I have ALWAYS wanted to "play" with rc planes, and I'm finally going to succomb to my wants at 24 now.. I was talking to my wife, and she found this one in the jcpenny catalog.. http://www4.jcpenney.com/jcp/Product...Num=xu671-0149 .. I told her you usually get what you pay for.. I told her I would come to the forum I found today and get some opinions


What is THE BEST (read durable, price, re-usability) beginner plane out there.. I was looking at

http://www.rc-hobbies.com/product_pa...d_hbz3500.html

and

http://www.rcworld.us/productdetails/2/18/68

If anyone has some other tips, i'm more then open..


Thanks in advance.

go for one of the aerobirds, either the challenger you linked to or the xtreme one. they fly fairly well, and replacement parts are available in most LHS's.

A GWS Plane would probally be a better choice. Here is a link to to a Comlete GWS Package for a small electric Trainer that includes everything you need to fly. If you purchase one of these Planes, please either join a local RC Club, or at least make sure there is not a RC Club close to where you fly, because the GWS Plane here comes with a Radio that is 72MHZ, which is the same as those at an RC Airplane Club fly on, and you don't want to be on the same frequency at the same time with someone a couple miles down the road. Nasty things can happen to both Planes involved.
http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...roducts_id=611

I actaully researched all the club stuff there is one about 15 miles north of my house Just tryong to decide what the best starter is

Are you interested in Nitro at all? If you are then it's probably best to start with a 4-channel Glow trainer like nthe ones found at www.towerhobbies.com

The Tower trainers are good.. Hobbico Super stars and Avistars are great too.

Get an ARF so mthat you can pick your own engine and radio system.. I recomend Super Tigre's as far as engines go..!I have a 51 and a 1.40 and several at my club have the 45.. Also there are 40's and one 34. The 45 or 51 will be great for any 40 sized trainer and there will be plenty of ARF's for you to put the engine in afterward.

Go to your club and see what radio every one is using (Futaba, JR, Hitec etc.) and then buy that brand of radio.. I'd recomend you go ahead and get a nice computer radio. For Futaba the 6EXA is a good beginner radio, or you can get the 7cap or 9C Super.. All this depending on money.

Sigh, yet again someone asks about electrics and he's being steered toward nitro. []

Anyway, that GWS package looks like a really good deal. However, before you buy anything, go visit the local club. Meet some people, and tell them you want to learn to fly. Spend some time watching the different types of planes. If you're interested in electric and all you see is glow, ask if any of the club members fly electrics. See if there's an instructor who is willing to teach you with the kind of plane you want to fly rather than forcing you to comply with their idea that glow is better.

Sorry Chuck,

Did see that he specifically asked about electrics.. Just thought I'd toss somthing out there. I've got a GWS Slowstick upstairs... Dad taught himself to fly 3-channel on it.. $35 for the airframe.. All you would nee then is servo's TX/Rx and betteries/charger..

keep in mind that some electrics will not be able to take off from a grass runway that also has some bumps in it...as a new member to our club found out the hard way..the only way he can fly it is if someone hand launches it for him...he spent $250 on a plane that he thought would be able to takeoff from the runway..the plane needs pavement to takeoff

I dont mind what kind of plane it is.. it just looked from all the websites that the electric was the way to go for learning.. (price maybe? ) i havnt even started researching what all the glow and nitro stuff means assuming thats basically gas engine vs. electric


edit--do they make any seaplanes? I live near a lake (if you could call it that.. its more like a big pond and that would be kinda cool (not very popular, so there arent alot of people--in regards to safety)

Lets not leave out SIG! Kadet LT 40 or LT 40 EP. Best trainer aircraft around. Time proven design.

I really think you need to get out to a club a couple times before you buy anything. There are lots of choices and you'll be happier in the long run if you take some time wo weigh them all before buying. You can learn with either electric or glow.

A quick comment on terminology. Among people who fly, the internal combustion engines are usually called glow (alcohol/nitro based fuel), gas (larger planes running gasoline), and diesel (running some kind of diesel fuel). If you tell people at a flying field that you want to learn with a gas plane they'll think you want a really big trainer! It's unfortunate that the car crowd uses the term gas to refer to nitro engines, that's a bit confusing.

