I would like to get into flying. I race 1/8 buggies and have had a Caliber 30 heli(which I crashed). I would now like to fly planes, but I don't want a cheapie trainer. I would like something that handles great and is pretty fast and agile. I think I would grow out of a simple trainer pretty quick, so why not just skip that step and get something good from the start?

Yeah! all those trainers are for mere mortals! Gods like you should start with a craft more worthy of your vast experiance!........Seriously trainers are there to learn how to fly with. You do not know how to fly....... and beleive me it is 100 times harder than an RC car is! Find an instructor (at a local club) and he will help you choose an airplane that you can learn with.

[quote]ORIGINAL: newtoheli

have had a Caliber 30 heli(which I crashed). I would now like to fly planes, but I don't want a cheapie trainer. I would like something that handles great and is pretty fast and agile. I think I would grow out of a simple trainer pretty quick, so why not just skip that step and get something good from the start?
[/quote


The simple answer to that question is the likely result will be the same as your helicopter and at that point you go on to the next adventure without accomplishing anything. The insistance on not finding a mentor (a much more approrieate word than instructor for what this person will do for you) and/or insisting on a totally inappropriate aircrft is responsible for most failures of the newbie to realize his dream of flight. As well as keeping the dumpster filled with projects for "fast and agile" aircraft for me.

John
Its your decision, a possible lifetime advocation or simply another failed adventure.

Your right,if i had to do it all over again i would get a jet,there a lot faster (100+ mph) and more fun to crash.

Well I actually did learn how to fly the heli quite well after trial and error and I have flown some cheap electric plains. Problem is I don't have people around me that fly really so I'm on my own. I see there aren't to many optomistic people in the plane forums. I was simply didn't want to have replace a plane with a another after achieving acceptable levels of flight. I guess I'll buy what appeals to me since people can't give worthy advice.

You have received worthy advice from at leat two of us but you do not want to heed it. Please buy about 6 planes to try to fly and enjoy yourself.

Wait a minute...you WERE given good advice. If you choose not to follow it then the result is all you. The fact is, you will most likely crash WHATEVER you get, even if it is a trainer, without first seeking the benefit of an instructor. And I doubt you "learned" much at all about heli flying either with an attitude like that. In the end you will have a nice box of crashed stuff.
Now there's something to be proud of.

There is not one corner of the continental US that you cannot find good help and for free with a little research.

Yes you can learn and even succeed on occassion by yourself depending upon your motivation. However at what cost? And there is only one answer many broken aircraft. Thats a fact nobody can escape. Your total costs to reach any given level of proficiency will exceed the costs of using a mentor/trainer at least 10 fold.

Its sad as you obviously have no intention of doing other than you have posted anyway by I have replied because perhaps it will help folks who may heed good advice and realize their dreams.

John[8D]

Id say to get hold of a simulator first. They really do help in the aspects of learning to take off and land. Since youve run cars and have some heli experience, you already know how to react when the plane is coming back at you. I think something like a 4 star 60 would be a good start, bigger easier to see, does mild aerobats.Put something like a 91 4 stroke on for power. As stated above though, you should really try n see if there isnt somone who could help you along at first. If there isnt..maybe get hold of one of those "Co pilot" things, they help to right the plane when you get in trouble.

While I wouldn't recommend skipping the trainer either, I think the initial replies in this thread were disrespectful and a response similar to his would be quite normal I would think.


What is with the attitudes people? This is supposed to be a fun place.

The guys simply asked what would be the next step up from a trainer. I do not think that is so unreasonable. We do not know his skill level. So why give him so much grief? I think most people would be a little annoyed by the response he got. Help a brother out! We arean't trying to run people off are we?

As was stated in a not so inviting way, it probably wouldn't be the smartest thing in the world to skip the trainer, but I don't think a slighly more advanced plane to start with is totally out of the question.

My second plane was a four star 40. My third is a Seagul space walker. The spacewalker is much more stable and I personally enjoy it more than the four star simply because it flies great.

I don't think the seagul space walker is that far of a jump from a trainer.

Its not exactly really fast, but it is somewhat aerobatic and is stable.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Well from "those of us who know," Get yourself the new Hanger 9 Corsair. Install a nice Fourstroke, possibly a Saito 120. Your going to need to beef up the gear a bit with a set of Robarts. Along with the radio gear I think you'll invest about $1100. Lets skip the trainer stuff and just get right into it. On the day your plane is ready to go and your packing up the car, do this. Place the plane on the ground behind the car and simply run over it! This will also save you alot of time driving out their, bragging on how great you are and stuffing that thing straight to China! It could be embarassing.[sm=bananahead.gif]

I stand by the answer i gave,he wants to skip the trainer and get it on,then that's the advice i gave,probably one of the best aircraft if he wants to play.

BoGo,where the heck is Tee,az. ?.

*And i thought he said "Lee" .

[quote]ORIGINAL: wings
The guys simply asked what would be the next step up from a trainer.
[/quote


Wings If you will read his post agine you will see that his intent was for something "fast and agile" and bypassing any kind of an appropriate airplane and the quote you made from my first post merely stated the likely outcome in a simple non confrontational manner. On our county public field nice aircraft are destroyed on a near daily basis by those who insist on 'inappropriate first aircrft' and/or resisting any kind of aid. Now this gentleman has no intent of following any advice that he does not want to hear but perhaps if just one person out there reads this and does see the light and acheives success as you have then the posting will have been worth it.

