lonestoner

Build a kit that can perform some nice moves, I second the motion of the big stick in a kit form from great planes if you can find one.go with a 60 size, the bigger the plane the less twitchy they are.
Once you got your landings good with the prop still turning , then its time to take another step forward to a low wing.
Practice is what makes your flying better,i fly here at the AMA in Muncie ,its a 1200 acre flying site.
Rather you get your flying down above all.
But if you want to build a low wing airplane, then the tiger 60, or the 4*60,are great choices also,
In fact the 4*120 is my next build,
Stoner.

Bill Diedrich

Another great 2nd aircraft and 1st kit in the Sig lineup is the Mid-Star, can be built as a trike or
tail dragger, easy build for a beginner, great flying stable aircraft.

Bill D

j.duncker

My Feedback: (2)

I had forgotten that Sig still do the Astro Hog. It would make an excellent second model and fist kit build. The Sig web site has very comprehensive building instructions in pdf format to download.Slightly harder build than an Ugly Stick but not a lot harder.

mike31

My Feedback: (67)

My suggestion would to stay away from anything with wing struts!

Mntflyby

Sig Mid Star.

TomCrump

Why ?

MTK

Well, if realistic planes and WWII planes is what you want to go to eventually, the 60 size KAOS (I think Eureka still offers this kit) is a low wing pus sycat. It's a pattern trainer meaning it is designed to produce more of a pure response to your commands. It has a fully symmetrical foil and will allow you to fly inverted easily. This is a simple, straight forward step up from the top wing trainer type planes. Compared to any of the low wing trainer types being discussed, the KAOS is superior.

It's a simple build too.....Good luck with your choice.

lonestoner

The kaos is far advanced from a high wing trainer and I second that notion, however it is not a good second plane being a first low wing,

Tom Nied

I got an idea. Take any trainer that should be easy to build and cover it completely with Olive Drab Flat MonoKote. Neat idea?

oliveDrab

The Cessna 195, Citabria, and Decathalon are all high wing planes. Since you love to build go ahead and build one of those but to become more proficient at flying you'll eventually want to step up to a low-wing plane. For a low wing plane I would recommend the 4Star60. I prefer electric power but the 4* flies great with an OS .91 4-stroke. The 4Star60 can be bought as a kit or an ARF.

I've had my 4Star60 for 10 years and I still fly it as a warmup before flying other planes. I recently bought and assembled a SIG Somethin' Xtra. Reminds me of a 4Star40 with a wide chord and chopped off wing bays. Haven't flown it but I've heard it's docile as a trainer when flown on low rates or, it's crazy-acrobatic when flown on high rates.

My 4Star60 ARF had a 71 inch wingspan and so was kinda floaty at times. I chopped a couple of wing bays off mine a couple years ago to make it 64 inches and now it's more agile. If you buy the ARF version, which is called the 4Star 64 EG, the plane already has a wingspan of 64 inches.

The 4Star60 is the best thing since sliced bread imo.

Also, in the past when I wanted a new plane, I removed the covering off my 4Star60 and put a different color on it! It was yellow when I bought it, then olive drab, and currently orange with Normandy invasion stripes.

oliveDrab

That is a neat idea.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

I applaud your desire to build, first and foremost. It will make your hobby immensely more gratifying.

All of the suggestions have been great so far. My 2nd airplane was the original Goldberg Sky tiger. So any of those designs I would recommend. The 4 stars of course.

First of all though, you need to get experience building a plane from a kit. As I get the impression that you may be a prospective scale modeler, which is really nice to see. But you need to learn techniques, and acquire tools and such specific to model airplanes. Many of the planes suggested are important because they are are engineered to be easily built. You want to be successful so you can build confidence for your future projects, which is your end goal. If you try to jump ahead of yourself, you will most likely get discouraged. So I think it would be more important to focus on a design that will be successfully built, than being easy to fly. Thankfully, you have a lot of options! My personal recommendation would be a Sig 4-Star.

All that being said, the best flying of all of these recommendations would be a Kaos. They are a phenomenal design, and until you fly one, it is difficult to explain how good they really are. A cousin of the Kaos is the Ultra Sport, which is still kitted by Great Planes, and It has a great reputation. So much so, the kit was out of production and brought back because of outcrys by the designs fans.

