ORIGINAL: flyfisher117
<div style="padding-bottom: 5px; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); margin: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 5px">So I've looked for clubs in my area and found 2 or 3 of them but they dont have any contact info and when I look them up on the forums they seem to have either died off or just quit usuing the forums because the last posts were back in 2004. For the couple of people that said they are still flying they all seem to be about 2 hours away from me in a town that I have no clue how to Navigate. Looks to be that right now Im running solo unless I happen to find a group. Hopefully I can make it to HobbyTown or something and check out the cork board and see if there are any club listings there.
Where im living right now we seriously dont get wind. Im up in the mountains down in a little bowl with pine trees all over the place so what wind we do get is very weak maybe enough to wiggle a hair on your head but thats about it. When it does get windy its not really a wind as much as a breeze. Where im going to school I have no idea but I would imagine they get their share of wind. Its all flat open farm land then the town is right in the middle of it. There is a ton of trees in town so that might help difuse some of it.
Ok makes sense what your saying with the durability. I wish I could get a plane built like the SuperCub but with a wingspan thats about 10" shorter and an overall length thats shorter. But my buddies you could tell has been through a lot, the main wing and elevators had chips and dings that he was able to fix with packing tape. and IMHO the plane seemed to be flying just fine. The wings on the Champ and Mini-SuperCub look to be paper thin and a one time shot deal, they might handle a small bad landing in grass but wont take much of a crash.</div>
It'll cost you another $50 or so but join the AMA - it's the best $50 you could spend. They have lists of clubs everywhere with even maps and gps coordinates as well as contact info. And more importantly, for someone who will be flying around some potential "liabilities" at college you will be covered by insurance!
RE plane: I agree that the Champ is much to small for a beginner. $200 may be a bit low for just starting out. I really like the Flyzone Switch for a beginner because it is both a high wing trainer and a low wing sport. But it's around $250 and has a 45 inch wing. I hate to see anyone buy a cheap 30 inch foamie that won't fly if a bug farts and then gets discouraged.