I am not going to disagree. If you insist on trying to teach yourself then electric is probably easier. Why? Cause when you crash they tend to be more repairable. They typically weigh less, have a lower power to weight ration, and fly slower. Remember, we are talking trainers here, not hot brushless machines.

I strongly disagree that having someone teach you is redundant. The object of an instructor is to get you in the air, learn right from left, and take the airplane home in one piece. These skills are basic. You are right, once you are soloed you can start making new mistakes but these are advanced mistakes and are part of getting better. Gotta learn to walk before you can run.

As an example of electrics vs. power I bought my son an Ezette electric. He was used to flying my Headmaster and RCM trainer 60. He could fly the Ezette fine but crashed it 3 times from 30' altitude due to getting into a high speed stall. He got it going just slow enough and honked in elevator and rudder. Airplane stalled and snapped without enough altitude to recover. As I said before though, the airplane was repairable each time but he got tired of fixing it and flies power now.

Quite honestly, if you want to teach yourself I suggest a Slow Stick and 2 or 3 battery packs. Break it, tape it back together and try again.

BUT, I really don't understand why someone doesn't want to join a club and get an instructor. One of the joys of this hobby is meeting and interacting with a bunch of other addicts! The social part of the hobby is as important to me as the building and flying.

Just my opinion.

Electrics that I have seen (limited exposure admitted) in the trainer category have always appeared to be struggling to remain airborne.The margin between flying speed and stalling speed seems too small, making control input requirements more precise than a typical student is capable of. A glow powered A/C would just power thru the error without consequence. I have fiends who love their electrics but I prefer glow. I have seem some higher doller electrics perform well but then we are not talking about trainers any more.

Bruce [

Guys , I tried my best to join a club but I really think the reason I got the run around is because of the amount of people joining these days. The sad part of teaching yourself is how much money and time is wasted. The BEST PART OF TEACHING myself is I dont have anybody to blame when I crash.

Electric airplanes to me do have there faults as far as stalling . I know the difference because I have flown both glow and electric. With a glow trainer I can nose dive for about 10 seconds and pull out of it without a problem , but with electric NO WAY,[:'(] the wing would fold and it would stall almost immediately. But take my advice, learning on an electric plane is best if you dont have a person to train you . Just fly a little calmer than with a glow engine.

PS I have received compliments on both, and have been asked "is that electric or glow" flying both.

from a converted, long time gas flier; -both the goldberg Electra & Hobby lobby Skimmer are fine beginer machines & fly WELL with stock motor &7 cells(cheap) you can get by with one of the cheap or older used astro chargers for a while . since its essentially a powered glider, with the capability to shutdown &restart, endurance can be quite long.no it wont do rolls &high wind can be a problem BUT; easy to fly & land,cheap to maintain.basics can be mastered until he wants /affords gas machine.