I'm new at RC Planes. Back in 1995 I helped a friend put together a Goldberg Eagle II with an OS 46SF engine. I never got to fly it with him, however we spent a few days taxiing around a baseball field. Since then, I haven't done anything.

I'm interested in getting a RTF Trainer. The reason I want RTF is because I don't have much space to work on a plane yet. I'm interested in something with ailerons that will handle well. What is a good RTF trainer? I'm hoping that I will be able to re-use the electronics and engine if I ever happen to crash.

Are there any websites that have flying instructions? I'm just wondering if there are any tips that I should keep in mind when flying for the first time. I plan on flying on a HUGE dry lake bed in the California desert so my only thing to worry about is crashing into the ground (or my car).


Mike

Mike

There are several good threads on Trainers in the beginners forum, You may want to look thru some to get an idea, Search that forum for, Best Trainer

The radio equipment varys with the type and retailer, in general a 4 channel and glow engine can be moved to other aircraft as needed.

The most mentioned right now are the Hobbico Avistar and Superstar, the PT trainer and the Cadet.

There are many retailers with a wide range of options and prices, Tower Hobbies.com Horrizonhobbies.com Hobbytownusa.com and many more.

Welcome to RCU and RC, Enjoy

If you are interested in Electrics, I like the Aerobird and the Sky Scooter Pro II

If you are interested in Sailplanes, the Spirit Select from Great Planes.

Hubby has Hangar 9 Extra Easy trainer. Virtually everything is put together for you and it is a nice flying plane. It has a computerized radio that comes with it and installed so the transmitter, flight pack and engine should be useful in most second planes.

I have the Sig LT 40 and is equally as good but does require a little more time to put together and then you have to choose and engine and radio (which can be a plus or minus).

I have the Hobbico Superstar, one can be had for about $250.00 (RTF). It comes virtually finished, servos and a all rods installed, along with engine and tank installed. There are several good trainers as you will find suggested in these forums, but my experience is with the superstar only and so far so good.

I would strongly suggest that you get an instructor of some sort unless you are feeling really lucky. I would be pretty bitter if I spent $$$ on a plane and its total flight time was under 10 min. A trainer/club can move you along at your individual pace and teach you things that you are unlikely to know when green. Club memberships usually include training for new members, and most all clubs will be less than $100-$150 to join (well worth it when you consider what you will learn). I also recommend getting a simulator. FMS is free and is a really good tool for speeding up the learning process, all you need is a connector cord from your transmitter to your CPU (usually under $20).

Good luck!

The Alpha is a very good plane, as are the others mentioned above. I have about 6 students with Alphas right now, and they have all been good.

I'll second the advice to find a local club and get an instructor. You'll be much happier in the long run.

Pick one for all intent and purposes one is a good as another

After reading some of the suggestions here (and MANY of the previous posts) I have narrowed my choices down:

Tower Trainer (w/ OS .46FX)
Alpha (w/ the Evolution .45 if possible)
Avistar


Do all of these trainers have ailerons? Also, what kinds of radios come with these kits? I'd like to have a 4 channel so I can do a transplant when I'm ready to move up. I don't mind having an ARF as I like putting things together, however I don't have the space right now to be gluing balsa together.

What kind of fuel works with these engines? On my friend's Eagle II we ran some pink fuel (15% nitro I think) in an old OS 46SF. What effect does each different % of nitromethane have on the engine?

One more thing about the different trainers mentioned above. Someone said that there's FMS simulator SW that's cheap or free and requires a connector cord to connect your controller to your PC. What radios have this capability?

the engines you mentioned use glow fuel (10%-15% nitro) is fine for sport flying
more nitro increases engine power within reason 5%-15% is considered normal for sport flying buying 20%-30% is a waste of money at this stage of the game


Each package comes with a radio the Alpha uses JR, the tower packages can use Futaba or tower brand (futaba OEM for tower I believe).

All major brand are comparable.. (JR,Futaba,Hitec,Airtronics)

The important thing is to find out what radio brands your club supports for buddy boxing

All three have ailerons, and all three are nice planes, ( from what I read ). I have a Superstar that came RTF, and I'm very happy with it. If you are buying an RTF from I assume tower hobbies, I don't believe that the Tower Trainer comes with an OS .46fx engine. I believe it comes with the Tower .46 ABC engine. Unless you are doing some sort of substitution.

