Hi I read the post below about getign help before destroying planes so I feel a little stupid posting this but........ I have flown only once. A got some cox 1ch electric plane from Walmart and flew it. I was so mutch fun for about 30 seconds untill it hit a tree and exploded in a million little foam pieces. I want to purchase a better quality plane now. Can anyone recomend one. My flying room would most likly limit me to a small electric. I have a field next to me about a half acer and I would have to take off/land from the drivway "about 100feet" I would like to find a plane that is fairly cheep as I know I will be replacing it often. Also and easy trainer would be nice. I would like to see If I can get somthing RTF for 100-200$ Some day I will ponny up all the bucks to join the local flying club but for now this is all the room I have. Any suggestions are apreciated. Also I have a K&B .61 engine. I started building a 1/2A CAP 21 a few years ago "The store told me it was a good starter" Gee were they wrong. Would the .61 be to mutch power? The motor is about as large as the canopy LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Probably to mutch. Most likly what ever you suggest I would like to order it from tower hobbies as I have orderd all my car and boat stuf from them and I am verry happy with the service. Well thanks in advance for any help you can give.

I'm sure every one has there own opinion but this is what worked for me. I did have the advantage of having a Father and Brother that fly to ask for advise, but I taught myself with a Zagi. It is a hand launch and takes off very easy. It is just about impossible to hurt it. Mine has survived dive bomb like crashes straight into the ground. I pick it up and put the battery back in, maybe a little tape on the nose and throw it for another round. I flew 3 to 5 times a week crashing just about every flight for a couple months until I got the hang of it. If I was flying a crunchy as the Zagi guys call them I would have been discouraged very early on. I crashed the Zagi and kept flying. I did not have to spend hours and hours rebuilding after every crash.

a .61 is 10 times the size use for a 1/2A plane. it should OBVIOUSLY not fit.
The Norvel .062 or .074 would be more approprate for a 1/2A Cap 21. (maybe electric power it...)

Since it seems you are going to train yourself... you better buy stock in a balsa forest. There are no good ARF's that I know of for self-teaching in a small space. (There's not much thats good for small space learning even with help...)

Cheapest, easiest... (if you're going to break em... make em cheap.)
Go to Wal-Mart or similar places, get one of the 4 1/2 ft span foam gliders.
Find out where it balances, and mark it.
Test glide a few times, and glue the tailplanes in place when ts set up for a lng, smooth straight glide.
Install 2 servos behind the wing, run pushrods back to the tailplanes. ADD 1/4X1 inch tapered TE stock balsa rudder and elevator. (you can even hinge then with rubber bands looped in figure-8 fashion, the crossover being between the fixed and moving surfaces) Install control horns...
place the reciever and battery on the forward fuselage, mve them as needed to get the plane to ballance as it did originally.(that's why its marked.)

You now have a 2 channel glider.

Later, you can add the Cox electric motor to the nose of another of these... You'll want to reinforce the powered version though...

I would get a simulator like Real Flight. That way, you can learn without having to rebuild, and it will make your real life flying experiences much better. If your computer is too slow, then you have an excuse to get a faster one... "You might be an RC modeler if: You buy the "wife and kids" a new Pentium III computer so you can play Real Flight"

A method that has worked for some (my best buddy included) is to get a glider. An electric prefferably.


FH has the idea, a cheaper one at that!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Get it all set, balacened etc. then just practice tossing it towards the ground, to get an idea of the 'final approach / glide path. This should teach you the 'stick feel'. You've got maybe 5' altitude, so crashes should be very minor.

And, with the eletric, you can start 'motoring' to gain some altitude. or find an overpass for some 'slope soaring' (higer elevation / longer glide time, maybe a turn) with time, you'll gain enough 'stick confidence' to try a powered plane.

But don't get me wrong, this in NO WAY should exclude you from joining teh local feild and getting proper instruction.

If you do show up at the feild, and are keen, some, if not most pilots will turn a blind eye and give you some instruction, but just don't make it a habit, feeding on their generosity.. Qustions and advice usually don't const anything, and are usually given with a smile!

Instead of buying another plane and assuming you have access to a computer, invest in flight simulator. Try to get one with a "transmitter". You will get much more out of it than a joystick. Learning to fly anything "by your self" is very tough. Chances are you will be dissapointed before really learning anything and move on to another hobby.

You can spend $50.00-$250.00 for a flight sim.. Stay at the low end. You don't need all the bells and whistles of the high end systems. Once you've learned what you can and are flying something "for real", advertise the sim. for sale. Or, keep it for "bad weather days."

The most important, "A" number 1, plan A, foremost thing to do, if at all possible, is to locate a local club (even if it's that smelly, greasy, dirty, fuel powered stuff) and get involved in it. Most all clubs have some sort of "training" program. Some even have club owned equipment to teach on. I've known some guys driving over 50 miles to fly with a club. Even some instances of teenagers carpooling with members.

The main thing to remember is practice, practice, practice. I've seen 9 year olds take up RC flying like they were birds. I've also seen guys, who have been flying for 20 years, that couldn't fly a bird if you handed them a TX.

The point is, it's never as easy as the pictures show.

Good luck.

Regards,
Mark

Even after practicing on the flight sim... the Cap 21 is about the WORST choice for a first aircraft. I give it a 99.95% chance of destruction within 30 sec of the wheels leaving the ground.

Its untrimmed. (Strike 1)
There is a difference between flying with a sim and the actual model, no matter how good the sim is. (strike 2)
A Cap is not an inherantly stable aircraft, and is subject to severe tip-stall into a spin. (strike 3)

Beginners, even those who've flown full scale aircraft AND practiced with a sim, routinely tear up trainers when they try to fly without assistance.

The worst "student" I ever had was a Squadron Commander, US Navy TOP GUN trained fighter pilot... He got NOWHERE until he started listening to the "kid" (I was only 17, and I was teaching him to fly Control Line, which is EASY compared to R/C.) Then, when he did listen... everything started working. (But he had to break 3 planes first...)

This hobby can be EXTREMELY frustrating if you accept the bad advice of training with a sim, and then trying on your own... especially with an inappropriate model, such as the Cap 21.

See my post titled "BEGINNERS! GET HELP!"

I read your post first that is why I started mind stating how stupid I felt for posting it. I think I will stay away from puting to mutch if any money into a plane and instead go join my local club. Maybe even If I am lucky one of the guys will let me try out there trainer with there help of course. Thanks for all the advice. I considerd buying a sim but please I cant ever see myself buying a program that costs as mutch as a plane!!!!!! Thanks agan for all the advice and rest asured you will see me in the beginer forum agan LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Hopfully not asking for help rebuilding a box of broken balsa and ply LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]