Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

I looked over TH but all I see in the RTF are the big trainers.
He wants to get started *NOW* so an RTF is in the picture.
While he's flying that his Mom will get him a ARF.
I was thinking of a smaller electric 24" wing span RTF that TH has.
Any input?
Vegas/

frank99

My Feedback: (29)

yes park zone t-28 ez to fly and looks good too frank

Habaneroe

My Feedback: (1)

An ideal plane for that would be a parkzone citabria.

Not very expensive and if he flies it over grass he likely won't damage it in a crash - also you can fly it in a small field.

Once he gets that down THEN I think a t28 would be in order...

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

both above suggestions are great , the T28 is a plaeaure to fly and land , the trike gear make it easy and its complete in the out of the box version

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

Looks good and I assume it's electric?
TH sell them?
Vegas/

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

Get the GWS Slow Stick, inexpensive and relatively easy to fly.

Habaneroe

My Feedback: (1)

I have seen the citabria in most hobby shops and yes it runs off a teeny lipo but has a suprisingly long run time.

If they dont have that one you can get the cessna version they are very similar.

Having started in the hobby recently and owning many beginner planes including the t28- I would not recommend it as a FIRST plane unless he has some serious sim time behind him.

As a first aileron plane it is ok I think.

BantamTJ

I beleive you should just go all out while keeping the cost down so he'll not lose interest while learning to fly. "How is this possible" you might say? simple,... www.spadtothebone.com & www.spadworld.net

daveamt

My Feedback: (1)

Hobbyzone Super Cub

carrellh

I think you should consider broadening your shopping universe beyond Tower. Most of my hobby stuff came from Tower, or at least is distributed by their parent company, but there are at least a couple of other players in the RTF market that are worth looking at.

Hobby Lobby, not the arts and crafts store, http://www.hobby-lobby.com/readytofly.htm has a bunch of RTF electrics.

Horizon Hobby http://searchrc.horizonhobby.com/ind...d=11D1578A8B38 also has a bunch.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Based on your location "Lawrenceville NJ
Map quest "trains & Lanes" in Allentown Pa
based on my boys playing hockey in yout town , If I am correct your should be about 60 to 90 miniutes at the max , it be as little as 30 miniutes away from this very very well stocked Hobby shop
'The owners name is Ken , he is a good old RC guy who knows his stuff .
They carry a ton of small flying e-flight planes , very very good parts in stock and good advice

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the info but Ihave several shops close by and a very big place on the other side of the River,.
However the kid wants that big Nexstar
His Mom already sent for it and he's taking flying lessons but not sure if from a SIM or a real trainer at a club.
Now he wants all the goodies like a loaded tote box:-)
Vegas/

opjose

Great!

Taking lessons at a club affords the best chance for sucess and helps insure that the plane will not end up as a pile of debris.

At the least the Nexstar will fare better in breezes and winds than the smaller Electrics while featuring a full compliment of control surfaces.

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

I kind of like that NexStar only because it's different.
Any one know how the electronics on that plane control it back into a stable flight position?
Vegas/

opjose

Everyone advises that you disable the AFS system.

I've seen a few destroyed because the AFS system was left on...

Don't bother with it....

BantamTJ

I too have heard of & have seen the "ill effects" of a very competent flyer flying the students Nexstar (on buddy box) with the AFS on & struggled severly to get his plane back down in 1 piece so as to disable it! Which he did & they did.

Whirley Bird

My Feedback: (1)

And they still brag about how great it is.
The other trainers fly so slow you don't need all that extra junk that does nothing but impress the newbiw.
Vegas/

twistedmustang

This suggestion is a little off what your thinking but i think you should consider it. If He is looking to get into bigger planes, like glow planes(gas or nitro) i think you should skip the electric stage. Go straight for a gas plane. I started with electric park flyers, and they were hard to fly. After i crashed a bunch of times. I bought a Hobbico Nexstar. GREAT CHOICE! Its a .46 sized trainer. It comes with a computer simulater. So he can practice on the computer first. Then go out to the local flying field and get lessons from a trainer. It is a little pricier than electric, but its a great hobby. And after he is ready for a new style of flying(sport, 3d) you can take take the motor and electronics out of the Nexstar, and put them in a .46 sizes stunt plane.

