littledevile

I fly pattern planes though I do not compete, I just like to fly them as they fly so well. I started with a second hand Sebart Angel 50 with the stock motor / controller and 6S battery. Unless you are already a very good pilot this model will do anything you can. I then decided I would like something a little bigger and moved up to a Sebart Wind 110 again on 6S. ( This allowed me to stick with my simple charger etc.) I liked the 110 a lot as being bigger it presented better in the air and flew fine except in very windy conditions when I felt it was a bit underpowered.

I eventually crashed the Wind 110, and although the fuselage was in two pieces and one wing tube was pulled out of one wing, I repaired it and it still flew well, it is still flying with a friend who has damaged and repaired it again. After the Wind I decided to go full 2 meter and bought a Shinden all composite at a very good price (under $900) I also had to buy a decent charger (Cellpro 10S) new motor / controller and 10S battery packs. There was more work to do the install than the wooden models as the motor mount is not pre-prepared and some thinking, cutting and glueing is required! The Shinden flew very well too although at my skill level I don't think it flew better than the wind 110, when I eventually crashed that too all I had left was a bag of fiberglass! Composite models do not repair easily.

I have now gone back to a new Wind 110 this time on 8S with more power and less amps. Love flying it still and If I go back to a 2 metre I would only buy a wooden one i.e, a Vanquish 2M or an Osiris, I suspect both of these will fly on 8S if you are not into competition flying but I would always take advice from RC Pattern on such matters. You should be able to put a Wind 110 in the air for around $1,000 including motor / controller, servos, charger and some battery packs.

In short I would not advise you to jump straight into pattern with a full house 2M competition model. If you have not flown mid-sized electric models you need to get on the learning curve a bit lower down and get used to battery charging and management etc. I would suggest a Wind 110, but if you inssist on 2M I would follow Arch's advice and get a Vanquish. Therer are build threads on here that you can read for both the Vanquish and the Wind 110.

Best regards and good luck.