

mikedenilin

My Feedback: (67)

Get a JL Viper 1.9M as your first jet if you want something that looks cool as your first jet. I am currently teaching a couple of jet guys to fly their first jets. The guys with Viper have the most flights, least mechanical issue, and minimum landing problems. The airframe quality, hardware reliability , and performance are among the best. The cheap and poor quality Chinese ARF stereotype does not apply here on this one. Just got back from Coachella monster Jet Jam after two days of flying in front of Secret service, FAA, and AMA officials. All Viper pilots came back with most flights under their belts. F16 has narrow gear, not suitable for narrow runway or cross wind landing. It flies nice but not as comfortable as Viper for the first jet.

Mike

number27

PST Reaction with a 120 or 140 perfect jet learner and still aerobatic. Good all round weekend flyer.

lxfly

Just have a look at my contribution and thoughts on first jets, may give you some ideas:

http://www.rcmarket.net/cmsj/index.p...flying#English
http://www.rcmarket.net/cmsj/index.p...ircraft&site=1

Ozmodeller

+1 Couldn't agree more, great model, all composite and very good price, flies extremely well, goes like stink with a K140 hanging out the rear.

bluescoobydoo

like someone else has already posted your new f15,339,f15 or whatever you buy will not look good with its scale landing gear showing thought the top surface of the wing and the scale gear doors 50 yards down the runway because you got the approach speed wrong and the turbine was at idle which is the first mistake, trust me get a boomerang even if it is second hand with wire legs with simple spring air retracts forget about trailing link as you don't need them I have flown my boomerang for 6 years from all surfaces and they still work fine, I have even started to run out of runway on grass and just fliped the gear up and it skids to a halt on the booms with no damage what so ever.
this was my first scale jet and I am still learning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVup3YL7e4k

fredo

Thanks for posting, great read! Sometimes I wonder what's better. Buying the plane first and then match turbine to it or buying turbine first with the vision to fit it to my next (maybe bigger) model.

Ozmodeller

Definitely the latter, in my case I bought the K140 for an FB Panther but decided it may be more prudent to go with a sport jet first, never regretted my decision to buy the Reaction it really is a great flier and builds easily.

bluescoobydoo

always look forward when buying a engine, my f15 had a wren 160 in it which was overkill but you just need to keep away from the high power settings now it is in my jetlegend l39 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2WkDnO38G4 and I share it with my 1/6 f16, viper jet and a 100 size turbine is next once I find space and cash

DrYankum

My Feedback: (11)

I second the PST Reaction. All composite and is pretty acrobatic. It will fly on a K80 and will sing on a 120.

bw5493

My Feedback: (36)

I still fly on my shock jet with a p70, and my buddy still flies his Boomer. Because they are a lot of fun without all the headaches his turboprop can be or the setup of the big BVMs. We also have our buddy boxes out and wet the appetite of fellow fliers who have graciously stopped flying to watch the turbines fly without interruption. We also ask if they would mind helping in ground prep for flight and in flight timing and spotting. This also teaches them what the "big guys do", the habits the Experienced guys have, and make them better, safer pilots. Its really encouraged a lot of others, as Idaho has 8 turbine waivers.....we have 7 of them in our club now!!!! So its also about growing your club and not just about you. It also keeps people from joining forces and trying to ban jets altogether which would be real easy because of fire danger at our field. What ever route you choose, on behalf of the rest of us who love jets, please don't be the "Ass with a big wallet". Make sure to give back to the group as a hole. Some of the places I have gone, the Elite Pattern drivers, Jet Jocks and Scale nuts tend to look down their collective noses at the folks that fly foam, ARFs or Nitoplanes/Hobby king $100 specials. Not everyone can afford to drop $3000+ on a plane, and by the way they out number those of us who do ,so don't take them for granted. You never know, you find a kid that becomes the next hot dog pilot at the nationals..all because you inspired them.