Ok I'm obviously new here everyone so please be patient with me. I've got a great place to fly and wanna get a good starter plane but really I'm unsure what to even look for. I've never flown anything but would like to start simple and work my way up. I learn real fast and know its better to start simple and move up but I wanna make a good decision. I'm a member of alot of forums for other things such as OHV's and automotive forums and always got pretty good results so I figured I'd try here. What I'm kinda looking for is some advice on whats good to get started with. I wanna keep the cost down but still want decent quality. I understand you get what you pay for but being a beginner I don't wanna crash a $1000.00 plane on its madien voyage. The wife would kill me for one thing. Anyway, I'd really like some ideas of whats good to learn with and maybe some prices and places to start to look for em. We don't really have a good hobby shop in town so I'll probably have to buy online. I've looked on ebay but needless to say I'm as lost as a goose in a barrel of corn there. I just don't wanna buy something and it not be easy to learn on, and then I don't want to buy something and it be too simple and not fun. Hope this makes sense. All advise is appreciated and welcome.

For aircraft, look at [link=http://www.towerhobbies.com]Tower Hobbies[/link].

For more info,[link=http://www.easyrc.com/airplanes/index.html]check this out.[/link]


Myself, I learned on the tower trainer about 9 years ago. It's a good plane, and you can get the ultimate combo thing for dirt cheap. [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCXF4**&P=0]Here[/link] it's like $260. Not bad at all, and you only have to get a few more little things for support equipment. Not a bad way to start out

If you need any more info, let me know

Sig Kadet LT-40, OS Max 46AX, Futaba 9C, Field box with accessories. Around $600 to start out. Least spent is in the plane actually. Kit cost around $85, ARF around $120

The BEST thing to do is to find the club in your area and go visit their field. There is far too much info you need to know than you can get from the forums. We can give you some very good advise, but there's nothing like seeing it up close and personal.

You'll need to get with a club anyway for instruction. It is VERY unadvisable to try this without help of some kind. Read some of the posts here, you'll find that most of the people who tried to fly without help carried their planes home in pieces.

Now of course, one or two people may chime in here to say that THEY flew sucessfully on their own, but the other 99% are usually too embarrassed to say they crashed.

There are MANY good trainers out there.

The FIRST THING you need to do is contact a local flying club. They will provide an instructor at no charge. I can say with certanty that trying to teach yourself to fly IS GOING TO BE EXPENSIVE and discouraging. The average first flight of someone trying to teach themselves to fly is about 30 seconds and typically results in damage to the plane and/or equipment on board it. A simulator is also helpful, but, IT WILL NOT TEACH YOU HOW TO FLY.

Since MOST trainers fly pretty much the same I suggest the following just starting out:

1. Stay away from the RTFs (Ready To Fly), especially the NexStar. The Nexstar has it's own set of problems. A search here on NexStar will provide an ABUNDANCE of information on these problems. The primary reasons I suggest staying away from RTFs are, the engines range from marginal to OK for the trainer, but are rarely useable for a second plane due to lack of power. The radios are typically a BASE LEVEL 4 channel radio with no choice of brand or channel (more on this further down).

2. Select an ARF trainer you like the looks of. I recommend an ARF for the first plane because if you build the plane you WILL HAVE an emotional attachment to the plane. In addition, you can easily build a warp or other problem into the plane and not realize it. Remember, a trainer is to learn on. Expect it to get beat up and/or damaged in the process.

3. Get a USER FRIENDLY ball bearing 46 engine. By user friendly, I mean that 99%+ of the engines will run great right out of the box with little, if any, "fiddeling". Some USER FRIENDLY engines I can recommend are: OS AX, Thunder Tiger PRO and Evolution brands. There are many excellent engines out there, however, a great many of them require a good deal of "fiddeling" to get to run properly. By getting the ball bearing engine initially it saves you from buying another engine for your 2nd plane.

