ALRIGHT, I need a straight answer on a plane.....
I want to get a fairly stable glo OR electric powered plane that LOOKS like an actual plane (like a Cesna).
It NEEDS to be ubder $300 for EVERYTHING (like an RTF <$300). i need a rudder (with alerons is okay too) and elevator)



P.S. I do need a radio so it must be included in the price

For under $300 you might be pushed, for under $400 check out the nexstar threads

you may just squeze in a GWS Beaver with GWS TX package but again buy the time you add a decent charger and second battery it'll be more like $400

Try going to your local field and talk with club members. You may find a used bird with ALL acc. for under $300.00. New is another problem. There is always extra to buy. IE: It must have fuel to fly on, battery, charger, etyc. Used is not a bad way to go. Talk to your local club members. Good luck

Why not look at the Marketplace here for a complete/used ready to fly plane? Many sell them "turn-key" that are great condition, and many are in your area!

Check it out, and it don't cost nothing to l@@k!

Gary

Personally I would choose the Thunder Tiger Trainer 60 glow powered.
I took mine to the field and my multiple instructors, tried it out and loved it.
Smooth flying, slow when it needs to be for better student reactions.
It comes 2 ways ARF which is around $150 or rtf around $280.
RTF comes complete with everything engine, servos, reciever, transmitter, ect...
Real comfortable to fly. Just my 2cents.
But check around first, ask a lot of questions on the different trainers available.
Alot of really helpful ppl here. Good ppl and Information here.
Good luck on your hobby Razrb.

if your new at this you are looking at the wrong thing...........and thats no bs if you want to learn to fly with out getting killed in your pocket and want to stay with this hobby let me know you can email me and i will help you,,,,,,,beem doing this for about 25 yrs now and have seen to many people get lead down the bad path........

For a few dollars more you can get a Hobbico Superstar 40 with an OS 40 engine. Includes the transimitter and everything you need to fly except your field box and starter. My son and I both learned on this model. I liked it because the engine was easy to start and adjust. Never had any problems. The airplane flew very well and held together with minimal maint. We also used the G.P. flight simulator and amazed at how much the plane flew compared to the flight sim. Very realistic. Kept for a year and to get the basics down and then sold each for 200.00 each. Not bad when you consider the resale value if kept clean and in good working order. Only modification I made was to change the stock fuel tank with a Dubros tank of the same size. This is a must with most stock tanks.

I think stock tanks are fine if they are Brand Name (like for my Tiger II It came with Goldberg hardware and a Sullivan fuel tank!)

Yea!
Go the smart dudes who put Good tanks into ARFs!

knight1,
The problem with your answer is, he'll still need to add anywhere from about $60 to $150 for field equipment even if he buys the RTF.

Razrb,
Definitely find a local club. If you don't have deep pockets (lot's of money), then your best chances of learning to fly successfully are with a club instructor. You're likely to get good used equipment cheaper there as well.
Dennis-

yeah im looking at the NEXSTAR tower hobbies is pushing....doesAFS really work?

Even some clubs have there own trainer plane Razrb, you might get lucky.
Even my club pres offered to let me fly his trainer until I got mine, but I already had my
plane.
Ebay has alot of choices for field equiptment.
RCU marketplace has a lot of choices as well.

I hear alot about Nexstar, not familiar with it, but I might even look into getting one.
any pro's or cons on that plane?
Tower offered $15 off on that plane for me.

the Nextstar is suppose to be a great trainer, but the afs system, is good - can be better - has some limitations to it from what i read in both the manual and other postings...rather swap with a FMA Direct Co- Pilot - but then there also goes the 300.00 limit

$100 over isn't that bad. I DO put $75 weekly into the hobby starting 1/5/2004 (getting a JOB)

I'd like to make one more suggestion. If you haven't already done it, find the closest local club and spend some time at the field. Get to know some of the guys, and hopefully your future instructor.

You'll have a HUGE leg up when you do buy that trainer because you'll already know the type of radio equipment the instructor uses, what type of engines people are use to (and can easily help you with), AND their preferences for trainers. That's not to say you can't buy something they're not familiar with, but it can make things a lot easier if you do.

You may find that they'll have a club trainer that you can learn on, so you can buy a "second" plane right away, and save yourself about $150. There's also the possibility that someone will have a perfectly good used trainer that's ready to go for a huge savings. (I recently helped a 15 year old who wanted to start learning find a trainer with engine and radio equipment for $150. It was in great condition, and the guy even threw in a couple spare glow plugs and props. )

There are a lot of options, so while it's hard to be patient, "chew slow, and spit accurate".
Dennis-

The Hobbico Superstar mentioned above is a good package. I have taught many people to fly that have this set up. It has excellent inverted flight when you are ready. It is also good on floats off water or snow.

Whatever you get, GET AN INSTRUCTOR. This will save you the most money.

Go to your local club and find out what most people in your area use as the "prefered trainer".

If any paticular plane is popular, there has to be a reason.

Warning, R/C and balsa dust is addictive. Once you get involved, you will be a life member.

That is what is so great about this hobby. Every first flight of a new plane is the same feeling as your very first flight.

We were at the club field a couple weeks ago and one of the members said he had to clear out some of his stuff and would we be interested in buying a Goldberg Extra 300. He said it had had many different engines on it but that a OS 108 would fly it great. He had flown it with a .61 but it was underpowered. It had the servos still hooked up and battery pack (no good) and RX. It looks surprisingly good and never has been wrecked. My son-in-law also bought a Futaba radio from him with the RX. I have the Futaba T6XA, something like that, and it's very similar but it only holds three planes in memory and has no exponential. We gave him $50 for the plane and he gave him $50 for the TX I think. He also bought a OS .91 four stroke for $90 from a member and it runs great. So I'm just saying check with club members in the area first. Most are like Volkswagon owners, they always have more than they can use laying around and maybe you can find a deal like we did. I've found that this is a rather exspensive hobby. I've been at since last march and have spent over a grand already. And two of my planes are spads!

I too should have recommended checking with your local club and instructors to determine what buddy boxes are being used. When just starting out this is really an important step. Would also recommend that you not try to learn alone. The result of having an instructor will save you much frustration and most certainly your airplane. Don't go it alone. That said, I think you will find the above recommended model is a fairly common product used as a first airplane trainer. Futaba and JR are the most common radio and receiver packages and most fields will support both. The benefit of first checking with your club is to determine what the majority are using. This way you are more likely to get help from people when needing answers to your questions.

I had a guy show up at the field one time with a plane that didn't have ailerons. The nose wheel and the rudder were connected to the left stick. Arrgh. I couldn't fly his airplane to test it out before instructing. I tried to taxi the darn thing and just couldn't make the mental switch to the left stick for rudder and nose wheel control. Needless to say, this limited the guy on finding help.