I am interesting in getting in RC Planes. I have Zero experience other than what I have read in the forums over the last couple days. Like every newbie, I have a ton of questions that I still need answered before I start. Here are the first ones that come to mind:

1. How do electric planes compare to gas powered planes? What are the pros and cons of each? How long will a set of batteries last versus a tank of gas? I think I would prefer a gas powered one (if I can afford it).

2. I am looking for something with minimal assembly required to start with, probably an RTF, if I understand correctly. Any suggestions? I would like to spend $200 or less if possible. I might be willing to go up to $300. I seem to be hearing a lot of good things about the Hanger 9 Alpha trainer that goes for just under $300.

3. I live at the beach. Can an R/C plane take off and land on sand or does it need something like concrete?

I have been reading this forum a lot recently and it has been extremely helpful. Any other input would be great. Thanks

Ryan

Electric is quieter than glow fueled or gasoline powered. There is less of a mess. Cheaper electric drives tend to give poor performance. Some of the more expensive electric drives can have the model perform right with glow powered models of the same size and weight. (yes, you can have the electric version come out the same takeoff weight as the glow model from the same kit.... and get the same total time per flight.)
At $200 or less... you are looking at an electric power 3 channel airplane. The $300 Alpha trainer will require you to buy appx $100 in additional support equipment.
The planes can take off and land in sand. However... loose sand getting into the mechanics is a VERY bad thing. Loose sand plus a glow engine will always be a messy sitation... the sand will stick to the model and trying to clean it off.... you will tend to scratch up (and possibley tear up) the covering. The electric will have less problems (noo goo to help the sand stick) but you would still need to take care to keep sand out of the motor....

Flying over water is a VERY bad idea for a beginner. beginners tend to crash.. and a crash in water is going to lead to a lot of problems. It is very possible for water to destroy the RC system. Salt water is VERY bad for anythig electrical or electronic. Salt wate sould also be very bad for a glow engine.

Well it seems I have already run into my first problem; The legalities and safety concerns of flying an RC plane on a public beach. The beach is very long (probably 300 or more feet from water to the first line of houses) and doesn't see much traffic (at least in the area in front of and around my house), I would still be concerned about flying an RC plane. How large of an area do I need to fly?


One possible idea is to buy a small, slow moving plane that will stay in a small area but still be fun to fly. The[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=303]Mini Gee Bee[/link] looks like a possibility. It is small, can stay in a relatively small area, and best of all is cheap. What do yall think about this? Are there any other similar RC planes that can be used in a relatively small area like this one? Thanks

could you explain what a glow fueled engine is? How does it differ from a gas engine?

Glow fuel engine is more like a diesel engine. It runs on a glow igniter. (no spark)

Flying R/C is one of the finest things that ever happened to me and I am sure it will be for you too.
Learning without the aid of an instructor is hard, expensive and dangerous. Even a slow and lite plane can hurt someone or you. You may give up before you get any real enjoyment.
The Gee Bee is not what you need to learn on IMO. It may be small but will be a handful at first for you. Very lite winds will affect it's flying.
Once you a competant pilot the beach will be a great place to relax with a plane but I really feel you need an instructor and stick time first.

Mike

The salt in the sand on a beach will kill an electric motor! The answer to all your questions is the same given to all newcomers. ......Find an instructor!.......... Manitaining and flying R/C model planes is complex and hard to do on your own. Yes folks do it but it costs them lots of money in crashes . Most give up! Find a local club and join it . They will teach you a lot. Do not buy a plane first! Get an instructor first. He will guide you to the proper plane. Usually you should start with $500 but there are small electric planes out there for $150 or so. Once you learn to fly one of these and you want to move up to a better plane you have to throw away the first one and all it's equipment and buy the $500 equipment and get instruction!

Ryan,
I don't wish to discourage you, because this is possibly the greatest hobby in the world, but you asked for advice and I'm going to agree with what others are saying.

Flying at the beach won't be something I'd recommend for a long time yet, for two reasons.

1) Most electrics in your price range, and that you MIGHT be able to learn on without an instructor, will not fly well in wind over about 5 mph. Sea breezes are usually too much for a small electric ParkFlyer.

2) A glow engine powered plane is much too large, fast and dangerous to fly anywhere near people, houses or family pets. There have been two deaths this year (that I know of) caused by people being hit by a glow plane.

Flying these things is NOT as easy as those TV commercials make it look, and getting an instructor is the most sensible way to approach it. Unfortunately, while you may buy the plane, radio equipment and engine for about $300, as has been said it will cost another $100 to $150 for required support equipment, PLUS AMA ($58) and club ($??) Memberships. These are really a necessity if you're going to fly glow or larger electrics. AMA provides liability insurance (to cover YOU if you hit someone or something), and the club will provide free instruction AND a safe place to fly. (AMA membership is much cheaper if you happen to be under 16 (or 18?).)

