What is a really good .40 sized trainer ARF ? Many of the ARF's that come from China are hot glued together, and start to come apart with abuse and lots of flying hours [:'(] I dont want to build my own kit, but I want an ARF like I would build it

Anyone out there know which one has the highest quality construction ?

Thanks,

JettPilot

Sig LT-40 Kadet. The BEST trainer. Make it a taildragger it's the perfect trainer, it will fly on anything from a .35 2c to a .60 2c, I've had 14 engines on mine, my favorite engines where Saito 50 4c or ANY .40 2c.

If you want something that will stand up to abuse, check out the SPADs. Not elegant like the Kadet, but as durable as anything that flies. And if you somehow manage to destroy it, replacement parts are cheap and easy. Check out this page: http://www.vlsdynamics.com/rc/planes/us_aircore40.htm

I see references to the effect the kit is no longer available, but I see it now at Tower Hobbies.

I learned on the Hobbico Superstar trainer. It's available through Tower Hobbies as an AFR for $99. It's pretty tough. It flys good also. I liked it a lot. Don't know that it's much more durable than anything else necessarily but it's a nice plane. It served my purpose.

Thanks
Barry

IF you can find one, a Midwest/Falcon Trading Company, AEROBAT.

I own 2 and have beat the crap out of them, rebuilt one almost entirely and they continue to fly like new. I've run ST .40's, SK .50's, Thunder Tiger 4s 52's and even an OS .61FP and they just can't be beat. Quality hardware, woods and covering.

They were made in Italy orignally and double carton-shipped. I paid $105. a piece for mine and they occassionally pop up on eBAY.

Semi-symetrical airfoil, dual aileron servo's(for flaperons and WOW...what nice vertical take-offs and landings you can do with those!) and smooth as glass approaches. Slow it down for a gentle landing or grease it in, hot. It won't fall off or snap on dead-stick approaches.

I modified one of them so that it doesn't even look like the same airplane but it FLIES like the same!

PM

Anyone have expericnece with the Alpha trainers by Hangar 9 ? Are they well built ?

One of our club members purchased an Alpha trainer right after they came out. The only thing we could find to fault was that the firewall could use a little reinforcement because if you manage to hit the ground with the nose wheel first it will loosen the firewall. The fix is to simply add some triangle stock to the rear of the firewall. Other than that it has been a good trainer.

I also agree that the SIG LT 40 ARF may be the best trainer of the lot. This past Sunday a student at our field was attempting to land when it became clear he would have to go around. He applied full power at about 3' altitude but did not pull up. The impact with the ground flexed the nose gear to the rear where it scuffed the bottom of the fuselage and the prop was broken. There was no other damage. Thats pretty tough.

the thuder tiger trainer II is a good strong trainer, the plastic gear wont bend and its cheap and easy to repair, also very simple to put together, flies very nicely and also has a bit of scale look to it (not much) but the cowl and windows do make it look nice.

when I learned to fly a million and a half years back I started on a sig cadet and a version mentioned here still exists and flies just as well.every plane here mentioned will do the trick.I would advise aganst the p51 trainer system offered by horizon .its a bit advanced and could disourage you.

I taught my son way back on the goldberg eagle 50..the most popular at our club is the hobbico sytem offered thru tower.durable and inexpexsive..

some rc pilots are even suggesting starting with an electric.if you do you can still use hobbico as the plane mentioned in available in electric.

just have fun back a million yeas there was no such thing as a buddy box and by the way make sure your transmitter comes with that handy feature,if you want to go the extra expense you could even purchase a auto pilot module and attach it to your new plane.I will say this ..it aids in helping to ensure a better attemt at flying but its no guarante either.

there are so many ways to go but the planes out there and the equipment are far superior to old times .welcome to the hobby!

Jettpilot, It just so happens I set up and flew an Alpha for the first time Thursday. EXcellent airplane. I really like training new flyers on the Kadet Senior and LT-40 but now I'll also recommend the Alpha. It appears well built and will fly fast or slow. This one was a ready to fly model.
Fred

Im actually very happy with my Hobbico Avistar. Very stable plane and flies great. Also can perform basic aerobatics. Not difficuilt to assemble either...

I'll second the Sig LT-40. Have had one for 4 years now and a lot of new pilots have bounced it down the runway. Still in great shape; even after the front wheel leaves a skid mark on the bottom of the fuse[X(]!

About 3 years ago I trained two guys, one bought an Alpha, one bought the Arrow. The Alpha is still working for the retired gentleman. The Arrow flew through the training period and the young student apparently forgot what I taught him about managing the throttle. He learned that repeated pullouts from vertical full throttle dives (without lowering the throttle) eventually result in wing failure. He repeated the lesson with several funfly type planes.

I like the Alpha for training, and it will do ordinary aerobatics just fine.

Best wishes,
Dave Olson