Friends,

I need help deciding on a plane.

I just soloed on a Nexstar and moved up to an Avistar and I'm halfway thru my 3rd gallon of fuel.

I have a new OS 25 FX that I want to put in a plane that's appropriate for my skills as a novice.

Can anyone recommend an ARF or a KIT that will be a good match for the OS 25 FX?

I also have quite a few hours of repair work under my belt so far, so an easy kit would be considered.

root

p.s. I also have a GP Spacewalker (new in box) and a YS 91 and don't know if i'm ready to build / fly it yet.

Thunder Tiger Lazy p-51

Thanks,

A low wing taildragger is very tempting. Especially serving as a nice "preview" to the Spacewalker in the closet.

root

ps - looks kinda cool also

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXEDN7&P=ML
Sonic low wing trainer form tower. Haven't flown it yet but just built one with .25 fx. Hopefully will fly 2morrow I think it'll be a good trainer since it has tricycle gear BTW I'm still a beginner so take my advise with a grain of salt

I have never flown a pylon racer, but a quickie 500 with a 25 size and the right prop are known to make good sport planes.

For someone who has only flown a trainer? You're kidding, right?

Something with a reasonably thick airfoil and some dihedral is a typical choice for a second plane. The already recommended Lazy Tiger P-51 ARF fits this bill quite nicely.

A seldom mentioned, but great choice is a Pilot 20S kit. You can see an example of the original version in my gallery. This was my second plane, many years ago, and it flew great. Unfortunately, it only lasted a month. My instructor had a momentary loss of memory and turned on his radio (we were both on orange and white) while I was flying. Plane was totaled. He bought my 3rd kit, the low wing version, which also flew very well. I flew this plane for years before it was just worn out. I highly recommend both versions of this kit.

To see the current version, go here: http://www.modelrec.com/search/pilot.asp and look at the Combo 25S and Combo Wing kits. Pilot kits build well, and pretty easy, the only downside is the instructions are a bit vague. I built my most recent Pilot kit last fall and I was very pleased to see that the quality of cut and fit is still as high as it was years ago.

A great transition to the spacewalker would be to build the S version as a trike and then the L version as a tail dragger.

My second plane was a TT Lazy 51, sold it last week. It survived everything I could throw at it (except the ground).

i agree with previous two posts, i think the lazy tiger would be not only a good second plane but a good fit for the 25FX. i have a 32sx with macs muffler on mine and feel that it is enough for spirited aerobatics. the 25FX will have slightly less horsepower but should still do the job fine. as a rule of thumb, i use 2 rubber bands/lb on trainers. with the lazy tiger i use 6 parallel and 4 crossing. it's overkill but it's safe.

but i would say the best second plane would be the supersport 30. the 25FX should be ample for the plane even if it is a little bit overweight at 4lbs. i have flown the plane with a thunder tiger 36 and it was a speed demon but still slowed down and landed like a basic trainer. some say it even easier to land than their trainers!!!

the quickie 500 is not a good second plane. it's thin, flat (no dihedral) wings means that it will react immediately to every mistake. it's definitely not a beginner friendly plane.

bhole - did you have problems with the prop hitting the ground on take off? i think the plane has so much down thrust that if you gun it, it loves to keel over. after the first time, i always have to feed it a little elevator and take off with a nice, long run. looks better that way anyway.

I bent the landing gear forward so the axle was even with the leading edge of the wing. Even with the 32sx and a 10-6 prop, it wasn't a problem. It does have some serious downthrust, doesn't it!

Tsands,

I'm also thinking of buying a sonic 25 low wing plane soon. I also have a 25FX laying around. I've seen it fly on both a .32sx and .25 bushing I beleive it was... The plane flew well with both engines, the 32sx being a little to much. But apparently they fly really well and land very well too. good second plane.

Anyways, let me know how your sonic flew with the .25fx I would really appreciate it!

There is a thread over in the Sport Flying forum that is asking the same question of what to do with an OS 25 FX. There were some good recommendations over there. You may want to check it out

[link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3162282[/link]

Hope this helps.

Ken

A quick caution for any beginners who wander over to that thread, many (perhaps most) of the recommendations in that thread are NOT good second planes.

Piper_chuck,
Yes, thank you. [sm=thumbup.gif] I should have pointed that out.

Ken

Friends,

So what I gather from those of you who have respnded to my original question:

The Lazy Tiger p-51

The Supersport 30

The Pilot 25 combo's

At this point the low wing, taildragger is very appealing because of those differences from the Nexstar and Avistar trike set ups.

How's about this:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XK421&P=0#tech

Would it be too much to handle??

root

I've had this plane on my possibilities list for quite a while, I think it would be fun. However, for where you are in your training, consider Tower's own words: "This is a good Kit for Intermediate or Advanced Modelers."

That's their clue that you should wait one or two more planes before trying it.

Yeah, I kinda thought so.....the wing is kinda tapered and probably takes more skill than i have --on top of the fact that it's a kit and I'm kinda impatient and want to fly more than build at the moment.

I'm really leaning towards the Lazy Tiger.

Any mods to be aware of as I put it together??

root

Piper Chuck the high wing version of the pilots combo plane you recomend looks IDENTICAL to the World Models Cosmo 25SR (except for the wing fences I added) which was my second plane I (over) powered mine with a OS 40 FP. I lost it in a mid air last year sniff, sniff, sob. Do you have any idea if they are the same plane? The Pilots combo looks like it would be a very good second plane. What about a Piper Cub? many companies make .25 sized cubs, they are a step up from a trainer and will give you plenty of tail dragger practice.

Knowing the tendency for Chinese companies to "borrow" designs, I wouldn't be surprised if they copied many aspects of the Pilot kit, and others. I don't know if they are an exact match. Bummer about your plane. If you liked it, build another.

Just about anyone who has flown a Cub will tell you they are not a good second plane. I've got 5 tail draggers flying right now and I've flown one of the 25 size Cubs. The Cub was significantly more difficult to keep straight on the take off runs than any of the other tail draggers I have. It rivaled my very first plane, a Sig Scamp, in difficulty to take off. The Scamp was so bad that my instructors had to hand launch it to teach me to fly. The Cubs are so short that any little over correction will result in a ground loop. Better to start with something a bit less demanding and work your way up to a Cub.

definitely agree with chuck on the cub. wouldn't want you to be doing donuts all day at the field!!! but if you ever get to wanting a cub in that size, the WM cub is fantastic. but i'd have to kill you or at least beat you seriously if you put a 2-stroke engine in there piper cub is best with a four stroke engine!

my world models cub .26 with an O.S. FS30. beautiful. i'm building my second one now.

the TT cub flies quite good according to my friend. Much easier than the GP cub they had..

chad - i hope so! i have a TT cub that i will be putting in a saito 90 twin. it is a very nice looking plane and i hope i've made the right decision in buying it. should be very cool with the twin sticking out on either side!

but it's a 40 size cub so you'd have to invest in a new engine... the saito 60 twin is a perfect fit. if you go with a single cylinder engine, be warned that TT only provides one fake engine (port side) so it depends on the real engine on one side to make it look right. so if you plane on inverting the engine, you will have to find out where to get the starboard side!!!

Hey Forestroke,
Where can I find a Supersport 30??I can only find the 40 model.
root

well i'm not surprised that airborne doesn't stock it. but still i can't believe you can't find it in the states!!!

you can get it here but the price is not really reasonable. it's more expensive than even the supersport 40 at airborne

http://www.hobby-warehouse.com/womosusp.html

forestroke, i believe my friends had the 25 size.

chad - and what did they think?