Pretty compitant with an LT-40 and Sig Somethin' Extra, so now I am looking for a good "beginer" 3D plane.

My 2 top contenders is a Model Tech Magic with a Thunder Tiger .46 Pro or a Funtana with a Saito .72.

Advice?

tried to do some searching for beginer type 3D planes here, but really didnt come up with anything.

Another option would be the mini 3-D from Extreme Flight R/C. I have one of these and it is a blast.
Though it isn't scale, it can do any 3-D maneuver my 31% edge can do, some even better. I started
with a 25LA but switched to a 25FX. The 2 oz fuel tank didn't cut it. I changed to a 4 oz.

http://www.extremeflightrc.com/product_html/Mini3D.htm

Greg

I have a friend with the mini 3d and it is a nice little plane but I really like the funtana. I havent flown either of them so I really cant say much. I have the Funtana .40 on order and it should be here next week and I am going to get a Saito .91 4s to fill that space in the nose. Ive also heard that the UCD3d .46 is good.

UCD .46 isn't so hot but the .60 is cool.

Funtana with Saito 91 awesome combo

With out a doubt, get a foamy. Build one with a brushless motor, and get enough foam and spars for 4-5 planes. You will be a 3D pilot after flying one of these for a while. Best thing is that you can fly it almost anywhere, so you can get in a lot more flying time. They are a blast to fly, great for learning 3D and will survive crashes pretty well.

I dont recommend the funtana 40 for a beginers 3-d plane. I loved mine, but if you get one of the "bad ones that snap alot" then you wont have nothing but trouble from it. If i were you I would be looking at either the ucando 46 or flip3d. Both are pretty good at most of the 3d stuff. Either a high quality 46 like a thunder tiger or os 46 ax will be good as will a Satio 72. If it fit your budget, the new funtana 90 also looks like a great plane but it is a little more expensive to get it ready to fly. Ill tell you another good plane is the Phoenix models funstar 46. I had one with an OS 52 FS and believe it or not, it had very good vertical. It would hover at half throttle. If you put a 46 on one of those babies it would scream. The only manuver I couldnt get it to do well was a harrier, but I never even messed with the CG any. Im sure if you played with the setup i maybe would do one. But it did one of the best "Walls" of any funfly plane Ive had. Plus you cant beat the price at $109. I really enjoyed mine till the day it got in a midair with a Ucando. Also anoth suggestion that i saw was a foamy. either this or a spad would be great 3d trainers. If you buy good equipment for them then you'll be ready. Plus if you crash one, It one takes a few dollars in materials to rebuild. I think If you go with any of the above choices, you'll be 3-Ding in no time. Oh, one more thing, Simulators reall help out a lot. Really.

Do what I did and put a nice Irvine .53 in your trainer or bigger, I can get away with a prophang

I start with free style 40 sizes with saito 72 very good plane now I going for this baby

Total agreement, but watch the temperature rise with a YS 110 on the front of that .60 UCD. Ohhh yeahhhh!!!!!!!!

Rich, check out the Twist, it meets your criteria. Good luck, Joe

i have a twist ucd46 and funtana..
the ucdo 46 is the best with a satio 82 14x4 prop.annnd digi servos 5945 elev,5625 rudd,5645 al,,
elev over kill but what a diff..digi the way to go if like presise flying,,,next is a wildhare extra 300sp..that gets all 5945's and 0ne 8611 for rudd...
my funtana snaps all the time i guess i got a bad one.......
u can do 46 not 60 60 my freind has dose some funny things..

Funny you suggested the Twist. I have thought about it. Same price as the Magic. Plus I was thumbing through some RC mag and my wife saw the twist and said.... That one is "cute" haha

edited for spelling

try the funtana 90 with a saito 100 and a 16-4 prop i love it very forgiving plane and dosent put the diggest dent in the pocket book

Rich, If you are willing to do a kit the Burrito is your best bet. A forgiving yet capable bird and nearly indestructable.
If you are in the market for an ARF you cant go wrong with the Extremeflight Edge 540 T. Also someone suggested the Mini 3-d. Its a great bird, but maybe a tad fragile for a 3-d trainer.

