which flat out is the best choice
 

I want one of these flatouts despite what people say. is there any difference betweeb them. and is there any good packges that will get it runing. also this will be my first plane. so plz help me

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

also what is a cheeap lipo battery that will work in it

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

well if ur goin to go with a great planes reflection, ive heard the reflection is prolly the best. My dad has one of them, the flatana, i didnt like how it went together. the hinges were a pita, and if not careful enough you could destroy the plane before you even fly it. I started flying foamies with a wrecked ikarus shockflyer that i found, and rebuilt, and loved it. Is this your first plane in general or just first electric?

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

If you are getting one in spite of what folks say then I will put in my .02

I have had or flown the Cap-580, Flatana, and Turmoil. Of the 3 the Turmoil flew the best with the Flatana being a close 2nd. I used the typical Rimfire 22M-1000 and Electrify or similar 3 cell lipo from 650-800MA

The Shockflyer and the planes from [link=http://www.chargerrc.com]Charger[/link] are far superior and the Charger ones are only $29 bucks---

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

am i going to need more stuff to run the reflection like servos or a 5 channel radio. and yes this will be my first rc plane ever.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

WAIT!!! STOP!! You don't stand much of a chance of being successful with a 3D plane as a trainer. It is always best to take it slow, with a beginner plane.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

i use the simulators

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Even if you are an expert on simulators, there is no substitute for actual flying time. I'd strongly recommend getting like a GWS E-starter or something basic for you to get the idea on before getting frustrated with constantly crashing one of these.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

ok what ever im still getting a flat out. but will i need t buy more servos for the reflection

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

relection needs 3 servos. I use a himax 2808-980 with the cc 10 and a 3 cell 350 to 700 lipo. But if this is gonna be your first plane then you are gonna have a hard time learning with it. With this plane you are gonna have to learn how to use the rudder to turn. what simulater do you have?

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

thanks for answering my question. also im a quick learner so it shoudn't be to hard

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

what simulater do you have?

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

... your probably gonna have to buy two of these ARFS. I've had 3d experience before and I still crashed mine in half... well now it flys quite well but it was because of skill :D
Don't even think about getting this one, get something like PZ typhoon... its quite stable and nice.
Dude, belive me, your gonna crash it very hard. when I started I had flown G3 realflight a lot, and I still crashed my trainer (sky scooter) so yeah... you have to know how to turn with rudder and ailrons are VERY responsive especially because my rX didn't have dual rates lol.


I'd recommend getting something like u-can-do 3d if your not scared of crashing...If your choosing the risk, its a 80% crash.

Good Luck!

Paul

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

The Ikarus Shockys is a good series too. Tough little birds. With the throws cut back to about half, they make a good sport plane. When you get a handle on it crank them back up again. Hot glue will put it back in the air in a short time after a mishap. :D

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Yep now thats funny... Maybe after you destroy 2 or 3 along with a couple of Lipo's and some radio gear maybe you'll learn to take the advice that was given and start with a trainer...

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Being a "fast learner" doesn't necessarily help in R/C. Been there, done that, have the comemmorative dismembered tail to show for it...

If you're going to insist on the Flatana as your first plane, please take my advice and reduce the control throws to about half of the recommended "low rate" throws. By doing that, you will make the plane much easier to fly, and you might be able to stay ahead of it.

If you've never built before, either, then that may be another source of frustration. Flatout foam cannot handle "hangar rash" or rough handling. It snaps like a Lay's potato chip. Installing the hinges can be difficult, as they snap over a carbon fiber tube, and they have been known to break during installation. Being impatient when gluing the hinges into the wing will also drive you nuts. If I had mine to do over again, I'd glue the hinges in with epoxy, and walk away for a while.

They do fly well once built, though.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Well I bought a flatana, long time ago... Building it was a PAIN! I already had about 3 years experience in building, but when I got to this one, it requires lots of patience. When you re trying to put the pushrods in you have to be very gentle and if youre not well It`s time to buy a new push rod till you get lucky enough to get it in without breaking. I`ve also flown it once... I had a rimfire 22M or something like that, but it is the recommended rimfire motor. I didn`t like it at all. I only flew it once for about 4-5 minutes... My radio is a futaba 9C and had lots of expo in there and had it on the recommended throw range. My next flight though was planned... I know I said I only flew it once but this one was an execption (wish I had a video camera). So I had better use for the motor and radio system... So what I did, went as high as I could, then did a full throttle downline all the way till about 3 feet above the ground. Pulled full up elevator and destroyed the airplane. Thats how much I hated it.