John

H-9 "Arrow".

I don't think he is going to a club anyway. If he did already, I can imagine the response to his attitude. The "I'm going to be a great pilot by tomorrow" attitude never set well with anyone....if this guy is for real and not trolling.

Why would you outgrow a trainer? I'm many flights away from being able to bring a trainer down the runway one foot off the grasss inverted, pulling up/down, climbing to an adequate distance, and flat spinning it back to near ground level. I still can't circle the field doing a continuous rolls without hesitation with my trainer. I still can't ........

And when I prove I can't, my trainer is much cheaper and easier to repair or replace than most other planes.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

added:
I got good enough that I didn't need a trainer last year. This year I have a 40 size and a 60 size. The better I get the more I like to get the trainer out to try new things.

Wings++

OMG you guys. All I heard was "You suck like everybody else on the planet. Get a trainer loser." or a smart ars answer of getting a really advanced plane like a jet. He already said he could fly a heli. I know it's not the same as a plane but he sure the heck isn't completely lost either. I personally learned how to fly with a friend's Sporter 20 without a buddy box and never crashed it until after I learned to fly good and started screwing around.

1. He's flown helicopers
2. He's flown cheap electic planes

Given those 2 I'd say a trainer isn't required. Although I'd still suggest somebody that knows how to fly to help you. Somebody helping you will be tons more important than a trainer. I read his 2 posts several times and didn't see anything wrong with his attitude.

Oh and the intentional wrong advice in a beginners forum is really bad and very poor taste. i.e. another beginner doesn't get your smart ars joke and thinks your serious and goes out and buys a really expensive plane on the good advice he got here from the experts here and loses $1000 in 10 seconds. Good job guys.

Ever see a jet fly ?,ever see it crash ?.

Hey!
Sponge Mike, I said "H-9 Arrow"!
It's a good "aerobatic trainer" with some of the forgiving qualities of a trainer, yet you can do most all the aerobatic manouvers.
I was really sitting back, trying to figure if this was for real, troll, or just a case of a little too much self confidence.

new2heli- If you are serious about flying without much help, as SOME of us have had to do, you would be best off if you get a "cheap electric" Like the sky scooter pro- and fly the heck out of it, then go to a "2nd" plane like an Arrow, 4 Star, or other.
You will get a lot of er, different opinions on learning to fly by yourself, it's not easy, or likely very cheap, as I know, but it IS possible.
Good luck with your next question..............

Anybody that would go and drop a 1000.00 after reading this forum or any other

1. Has bigger problems to worry about
2. Deserves what they get.

As others have pointed out get help from a person not a forum!!!!

MikeMc and Wings I think you guys need to get a little thicker skin... Its only insulting if you take it that way

I drove my last electric car 12 years before I got an LT-40. I had flown many non RC simulators, and had a bit of full scale training. My first flight consisted of a buddy taking it off, and trimming it, handing the TX to me, and I flew it and landed it. The orientation skills I learned from RC cars never went away, even after 12 years. The flight experience I gained from sims, and full scale helped me understand flight dynamics. Not to mention the LT is a VERY forgiving plane.

If I were you, I'd go with a Four Star 40 or 60. You won't get bored so quick, and they still retain alot of the gentleness of a trainer. Just do yourself a favor, and get an instructor with a buddy box for the few flights. Good luck!

Hold on a minute, he said that he had asked for advice and indicated that it wasn't the right advice for him. That normally doesn't set well with folks who take time with people asking about learning to fly planes. He left room for people to take it the way it sounded. I'm not an instructor in rc planes, but I was in full scale helicopters. I had a student who claimed he had his hot air balloon ticket, and my flight instruction wasn't the right instruction for him. Guess who had a hard time learning and failed his checkride while irritating the h*ll out of a bunch of people along the way.

Some people are suggesting low wing, taildraggers for a beginner plane...aka his trainer. Uh, nobody at my club would suggest that to a first time flyer. The right advice would be to look around for an instructor with a trainer for him to learn on if he is dead set against buying his own. If money is an issue with him, then this is better advice yet. What are the odds that he will ball up his advanced plane on the first few flights? If money is the main driver then he doesn't need to be trashing his first plane when he is learning.

Speaking of helicopters and planes, they ain't the same thing. I had to unlearn a lot to fly planes. Some of my 'air sense' helped, but it definately wasn't enough to reject ANY instruction or advice from anyone at the field, even the new guys with trainers.

Oh, that's a plane. I took it like "Top Flite Lawn Dart"

LOL,

The purpose of these forums aren't to help each other by sharing knowledge? Wow. Boy was I mistanken.[]

Thanks for pointing that out Crashem. This would explain all the negativity in here.

You want thick skin then test me and see how thick it is, but don't give beginners bad advice on purpose. Somebody like myself or Wings knows better when usless BS is dished out... a beginner might not. I still see nothing wrong with his attitude.

Something I've noticed here is if somebody comes to this forum and even hints that they might not be a 100% n00b when asking about learning to fly they get totally ripped on because people assume they have a bad attitude. This isn't the first time. Indicating they might have some slight atvantage because of their background or history is NOT having a bad attitude.

He didn't ask if he should get a trainer. I think jettstarblue is the only one thet actually gave him an answer.