I got the hankerin' for a new plane today, and I am considering an electric. I want something 3D, so I was looking at the Tribute 3D Profile ARF or the Yak 54F ARF both from Horizon Hobby. I am completely out of my element, so feel free to make suggestions.

Since I have nothing that is mini or electric and will need everything, I'm trying to watch the budget. I was going to use the provided motor, gearbox and prop. I guess I will need servos, receiver, battery, charger and speed control.

Here are my questions.

1. I was planning on using HS-81 servos. Will these work. Recommendations?
2. I have a JR 700R receiver that I use on my gas planes. It's really small and light. Can I use this?
3. Will these planes hover on this setup? If so, how well. I would like something that will fly out of one, but it doesn't have to blast off.
4. What kind of conditions can I fly this plane it. Can I fly it outside with a slight breeze? I am mainly looking for a plane to fly out in the street in front of my house or in my back yard.

Again, I'm open to suggestions and thanks in advance for any help.

Kevin

Hello. As far as planes go check out www.rcskydiving.com Edge 540. As far as any of the foamy type aircraft HS-81 are to big. You need to be thinking more in the lines of HS-55. Think "micro" not mini. Receivers like the GWS 4 channel or something similar works good. Plan on a 2 or 3 cell LiPo battery in the neigborhood of 800 to 1320mah's. Some foamies take 3 servos and some take 4 just depends.

I agree with Dave, you'll have a better flying plane with RCSkydiving than you'll have with the Tribute. If you want more than basic performance, you'll need a good brushless set-up like a Himax 2015-4100 with a 6.6:1 gearbox or a Himax 2812-850 outrunner (no gearbox) with a 3s1P li-po and an 18-20 amp ESC. HS-55's or the 5 gram Blue Arrows or 5 gram Blue Bird servos will work fine. You can usually find almost everything on ebay. Dpending on your area you might need a small dual conversion receiver like an FMA, unless you're in an area that doesn't have much interference, and then you can go with one of the inexensive GWS single conversion receivers. I know brushless is expensive, but in the long run you'll save money because the motors last much longer than the cheap brushed motors and the performance is unbelievable.

Thanks for the info. I will probably go brushless if I buy one from rcskydiving.com, but if I go with the horizon hobby planes, they come with an engine and gearbox, so I will use them to save money for now. I assume they can be upgraded easily.

Thanks again,
Kevin