Hey guys. I'm new to r/c airplanes. I have a 40 size trainer that was given to me by a friend. The radio has been sold out of it, and it has not been in the air but twice, and not at all in about 4 or 5 years. I have gotten the engine started, and it runs fine (as far as I can tell, there is no miss in it, and it runs smooth). My question is what kind of radio would y'all recommend (Brand and so on) be bought to put back in it. I need at least 4 channels. After this is done, I have to find an instructor close by, but that's for another day.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a bunch.

I recommend that you FIRST find an instructor. He will give you advice on radios and may even know of a good used one you could buy. A good instructor can save you lots of money in many ways .

Any of the brand name radio equipment today is fine. Futaba, JR, Hitec, Aitronics.

But I'd find that instructor first if possible, because when training he'll most likely want to use a "Buddy Box" which requires that your radio equipment be compatible. If you were in my area i could safely say buy Futaba or Hitec and there's a 90% chance the instructor will have it too. (They're compatible.) But I know other areas of the country (and probably this state) have other preferences.

You can also buy your own "buddy box" so you won't have to worry about it. Can usually be found for as little as $25 on eBay or some hobby shops.

For a name brand RC set up of 4 channels, you can expect to pay around $125 to $150. This will include a Transmitter (Tx), Receiver (Rx), battery packs for the Tx and Rx, charger for the packs, an on/off switch to mount on the plane, usually 4 servos, and one servo extension.

If you can afford a bit extra and think you'll stick with the hobby, it might be worth investing in a 6 channel (or more) computer radio. Futaba's 6EXA is a decent beginner's PC radio, and I think they're available (with all the other stuff listed above) for around $250.

Welcome to RCU, Good Luck, and most of all, Have Fun!
Dennis-

All the radios mentioned have lots of range so that isn't an issue. The only radio I have a problem with is JR. The JR buddy box requires its own battery which has to be kept charged up and this also adds another potential weak link to the system. A lot of RC clubs have buddy boxes in the club house so newbies don't to buy one. Futaba and Airtronics are the 2 standards used at our club. We found out about the battery issue when we added a JR buddy box.[>:]

Thanks guys. I appreciate your help.

Here is a link to the AMA club locator. Use this to find a club in your area.

http://modelaircraft.org/templates/ama/clubsearch.aspx


Which radio should I buy. All new flyers ask this question.

How many channels do I need? You will get many opinions.

And, you will get a debate on whether your first radio should be a standard
radio or a computer radio. What's the difference?

First it is important to realize that you should be able to fly any plane on 4
channels. That is enough to control rudder, elevator, ailerons and throttle.
With that you can fly an indoor plane, an electric park flyer or a giant high
powered plane.

However, with more channels you gain flexibility. For example, you can put
two servos on the ailerons and control them individually. You can operate
moveable landing gear. And, when it comes to gliders/sailplanes you are
likely to do more surface mixing than on power planes, so if you into
sailplanes and plan to fly full house sailplanes, you typically want more than
4 channels so you can do that fancy surface mixing. The club wizards
recommended at least 7 channels for full house sailplanes.

Here is a typical channel breakdown. These apply to electrics, glo and
gliders.

Rudder - 1
Elevator - 1
Ailerons - 1 or 2
Spoilers/Flaps - 1 or 2
Motor/tow hook/landing gear - 1

That makes 5 or 7.

Could you use 9? Sure, if you have the money?
How about 12? Sure, if you have the money?

I am not pushing a given number of channels, just trying to help establish
what they are used for. In my opinion, most sport flyers will be well served
with a 5 channel computer radio like the Hitec 5X and be able to do what they need to do for
years. Bump it up to 7 channels and you have about all you need to fly almost
any sport plane without feeling you are short channels. If your plane has
bomb doors, fires rockets, ejects pilots, and stuff like that, 12 might not be
enough.

For the rest of us, why would 7 be enough. You typically don't have spoilers
and flaps on the same plane. A motor and a tow hook would not likely reside on the same plane either unless it is a tow plane.

While landing gear is very rare on sailplanes it is common on power planes, but then you really
don't need two flap servos unless you are getting into advanced stuff.

So 5-7 channels will still usually do it unless you are into really complex planes or really advanced competition.