Hey guys,

I want your opinion here. I was thinking about one of the E-Flite planes to make a step towards flying 3d. I want something inexpensive and doesn't have to be flown 3d all the time.

patterndreamer

were you looking at the tribute or tensor perhaps? you can fly the tribute "normal" or 3d quite easily. George Hicks designs some nice flying planes. they are both his design.

i was thinking about the tribute tensor or ultimate. The funtana is too much for me to get into to start with.

patterndreamer

Hi,

I'm on my 2nd e-flite ultimate. It's a fun plane, easy to fly, very powerful rudder, and easy to repair. I put some flat CF strips on the leading edges of the wings to strengthen them a bit. I also put 2 CF rods across the 2 that are in the fuselage close to the engine mount. I added these because the area behind the engine mount in my 1st ultimate came apart rather easily and it became difficult to keep the fuselage together. If you follow all of the set-up directions, you shouldn't have any problems. Recently I also purchased an Extra 300L from FancyFoamy for $35. You have to paint it yourself, but it's the best flying plane that I own, including a Dave Patrick 120 size Ultimate and a 1/4 scale Staudacher. You can even purchase a complete high performance kit from them that includes almost everything you'll need except for glue, paint, and a transmitter. At $35 for the airframe, it's hard to go wrong....Check out Fancyfoam.com, you can't go wrong.

Bob

Well personally I would get a plane from 3FOAMY.com for my next 3D foam plane. I currently have an Eflite Ultimate and it is okay, but these electrics are not cheap. The included motor with the Ultimate is a joke. The plane will fly, but just barely with the stock motor. By the time I got a brushless motor, ESC 2 batteries, JR 610UL Rx and a good charger I had spent $600 on the little plane. They fly good, but are not cheap if you don’t have all the other stuff first. FWIW, I really like the HiMax outrunner, direct drive, motor on the plane. It’s 1 of the least expensive motors out there and is very powerful and quiet. The Ultimate has some issues, like significant coupling when using rudder.

Look closely at www.3dfoamy.com they have some fantastic planes and have a great reputation here at RCU for both flight characteristics and customer service. These planes are about the same cost as the Eflite planes, a bit larger yet similar weight and are made in the USA.