My story of my Craptana.

I strongly recommend that you get a charger rc airplane. Cheaper, and I ve seen some people with the same setup as the flatout and flies great. Thats what I am going to do pretty soon.

So yeah, my opinion get a charger rc plane, cheaper, better, and are built of 6mm depron if I remember correcly, so with that you can have some crashes and just quickly rebuild them to fly again with the same plane.

My .02

LeBlanc

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Just be prepared for a crash, expect it to happen, because it will. I started out on a Firebird II, which I got board with really fast, then I became an expert on the simulators, bought a flatout Turmoil, which is my personal favorite, and after building it I took it out to fly and it went up about 15 feet turned around and made a decent impression of a lawn dart, except it landed on asphalt. So after building my second Turmoil I deceded to wait on flying it. I ended up buying a Yak-55 Flexflight, and my first flight with that was flawless. Then the ESC crapped out but I figured I was good enough for the Turmoil, and I was, I even managed to do several 3d stunts that I had learned from flying on the sims. Having said that, when I look back on it, I really should have at the very leat bought the flexflight yak first, it's made to put up with some abuse. So if your dead set on a 3d aircraft, I strongly reccomend something like that, it'll take a real beating. If you insist on a Flatout, I would reccomend the Turmoil, it flys absolutly great, but building does suck the first time or 2, until you learn all the little tricks, good luck.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Just adding to the disapproval percentage here. If my CAP 580 flatty would hav been my 1st plane I would have quit this hobby completely. Seriously the worst plane I've owned.

I say get a slow stick, a good cheap way to get started.

Currently my favorite electric is the Copperhead extra stiffy/ Its fly more precise and closer to a 40+ size plane.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Yep take thier advice. I have been in you possition trust me! Get a trainer. I flew on with out an instructer and havent crashed it once. But you also have to consider that I was on the lucky end of the 80to20 possibility which is true! Get a 2 channel park flyer first. Now I no your not going to listen to me because in your head your thinking I am perfect on the sim and I dont need to listen to these guys. With the kind of attitude of acting like you know better than the vetrans you will get in trouble and I am sure we will be hearing about a crash soon. We also might not and hear about a good flight but if that is the pretty much 10% chance you are willing to take then go for it!

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

If your insisting on a Flatout, go with either the Reflection or the RCUniverse bipe.
I personally LOVE the Reflection, but it is NOT a beginners plane. Its extremely wild and aerobatic, and will flip and tumble on its axis like crazy. Its the wildest 3D plane Ive flown to date. And it locks into a hover better than anything else Ive found. But its is extremely touchy with the recommended throws for a beginner. Advanced pilots only.

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Don't you enjoy people like "offroader". It just makes me smile. Ask for a lot of advise and when everyone, (and I mean everyone), says you are going in the wrong direction. They proceed down the path anyway. "Fast learners" actually learn fast because they can learn from others. "Slow learners" have to do it all themselves.

I am not going to repeat the advice everyone else gave. I just hope "offroader" comes back to this forum in 3 months and tells us how it went. He seems to have enough percistence to succeed. This is going to be fun.

Larry

RE: which flat out is the best choice
 

Well, there are fast learners out there. I learned how to fly a real plane (as in not just 2 channels) on a Parkzone Stryker. First flight lasted all of 18 seconds before I pulled up to hard and stalled it, causing it to crash. 2nd time out and a new prop later, I flew out the whole battery.

I now fly foamies in competition, and never once have been on a trainer cord.


And yesterday, I learned how to fly a heli, an E-flite Blade CP Pro, which is NOT a beginners heli, on my first time out, again, solo. I even did a roll on my first flight. 2nd flight I crashed on another roll, but after getting a new set of blades, I now feel confident in rolls, loops, and even did a spot landing on a 2'x3' board.

He may be able to pull this off, but not likely.