Ok guys, something here has been bothering me a little bit. I'm talking about the terminology being used, "second plane" and "third plane" to be specific. The plane that you buy AFTER your trainer is always going to be your "second plane" no matter what type of plane it is, and this is simply because it will be the 2nd plane that you own. And the plane after that will of course be your "third plane". Trying to classify a plane as a "second" or "third" plane simply confuses the conversation and should be avoided, IMHO.

Now that is out of my system, let's look at the question at hand!! Let's face it, we live in an instant gratification society today where everybody wants everything "right now". And unfortunately we see that attitude spill over to our hobby. The problem with that is too many people quickly move into planes that they just aren't ready to handle. And this is usually a recipe for disaster. Skills must be learned and practiced before a person can move up to the next level of this hobby. I'm not saying that Shortymet fits this category because I haven't seen him fly, but I have seen a lot of people in this same boat. I've seen pilots who think they are "hotshots" with their trainers and are "too good" to buy an intermediate trainer (a.k.a. 4-star, Tiger II, and similar planes). They are afraid they will waste their money because they will quickly get board with them because "they are too good" to waste time on such planes. A lot of these types simply can't be told because they don't want to hear anything other than what they have their mind set on. What happens to this type? Usually they wind up learning a very expensive and very humbling lesson when they crash that plane they thought they were ready for. I've seen guys like this fly and most of the time they are simply trying to keep up with what the plane is doing, and they never are really in control of the plane as they should be.

My advice is get that intermediate trainer, and the 4-Star and Tiger II planes fit this bill. Many people will think that they are "boring" planes, but as Insanemoondoggie found out it's simply because they aren't flying to their full potential. For that matter, most people will leave their trainer because they think it won't do anything like advanced aerobatics. This is the same situation here, they just aren't working on it. Most of the trainers on the market today are actually quite capable of very advanced aerobatics. When you can take you trainer and take off, roll inverted, fly the pattern fully inverted, line up on approach inverted, roll upright, and then land you might be ready. And before anybody asks, yes it can be done. The same with the 4-Star. In fact, RCU member Bubbagates (hopefully he'll see this and comment) flys IMAC and pattern competitions but he still takes his 4-star to the field most of the time to fly it. If you do get a 4-star you can fly it until you can do almost everything on, and then cut off one bay off of each wingtip and "tada" you will discover a completly new plane to play with!!!!!!

When you fly these "less capable" planes and you learn to do advanced aerobatics on them it makes you a much better pilot. Then when you do move up to planes designed for that type of flying you will be absolutely amazed at what you can do now!!! Trust me here.

Ken