S3Project

Ahh, it's been a while since I've tried to get into another hobby. After knowing all their is about airsoft (www.airsoftplayers.com if anyone is interested) I'm looking into getting into RC planes...something to do with my mom . Anyways, I've been reading posts for the past couple days, and I'm lost. I don't really like unrealistic or barebones-type planes, but I see I may have to learn off one. I have no experience, besides a little time playing FMS. I need a trainer plane for myself to learn on - I don't believe there is anyone nearby. I don't really want to have to pay fees or go to a special field, which is why electrics appeal to me. I was specifically looking at the Aerobird Challenger and the Sky Scooter Pro 2. A lot of people seem plus-minus on the Aerobird, (which seems good to me, besides the looks) and I'm not sure if a Sky Scooter is right for a newbie.
Any of your opinions will be most appreciated; electric is probably best for me (quiet = good) but if you wish to convince me otherwise, by all means do! Budget is around 400-ish...I know the NexStar is good, but won't I have to pay AMA fees, lots of fuel, be noisy, etc? Anyways, thanks for help.

ICE_MAN

The Aerobird is a great plane! Especially if there is no one around to help you learn to fly! i Had a similar electric 4 years ago when i didnt know any thing about nitro powered planes. I taught myself to fly with that. I had it till a couple of months ago when Brutus<my english bulldog> decided he wanted to play with it. It flew very slow and very quietly. I only had the space of a football field to fly. With houses in three directions. So if you do not have a field near you and plan on teaching yourself go with the aero bird. Then you can advance nd get so scale or highly aerobatic electrics, whatever floats your boat.

How ever if you want to get into nitro. Dont try to go from flying that aerobird to jump right into nitro! You need to find a field near you. go check out the planes, talk to the members there, ASK QUESTIONS! Thats how we all learn. If you want to get into nitro you will of course need the plane, engine, radio, field box, starter <chicken stick or 12v>, Glow ignitor, battery for power panel, power panel, nitro,spare props,ect. ect. Some planes will include the engine and radio,such as the nexstar. With nitro you will need to start with a trainer and get a few months out of it or until your really good with it. Then if you are wanting a low wing plane before you buy that You will need a low wing trainer such as a 4*40. Once you are able to fly it really well you will be ready for about any bird you want.

Good luck with the hobby and remember just have fun with it

rfw1953

My Feedback: (2)

Ice-Man is right - Go to a local flying field and check out what equipment is being used. I would strongly encourage that you not learn alone. You will most likely crash your new airplane. get your AMA card/ insurance and then join a club. Get with an instructor to first learn the basics and solo. You need to know what your local flying club is using in the way of buddy boxes. Most support Futaba and JR, but you still need to check. If you were joining our club I would recommend the Hobbico Superstar 40. OS engine with Futaba electronics. There are other good trainers, but this one is certainly one that I would recommend. I would also encourage you to purchase a G.P. Generation 2 flight simulator. The benefit is 'stick time' regardless of the weather or time of day. New pilots who work on flight simulators just seem to grab the basics much faster. Also, get a good field box with a starter. Many times guys show up with nice airplanes, but they cut corners on the field stuff only to end up spending more later on. Do it right the first time and get the stuff you need to make the first time experience a positive one.

You may want to check out a local swap meet to get a quality trainer. Just make sure you have someone with you to inspect the product before you buy. Also, make sure you replace the Rx. battery regardless of what the person selling the airplane tells you.

Good luck and hope this helps.

Crashem

For electric parkflyers look at GWS (Distributed by Horizon Hobbies) They make several park/slow flyers that you can learn on. I would also recommend getting an instructor but if you go it alone two nice planes are the slow stick and tigermoth. If you go electric get a couple of spare battery packs and a good charger capable of charging NiCad, NimMh, Lion batteries

DBCherry

My Feedback: (4)

You're approach to all this is right on the money. You're researching first, seeking advice, open to ideas and opinions.... You should be very successful once you "bite" into it and actually get started. So, I'm giving you a thuimbs up.