The avistar RTF I believe will come with an OS .40 LA engine. The same that came with my Superstar RTF. This is my first plane and my first engine and I am very happy with everything and how it performs. Some people say this engine is underpowered, but I have nothing to compare it too, and again I'm happy. The avistar is a trainer, but has a more symmetrical wing for aerobatics, so I don't know how the OS .40 LA will power the plane. I have read posts that this engine is too underpowered for it, and other posts that say this engine will do the job fine. As far as the OS .46fx. I don't recall hearing nothing but good things about that engine, but it is a bit more costly. I want to say around 110.00 or so from tower hobbies. The radios that usually come with the RTF's will be a basic low end 4 channel radio that will get the job done.

As far as the fuel goes, I use the 10% which I'm told is more that enought for my trainer. It is the fuel that tower recommended when I got my plane and all the field equipment. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change anything I got. I'm not sure about the FMS simulator, but I have the G2 realflight Lite which costs about 130.00. I'm more than happy with it and it has been a great training tool.

As far as you learning to fly. Getting a bit of instruction is not so involved as you would think. I'm sure there are numerous clubs in the LA area. Just show up with your plane on a nice day, and I can guarantee there will be more than enough people willing to show you a few things, and help you out. Then when you got the basics, you can fly on the dried up lake bed as you mentioned above. Your chances of success and not damaging your plane with improve tremendously. Good Luck. Tim

Just a note on the OS LA series of engines. They run well, and are easy to work with for a beginner. But they are, in fact, under powered compared to most other engines in the same size. However, all of the .40 trainers that I've seen will fly just fine on the .40LA, it's plenty for learning and basic acrobatics. You just don't have the extra power that the other engines give you, which may limit some types of acrobatics later on, as you won't have the power for extended up lines.

I found my trainer from an experenced member at our club..I bought it, Sig Lt40, no engine or servos for 70$, bought a 6As pack, and an os46fx...learned to fly, sold the trainer at the LHS for 70$, still use the radio and servos and have had the engine in 2 other sport planes...fell in love with 4 strokes now..but still have engine..

Only problem I see with the RTF..is that the radio, the engine and maybe even the servos...will serve you little service after you learn and want to move into other planes..

a 46fx will fly a trainer very nice...but will also rip up the sky in a 40 size Extra 300S when you are ready..and a 4 channel radio will do you little good in the long run.

Look at the long term use of your investment..

OH, and have fun !

My vote goes out to the Extra Easy 2, by Hanger 9. I found it a great easy plane to learn with. Very little assembly to be done, and can be ready for flight in about 30 minutes. Comes with Evolution Trainer system installed ( .40 size) and already broken in as well as tuned. Also comes with 5 channel JR computer radio already installed. Once you mater the basics with it, you can adjust the throws both mechanically and electronically making it like a totally new airplane to play with. For $379.00 I don't think you will get a better buy, or get in the air any faster.

I would seriously consider a Sig LT -40

I dug through this forum as much as I could when trying to figure out which one to buy. Several people said the LT-40 was about the easiest. I flew mine for the first time today and had a blast. It wil do all kind of stuff too. I did rolls and loops and a few other things I dont know if it has names. My friend who helped me out flew it and he was very impressed with its ability. I put a EVO .46 NT in it. My friend had it resembling a 3-D plane up in the air. Its not quite that drastic, but it will definetaly hang in the air with that engine. I am not experienced enough, or have the nerve to try all that fancy stuff yet, but as far as flying it, it was a blast and it wasn't hard. I think it has about the largest wing span of most trainers also (70" ). It was a task fitting in my car.


Another reason I went with the LT 40 is because I was kinda debating between the Alpha Hander 9 and the LT 40. The RTF ALFA is completely ready to go and its under 300 bucks for everything. But, it has a basic 4 channel radio and .40 evo engine. I wanted to have better engine and radio for the future.

Thats just my opinion,

Wings

world models world star 40

sorry just rememberd its not RTF

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I second the LT-40 trainer. As club instructor here are some reasons why:
1. Even though it is a 40 engine class the plane size is larger than some 60 size planes (bigger flies better).
2. Unlike most planes that are larger in a class this one does fly very well with a simple 40 engine. There are 2 students currently training and both planes have the OS 40 LA series engines. After takeoff cruising is done at about 1/2 throttle.
3. Progress is better when a student can see the plane better. These planes give more time to think for the student and that helps learning.
4. The plane is still quite capable of aerobatics. The rudder is large and is connected to a good size fin. I also have one of these and have flown some nice rolling circles with it.

EXCAP232

i went with the superstar40 - only thing is to epoxy the wings together..- great flying and i had to make no adjustments...