I haven't flown an RC airplane but I'm trying to contact a local club. I have a Hobbico Avastar 40 with Futaba servos and the transmitter. The plane has no engine but I'm assuming that a 40 of some brand(?). Will this be okay for a beginning trainer or should I look for something else. In the past I had built a Sig Seniorita with a 25 OS but I made the mistake of learning from an impatient friend. First crash was my mistake spending to much time watching it fly and not paying attention to controlling it. After rebuilding it, the second crash was his fault. I hung it up. After a few years of looking at the Avastar in my rafters I have decided I would like to try again.
Any help would be appreciated.
Jon

Wonderful Jon and please allow me to welcome you back and morn a bit for your Senorita with the twenty five. What a fantastic trainer when properly powered. Most tended to mount far to big of engines and ruined the airplane

Jon I suspect you and your friend were working without a mentor and as so often happens that way the fellows don,t really acheve the dream. The very first thing you need to do is find your local club and a mentor. I will find the club locator link at the AMA after I finsh this post. Don,t have it loaded right now. Joh this will be the most important decision you can make and that is networking both with the local club and a mentor/instructor.

Now for the Avastar and can you use it for your training: Oh heck yes as long as you are working with a mentor and buddy cord you will do fine. By the way do ask if any of the mentor/instructors use the cordless buddy cord systems as this does have some advantages for you.

Much is made of the Avastar's somewhat different airfoil and the airplane is slightly faster but this is no big deal if you are working with a mentor.

Anyway good luck and look forward to hearing of your continuing adventures.

John

Here is the club locator just type in your zip code and you are likely to be surprised:

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

Forgot to mention any .40 to .46 will be just fine but do not order an engine just yet until you talk to your future mentor and network with the club, may find some better deals.

John

Avistars are outstanding trainers. They are the number one recommended plane for beginners at my club. You can fly it with any .40-.46 engine, but I'll suggest getting a ball bearing type .46 for it like the OS .46 AX. You'll have a shorter takeoff roll and more power to recover from stalls with which is nice, but the biggest benefit is that you'll eventually graduate to a sport plane which will need the extra power. Being able to use your existing engine is a big plus during that start up time when money is frequently tight.