The AMA has a page where you can plug in your Zip Code and find flying clubs close to you. http://www.modelaircraft.org

I'd suggest going to the club on a warm, calm weekend day. Plan on getting there around noon and staying for at least a couple of hours. Talk with everyone who'll listen and tell them how interested you are in getting started. Tell them you're considering electrics because of the costs. They may know of someone selling a full trainer package in good shape used, for cheap money. (I've helped people find complete packages for as little as $150, and recently purchased a 25 size trainer with engine and 6 channel radio gear for $60 at an RC austion. So they're out there.

My lat father-in-law use to say, "chew slow, and spit accurate". Good advice in most situations.
Dennis-

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

S3PROJECT! There aren't many guys who can say that they are self taught. I tried it and failed. If you would like to avoid some of the pitfalls of the typical model club trainer route, learning by yourself with a park flyer might be doable. Once you get your first park flyer kit, just make duplicates from your own materials. I'll bet you could put an airframe together for $5. A cheap covering material is colored craft store cellophane that you apply with 3M 77 spray adhesive. You can tack it down and shrink it with your MOMs' steam iron. The park flyers that are geared for beginners probably have good instructions on how to fly. If you can get the thing launched and flying away from you ,the direction control comes natural,but when it is coming back towards you move the stick to the direction of the low wing to level it out. If you are trimmed for level flight, your main concern is to keep the plane from spiraling in and crashing. Try to keep your turns gradual, everyone tends to oversteer and cause a cork screw dive. Hope to hear how it turns out!

Flying Rubbernutz

NEW FLIER HERE....THE AVISTAR IS A GREAT FIRST PLANE. THE SEMI-SEMETRICAL WING DESIGN IS BOTH FORGIVING AND ENABLES YOU TO TAKE YOUR FLYING TO THE NEXT STEP. I HAVE AN OS 45 MAX FSR ( CIRCA 1980 ) IN MINE. GLASSED THE WING JOINT FOR MORE SUPPORT. OTHERWISE A GREAT PLANE.

clwgolf

My Feedback: (1)

I am selling a new Sky Zap electric airplane in an opened box. This airplane has never been flown. The plane will come with many extras: two extra rechargeable batteries ($40 value), (8) extra propellers, (4) extra motor covers, (1) extra antenna for radio transmitter, (3) extra sets of new wings, and (1) extra battery charger. I am asking $80,plus actual shipping costs. If you buy this airplane from me, you will receive much more than if you bought it from a hobby store. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

steener

i agree with flying rubbernuts. i also have an avistar and i love it. i have now increased the throws and it can do most aerobatic manuvers. you can buy the avistar select for under $300. its an rtf so it just needs a little time to set it up. they fly great. my instructor did want to let it go and let me try. =)

Balsa Master

First, couple of questions:

1. Do u wanna build it or do u want an RTR(Ready to Run)?
2. How good are u with ure hands?
3. Do u have any flying experience?
4. Do u have ne parts already(radio, servos, etc)?

Answer these and i can prolly be of some help.

-BM

BULL-RCU

My Feedback: (15)

Do all of the above... When it's time if you want an easy flying plane thats not thenormal trainer look check out this plane... WW1 Eindecker by Super Flying Models $119.00. It was my second plane, but it cold have been my first. Flys easier then my trainer does

jrpnde

I'm a big supporter into checking into local flying clubs. You didn't mention what your starting budget is? Just for the sake of some airtime to get the feel of flying, the slow park flyer electrics will provide some experience. But, if you think you are serious to begin into nitro, look into some of the combo packages offered by Tower and others. For a 40 size trainer with the very basic equipment you're looking at $300-$350 at least to get started. Some local flying clubs also own their own trainer planes for instructional purposes. The AMA site will list all chartered clubs in your area. That may be an option before you fork over some serious dough. This is not a cheap hobby for the serious minded.

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

I started flying in March of 2003. I had no interest in building models, so I
went the R-T-F route. I think this is such a great way to get started.

I am a first timer. However I am also one of these guys that goes into intense
research when I get interested in something. After several months of research,
talking to people, flyers I decided to start with an electric parkflyer. I
looked at lots of planes and packages and selected the Aerobird.

It is a super value and very easy to fly. It includes a peak charger that can
be used in a car, as well as the batteries for the radio. Wings and other
parts are cheap and available at most hobby stores.

