I have not had a plane for like 15 years now the only plane I ever had was an ez bee that I crashed on like the 5th flight. I have been racing RC cars for a wile now but I would like to start up with planes again. I wanted to know what is a good plane to start out with. I have been thinking about a mustang Any help would be good.

http://store.yahoo.com/jlhwholesalers/mep5murcpl.html

by the way i want to go nitro

thats electric...but if you want a mustang in nitro that wouldnt be a good idea. There is a new P-51 trainer but untill the reviews come out im not sure how good of a trainer that would be. It seems like if you take a break from flying and you go to fly agian(years later) you get your thumbs back right away, like riding a bike. At least it was for me. Maybe you want to go to a local club and talk to the trainer and see if you can take up the club trainer(if they have one) and get your thumbs back so that way you dont have to buy a trainer and get bored with it right away when you get the hang of flying again.

just my thoughts.

-Dustin

knight
The plane that you posted is electric. Do a search in the forums on the Hanger 9 P-51 Mustang it is suppose to be a some what scale P-51 trainer. I don't know how they fly but there is a huge thread on it. They don't look to bad. Might be just what you are looking for!

Pete

zxknight, Welcome back to planes, I think everyone here's gonna suggest a qualified instructor and a Trainer style plane. I tried to circumvent the process, didn't work. Been there, crashed that![X(] I'm back on a Trainer with a buddy cord till I'm ready to solo. Save yourself alot of $$ and frustation. Get a Trainer, find your local club, and they'll be happy to get you on the right track. I noticed the P-51 you put up was electric, if your stuck on the P-51, but not neccesarily bound to go electric, H-9 has a relatively new model out called the P-51 PTS = Progessive Training System. It's a little more money than what you were looking at, but alot more plane too IMHO. I don't have any personal experience with one but I've seen them & they look nice. The concept is as you learn to fly you can start taking off some of the training aids on the plane leaving you with a nice little .46 size warbird when your ready to fly it @ it's full capabilities. They go for $399.99, RTF with a JR radio I believe. Like I said it's new & I'm not endorsing it as I have no real knowledge of how well it works as a Trainer, but if I hadn't allready just got the ol Tower Trainer, then saw the H9 P-51, I probably would have given it a try. Good luck in your new venture, and stick around these guys are RC Gurus in here. You'll get the info you need here.


Mark T.

LOL, guess we were all typing the same thing @ the same time!

Mark T.

I would say get either a nexstar or a p-51 mustang. I have a nexstar and is a really easy plane to fly. I have not flown a p-51 but i have seen it,and its has looks and also flies nice. Your choice.both are great planes

In other words you will be starting from scratch. If you really want to learn and open up new horizons for yourself you will A. Find a Mentor/instructor and B. get a genuine RC trainer. These two simple steps are the 'Key' to your success. The urge to get the sexy warbird, Extra or whatever will only hinder your progress if not stop you dead in your tracks from reaching your goals.

John

Thank you for all your advice right now I am really looking at the p-51 mustang. I am going to be going to a flight club not to far from my house to see what they recommend as a starter.

there are trainers then there are trainers that can do more after you learn.may take you a little longer to master but you will be way ahead of others afterwards.a basic trainer use a flat bottom wing is a high wing configuration and is either 3 channel [rare these days] or 4 channel.the nest step up is a trainer with a high wing or shoulder wing that uses either a symetrical or semi symetrical airfoil,these will let you do aerobatics,not precise like a pattern plane but respectable.35 years ago when i started every one was fling h-rays or kadets as 3 channel.andrews had the a ray which was a 4 channel trainer but it was out of production when i wanted to start building.arf did not exist.back then manufactures ran production runs of kits that were supposed to last six months.i did not want to wait for the next run and bought a falcon 56 and an os 35 r/c for power.radio was a 4 channel series 70 .my dad at the time thought i may have made a mistake because no one at the field was flying a falcon 56..the only mistake i mae was building it per plans,it did not have a steerable nose wheel and it took a while to install a modification.bought the kit in october.had it finished in december,added the sterable nose gear and was ready for test flight and first lesson the 2nd sat in jan 1971,field was 30 miles from home one way.did not have licencse so dad had to drive me every sat and sunday for 4 flights each day if i was lucky as back then there was a shortage of instructers and only 3 planes wre allowed in the are at the same time and only 5 frequencies avaiable on the 72 band.soloed easter sunday of that year but i was able to do inverted flight,cuban eights,spins,hammerhead stars,top hat almost the full pattern.that plane weighed 5 1/4 pounds covered in silk and dope.could fly in strong winds when others would not even attempt to fly.,still flys today after recovering with monokote and now weighs 3 3/4 pounds.2nd plane was a vk cherokee with retracts and 3rd plane was a p-51.learn the basics first and you will have you plane a long time.

