Hi all,
I'm just about ready to make some kind of purchase to get me started.
I've only flown pc simulations in the past FS2004 and Falcon series.
Now I'm itching to take the leap but am confused by everything

Since I have nothing, especially time, I'm thinking that a RTF would be best to start with.
So my question is two fold should I start with electric or gas?
and please make your recommendation for a particular plane and why.

Just for the sake of discussion let's say that cost is not a concern.

Thanks in advance for your help.
V

Electric or glow? The choice is yours. If you want to fly in parks, electric is the way to go. If there's a nearby club, go with what they are flying, be it electric or glow. Personally, I like glow, but electric has a lot going for it too.

I'm not crazy about RTF units. They usually contain mediocre components that are of limited value for subsequent planes. I only suggest them for people who are not interested in doing the legwork to choose the components. You can build complete packages with a .40 size ARF, a decent .45 engine, and a 4 channel radio that are the same, or even less, money as an RTF package. If money is not tight, consider choosing a 6 channel computer radio instead of the 4 channel. If money is no object, go for a 7 or even 9 channel radio. One plane I suggest is the Tower Trainer ARF. My reasoning is it's not expensive and it flies well. There's no reason to spend a huge amount of money on a trainer, they are all designed to be slow and stable, and they usually get beat up. Better to save the money for the second, third, etc plane.

Oh, one more thing. Before you buy anything, find a local club and hook up with an instructor. He will probably have an opinion on what you should get.

I personally am partial to gas, but I am sure someone else can give you some good electric recomendations. Here are some good choices IMO for your first gas Plane.

1.Sig LT-40 ARF or Kit (Its big and easy to see with lots of lift, very stable, and easily powered with any good .40 size 2 stroke.)

2.Hangar 9 Alpha .40 RTF (Comes equipped with good Evolution .40 TPS Engine, and Radio and Equipment. Priced at around $280 RTF is a great bargain for a Trainer Plane that flys very well, and is also fairly good size and stable. The Engine is also high quallity and can move up into your next .40 size Plane.)

3.Tower Trainer .40 ARF (A real bargain at around $60, and a good Flyer. I would stay clear of the RTF in this model though. The Tower .46 Engine is notorious for troubles, and that is no way to start out. So choose your own equipment for this one.)

4.Hobbico Nexstar .46 RTF (At around $400, it is a tad overpriced in my opinion, but it does come with a Simulator for that particular Plane which is nice if you do not own the G2 or G3. I own both the G2 and G3, so I found the Sim useless. The Plane is also equipped with an AFS (Automatic Flight Stabilization) unit, but most people I know don't bother to use this feature. What I like is the Super Slow Landing Speeds. This Plane has a stall speed of about 8mph which is about half the speed of any other Trainer. Another good feature is the high quallity O.S .46 AX engine on the nexstar that is powerfull enough to move right into your next Plane after you master the Nexstar. The nexstar also has some nice curves and looks good in the air.)

5.Great Planes PT-40 Kit (If you wanna build a kit, the PT series of Trainers are notorious for good flight characteristics, and many a pilot has earned there wings on one of these.)

These are only Planes I have personal experience with, have owned, and I feel comfortable recommending. I am sure though that there are other people who can add to my list.

I also second Chucks suggestion here. This is any new Flyers single best chance for success!

First, Welcome to the hobby, it's great fun with lots of different areas to explore.

I too used to fly FS and Falcon and other sims. I also did about 30 hrs in full scale and about the same in ultralites when I was young. You will find some aspects of flying RC planes to be radically different than the sims.

When I started to get interested in RC, I found out about and purchased the Great Planes Real Flight G2 RC flight simulator. This is a great help in developing your skills of piloting from the ground. I flew it every day for months while I built my first kit (sig 4 star), then put together a Tower .40 trainer ARF.

I, only at the last moment, decided to go with an instructor. Even if I could have been able to take off fly a basic pattern, and land on my own, flying with an instructor was the best decision I made. Flying with an instructor will shorten your flight learning curve, give you lessons on how to communicate with other pilots, conduct yourself safely on the ground, and how to properly assemble, check, run, tune, clean, and break down your equipment.

Scott