As I said earlier. I flew the Goldberg Tiger 60 ARF and wsa able to do all.. ALL of the sportsman category maeuvers just fine. You do not need to spend money on a pattern plane to do pattern, at least in the beginning.

I recently bought a Goldberg Skylark 70 which is also a totally capable aircraft for Sportsman Pattern. If the plane is set up correctly, and is properly powered, and if you really want to do it, you can make many airframes fly the sportsman level maneuvers, and fly them very well. And, you can use just about any radio, although at least a basic computer radio would be desirable.

The most basic, and oddly enough, the most difficult maneuver is a staight line. Just flying right to left or left to right, in a straight line, and making a coordinated turn, without gaining or losing altitude, is probably the hardest thing to do. That maneuver sets up all the other maneuves because if you cannot fly straight and level, you cannot set up and properly do a half-reverse cuban eight, for instance, or do a properly coordinated loop or roll that is on center, and starts and ends level.

You can do this with a "second plane". I was doing these maneuvers with a Goldberg Protege, which is a high wing aerobatic trainer aircraft. And, I might add, doing them correctly. And that was with an Airtronics RD 6000 radio on channel 42.

It can be done without all the hype and with slightly advanced basic equipment. But.. it takes time. Learning pattern is not easy because you have to learn the basics fist, then move up, one maneuver at a time, learning how the plane reacts to each maneuver and fying the plane. Yes, all the nice equipment makes it easier but you still have to fly the plane. Learning on a lesser capable plane teaches discipline and how to set up maneuvers by flynig straight and level. If you can do it wit a lesser capable aircraft, you can do it with more advanced aircraft.

Is the Stick capable? The Protege is, so why not.