I'm supposed to teach my friend to fly and have a few choices as to which plane to use. I'm rather new myself and had a strange learning curve. I don't even fly 4 channels yet , but would like to get him going yet this season. He owns a skyfly Max and I've flown it twice. I decided it wasn't the right one to learn on. Here's my choices , all from Hobico/GP/Tower.

Flylite http://www.electrifly.com/parkflyers/gpma1107.html this one for me was the first real plane I had and is super easy for me. My student seems to like it too since it's very slow.
Switch http://www.flyzoneplanes.com/airplan...530/index.html New plane to me.
Nexstar Mini http://www.hobbiconexstar.com/nexstar-mini/index.html New plane to me.
Sensei http://www.flyzoneplanes.com/airplan...535/index.html New plane to me and the largest one.

I realise I will have to get comfortable with the new ones as well before I instruct.

My vote would be for the Sensei. Its bigger than the rest which means it will be easier to see, therefore easier to fly. I have watched the videos of it and I am impressed. Just my 2cents.

Trained some when I returned to RC after years off on the Nextstar, full sized.  Very smooth flyer that goes where you point it and stays there.  Very easy to fly and land.  Quite stable.

Tom

LT-40.

Not to sound condensending but, my vote goes for finding an experienced guy to do the training. To start, he should know what plane would make a good trainer.

Not a problem , I was faced with the same thing myself (no instructor) so I made the best choice with what I had. This is going to be the same way , we are going to do it alone.

I have flown all 4 of the planes you mentioned and I vote for the Sensei - hands down!

I fell in love with that plane from the first flight. I think it's one of the best planes to hit the market in quite a while.

And just for the record, I also like the other 3, especially the Switch (which would be my second choice) but the Sensei is tops

My opinon is to stay away from the nextstar. Its not durable enough for training and all past students that flew a different trainer unanimously agreed it was the worst. The landing gear will break out the mounts. Look for a trainer with wire gear, you just bend them back in place. My favorites are Hobbico hobbistar 60, alpha 40, LT40.
Edwin

I have trained all kinds of students on 5 different trainers, one of them being an LT25 and the rest being 40 size. The worst was the Nexstar! It never flew quite right. It was better at under 1/2 throttle. At higher throttle settings the plane never seemed to be stable. The landing gear never gave me trouble but the flying qualities were below par. []

Well, that's odd. The Nexstar is a favorite in our club. Mine went through three students and helped teach them all (including me) how to fly RC. And, as far as I know, it's still around. Mine did not have any of the problems you described. I did not use the AFS, in fact, I removed it as well as the installed radio and put my Airtronics in.

CGr.

Where can I check out this LT-25 & LT-40?

Here.
http://sigmfg.com/cgi-bin/dpsmart.ex...FV5.html?E+Sig
I have the LT-25 and am currently building my 3rd LT-40.

Ibid... of the those listed it is the best one.

I had someone show up with a Flylight and aside from very basic orientation it is a horrible choice for teaching someone else.

The slightest breeze will blow it away or cause it to weathervane, it has no ailerons, it is underpowered... but it IS cheap.

OK, If I get an LT-40 ARF and want to convert to electric, which motor, ESC and battery would I need?  I am presently using the 3 cell, 3200 Mah battery in my Apprentice, and would really like to use this in the LT-40.

The LT-40 ( which is a GREAT trainer BTW ) is a 6lb .40-.50 sized plane.

For that plane you really want an engine of about 1 to 1.2 HP at LEAST.

Since 1 HP = 745 watts, assuming a best case (lowest) power demand...

745w / 11.1v = 67A which is far more than your packs can produce without harming them.

However you could use two identical 3200mAh 11.1v packs together to effectively produce a single 22.2v pack...

So....

745w / 22.2v = 33A which is under 11C for your packs.

Assuming your packs are 20C, this will not overtax your packs and should be enough to get an 8 minute flight or so more.

You'll need an ESC capable of around 70A under 11.1v or 40A under 22.2v with either an on board switching BEC (UBec) or a separate UBec.

Assuming a 12x7e prop spinning around 10000 RPM or so

11000 / 22.2 = 495 ( or approximately 500 KV )

So you'll need:

- an 800 watt or better 500KV motor
- An ESC rated to at least 40A at 22.2v ( carefull with this! ) with an on board switching BEC.
- If your ESC does not have a UBEC, then you'll need a separate switching BEC
- 12x7e prop or 13x5e ( the latter to slow the plane down a bit while giving it more vertical thrust ).
- A 3S to 6S connector to make your two 3S packs behave as one 6S pack.

My head is still swimming after reading your post LOL  Would I have room in that plane for 2 batteries?

Re: Swimming

It's pretty simple math to figure this stuff out.

Try following my example and you'll find that you can work out the numbers yourself.

Re: Batteries

Yes easily.

Those two packs will weigh less than a glow motor and fuel.

Your biggest problem will be:

- Access to the battery packs, e.g. you'll need to remove the wing to install and arm the packs.
- Motor mount, you'll need a motor mount to replace the glow beam mount ( hint: Great Planes has a WONDERFUL electric mount for this purpose! )
- Balance, the battery and packs will weigh far less than what the plane is designed for. You'll need to move things as far forward as possible and maybe add additional weight.
- Charging: ( more packs and a nice LiPo balance charger are in your future if you go this route )
- "Tuning": with engines we do this by ear, with electrics you'll need to buy a WATT meter to figure out what is going on.

Note: I purposely refered to this as "tuning", really it's more akin to "testing so you don't blow anything out by using the wrong components".

I use the LT-40. Great plane. Large wing, easy to see in the air, floats in, just a great all around trainer.

Turning a LT-40 ARF into an electric would be tough.

Not really.

The batteries can sit where the fuel tank normally goes.

If you use one of these, mounting the motor is trivial:

[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLCL4&P=ML]Click me![/link]

A bit of soldering will be required, and some skillful moving around of components to get the C.G. right.... otherwise it is pretty easy assuming you take off the wings to replace or arm the packs.

Still a glow configuration is cheaper to start with, even if he already has the battery packs.

you've been a member of RCU since 2003... You just started learning how to fly recently?

A Parkzone T-28 makes a fine trainer, since you will be there to help - buddy box

I am just curious why you chose to go it alone.  I have a blast at the club field with all the guys.  Even on the windy days when we just sit there and tell war stories.  There has to be a club that is close by.  It really would be alot easier regardless of the plane you chose.

I have flown the NexStar as an instructor for several students. With the droops and the air brakes, the plane can be a nice trainer... I think it is too unstable after taking them off. I do not like the "auto-pilot" that comes with it and usually disconnect it.

I like the Alpha 40 and the Sig LT40 nice planes...

One plane that you might not have considered is the Radian Glider... 3 channel version... a sweet gentle flier that can get you going...ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE BOUND AND DETERMINED TO DO THIS ON YOUR OWN.

Yep, and I think I remember you from the car/truck forums. I started I think 3 months ago and flew a tiny albatross for July , then the Flylite for August and mostly a blue Hobbyking piper cub for September. I am aquiring planes pretty quick and it seems like the flylite seems easy for me just because I'm used to it. I suppose the sensei is going to be best and if we can get it to take off and land or hand launch it then we will probably use it. I'm a bit intimidated at larger planes since they can eat up a lot of sky in a hurry and I hand launch all of them right now.

Funny thing is that I haven't driven my trucks/cars in 3 months.