ORIGINAL: mike31
Buy what you can afford. They all work the same!
I typed a big long post and you covered it in one sentence.
8FG is a big disappointment. Feels like a 4 skysport. 10C is overpriced for sport flying ($150-200 ARFs), but nice, pretty.
A9, GPS of my flight, fuel tank sensors, really? I usually land 1/2 tank left because I'm tired of looking up
and someone else wants to get in the air while I talk about my new plane deal to my buddies. I don't need to spend $300-400 on a rado and I don't recommend it for the average sport flier.
I'm back on 72Mhz. $15 receivers. Futaba quality, no brown outs, fancy chargers, trying to read Chenglish manuals, and I don't need 6v batteries, li-po, or LiFe. I still run 700mah 4.8v packs, but sometimes I get exotic and try a JR 1100mah pack and fly all day. I still have a 6X radio. I use my 9C regularly. I just bought a TM-7 here on RCU for $70. I don't know why. But I'm not going to buy expensive radios anymore. Women can care less what your radio looks like.
Best radio? Something that was just replaced with a newer model and is on clearance. In 3-4 years I'll try the A9 used at $150. But I really don't care if I can see my plane's path at home on a GPS site, or if my battery is at 94% after a flight. 3 or 4 flights, I'm packing it in.
You can't reinvent the wheel. The old round ones roll just fine.