You could go out and buy something like a small electric package (Park Flyer), and possibly teach yourself (others have), the majority of those who've taught themselves will also tell you to get an instructor.

If you decide to go that route, your best bet for an all inclusive package seems to be an Aerobird or Aerobird Challenger. They can be bought for $125 to $150 depending on where you buy, but as was mentioned earlier, none of it's equipment can be used in any other airplane. Again, they won't fly in winds much over 5 MPH. (Well, and experienced pilot can fly them in winds up to 10 to 12, but the planes don't handle it very well.) (Forget the Firebirds, they have less power and are less controllable, and forget ANYTHING made by Megatech, Cheap trash.)

There are other good park flyers out there (such as GWS stuff), but most require that you buy the plane and other stuff separately, which is usually confusing for new guys.

Good luck, have fun, and welcome to RCU!!
Dennis-

My 2 cents
If you want to beggin flying for cheap, look for used rtf airplanes on ebay. I know someone who sold one sig kadet 40 rtf for $200. But be careful, soemtimes you can buy something that is not airworthy.
II think you can fly at the beach, but not till you become a somewhat experienced flyer, and event then, with small electrics (30-40 inches wingspan) and slow. Check out the collection of depron airplanes, such as foamie factory. The problem with the beach is its usually gusty.
Sailplanes are another option.
But these are for later. I'd reccomend to find a flying club with a grass or asphalt runway and an instructor. It will help you much. I'd leave what I mentioned above intil you are solo for about 2 months.
As for a trainer, try the sig kadet. Its the best trainer I've seen. The airplane itself costs $140, $40 for an os 40 la engine and then there's the radio
you have a couple of choices here. all of these usually come with servos and a receiver, so you can put these into the airplane
1. A cheap $200 radio, such as the hitec 4 channel. I believe they call it an eclipse. It will fly your airplanes very well, but you can only have set-ups for one airplane per radio
2 an $400-1000 programmable. These cost a lot, but they have memory for a lot of airplanes and are better in the long run

You can get good deals on these on e-bay but BE CAREFUL! And whatever radio you have and whatever set up you have, always range check your radio gear
That's it for now

I'd say you can throw this out right away. A lot of people give the quick knee-jerk response of "$350" when asked how much it costs to get into this hobby. Take it from someone who's going through it right now - it's more than $350. You may be able to get yourself into a cheap plane, cheap engine, and cheap 4-channel TX for $350, or get yourself a Nextstar for $380, but don't be fooled - that's not where it ends. I've already spent nearly double that and I haven't even started putting my plane together yet. Now, to be honest, that's with a complete field box with electric starter, fuel pump, power panel, all the trimmings, and it's with a $260 7-channel radio and a good OS46AX engine ($105). I'm going with the plan that I'm going to be in this for a while and it's all a big investment, but it's mostly stuff I'm not going to have to buy again and I'm going to need it all once I get going anyway. On top of that, I've been an apartment-dweller up until this year, so I had to buy a table to work on, a few tools (dremels are pricey, but oh so good!), and all the small things that you may or may not have that you need to put your stuff together - it all adds up and it adds up quickly. Throw on AMA and/or club membership dues, fuel, whatever else, and it's a (un?)fair bit more than $350.

You can find good used stuff for under $350 many times, but I would really strongly advise you not fly it at the beach. As stated earlier, it will trash the engine and radio stuff fairly quickly. I would find a club and learn with them. You will find that flying on the beach will not work really well. Maybe some day with the right stuff, but not a beginner. Sand in an engine will destroy it quickly. You would be wasting the money you spend because you would destroy the plane and engine very very fast.

Not saying that to discourage you, but if you want to fly and save money, a club and good instructor will help. Doing it on your own on sand is not a good idea. I would guess the plane wouldn't last 5 minutes before you pack it in and destroy the plane, and if you fill the engine with sand and turn it over, its toast too.

A glow-fuel engine is a model airplane engine. The engines you normally see are glow fuel (alcohol, oil and nitromethane). Larger engines are gas engines, but we call them all gas engines which means they run on fuel.

Yes, as Caffeenman said, what YOU would call a "Gas Engine" we call a "Glow Engine". To us, "Gas Engines" burn Gasoline, and many are in the "Weed Wacker" size range.

Now that you have been discouraged by the good advice you have been given, I'll tell you something that you CAN look forward to:

Once you have learned how to fly, a Non-Powered Sailplane is great for the beach. They can be launched to a very high altitude with, what is in essence, a giant rubber band (Surgical tubing actually). And with the winds that a sea breeze offers, you can stay up for hours. Very relaxing!