hey guys! I am a beginner to rc planes, I have been flying on phoenix rc for about 4 months now and yesterday I was in hobby town usa so I decided to ask one of the "veterans" there about a beginning plane.I have never actually flown a plane but have the experience on phoenix and would like to really start flying now.But I asked him about a good cheap first plane and he told me for a cheaper kit to get a gws corsair.I don't have a problem with kits and have put dozens together with friends so no problem with the servo sizes and just getting everything together but with the lack of flying a real plane I was thinking most of you guys would say no in an instant, and was just wondering what you guys think? please respond back and thanks!-Jake

I think he wants you to come back the day after your first and only flight, after picking through whatever survived, to buy another plane. There is no Corsair made. that I am aware of, that a first-timer can handle without 100% constant supervision of an experienced and patient instructor. Get something like this, one of maybe 100's of choices: http://www.motionrc.com/flyzone-1450...t-trainer-rtf/

Ditto the above. Look at the Apprentice or Sensi, maybe the Switch.

I don't know why these goofballs make suggestions like that. It seems to be a side hobby for some experienced (or maybe not experienced at all) pilots to recommend inappropriate planes to beginners. They think just because they can fly them that a newbie can. We had one that worked at the LHS that recommended to a buddy of mine that he buy a Blade SR for his very first heli. No instructor, no sim, he'd be able to fly it no problem. I know the guy and he's something of a savant with flying, so maybe he's one of the ones that simply can't understand the struggles a newbie goes through.

Rant over, if you have a look at the stickies at the top of the page there's lots of good beginner info there. Your best first plane really depends on what your plans are for the hobby. If you want to fly glow powered sport and scale planes, go ahead and get a glow powered trainer and join a club. It will fly better, handle the wind better, and will be bigger and easier to see which will let you build your skills better. If park flyers are the plan, the above mentioned Sensei has a good reputation, as does the Hobby Zone Super Cub.

The best thing you can do is to locate a local club and visit them. That way you can most likely see some of the better choices and; a good chance that the club may have a trainer plane and/or a trainer set up to let you actually try to fly one. Most clubs would be very happy to assist you in making a good choice and helping you get off to a safe and sane start. Starting off alone is usually an expensive proposition as you will most certainly have many crashes. Visit the AMA site and check for clubs that are in your locality if you do not already know.

A Corsair makes a perfect trainer. It teaches you how to properly put all of the pieces into a trash bag and clean up the area after it crashes.

There are a ton of good trainers. From the simple flat foam $2.00 scratch built foamy to the RTF that are really almost ready to fly.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1174874

http://www.hobbypartz.com/60p-dy-1026.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/79p-th9x-r...nel-radio.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-25c-1000-3s1p.html

http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-sl1000-2s1p-20c-2222.html

Use the foam sheets from dollar tree for $1.00 each. Soak them with water, let dry, peel paper off, cut, use hot glue. fly, crash, glue, fly, crash, glue, fly crash, glue, fly again.



Buzz.

I'm not sure I fully comprehend the reasoning behind teaching people to crash - or just saying, or basically saying with this sort of advice, that crashing is ok. We will crash, it will happen. But the focus should be flight preparation - proper pre-flight then flying like you really want to land.

When I learned to fly, my instructor taught me just that - learn to fly, not crash. In fact, I did not crash my first plane until about a year after I solo'ed. And I can tell you that since then, I've crashed three, and each of the crashes were due to stupidity on my part - not observing, for instance, that my 72 MHz transmitter antenna was not extended after flying 2.4MHz all day.

Do these guys a favor and teach them to fly, not to crash.... not even tongue-in-cheek comments. A little fun is ok, but there is just way to much talk about crashing and less about flying.

As Jester said, rant over...

CGr.

ha ha thanks for all the info guys!! my friend has a hobby king bixler plug n fly that has never been opened, and he told me he would give it to me for only 20 if I wanted it because hes not going to ever use it. But I started looking it up and I think I am going to go with that and what do you guys think about a spektrum dx5e for the radio???

again thanks so much for the help and I cant wait to start flying!!

never mind I love that flysky trasnmitter you put up! lol thanks buzzard

The plane will fly fine, but don't be surprised if a servo takes a dump at some point.

The dx5 is ok for what it is, but if you can afford a computer radio with model memory...

One thing you will need to be aware of is that while Phoenix is a great tool (I consider my copy one of the best investments in the hobby I ever made - it has saved me $$$'s already), actual flying will feel a little bit different than the sim does in the 'way' things actually fly, as while good, the physics are still only a simulation.
Even if you get yourself an easy to fly trainer, if you can, please go to a club, have an experienced flyer go over it to ensure your not missing anything out and that your CG is correct, then trim it up for you before giving the controls back.
The time you have spent on your sim will speed up your learning curve, and you will have at least 'some' thumb memory by now, so you should progress well once you have a few supervised flights under your belt.
As for radio choice, I'd ask yourself where you see yourself progressing in the hobby, then get the best radio YOU CAN AFFORD that has enough functions to match that direction (ie, go computerized/programmable). Warbirds/scale can need a LOT of channels (my mustang has 9 servos in it, 10 on 11 channels if I add a choke servo and remote ignition kill for the gas motor and don't want to run 'Y' leads), while 'smaller' 3D/aerobatic planes up to 30-50CC can get away with say 6-7 channels/servos. Do go 2.4g since you are starting out though.
Best of luck, and welcome aboard this hobby train!

For what it's worth : In my travels around the country for about 25 yrs I've found that " Hobby Town's " are not always good places to get good information . They have a habit of hiring people that have NO experience and thst's what you get. Go to a club and find someone that instructs , they will give it to ya straight .

Now in defense of Hobby Town : they usually have a pretty good selection of stuff, so once you find out what you Really need, try them . ENJOY !!! RED

sounds like he was trying to clear out inventory.

Sims are a great tool for learning deft stick control and orientation. I found they teach little else. The biggest issue I find is the lack of depth perception and while some of the physics are good, some are truly lacking. The advice to find a "mentor" is probably the best that can be given to you. Having a mentor/instructor teach youand give you tips is way more valuable than any money you spend on any sim. I learned to fly on my own but didn't really progress until I was lucky to find a mentor that showed me tips he had learned over the years. He has over 50 years in the hobby and all the information he has given me has been priceless. As an example, I was guilty of trying to deadstick most of the landings on any plane I flew, from my high wing trainers to my warbirds. Once he instructed me on how to "fly the plane all the way to the ground" my landings became a great deal better. Learning to land "deadstick" is a valuable ability since power issues will happen at any given time, but I now prefer to land my planes under a bit ofpower.