RE: Whole New World From 10 Years Ago
Hi Cougar,
Welcome to RC flying.
I don't have the 55" Cessna that you are interested in, but I had an earlier version from the same manufacturer. The two biggest issues with that particular manufacturer are the quality of the radio gear and the quality control of the manufacturing process. Very few people find the radio to be acceptable, so you better figure on the cost of a replacement radio. Also, the quality, and consequently the flyability, of the plane varies dramatically. For those who receive a "good" version, the plane is quite nice. For those who get the "poor" version, you can figure on spending more than the initial cost of the plane to get it to fly decently. Its your gamble.
A more conservative plan would be to start with a plane that has been proven to be a good plane for beginners. The two best are the HobbyZone SuperCub and the Multiplex EasyStar. Do a search for people's experiences with these two planes. Although this is a nice forum, its not particularly active. You might want to visit the beginner sections of Wattflyer.com and RCGroups.com.
The "C" rating of a battery gives you the maximum momentary draw. For example, a 1000mah battery is rated for 1.0amps per hour discharge. If it has a 20C rating, it will give a momentary "kick" of 20 amps. If its rated at 25C, the kick will be 25amps. If your normal flying will draw 4 or 5 amps, then either battery would be OK (the 20C will be considerably cheaper). However, if you will be drawing more than 10 amps, then it would be better to get the 25C. To put it another way, if you enjoy cruising, the 20C is fine, but if you want to burn up the sky, you need the 25C.