If you are dead set on purchasing the Hangar 9 P51 (not a bad choice) ...my strong recommendation is that you purchase a flight simulator. You can probably get G2 fairly cheaply (ebay). Fly the simulator until you can land in windy conditions and make corrections without having to think about left or right when a wing dips.

You will save yourself hundreds of dollars and a lot of aggravation. My feeling is that a few hours of simulator work should be required before ever taking contol of the sticks...period. That being said...a simulator does NOT eliminate the need to have an experienced pilot maiden your plane, trim it out and teach you a few things. Even good pilots can have trouble with a poorly trimmed or out-of-balance plane. Be Safe.

I am not dead set on getting the Hangar 9 P51, but I really don’t like most of the trainers out right now. I remember when I got my ez bee so so so long ago is was pretty simple to fly. So I was looking for something that would be a little more challenging. One other thing I do agree with mwarren400 every one that is thinking of purchasing a plane should get a flight simulator.

As far as trainers are concerned, I would, if I were you, go with the Hobbico Nexstar, or the Hangar-9 Alpha 60, both good trainers.

Also, if you feel you can handle something more than a basic trainer, I'd go with the Hobbico Avistar. I would not go with a warbird, (P-51, etc.), if you've had a long layoff, as you say you've had. Those kind of models may prove hard to get used to right away, prompting a bad experience.

Zxknight,
I recommend the Avistar 40 trainer. Semisemetrical wing allows for mild aerobatics. I modified my son's Avistar by removing the factory ailerons and adding 2" stock ailerons and flaps. He can hang his Avistar in mid air and do all kinds of aerobatics with it. He may be getting a 1/5th scale Sukhoi or Cap 232 for Christmas. However, if you must have a Mustang, I recommend the Great Planes P-51. I have one with a Super Tigre .75 2 stroke and it flies great. No bad habbits either. Good Luck.

"Keep 'Em Flying!"
Flak

Couple of instructors at our club that have flow the PTS P-51 have said that it is a great flier. I have a feeling that Hanger 9 hit the nail squarely on the head with this plane. Everybody wants a "cool" plane, and nobody really likes the look of a trainer. This plane combines good looks with good flying qualities. I think they'll sell a bunch of these. There's already 2 at our club.

Kerry

Here is the thing to consider. Take a look at the control surfaces. Does that war bird have tiny control surfaces compaired to the trainer? Probably so, it should to allow it to fly faster. In this hobby you have pros and cons. The con is that while it now flies faster, its harder to land because at low speads it does not have the surface area on the control surfaces to move the plane. Also, warbirds are often nose heavy. None of these conditions are bad, just know that this is the reality and the way it is going to fly, which is fantastic if you like that type of flying. On the opposite end of the spectrum is 3D, with large control surfaces and tail heavy planes that fly GREAT slow but land poorly because they require prop wash or a little speed, or a little down elevator to keep the nose down. So what is in the middle? Well, the pattern planes like the four star or the tiger, or maybe even the CAP 232, or Giles, or Sukoi (sp?), are in the middle. They are well balanced planes with medium control surfaces. So you dont get great high speed flight or low speed fight, but you get great mid throttle pattern and precision flying. But since you are just getting back in the hobby, of all of the abovie the warbirds would be my last choice. The problem with trainers is that you will quickly advance and be ready to move on. Either pick something cheap and learn on it till your ready to move on or go ahead and get a plane you can stick with for a while. The four star may be a good choice.