Hey I wanted to get into planes (already into cars), but would a WWI Bi-Plane ARTF be a good beginner for me? I will buy my own radio system. I plan to fly in my neighborhood and in grassy fields, and would like to eventually mount a FPV camera on it. Is this plane right for me?

Ahh... no. Any bi-plane is not a beginners aircraft. And, adding a camera, any weight, to an electric powered aircraft requires re-thinking of the power needed to fly it, if it will fly at all with the added weight of a camera.. all depending, of course, what the weight of the camera is, and how the plane is powered, and if the structure of the aircraft will take the added weight.

I know enough about electrics to tell you that a bi-plane is not a good electric nor glow powered trainer, for that matter. Many will come in and make recommendations as to what would be a good electric trainer, so my point will be to tell you that.

With electric power, a lot has to be taken into consideration before making any changes in the power of the plane, mainly power to weight.. watts per pound in other words. There are guidelines to that, and before you can do anything like adding a camera, the entire weight picture has to be examined so that you know what motor, esc, and battery power to use so that it will fly.

CGr.

Sorry, but when you said your own neighborhood, in a grassy field, I just assumed electric. You may be looking at glow. Either way, a bi-plane is not a good trainer. If you want to select a good trainer in the glow powered category, go to the top of the first page of the Beginners Forum and look over the list of trainers that are there. There are a lot of planes to select from and they are all great trainers.

And, don't plan on using your car radio.. you have to get a good four channel radio (at least four channels.. throttle, aileron, rudder, elevator) or more.

CGr.

i will buy my won 6 channel rx/tx setup. how about this one for a beginner then:www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx? i want something that isn't too beguinnerish, something i can keep for years and not spend much on cuz i mainly wanna focus on cars.

Well, that's not a neighborhood-grassy field aircraft either. And, in my opinion, not for a beginner.

I'm surprised no one has given you some suggestions for a good electric beginner.

you are going to want to start out with a high wing trainer. how big is the neighborhood/grassy field you are planning on flying in?

well this one seems more beginner based: www.parkzone.com/Products/Default.aspx. but will i be able to put a larger BL motor in it and a bigger lipo?

not sure on that. but if you look at the transmitter on that plane its a little ehh. what about considering one of these? since you want the bigger scale ones then maybe the sport and select scale? http://flyzoneplanes.com/airplanes.html

i like the SkyFly Max alot, and its a good price. thanks. but do you know if that thing will hold up to a larger motor and ESC for more speed?

no sorry idk that. maybe the experienced guys will know. im just thinking about planes too right now

no sorry idk if that would hold up. gotta leave that up to the experienced plank flyers im thinking about a plane too right now, so i just have a limited amount of knowledge on them for now.

Would you mind, for the sake of most of us that don't comprehend the text lingo... please use real words.

CGr.

 then let me rephrase my lingo. Idk- I don't know. 

so is the SkyFly Max a decent beginner plane? and would it be able to hold up to higher top speed due to a larger motor/ESC/baterry? thanks for the help CGr.

Thank you, but I thought you would get the idea the first time I asked.

Keep in mind that most of the folks that are trying to help you out here are much older than you and may not understand all those abbreviations. I know I certainly don't, and don't have the time to learn.

CGr.

The Skyfly Max has been discussed many times here, and, yes, of all the ones mentioned in this thread, that's the best one to learn with.

CGr.

cool. looks like it will be my plane of choice.

what about this one? javascript:mox();

http://secure.hobbyzone.com/HBZ7300.html
http://secure.hobbyzone.com/HBZ4800.html

Try looking at either of these. The size of your "field" would dictate the one you choose. The larger version also has floats available for it. Both all foam, easy fix, good stable starting points. A friend of mine started with the larger version and taught himself to fly.
Good luck with your search.
I do firmly believe the best way however is a nice 40 size trainer, an RC club and an instructor. I realise however that is not always practical or desired.

Whatever you decide enjoy!

Cheers

Gord

i do like the Mini Super Club, but for 50 bucks more i can get the SkyFly Max which has alot more features. this will be my second option though for sure!

It would be good to understand before getting started that any of these small planes are going to be sensitive to wind, and that you'll need more space than you initially think you do. Space = time to think! If you have a nice open field to fly at, the standard Super Cub is your best bet for getting in the air fast. And it's big enough to carry a keychain camera without any modifications. Whatever you choose, welcome to RC flying. If you will connect with an instructor for at least your first day of flying, it will save you hours upon hours of frustration. If you ever get to Fort Worth, I'd be willing to help you, but I believe there is an RC flying club in Tyler too.

Parkzone T-28. This is about as stable as it gets. If you have a little aileron experience your covered. I started flying with the Hobbyzone Mini super cub and it thought me how to fly but I got bored very VERY quickly with it. I have the micro T28 and was about to get the larger version but think I will pass for the P47 instead, I would grab Phoenix and the Larger or Micro T28 and have fun. <div>
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yeah my LHS has a flying club.

I just built one of these, and while its definitely not a trainer, it can be flown by a novice with rates low and a lot of expo.  But I suggest LOTS of sim time first to get orientation down.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/91a-3dhawk-arf.html

Only thing needed to finish is some glue (I used hot glue and CA) and a RX/TX.

Really amazed at how well this plane flies for 60 bucks.  For that price you can buy 2 or 3 of them and by the time you build the 3rd one you should be good enough to never crash it.

However, when you do crash...its easy to fix with some hot glue here and there. </p>