Hello,

Has anyone on here had any experience with this plane? Was it stable? I am looking at a first nitro plane.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&P=9&I=LXEDN6

to small for a first plane. unless your allready flying that size electrics. that said, a nice plane.

I had a ball with mine !! I had a GMS .32 up front...Much to much power...A Tiger by the Tail !! A .25 would be perfect. Not a "Floater" by any means, but fun to fly. Very agile, but the rubber banded wing tends to shift when pushed. Not much of a "Trainer"...Maybe step 2 !
The price is right...Put one on the shelf for later !
Ugo

Thanks guys. I thought being a .25 it would be less powerful and thus easier to fly than a .40 trainer but I guess I was wrong. I have also been considering a Tower Trainer .40 ARF.

Excellent Choice, Brian !!
Good Luck .
Ugo

I fly mine with a K&B .20. Plenty of power for trainer functions. I am very impressed with the quality and covering. I plan to get a Sonic low wing when I outgrow it. You can't go wrong for the money.


Barry Jacobs
Nashville, TN

The Sonic or the Tower Trainer? I think you mean the Sonic but I did mention the Tower in one of my posts and wasn't sure which you meant.

The Trainer, Brian ! But get the Sonic and put it up for later...It's a ball !
Ugo

I trained my 14 yr son on the Sonic low wing. Very well behaved and I had a Magnum .28 for power which was just about right for this plane. If you have any flying experience, then this plane will work well as a trainer. My son had lots of video game time and an hour or 2 on the GP Flight Sim. His only issue was orientation in the sly, which comes with experience. I would recommend this as a trainer.

Tom

If it's your first plane, I would go with a larger plane that would take a .46 size engine or larger. If you enjoy the sport, I would bet you'll end up with that size in the long run. Actually, I would recommend a .60 size trainer and save some steps. Larger planes are easier to fly, see, etc..........................

So a .60 size wouldn't be too much power for a first nitro plane? What I fly now it a 48.75 span Superstar EP as you can see in my signature.

I had one and learned a valuable lesson about the sun. Don't fly through it. Any way it was a fun plane to fly. Rather responsive. I was running a magnum .30 four stroke on mine. No problems other than the take offs seemed to be long. With a instructor it should be an ok trainer. But like most people are saying I would go with at least a .40 sized trainer.

May I throw 2 cents in here ...

I don't fly the high wing Phoenix 25, rather the low wing Phoenix 25. And, it has a TT Pro 36 burning 25% nitro fuel. And it has all control throws maxed out to make it a small hot rod. It's a welcome break between flying my 3-d profile planes.

People here have recommended larger planes because "... they are easier to see". I think that's true, but there's more to it than just that. As I recall from my early learning days, what I needed to learn easily and effectively was time ... time to see how the plane reacted to my inputs ... time to judge the effectiveness of my maneuvers, ... time to consider/execute corrective actions ... and time to plan what I wanted to do next. None of these decisions were instinctual at the time even though I'd logged many flight simulator hours.

The problem with smaller air planes is that they get small really fast. As a now accomplished and experienced pilot, I consistently fly ahead of my plane. But, there are still times that I cannot really see the orientation of my little Phoenix 25, and I rely on experience, knowledge, instinct, and "situational awareness" to make the right moves. A beginner who does not have that experience would likely crash if they got in similar situations. Larger planes don't fly inherently faster than a Phoenix 25, but you can see them further away and this fact gives the beginner more time and visual input so that he can learn/fly more effectively. I learned on a 60 size Hobbistar trainer and it's sheer size meant that the pattern I was flying could be large and afforded more time between maneuvers than a smaller plane might have.

I have no doubt that the high wing Phoenix flys well and can be used as a trainer, but it will require flying a smaller, tighter, and closer pattern with maneuvers coming closer together and decision points happening quicker in time.

Having said all that, I agree that a larger trainer is probably a better learning tool. And, I agree that with good instruction, the Phoenix 25 high wing could be an effective trainer. My observations are an attempt to explain the common "... bigger is better" rational as it applies to trainer airplanes. I like 60 size trainers when I train. But 40 size like the Tower Trainer are fine. I've never attempted teaching a newbie with a 25 size trainer, though I'm sure it could be done. I expect, however, it would require more frequent intervention on the part of the instructor and the student would be left scratching his head in confusion more often.

Live long, and prosper
Jerry L. Gubka

I have no problem flying my Superstar EP, which is a 48.75 span, so it's around the same size as the Sonic. I would probably be good to go then right?

If your mind is set on the .25 size Sonic, then by all means go for it. I have the low wing version for winter flying with ski's on it, and a MD-.38 for power. It's a great little flyer...........

The Phoenix high wing is the trainer of choice here in Taiwan for two reasons other than it is a great value and a good plane.

Transportation/Storage is easier - Cars here are smaller than those in the states so having a smaller plane is a plus. Homes are also smaller, and very few actually have garages so storage is also at a premium here.

Future planes - inevitably, they will graduate from the Sonic and buy another 25-32 class plane therefore being able to reuse the engine. If you are on a budget, think ahead!

MTC