tstalion79

I know i'm comparing apples and oranges glow vs electric but I dont know which plane I should go with as my first aircraft. I have flown some basic electric trainers and have a good amount of experience on real flight g4, so I feel ready to upgrade to one of these planes.

So basically the question is, which plane is better for a beginner? Glow or electric?

Thanks in advance!

LuftwaffeOberst

I started on a electric high wing trainer... NOT A SCALE TRAINER. Then after a year of flying I joined a club and got a glow high wing trainer and got a instructor to hook up my radio with his... and got real lessons. After I got well enough to fly solo, (after 2 years in my club) I got my first low wing trainer that was a tail dragger.

It was a Hanger 9 PTS Mustang. It took me 3 years of flying before I was really ready, but I was in a rush to be able to fly sport scale. I had a hard time with the PTS because I thought I was good enough without the trainer aids to fly this bird.

It was fast and landed a little hot. I kept it from crashing, but I had to be on my toes... do to it was fast for my skills and not very forgiving.

My first two trainers about 6 years ago at my club. Both (RIP) My Custom Art-Tech Wing Dragon and my 1986 .40 Kit Goldberg Eagle.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

It depends on two things:

Where you want to be in 5 years - and - Your budget.

If you want to fly glow planes, and you can afford to jump right in, then start there. You'll need about a $300 - $400 initial investment, or you can look around for deals on used equipmentThere are some great deals out there, but it's helpful to have someone who knows what they're doing to make sure you don't buy crap.

So now, if you were smart, you bought a decent 4-channel radio and a good ball bearing engine. When you're ready to move up to the next step, all you need is a new plane - cause you can use the engine and radio you already have.



But if money is tight, you can get some complete electric setups for around $150 - $200. The problem is, if you later decide to move up to Glow planes, you'll have to replace all of it.

Here is a new company that has some amazing prices:

http://www.parkflyers.com/html/begin-air.html

opjose

That's a tough call!

Each has their advantages...

Our clubs specifies that people who show for FREE training sessions have at least a .40 sized trainer.

Electrics are permitted, but only the relatively larger electric trainers.
Glows are the norm and are recommended.

In turn those electric trainers need battery packs, etc.... so by the time you are done purchasing equipment you will have actually spent more on one of these than an equivalent glow.

That is one reason why glow planes are recommended.

Since the club instructors help to get the newbies going most of the inconveniences of glow planes are mitigated.... and a newbie can spend the day flying and making progress, instead of waiting for batteries to recharge... ( newbies NEVER have enough battery packs with them! ).

Typically once the person has certified and graduated past the trainer, they delve into electrics.

The upside with Glow planes, is as already mentioned, you can probably pick up a complete trainer setup used for a song from someone moving up.

.40 size electric trainers are relatively new and more difficult to find as a hand me down.

But in either case DO NOT assume that your experience with G4 means that you can skip a 4channel trainer.

mydartswinger

tstallion,
If you're looking at a Hangar 9 Spitfire, it's the .60 size sport scale, which is NOT a trainer. If you want a "warbird" as a trainer AND are going to be learning to fly from an instructor, look into the Hangar PTS Mustang Mk II. When used with the training aids, it's almost as good a trainer as a high wing trainer. The PTS Mustang is a good trainer for the right student and instructor. If you've got a lot of quality sim time, and the instructor is open to the PTS concept, then it's a good basic trainer when used with the training aids. Your instructor will help you determine when to remove training aids. Don't let the taildragger configuration fool you, it's no more difficult than a trike. A good instructor will teach you how to properly taxi, takeoff, and land with this gear configuration (taildragger). The Mustang can also grow with you from being a basic trainer to being a sport plane. I learned to fly on the Mk I version, took me only a month and a half to solo (I had had about a year of simulator time, plus I had dabbled in helis before taking up airplanes. Most of my training was spent on approaches and landings, not basic orientation.).

The PTS T-34 is based on the same concept as the PTS Mustang, except in an electric trike configuration. I have not flown it myself, but a member at our club has one that I've seen him fly numerous times. It seems to fly just as well as the Mustang.

The Mustang is glow (nitro/internal combustion) powered, while the Mentor is electric. It all depends on what power plant you want to fly, and if you want a WWII style taildragger or a more modern trike.

Habaneroe

My Feedback: (1)

I own both planes and I would not recommend the Spit over the Mentor for the beginner. Aside from the fact that you can get it into the air much faster and easier- it has the leading egde "droops" which make it almost impossible to stall.

When you are ready take off the droops- put the flaps up and after mastering THAT setup you will be ready for the Spit- but even then be prepared for possible headaches with the retracts (one collapsed on my first landing). The Spit is also larger making it harder to transport I can fit the Mentor in my car without taking off the wing.

Then you can use the D6xi TX that comes with the Mentor and use it with the Spit- just get another Spektrum RX and bind it. I use the Dx6 with almost all my other planes as well.

Edit: And oh I only fly electric- to me gas just seems like too much of a pain- only advantage I see to them are longer flight times- that's IF you can get the thing started and mixed right.