And finally about seaplanes. Yes, there are seaplanes and planes with floats. In fact, there's a whole forum here on RCU that's dedicated to seaplanes and float planes. I had one a while ago and I plan to build one or two more sometime soon. They are a huge amount of fun. Taking off and landing is a bit less forgiving than land, so they are not good to start with, but I'd say someone who has mastered (can fly it really well) a trainer would be ok installing floats on a stable high wing plane and flying off water.

Me too, I was being too grumpy yesterday. Your post was just to get him thinking. Half the time someone posts that they want electric and 2 or 3 people start trying to convince them that glow is the only way to go.
I think the Slowstick is a good choice too. The GWS site that was mentioned earlier has a package deal, $140 for plane, receiver, servos, receiver, battery, and 4 channel transmitter. http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...roducts_id=603

Best to visit an RC club first. You will learn more in an hour with a club member than 6 months of reading about how things are. Glow and electric differences. Glow planes in general have good power available if needed and the planes are usually between 5-7 lbs. This means that you can take off from a grass runway and still train if the winds come up a bit. After a 10 minute flight on a glow plane you refuel and you are ready to go again. Glow planes usually have a 60" to 70" wing span and a 50" long fuselage which makes the plane fairly easy to see. 6 ten minute flights are considered a standard days training due to the time on the Transmitter and receiver batterys. Usually your nerves are shot by then anyway. Electric planes are smaller and lighter. This makes them harder to see and can be blown around if the winds come up. The power is miminal on most e powered trainers which means some can not get them selves off a grass runway. Flight time on standard set ups means that your flight time will probaly be between 6-8 minutes. Then the prop stops turning and you have to land by gliding it in. Now you have to remove the battery pack and put it on a charger or replace the pack with a charged pack that is ready to go. If you go this route you will need 6 fully charged battery packs to take to the field. Then when you get home you will need to recharge all the packs as well as your transmitter battery before the next days flying. Better mark the packs so that you know which ones are charged and which ones are waiting! Hope this helps. [8D]

think i'll follow the advice here.. thanks for all the help.. going to call the rc club up later and see what's what.. I would PREFER to get other then electric just because i like bigger and faster.. however, I know I may need something lower for a while.. I'm still undecided as to what I want to get.. hopefully the club will have something i can see in action..

Visiting the club is the best thing. A Nitro trainer isn't necessarily fast. They also have variable throttles of course and you will not want to fly "full bore" at first. Nitro has the power and endurance when you want/need it but if you prefer electric, and are willing to deal with the battery issue, that can be done too.

At any rate, welcome to RC and RCU. We hope to be hearing more from you soon. Keep us informed on what you decide.

tacp18, you are lucky! My ex didn't understand why I wanted to be in the hobby and it was difficult to get out even once a month! Yes, I do agree that going to the nearby club is the best bet. Just wanted to add that one should start, glow or electric, with the ultimate goal in mind. I say this since start up costs are about the same (I'm talking "real" not department store planes). Electrics are not necessarily small and slow but they are not necessarily the best to start with either. Personally, I have some 40" and under electrics to fly before work or at lunchtime, and fly glow on the weekend. Good luck!

IMHO , I think going to a LHS is the best first move. There is tons of information there and you definitely will run into someone that belongs to a club. I know you are anxious to get started , but I can't stress enough how important it is to take your time and absorb as much information as possible.

If only I listened before I ran out and bought that darn hyperfly. [:@]

If you go to the LHS first, leave your money at home. A lot of LHS will sell you anything they can.

no matter which route you go the best amount of channels to learn on is a 4 channel trainer. It is easy to get used to a 3 channel after running with a 4 channel but not the other way around.

Hi, I'm a newb too, and I just wanted to make sure you have a look at the T-Hawk before you make your final decision. I suspect that when you find a club to go to, everyone will be flying nitro, and they will steer you towards nitro because of their own bias. Electric is cleaner & cheaper to get into.

Anyhow, before you buy, have a look at this baby. It even includes spare parts that you're likely to break when you crash.

[link=http://www.readytoflyfun.com]Click T-Hawk at the bottom.[/link]