I started with the nexstar 3 years ago. It was so easy to fly. After 1 year, i started sport flying. I know have a Hangar twist 40(w/ nexstar engine and electronics) it is a great plane. And i just got a Seagull Models Edge 540t with an OS55ax. This is a great hobby to get into, and the Nexstar is the best way to start!


Long reply, but hopefully it helps.

HEMICUDA

Whirley Bird,

Avoid anything from Flyzone!!!! Complete waste of money. That said, I wouldn't get the
nexstar either, especially the electric...VERY pricey and you still have to get flight batteries,
Ni-mh's will run $70-80 a set and lipo's $150 a set. put that with the $429 for the plane and
you're looking at around $500 -$600 total and that's just one set of batts. If you go glow
that's still $400 plane radio and everthing. There are far better choices for that price,
possibly you could get too planes to fly. For that price range you could get the Hobbyzone
Supercub $160 and the T-28 $249? or the 34 mentor trainer (?) that somes with a DX6i radio.
My electristar is like a 95% Nexstar and it takes a fortune in batteries to be able to enjoy it
fully. I have the standard 3000mah Ni-mh batts ( 4 of them, 2 sets ) and the peak charger
i paid $160 for them and the $200 for the plane (1/2 of a nexstar price) and it's still no
bargain as I have to upgrade to lipo's and a charger just to get decent flight times.

Just my 2 cents
HEMICUDA

tubamike78

i use zippy's lipo's in my electristar with great satification.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...0C_Lipoly_Pack

$85 for 5000mah's, 4 cells. i have 3 of them for my electristar, so since nexstar is similar to to electristar, they should work just fine.

foodstick

You will have a hard time beating the hobbyzone supercub... however its not a backyard flyer, it covers as much ground as you allow it.. it won't be blown around with a tiny breeze like the yard fliers. You will need room to fly it. Getting help is always smart unless you don't mind repair and parts replacement. AND YOU HAVE A LARGE AREA TO CRASH AWAY FROM ANYTHING... big field etc. The T-28 mentioned earlier flies nice as well, but I am not sure if it is as easy as the cub, and I BELIEVE the supercub would handle more damage...not positive about that..

opjose

Here's an easy beat down of the Hobbyzone Supercub...

[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKVY7&P=0]Click me![/link]

It's virtually indestructable... has a full 4 channels, and can 3D too when maxed out on the rates.

It will hold interest for quite a while and could indeed be flown in a large yard.

The Supercub however DOES get blown around in 2-4 MPH winds... I've seen people loose them because of this at our airfield!

foodstick

Are you sure we are talking about the same plane?

http://www.hobbyzone.com/rc_planes_h...FQE0xgoddQ9fKw


This thing has no problem in 2-4 mph wind, and I have seen experienced pilots do ok in a steady 10 mph wind....Also its a little big for any yard other than a big yard along some large open area...

Just thought we may be discussing two different planes...

rchobbytime

A great plane I picked up recently for my son was the snow bird 3 ch airplane from www.ultimaterchobby.com, it is less then $100 delivered and completely ready to fly. We both have had a great time with this plane and I would honestly recommend it for someone w
anting to learn to fly!

opjose

That's the one!

Newbies often show up at our field with them, and promptly loose them in 2-4 MPH winds ( we've measured... ), when the plane gets high and starts developing more lift in the breeze... they then can't bring them back in...

We have a designated "Supercub Graveyard" area now...

Experienced flyers have no problems with them, but the poor newbies...

The upside is that they DO get them in the air, unlike with other planes that barely survive takeoff...

The first flight in a light breeze is usually the last...