3. Get a 6 channel (or more) COMPUTER radio. You will not be using the additional channels and functions to begin with, but, MANY fliers find they want these channels/functions by their 3rd or 4th plane (retracts, flaps, mixing capability, etc ). Again, this saves you from buying another radio so you can have these channels/functions. With Futaba, the 6EXA is a good, reasonably priced radio. All the major brands are good (Futaba, JR, HiTec, AirTronics), however, I am only familiar with Futaba.

4. While you are at the local flying field and/or talking to a club find out what BRAND OF RADIO the majority of the people are using and find out which are the LEAST USED CHANNELS. When you purchase your radio, get the brand the majority of the people are using and on one of the least used channels. As for the radio, the manuals are good, but a live person with knowledge/experience of your brand is much better when (not if, but when) you have a question or problem. By getting the radio on one of the least used channels you will minimize/eliminate your waiting time for the channel to clear so you can fly and also minimize the possibility of you being accidently "shot down" by someone.

5. I also suggest getting a "buddy box" cord. This allows 2 transmitters to be linked together so an instructor and student can fly together. You need to be aware of compatibility. Not all the radio equipment is compatible with each other - it is improving though. Make sure the buddy box cord will work with your transmitter and your instructor's transmitter.

6. With some careful shopping you should be able to get this stuff for a little more than most RTFs and a lot less than some of them.

7. You should also check with the local club on 2 other things: SOME clubs offer a program where the student can try flying for 30 days at no cost. The club provides the ALL the equipment and an instructor. This AMA program is designed to let people try the hobby before spending any money. Second, frequently a club member will have a used trainer setup for sale at a reasonable cost.

Hope this is of some help.

What MinnFlyer said...

Like Bubba, I endorse Twinman's sentiments.

One more nice thing about finding a club : Often times somebody is in the process of retiring a good trainer, and will part with it for peanuts. Same goes for a good radio. (You'll get the same frequency the guy has now, so that will teach you to NOT turn on the radio when he's in the air!)

Welcome aboard,
Dave Olson

ps - If you're bound and determined to teach yourself, start a different thread, and say so up front. It's possible, but usually costs more. Clubs are more interested in helping you preserve your initial investment, than helping you achieve "self-taught" status. However, if you're 100 miles away from a club, that point is probably moot.

I'm really just repeating what you've already been told, but perhaps it's reassuring to hear that it's what most people recommend.

First, find help locally. The importance of this cannot be overstated. The AMA site has a club locator. Perhaps there's one near. http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

If you can't find a local hobby shop, I find the Tower Hobbies web site to be the most informative, their prices are good, shipping is reliable, and the selection is more than adequate for a beginner.

Here's a link to a post I wrote recently providing one possible combo you could assemble for yourself. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2504326 Note, there are bunches of combinations, this was just one. Also, some of the prices may have changed slightly, particularly things like rebates and gift certificates. If you shop at Tower, it pays to look at the specials carefully before ordering.

I'll repeat what most others have said; find a local club and pay a visit. You'll learn more in a couple hours at a club field than you will here in a couple days.

But $450 to $550 will get you all you need for a good brand new trainer, engine, radio equipment and all the accessories to get it into the air.

At the club field you may get a good used trainer, engine and radio equipment for $150 to $200. Another $100 for new support equipment and you'll be ready to train with an instructor. They're free.

Good luck, and welcome to RCU.
Dennis-

Just wanna let you know, before getting into the hobby, you gotta sign up to the AMA (academy of aeronautics) it provides insurance for an annual payment. No AMA charter club will let you fly without it!

Thanks for all the info guys. Looking forward to learning.

I disagree about the stick to ARF comment. If you build a kit, getting attached it just a side effect. Outweighing that, you will learn SOOOOO much during the build, it will be worth the extra work in the long run.

Things that you'll learn on a kit build are the types of things that will ultimately ensure a well rounded understanding of the hobby. The inticracies of the different servo types, pushrod types and appropriate reinforcements, stuff about batteries, details of the fuel system, brand names of different parts, building tips and tricks (just in case you bust something). And the plans come with the kits so you can rebuild parts with relative ease.

Just my .02.