Regardless of which you choose, good luck!

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

have a look at the catalogs in my blog:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/member.php?u=241978

then go to http://outerzone.co.uk/search/result...&Submit=Search

i know these can appear to be hard, a goldberg falcon 56, or senior falcon, skylark, hobbico 60 trainer, goldberg skylane 62, or UCANDO 3D are excellent choices. GO FOR THE UCANDO! though it can be aerobatic, turn the controls down and with that big thick wing it floats and floats.

or look in the back of model aviation magazine for swap meets in your area and go buy buy buy!

buzzard bait

Good suggestions, but given your enthusiasm for a scale high wing model, don't wait too long to do it! Yes, go ahead and build something like a Sig Four Star, but then get something like a Goldberg Cub. I find for myself that my pleasure in flying a plane depends a lot on how much I like the looks of the plane. It sounds like you have a similar tendency. Don't spend too long side tracked by sport models if it's not what gets you excited.

I'd suggest one of the models you mention, but I don't know a good kit for any of those right now. Sig makes a Citabria, but it has a reputation for being a builder's kit, so for starting out, I'd say get some success with something easier that still has an appeal for you.

Jim

MTK

The KAOS is a pus sycat both to build as a first kit and to fly as a second plane and first low winger. Some of the other taildragger models discussed are short coupled and will ground loop in an instant given the chance. Heck that's true of the high wing types as well.

The Kaos makes take offs and landings simple, Everything in between is simple too Don't let the title "Pattern Trainer" fool you. This is one excellent sport plane for any one who has had high wing trainer experience and is looking for something more.

Charlie P.

He's looking for a kit. Not an ARF. I have never seen a U CAN DO kit.


How about a Pete'N Poke? Scaleish (Pietenpol Air Camper) and not harsh to fly.

flyer35

My Feedback: (33)

My first build was a LT40 by Sig, but it's a trainer. My second build was a Sig Four star 60. It's a good plane to build with very good instructions and it flys great. After building these two I moved on to more scale planes. ( T28, WACO, Decathlon, J3 Cub, Sopwith Pup, Eindecker ) Good luck and enjoy it's very rewarding to build and fly and they are much stronger than ARF's

Tom Nied

And so many of the suggested planes could be made to look scale-like. Not to mention I'm starting think I wish I had some of them. So many planes...... Got to keep focus on what I got.

hugger-4641

My Feedback: (6)

I also think you would be wise to wait and let your third plane be a kit. I will second the advice someone else already gave: Get an Avistar for you second plane, then bash it a little if you want. Increase the control throws to give it crazy roll rate, take the dihedral out of the wing, make larger rudder and elevators from scratch, turn it into a tail dragger etc. etc. etc. In any event, after you become skilled with the Avistar, you can probably handle a kit like the Uproar.

Uproar is a very inexpensive and easy kit to build, I highly recommend it for your first kit build, But as for actually flying it, it's a very responsive plane and even on low rates will roll a little too fast to be a good second plane. Transitioning from an Apprentice to an Uproar will be a stretch for your skills and the plane will likely turn into balsa splinters quickly. But I think transitioning from an Avistar to an Uproar would be no problem.

grasshoper

go with the Ugly Stick build it with tricycle landing gear and put the apprentice receiver in it

lonestoner

Practice your flying, then progress accordingly,
That's what worked for me,
Hope this helps,
Stoner.

buzzard bait

When someone says he wants to build, by all means he should do it! Also, when someone wants to build something that looks like a real plane, then I say don't spend a lot of time messing around with the kinds of planes other people like, build what YOU like.

ARFs have only gotten really popular in the last 20 years or even less. Guess what people did before that? We built models...it's fun! Don't get side tracked by the latest fads, do what YOU like. Lots of people have had success with Goldberg Cubs, and they look like real airplanes. Once you have the basic flying skills you can do it.

Jim

TomCrump

Well said, Buzzard !

Calvinman

I stayed home and worked on my Kit last weekend rather than go flying. I enjoy both aspects of the hobby equally. As mentioned in other threads, when building try to stay away from cyano glue and work in a well ventilated space when using most other glues. I still use crazy glue but I apply and run. even doing this I get the sniffles for almost a week.

Calvi.

grasshoper

when I started building cyano glue didn't exist,used sigbond now I use titebond glue