The new version, the Aerobird Challenger looks to be an even better performer.
Also, it has two flight modes - Sport for the beginner or relaxed flyer and
expert for the more advanced or
aggressive flyer.

HobbyZone AEROBIRD THREE CHANNEL ELECTRIC PARKFLYER

Very inexpensive and rugged for a three channel starter - $115-$150
The plane comes complete and fully assembled. Charge the flight battery, put
on the wing, put the batteries in the transmitter and up you go! Even the
batteries for the transmitter are included. With a little throttle management
you can get flights of 12-15 minutes on a battery.

New flyers like me are going to crash, especially if you are teaching yourself
to fly. You don't want something that will be costly to fix. The plane is
very rugged, but there is a full line of parts available at reasonable cost.
You can replace the whole main fuselage for $49 including the motor and all
the flight electronics. A wing is $15 and the tail is $9. So, if you crash
badly you can get everything for under $75 and you are back in the with a
three channel plane.

If you are interested I have written up a tips sheet on how to fix the
Aerobird.

Here is a review of the Aerobird ( before the new Aerobird Challenger)

http://www1.wildhobbies.com/news/def...&articleid=853
On these pages you will find Videos of the Aerobird in flight
http://www.parkflyers.com/html/aerobird_video.html
http://www.modelflight.com.au/model_flight_videos.htm

With 100+ flights on the Aerobird, I fly in 15 MPH winds and fly with great
confidence. Personally, after all the bad landings I am amazed that the plane
still flies, I love it and have recommended it to many friends who fly them
now as well. They all learned very quickly!

SKY SCOOTER PRO II

The Sky Scooter Pro II is another plane I like and recommend to new flyers.
You can get it as an ARF or as a RTF package with a 72 MHZ Hitec 3 channel
radio for about $160. The charger is 12 V, but is not a peak charger, so you
will eventually want to get a peak charger. On the recommended batteries you
get about a 5 minute flight, but there are other batteries you can get that
will extend that to about 10 minutes. When I bought the Aerobird, this
package was $260, now it is $160 and well worth your consideration.
http://www.hitecrcd.com/Funtec/Pro2.htm
Videos
http://www.hitecrcd.com/Funtec/videos.htm


From Electric Park Flyer to Glider


THE GREAT PLANES SPRIT SELECT 2 METER

If you are more interested in sailplane than parkflyers, the Spirit Select is
completely assembled with all the electronics installed. It includes a 72 MHZ
single stick radio. This is very easy to use and is very similar in look and
fell to the Aerobird's radio so I picked it right up and flew. It is
branded Hobbico, but it is really a Hitec radio.

Here is a link to the site where I purchased it for $139 complete!
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXVK55**&P=7

Here is a link to the ARF version where you can find links to two product
reviews. If you want to do some building, the ARF is the route, but for an
extra $40, I got the radio and the plane ready to fly. For me that was
perfect.
http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1045.html
Video
http://www.greatplanes.com/gallery/gpma16.mov

The plane has spoilers built in the wings that are not set-up when you get the
plane, but you don't have to enable them if you don't want to. Makes a good
project for later, and but the instructions tell you how to do it. I will do
that soon.

I started flying the Spirit in Mid July and have about 65 flights on it. In
the beginning I focused on hi-start launching and landing practice. I now
have
that down pretty well. However, this plane has a reputation of being a great
thermalling plane. I have had flights of 15-20 minutes and had the plane so
high it was a dot in the sky. I would definitely recommend it.


SPECTRA MOTOR GLIDER

I don't have one of these, but if you are more likely to buy a motor glider
than a pure sailplane, there is a version of the Spirit called the Spectra.
Essentially the same plane, but with a motor. Again, tower has it for $199
RTF - Add $10 for Eveready's and you are set.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXVJ51**&P=7


Both the Aerobird and the Spirit have been a pleasure. I would recommend them
to anyone starting out in electrics or gliders who would like to go the
ready-to-fly route rather then building.

BTW, if you are interested in sailplanes/gliders, check out this link:
http://lisf.proboards13.com/index.cg...num=1070740602