www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p

I am considering dipping my toe in the waters of RCplanes. And I've been hearing good things about this plane as a First Trainer.

in a search of this forum the only comments i could find on Hobbico's trainers were that they were underpowered for their weight... but these comments were a year or more old.

This kit has the brushless motor, Lipo battery, ESC, and 2.4 GHz transmitter.
and with member discount on Tower I should be Flight Read for a little less than $200 shipped.


Before I do I'd like some more current opinions on these styro trainers, considering my current experience with flying airplanes is the ability to make a mean Paper one.

Thanks.

As long as you have some calm days to fly on, the low power ratio isn't a big deal. You just can't horse it through wind or get instant stall recovery without more juice up front. I'll suggest a different route for your first experience though. Go to this address and find a club that does training.

http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

Many clubs keep a couple of training planes on hand for beginners to use, so your first few flights could be with an instructor on proven equipment. If you decide that you like the hobby, you'll already have a rapport with some experienced flyers who will do an inspection on your plane and help you with flight trimming and setup.

I reviewed the Receiver-Ready version of this plane:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1282

And Burk Simsek reviewed the RTF version:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1295

I found it to be a VERY nice plane. I don't keep a lot of the planes I review just to save on storage space, but I kept this one - Until my dad got his hands on it! Now HE owns it It was far from under-powered and it's very agile. All-in-all, it's a great little plane.

The radio that comes with it is a Tactic 404 which has a built-in wireless buddy box. The bad news is, you need another TTX404 to use the wireless BBox with, but you can get a second TTX404 for under 80 bucks.

Get a simulator and buy a plane like this one or a similar plane. I learned to fly on a Parkzone J-3 Cub without any help from a club or instructor. I now own over 40 planes and around 15 helicopters. You may not want to start flying considering my addiction to it.

Thanks for the reviews MinnFlyer.


and I'm not too worried about that kind of addiction.

I cant afford that kind of sickness

What Id like to do, especially after seeing the videos in the reviews, is get one of these this spring.  spend some time playing with it and learning to fly it.  Then buy a smaller lighter but more aerobatic body, and put the electronics and Motor from the cub into a more maneuverable machine.

In that case, you may want to consider the new "Switch". It can go from a high-wing trainer to a low-wing sportster:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1288

PS. This is another one I kept

I saw that one... but for something that I gaurantee I'm going to be bashing up... I'd rather stay a little cheaper and buy a more maneuverable "sleeker" foam body to switch my motor/electronics into after the cub is beaten beyond recognition

im sure there are plenty of more acrobatic foam bodies that would match up to that motor as a second plane.

wow... there are a lot of different brushless motors out there.

I'll be able to put this in another plane right?

www.nitroplanes.com/4chex333daer.html

something like that maybe

Correct

Hey Mish, Glad your toe is ready for a dip; however as good as your choice maybe, I beleive the "ParkZone Super Cub" http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ7300
 is a much better deal. I learned, as well as many of my friends on this plane. The real advantage however is the company and support behind your purchase. Just about every hobby shop in the world carries "Horizon Hobby" products/PARTS; and you WILL need parts! I have had a few unsatisfactory resolutions (or lack thereof) with Tower but HH has always been exemplary in the support dept. Tower will drive you crazy trying to get the right answers on questions, and if something is defective they will want tons of pictures, return authorizations, pre-pays, shipping fees and  "red tape". Horizon is way beyond that #$$%% and is more customer friendly. Also, every plane I bought from Tower was WAYYYYY underpowered (Cessna 182 Select). Good Luck and beware of trees!

The Parkzone Super cub is also excellent. It is only a 3-channel plane and some people will find it easier to learn with rudder only instead of ailerons.

As far as Customer Support, I have never had a problem with either Horizon or Tower

Ive been dealing with Tower, for RCcars and trucks, for a couple years now and Ive been really happy with them. Ive bought an EMaxx a Revo 3.3 and a couple of the Tamiy a rereleases from them. Im also a member there so I get free shipping and email discounts that will probably save me 30 or 40 bucks on a 220$ purchase.

I think I'd rather start with the 4 channel radio since, after I learn the basics with the cub, I'll be going to another Foam body with a little more maneuverability. The 4th channel I think would be beneficial then.

It's going to be a few years before I think about buying a kit and moving up into the fuel planes. At that point I'll buy a better transmitter.


for now I'm looking for a basic trainer with good enough electric motor that I can try a few different foam bodies and not have to buy a new brushless,transmitter, and electronics.

thanks for the help

well according to the second thread I started in here asking about a specific biplane.... That's just not possible.


I appreciate the help I got in this thread tho. <span></span>Thanks.
Think I'll go do some research where disagreeing is a little more acceptabe.

you guys were really helpful though.
thanks

Hey, we accept disagreement! But some of us have experience with beginners, both as former beginners and as instructors. So we do have some idea of what will work and what won't. You're asking questions so that people with more experience will answer them. But it's ok with us if you disagree!
Yes, you can learn on your own. Plenty have done it. It will cost you more and take longer. You will break things and get frustrated. And you won't become as good a pilot as quickly without an instructor. Double that if you decide to use a plane that requires more pilot skill to fly. But it's your hobby and as long as you're safe there's no reason not to do it the way you want to. We'll still be here to answer your questions either way and will welcome the opportunity to help you along.

I'm sorry, Mishkam, that the previous thread turned out the way it did. I was trying to keep things light while respecting your view on what you wanted to do and why.

Don't take some of the disagreement to heart.. it's winter, there are a lot of people with cabin fever, and sometimes this translates to some negative attitudes. We all go through it, I"m sure, but I try to keep things civil in the forum. The minute things tend to go in the wrong direction, well, anyway, no explanations are necessary, I'm sure you understand.

You seem to take advice in stride and listen to folks that are trying to help, which is a good thing.

Believe me, your input, even in the form of questions, help. There are some that read but don't post, so they get the idea from what other say and get ideas on how to proceed in their own situation.

CGr.

There are a small handful of people who have been able to flt with no help - although it is usually with an extremely easy to fly plane, and they learned after several crashes.

So it's highly advised to follow the proven path

I agree a instructor is best if you have access to one and can afford the club and AMA membership. If you don't have access to an instructor, get a simulator. You can fly and crash to your heart's content. As far as tearing up your first plane, my J-3 Cub is still in perfect condition with one prop change. I believe the Hobbyzone Super Cub LP would be the perfect first plane for anybody and it will stand up to rough landings also. Attached is my J-3 and some of it's hanger mates. The J-3 is in the back.