Buy the arf of your choice, put it together and go to the field. Then crash it, take it home, patch it up and go flying again. I have been through this process 6 times so far, and the fact that the plane still flys says it was repaired correctly. Granted, I have help from a good builder friend of mine. I guess the real question is do you want to build more or fly more? I like to fly more than build, the ratio of my planes is 3 arfs to 4 kits. All of my arfs fly, but no kits yet. I build as time allows,(2 boys+ really nice flying weather here in Vegas) but if I have a choice between building or flying, I'm going to the field. Loren

I am a newbie also. I just started assembling a SIG Kadet Mark II (kit). My dad got me into the sport. He got the ARF (Avistar). Crashed it and bought another one. Got an instructor. Learned to fly. Enjoys it very much but doesn't want to sit down and take the time to build. I decided I wanted my own creation to fly.

So I got a kit and spend about an hour everyday glueing my fingers together and making runs to the LHS for extra balsa. No really I have only had to make one run for balsa. I find it enjoyable to build the kit myself and I am not in a hurry to get it up in the air. Once I get it a little further along I will talk to an instructor about flying lessons and stuff.

I guess what I am trying to say is it seems some people want to get in the air right away (like my dad) others want to take there time(me). It seems an ARF is good if you want to get in the air and learn to fly right away. I wanted a little more than that. I wanted to build it then get it in the air. It seems to me its about personal preference.

First things first...get a can of diced tomatoes with garlic, onion, and basil when you get the 'getti sauce, fry up some lean ground beef, drain and combine, walla! Leaves more time for building and flying. I'm now admiring the contents of my Sig SE kit NIB, wondering if my clumsy hands will gain fine motor skills at this late stage, hoping I do better than I did with my ARF, dreaming about my future hog bipe and sledge, pretending one day people will say "I knew him when..." and all in all wondering why I didn't do this 30 years ago! I think I'm hooked.

If I ever build a plane from scratch or kit form, Im sure it will look great hanging there from the ceiling.
Dennis (Red Bluff,ca)
Real airplanes have 2 wings and round motors...................

I'm sold, I guess I will have to build one of these things before long....

With a 2 year old and a 4 year old, and a heavy hour job, it will take me 6 months, so I won't feel bad about my ARF in the mean time.... Instead of 3 hours a night, I'm more like 3 hours a week, unfortunately I'm not exaggerating... that's about right...

I think I'll buy a 4*60 kit and start it as a background project.

BCG22,

What it boils down to is what makes you happy, I started with a ARF and kit built my second plane. I found out that I like the building part the best, but I do not regret being able to start flying quickly. If you decide to build I am sure all of the fine people on this board will provide you with great, experienced, advice, as well as the folks at your field. If you go with the ARF no one will fault you, after all the reason we spend our money in this sport is to have fun.

On a funny note my ARF had its first crash before all of the parts were out of the box. I was like a kid in the candy store when it arrived. I started pulling all of the parts out of the box and one of the main landing gear goes right through the side of the fuse. Called my instructor in horror and all he said was to calm down and get out some clear packing tape. It still flies with the scar today. Good luck and have fun

Anyone had any experience with Great Planes PT-40? I am thinking of building one with my sons this winter. I am aware of ATF planes, but for us, much of the pleasure is in the building.

We have very limited experience. We are close to finished one rubber band kit, and about to start a second one. We have no RC flying experience, although my 12 year old son has gone for a ride in a real Steen Skybolt, complete with aerobatic maneuvers.

Thanks for any input.

Hi David,

The experience we have had in our club with new flyers with the GP PT-40 is that it is agood flying trainer, reasonably easy to build, no real bad habits.

You might also want to consider any of the Sig Kadet series - kits. They are real good trainers.

I'll probably sound like a broken record, but before you you get too deep into this very addictive hobby, check out your local club.

You want to find out what folks are flying and what the club instructors (Yes, you are going to need an instructor to learn to fly - it just doesn't come naturally) plus you gain the advantage of meeting people who have done a significant amount of bnuilding who can be called on for help.

Hope it goes real well with you and any one here will be more than happy to help with your questions.

RC flying is a really neat Father - Son bonding experience. Go for it !

Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, the local RC club has stopped taking new members, and is not providing any instruction, so we may be on our own.

I have downloaded the FMS Sim program, so we have some sense of how the controls affect a plane. Next summer, we will be spending 3 weeks at my parents farmhouse in Eastern Canada. There is lots of open space there, and we may try to teach ourselves. There is enough room that we could try takeoffs and landings in a straight line, letting the plane gain only a couple of feet of altitude. Do you know if anyone has had success doing it this way, without wrecking a lot of planes in the process.

Any info/suggestions greatly appreciated.

David Lyon

Yo, Dave....if you're gonna do that....get a Sig
Kadet, I think they come in an ARF now, and a
Magnum .46 XLS.

In a gentle breeze the Kadet can be flown 5 Ft.
off the ground, and you could walk beside it.
I don't believe there is a more stable plane on
the planet. The little .46 is cheap, and reliable.
The Kadet is easily repaired if you "prang" it.

Spend as much time on the simulator as you can.

It can...and has been done....Good luck....
Dave.

If you have the area to do it, I would suggest "driving" your plane around on the ground for a bit, gives you some "backward" sense as the plane drives toward you. Also gets you used to using that left stick...
Elevator=speed, Throttle=altitude

Good luck,

Dave

I think that sucks. I don't care how many members a club has, if we want to continue to propagate the hobby, new members must be allowed at any time.

I agree it sucks. However, I gather there are some problems about the field where they fly, so I think it is a result of lack of facilities rather than something else.

David Lyon

Yes David Lyon,

I recently built the PT40 kit as my first plane and it was successful.

I built the Great Planes Easy Sport next, and I can tell you the PT40 has very complete instructions in comparison. Nothing is left to the imagination. My mistakes on the PT40 were all the result of rushing the project. If I had read and understood before applying the glue, I would have saved more than one trip out to my LHS. The happy ending is that none of the mistakes were show stoppers. And plane flies fine. Knock wood, I haven't had a serious mishap yet, and I think that is largely due to the personal investment of time and effort I have in it. You don't get that in an ARF.

Having said that, I do see merit in all the postings here regarding ARF's vs kits. It's about personal preference and motivation.

Good luck with your project. Let us know how it flies.

fever