hi guys, i am new to the board and new to planes, not new to r/c though. I have a couple of questions about a plane selection. I do recognize that as a first time flyer i will need to learn on a trainer and i have a couple in mind. Winter is just about here so i need a project and was thinking about building this airplane http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAEY0&P=0 i am not worried about the construction as i have built complicated models before and this one looks pretty straight forward. like i said i am getting an ARF trainer to start with but want to also start building a "nice looking" plane for when i get the hang of flying. my question is: is this a good plane? does it fly well? has anyone here had any expierience with this plane? if not could someone suggest a different plane that looks similar? thanks in advance-sean

Great Planes is a good company. I have never flown that RV-4, but I feel pretty comfortable in saying that is probably flies well. You are right in your assumption that that plane will not make a good platform to learn on. Why not buy a trainer kit? They are cheaper than thier ARF counterparts and will fulfill your "winter project" needs quite well.

If you are set in your decision to buy your 2nd plane first, and just start the build - it looks like a good one to me. Although there are some great semi-symetricals out there that will do lots of great aerobatics, while still providing stability for the lower end of the learning curve. The Ultra stick series come to mind.

Good luck!

well i am not actually going to buy my second plane first, i plan on buying them together. The reason i want an ARF trainer is that i fully expect it to get beat up(perhaps my second plane will as well) and i would hate to spend all that time on some thing that may not last that long. One of the things that has atracted me to r/c planes (besides flying) is all the beautiful planes to choose from. i am thrilled to learn how to fly but i just cant get that excited about a trainer.

I am a beginner to RC also and I have been flying a trainer sorta successfully for a few months now. I started out with an Arrow RTF with an EVO 40 Trainer system. It is history but transfered all the components into an EZ Fly 40 I got off of e-bay. It is a lot easier to fly. I already have my two second planes one ARF Slow Poke 40 I got off of e-bay (OK I am an e-bay addict) and the other is a Funster 40 Kit that is partially assembled, wings and fuselage. I have an OS .45FX for the Slow Poke and a K&B .65 Sportster for the Funster 40. Which one of these would be the easier to fly compared to the Trainer 40. Also any tips on flying or a web site that I could get some flying instructions from would be helpful. I can take off and fly with little to no problems but landings are still a little rough. I do not have access to an instructor. I have advanced enough to do rolls, loops, Cuban 8's. Will try inverted flight some time in the future but don't know if the trainer will even fly inverted so haven't tried. I really need help with landing instructions.
I flew CL back in the 70's and early 80's and there is no comparison to the two except the construction part. That has been a great in making the repairs this poor old trainer has been getting.
BTW: Can you remove the fly wheel from the EVO 40 Trainer and it still run good? It sure does add a lot of weight to the model. I could shed quite a bit off of the plane if I could remove the flywheel.
Thanks,
GPoe

Well a trainer kit not only trains you to fly, but also how to build. There are alot of techniques and tips that go into building an airplane. You can use the trainer to teach you these things. Even if you destroy the trainer, the knowledge will still be in your head. No crash can take that away. You can use that knowledge to rebuild the trainer, build a new one, or whatever you want.

I am putting some time into my trainer, LT-40. A good trainer is so stable in flight, that any competent instructor will be able to fly it with relatvie ease. You can keep flying with an instructor until you are sufficinetly confident in your ability to fly.

Why buy a nice car, when you can crash it on any given day? There are so many old ladies, maniacs, testosterone filled teenagers, and ditzy girls on the road, the chances of denting your four-wheeled friend is relatively high.

Anyway, thats my view. Its the hobby that really matters. Anyone who gets into this hobby knows they are going to lose some airplanes. As one poster said (Forgive me for not quoting the source ): "It's nothing a six pack won't cure"!

Good luck.

I think i am going to go with the Tower Hobbies trainer- if you fly with a certified instructor(which i intend to do) and you still crash it, Tower will replace the plane. Although i do have quite a bit of expierience building models, you make a good point about learning planes-all different types of r/c models have there quirks,cars,boats,planes whatever. Perhaps i will get 2 kits 1 trainer and 1 sport. its probably going to be a long winter. BTW byris, what type of planes do you fly?

I haven't personally flown the RV, but I would rather recommend a good second plane such as a Sig four-star, or a Goldberg Tiger 2. They have longer tail moments that will let the plane track through the air with more stability. The four-star is a tail dragger, but with the long tail moment, it will be easier to handle on the ground. The Tiger 2 is a trike setup, just like your first trainer will be, making it easier to make the transition to a low wing. It can be set up as a tail dragger after you master low wing flying. I think the RV is a good plane for someone that has already mastered low wing flying, and might not make a good choice as a second plane.

Jesse

thanks for the info. i just did some searching on the Goldberg Tiger 2 and could not find one bad word about it. its a nice looking plane as well.

can this plane be built with an O.S. .46AX ? it says you can only go up to .45 does the little extra matter?

in one of the magazine reviews this plane(RV-4) was found to have some defective wood, quite a bit actually that needed replacing. as a beginner you might not recognize that until too late. .Id second the idea of a Skytiger or Four Star kit or ugly stick. save the beauty queens for later. you just need something to build time on. possibly two back ups as you'll have spares&you cant have too many planes especially when starting out. difference between 45&46 engine for all intensive purposes is minimal& there is some advertising hype there too.

seanb,
It'll fly fine with the .46. I've seen people stick a .60 in it and flew like a jet. The Tiger 2 comes as either a kit or a ARF, and in .40 and .60 sizes. I'm assuming you want to build the kit? If you already have the .46 engine, then I would get the .40 size Tiger, if not, I would recommend the larger .60 size plane. The extra size will make it easier to see and will fly better in the wind.
Let us know what you decide.

Jesse

yes, definatley a Tiger 2 kit. i have an O.S. .46AX on the way. My trainer kit should not be far behind.

what is the most popular size aircraft anyway? are .40 size considered to be on the small side?

does anyone have any pictures of a Tiger 2 with something other than the color scheme you see on the tower web site