Sledge

I second Columbo, go with the Extreme Flight 540 profile. I do not have this plane, but another club member does and likes it. I do have their Yak and the quality is GREAT. I would also agree with whoever said the Funtana is not a good 3D starter. I had one and did not like it. Definately go with a profile.

One of the guys I taught to fly bought a Twist and I personally didnt like it. It just doesnt feel like a 3D plane. The Profile from extreme flight is cool looking but not sure how it flies. If it were me I would either go with a flip or a 40 size U Can Do, or going on what other folks say the Extreme Flight profile is getting rave reviews. I guess if I had to pick any of them the Flip would be my choice, I just like the way it flies. Another and probably the best choice is the one from England, the Weston Hype 3D its an awesome 3D plane. I really like it but its not cheap.

I tell you what, I have to also agree about getting an electric foamy. I have the 3D Foamy Edge with a Razor 400 and 6.6:1 gearbox with 1320mah Thunder Power Lipos. And it is by far the most graceful and capable 3D plane of everything I have flown. I know its just a 40" wingspan small electric plane,,,, but I will say this I can only hope that a 40% gasser will perform 3D like my foamy. With the setup I have the power is just ridiculous and its the only plane I have seen short of a 30% or bigger size plane that will do all of the 3D manuevers and they actually can actaully be performed geometrically correct and with grace and style.


The glow 3D plane I want REAL bad right now is the Extreme Flight Yak made for the YS 1.10.

I have a Saito 1.20 in my U CAN DO, I would like to retire my U CAN DO and put it in the Yak.. It looks like a badboy to me.

I would also suggest going with a small electric plane. A good example is the shockflyer. It is very compact, and can do just about every maneuver in the book. The ARF is only 40 or 50 bucks, but a nice brushless power system is gonna set you back another $250-$300. It is definitely worth it. I'm running the AXI 2208/34 with a 10x4.7 prop on a Thunder Power 2S1P 860mah LiPo. It has rocketing vertical and its been great to learn 3D with it.

Just my $0.02,
Mike

Trying not to break the bank and get a real nice 3D trainner seem like the 2 biggest issues with starting 3D flying. One other for me is ease of either building and or repairing. Not to say that I wouldnt go with electrics they are just not my thing. I managed to find a real good RTF deal on RCU for my first 3D plane and it was only 300 and I mean RTF. servos installed pull pull rudder and elevator and a YS .63 all I did was install my receiver and battery and I was good to go. I bought a morris Knife, set it up with spoilerons and flaperons and it is wicked. loops inside its own axis. blinding rolls hovers at 1/3 throttle with a 13x4w prop I love it very very forgiving and absolutly no bad habits. lands like a heli. The arf version is pricey but like I said nothing beats an RTF deal on RCU. If you dump it then your out only the money and not hours of labor in buliding as well. IMO thats the way to go. however there is the risk of buying someone elses problems but if they are good sellers and have ratings that shouldnt be an issue. Good luck

I have a Twist and I'm learning 3D with it. The way I have it set up is kinda hard to do some 3D...I have a .46 ABC on it with an APC 12.25x3.75

I've heard people say that the Twist isn't the best plane to learn with because the length of the fuselage. It's kinda short and makes it harder to do harriers, hovers, and stuff. I'm pretty good with mine, but not TRUE 3D I guess

Burrito. Its lite, fast building, easy building and most importantly strong. You will never have to worry about breaking the fus in half. And at $60.00 plus shipping its an excellent deal too.

Kits are kind of out of the question, as I dont have a place to store them while building them. Hardly enough space to build up an ARF.

Also, just added the U CAN DO to my list.... so many choices, so few funds...haha

what about harrier 3d i should have mine tues or thurs....
anyone have one ,any tricks or tip they coud share..
looking to put a satio 100 or 120 if i need the weight in the front..

Thanks for all the advice, but have decided to get a pattern ship and learn how to fly straight and level BEFORE I try 3D.

That's not a bad choice. Once you get the basics down, it will make you fly better when you start 3D.