We have an introductory pattern class going on, covering sportsman and intermediate levels. Instructor demos with a Cermark Javelin/OS 70. (His masters competition plane is a nomex job.) Instructor recommends a Venus as the best bargain for first pattern plane. He says he got a Venus, put a YS .53 in it, first time out he flew the entire current Masters schedule with no trim changes. He was impressed, and remains impressed with the Venus.

Other planes in the class are Swallow/YS 91, Aresti/OS 46FX, GP Extra/OS 50, Kangke CAP 232 Sport/Magnum 91 XLS, Easysport/OS 46 FX. Of the student planes, the Swallow looks very pretty in its maneuvers--very smooth and steady. The Swallow flyer likes the way the CAP flies, also smooth and steady. The other planes are all capable of doing the intermediate schedule, but the Easysports do not roll as nicely as might be desired. The Swallow and the CAP 232 Sport are equipped with premium servos, which undoubtedly helps their smooth flying presentation. (Instructor's Venus has Hitec 225's.)

From what I gather, the Cermark Javelin is not highly regarded among the pattern crowd--but in the hands of a master flyer it looks great. Still, he recommends the Venus as better than the Javelin.

I have been drooling over some of the 90 sized pattern ARF's on the market myself--Tai Ji, Zen, Swallow, the new whatzit at PlanesPlus, the new other-whatzit at Creek Hobbies. However I have in my storeroom an Utter Chaos, a Killer Chaos and a Dirty Birdy, all scooped up in Bridi's going-out-of-business sale. I have my Venus on the workbench, hope to be flying that this summer. Come winter building season I will do a couple of the Bridi jobs, 'cuz I love to build, and I have seen these planes cut some beautiful figures in the hands of competent flyers.

I am in the pattern class not because I aspire to pattern competition (although I probably will enter a few, if for no other reason than that you can learn a lot from hanging around with these guys), but because I wanted to put some discipline into my sport flying. My tendencies are more along the IMAC lines, because to me these look and fly like real airplanes. (They are scale models, of course). But pattern models have evolved into some beautiful refinements of their own, and have their irresistible charm.