TVR4

I am looking for recommendations on a beginner RC plane. I started in RC many years ago in the balsa wood era.
I left airplanes because there were so few places to fly due to the planes being very large.

I went on to RC cars then more recently to helicopters and drones.

I would like to get back into RC airplanes but they are so different from what I remember.
Firstly they seem to be foam now instead of balsa wood.

I don't have any aircraft specific equipment.

Can anyone recommend a good beginner plane that I can takeoff and land in a grass field?
This is the only open space where I can fly

Thanks

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

E-Fltie apprentice is great if you have a Spektrum radio

There's wood planes too but if you're looking for simple and cost effective, a foam apprentice is about as good as there is for learning fixed wing or brushing up

init4fun

If ya don't mind hand launching, the EasyStar is a great beginner plane

https://mrmpxhobbies.com/product/rr-easystar-3/

TVR4

I don't have any radios

TVR4

I will keep that in mind. Any that can also take off from the ground and hand launch?
I have drones that do hand launch and it is awkward

Propworn

My Feedback: (3)

Join a club the instructors will have suggestions on a trainer/radio that they have the best success rates with. Second they may have a line on good used equipment.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

So a month later, how much progress have you made in getting an airplane in the air? Hopefully you haven't quit before you started.

Lee Taylor

There are LOTS of model planes that claim to be beginner planes (constant chord... shoulder wing... with dihedral). Everyone has a favorite. My learning came from a VERY experienced, very good friend that did the take-offs and landings. He would get a LOT of altitude and then hand the transmitter to me. He would then constantly repeat "level the wings"... level the wings... level the wings. He had one firm rule... when he said hand me the transmitter please".... he insisted that there shall be NO hesitation. And that my friend is how I got past the learning curve. He taught me the importance of reversing your thinking when the plane is coming towards you. I resisted this for a long time but I finally gave in and forced myself to learn it and use it. Once you learn it and use it.... flying becomes much easier

Here is a simulator video I made which includes reversing your thinking when you come out of a turn. The reverse thinking starts at timer mark 1:43

init4fun

TVR4's original post here was 10/15/2023 @ 9:01 AM , a mere 4 days ago. Give the gent some time.......

Lee Taylor

Quote:
Originally Posted by J330
So a month later, how much progress have you made in getting an airplane in the air? Hopefully you haven't quit before you started.
TVR4's original post here was 10/15/2023 @ 9:01 AM , a mere 4 days ago. Give the gent some time.......
__________________
Happy Flying
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Not that anybody cares, but.... my R/C hobby has no timeclock. If a month, a year, or even ten years goes by.... it does not matter to me. For me personally .... if I quit for a period of time, or even permanently.... it is not important.... it is my life and I will do what I please with it. I have other things in my life besides my model hobby although I would never give up on my modeling. I am happily retired... people gauging my progress reminds me of being employed. No timeclock here. It's all just for fun

A. J. Clark

Get something that flies slow so you have time to react to its moves.

jaka54

Aren't you a member of a club??? If not I would advise you to join one! Much more fun that way.

Hydro Junkie

Gee, this has a familiar ring to it. I get bugged quite often about not having finished the boats being built in my spare time by others. As you said, there's more to life than our hobbies. Too bad some have forgotten that

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

Or maybe some people want to see you join in on the fun. Perhaps your boat group just likes having you out at the lake.

Hydro Junkie

Have you seen my avatar lately? If not, here's a larger version for you to look at:

I've been racing that boat for 10 years when work, covid and other commitments haven't gotten in the way.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

I like it!

Hydro Junkie

Which one, Lee's B-25 or my hydroplane?

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Yea I don't always quote.

Both are cool but I love the hydro.

Hydro Junkie

1,024 × 683

Here you go, Andy. Two shots of the full sized boat from 2000, in orange, and one as she looks today in Boeing Blue

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

It is a nice boat. That’s what happens when you do nice work, the guys get anxious to see your next project. Hard to fault them for that.

J330

My Feedback: (3)

If you have time to post 10,000 times on a forum opinions and comments that don't offer any value to the OP, maybe that's really what your hobby is, instead of R/C?
You'd be amazed how much time you can find to enjoy building and flying if you shut off your TV and computer, and actually engage in the hobby. That's really all there is to it.
Everyone has the same time, they just don't manage it well. Too bad some have forgotten that. People don't need more time. They need to learn how to follow through, with anything.

A simple question went completely unanswered, clearly showing he's failed to return to his own thread. I can't count the number of guys who intend to start in this hobby and never show up at the flying field, or follow up to their own forum thread they started. That's by far a greater percentage of "false starts" typically noted in this hobby for decades. The hold onto exaggerations to talk themselves out of everything, it's almost a trademark of their kind. It's simply a growing group in society that can't execute any plan at all, financially or recreationally. They are only good at sitting in a chair, and playing with their keyboard with nothing to show for it but maybe a handful of YouTube likes. What an accomplishment! Thing is, I had a number of trainers sitting here last week, that no one wanted to buy, so I've been giving them away on Craigslist, and even "free" had a slow response. Too much to drive to a location nearby? They could walk out in their slippers, just like they do when they go to Wal-Mart. I can only imagine the number of other missed opportunities that plague their lives.

Hydro Junkie

Says the guy that demands an update from someone less than two days after their initial post.
Since you seem to think I do nothing but sit on the computer and run up my post count, maybe it's time to clarify what I actually do and when I do it:

• Since 2012, 65 to 75% of my posts have been made during slow periods and breaks while I've been at work, including this one
• Since 2004, over a third of my posts during the summer months have been made using computers or Wi-Fi at campgrounds and hotels while traveling to and from events involving other hobbies. One such trip, this past summer, was a three week run down to Mobile Alabama with stops in Idaho, Colorado, two in Texas, two nights in New Orleans, five nights in Mobile, Pensacola Florida, two stops in Tennessee, Wyoming and Oregon
• Well over half of my posts have been answering questions on how to, where to and what to about aircraft and boats.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

And to answer posts that should have been left alone.

Hydro Junkie

In your opinion, something that means basically nothing to me

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

LOL, and to my point, something that could have been easily ignored. Fact remains that you spend more time talking about your hobby then actually doing your hobby.