I am a beginner ready for his first RC PLane. I am looking seriously at a Hanger 9 Alpha trainer RTF. It comes with engine, and radio and also a flight simulator that uses the radio. Does anyone know if this simulator is any good. I was prepared to buy the RealFlight G3, then the plane but now I'm thinking of buying this plane, trying out the sim that comes with it. Anywhere I can save a buck is necessary.

Any comments on this plane would be helpful too. Seems like a pretty sweet deal for a 1st trainer. I can get more involved in building my2nd one.

Thanks,
Ken

I don't know nothing about the sim that comes with it, but the Alpha is an excellent Trainer, and usually priced nice as well.

The Alpha is an excellent trainer. The simulator is a little rough. It will give you some basic thumb practice, but the G3 is much better.

I would go with the Alpha even though the simulator is not perfect it is good enough to get you started, and it is a very nice trainer plane. I have the 40 & 60 size and love them both

Good luck

thanks for the response, I did trust the hobby shop owner as he advised me toward the Hanger 9 alpha (I had something different in mind). I think basic "thumb practice" is what I need right now. I think I'll go ahead and get the plane, use the sim and possibly get the G3 as the $$ become available. I did like the idea that it uses the radio that comes with the plane. Its good to hear high marks on the plane though.
I'm also getting hooked up with a local RC Club, AMA, and a flight instructor soon. I just wish it was spring instead of fall
I think I could get hooked on the RealFlight G3 this winter pretty easily.

Ken

I own the Hangar 9 Alpha 60. I have enjoyed it very much. Good quality "out of the box", easy to assy. The Evolution engine has run
without a hitch. The plane is stable, can handle moderate winds without trouble. Good choice.

I just did a search on my posts and saw this one, my first post last fall. It seems funny now. Since that post I have joined a club, soloed, bought 6 planes so far, (one was a replacement...don't ask), Realflight G3, graduated to a Futaba 9C Super, getting ready to buy my first saito , looking for a camper shell for my truck, have a wish list a mile long. already know what my next couple of planes will be...yea it's addicting but in a good way I suppose.

I'm have'n a ball.
Ken
gotta go, the field is waiting

Ken

Sounds like you are well on your way![sm=thumbup.gif]

The Alpha is a great choice for a starter. I bought the Alpha 40 and have nothing but good things to say about it. I can fly and land it on my own (I am on a buddy box with my instructor still), it is just takeoffs I have to work on...I have only flown it about 10-12 times as well. It is a very stable airplane in the air and can handle the wind. I had a scary moment last week with it. I was flying and a storm was passing to the North of us and the winds picked up very quickly with some good gusts. We knew the storm was going to miss but I wanted to land the plane because the gusts were getting bad and rocking the plane around pretty good, anyways brought it in for a landing and was just about to land it when a big gust hit and really sent my plane for a wobble just a couple of feet off the ground. I recovered just in the nick of time but had a pretty hard landing, minor damage to the nose wheel rod and that was it...thank goodness the plane has some stability otherwise I would have probably ended up landing upside down or straight in.

I just bought a used alpha 40 trainer from my hobby shop for 200 bucks. is this a good deal? and does anyone know of any good flying clubs near buffalo, ny besides flying knights? thankyou.

Paul

If the Plane is RTF(Ready to Fly), and is in good shape, then yes $200 is probally a fairly good deal. The Alpha 40 RTF usually runs around $290 new.

I love hangar-9 products but I did start with an Arrow. Even though its death is still a mistery, it left me ready for a low wing without a problem due to it's semi symetrical airfoil and low diherdral, it was well capable of basic aerobatics, and very stable inverted flight with the wings ballanced. That thing was an ARROW!

The Alpha is a great RTF.
If you purchase a sim seperate, take a look at the H9 Arrow RTF.
It is just as good as a trainer and will take you a little farther down the learning curve before you outgrow it.

Geistware is correct in that the Arrow is a bit more agile but both fly well as primary trainers too. I've instructed with both (all 3 if you count the Alpha 60) and they all perform very well.

HAY KENVW I WAS ABOUT TO SAY SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THE G3 WAIT 3 MONTHS PRACTICE ATLEAST A HOUR A DAY THEN JOIN A CLUB THEN GET A TRAINER! bUT IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU FIGURED THAT ALL OUT ON YOUR OWN. YOU CANT BEAT THE G3,I HAVE LESS THAN A YEAR AND LIKE YOU GOT THE BUG.NEXSTAR SAITO 45,ALPHA60,27%54YAK,TWIST 60 SAITO 125,GOLDBERG CUB 82 SAITO,THREE ELECTRICS AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH I LEARNED MORE ON THE ELECTRICS AT THE FIELD BY MY HOUSE THAN I DID WITH AN INSTRUCTER AT THE CLUB .LOL ALL LOADED IN A 6X10 WELLS CARGO TRAILER. KEEP EM FLYING AND MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A FULL BAG OF MARBELS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET INTO THE RC GAME.

jaybird11 - Turn off the "all caps" very irritating[:@]

I have had the Alpha 40 RTF for about 5 months and it was my first gas plane. Started on the hobbyzone piper cub and progressed up a bit. As said previously the flight sim. that comes with the Alpha does use the transmitter and gives you a basic understanding of controls for the plane. Used that for a few days and then went to the field with an experienced instructor and buddy box. Took 3 days at the field to get checked off. Easy plane to fly and land. Also check this link out to Hangar 9's page. This is the gear frame that I used to replace the stock wire crap. Works 10 times better and lands smoother too!

http://www.hangar-9.com/Products/Def...?ProdID=HAN140

Good luck, Bobby









http://www.hangar-9.com/Products/Def...?ProdID=HAN140

The Alpha 40 RTF is not a gas plane. It is "Glow" or "Nitro".
The reason we distinguish is because we do fly gasoline engine planes in this sport so to avoid confusion we call Glow/Nitro engine planes Glow or Nitro and gasoline engine planes Gas.