Hi there !

After experiencing the thrills of duted fan aircraft, I'm willing to enter the turbine powered jets lobby...

The hurdle i'm facing right now is : which turbine to choose ?

Indeed, there's a quite large number of manufacturers out there, offering complete turbine kits, but at rather diferent prices.

For example, a basic JetCat is around 3000 $, while a Wren 54 set is around 1500 $.

My questions are :

1) What are the technical diferences between all these available turbines ? They seem quite similar to me ... Is it related to the material quality involved in their biulding or someting else ? Are some of them more reliable than others ? Will some of them last longer, for example the quality of the bearings ?
2) I know 'In factory' Servicing is needed rather often for these engines ; how often ? Is it the same thing for all available turbines ?
3) As a beginner on a reasonnable budget basis (3500 $ max), which engine should I buy first ? Is there any turbine set which is more user friendly than others ?
4) I've searched some information by myself, and it seems to me JetCat should be the beginner's choice, as I'm currently living in France. I do not think servicing is available for any turbine brand in France ... French dealers generally sell Jetcat, AMT, and SimJet. I think sending a turbine for US servicing may be expensive on the long term.
5) Flying a 'Roo' as a first Turbine jet does not interest me (I would prefer flying scale birds). Do you think starting with a Rafale of a F15 may be the right choice for me ?
6) Servo question : i use Graupner / Jr servos : which class should I use for full moving tailerons ? Are digital servos really worth it ? I think analog ones should fit .. Am I wrong ? What about u ?
7) Is it really that easy to home build a turbine, like a Wren, or do we need some turbine related kind of experience ?


Regards.