Alright, well i have already had a nexstar.I have pretty much mastered that. I am a beginner, but i am looking to move on to something a little bit less beginner like. My price range is around $400. My building skills are ok, but my covering skills are horrible. Pretty much i am looking for something like an ARF. what I was thinking of was the P-51 from hangar-9. it seems to be the next step up. Please list your suggestions.feel free to ask any question to get more information. thanks.

That P-51 from H-9 could be a good choice as long as you have mastered your Nexstar.

My favorite 2nd plane choices are: Goldberg Tiger 2, Sig 4 Star, World Models Super Sports 40, World Models T-34.

define "mastered"

I would go with the tiger 2 with the tail drager option It's a very good low wing trainer with no bad habits. I fly that more than I do my corsair and spitfire! you wont be disapointed.

What do you mean when you say "mastered"? Does that mean you can take off and land? Because if thats all you can do--then you haven't mastered anything.

Can you do a rolling circle with your trainer? Inside and outside? Can you do a lamchevac with it? Can you do a positive snap? How about a negative snap?

Can you fly it around the field--INVERTED--for a whole tank? Can you do multiple aileron rolls the entire length of the runway without it looking like a banana or loosing any altitude?

If you answered "NO" to any of these questions--then you need to spend some more time on that trainer.

P-51 Mustang for your second plane? My suggestion is that it's a very bad idea.

Look, everyone want to fly the neat warbird or that really hot, go fast, plane. But if your just now getting soloed--or just recently soloed--then be sensible about it and take your time.

Take your time. Just because you step up into a Mustang or a Kaos---that doesn't mean your a good pilot.

Being a good pilot means that your in control of your plane at all times. It means that your NEVER disoriented. I means that flying has become second nature for you. You don't even have to think about it when your plane is all balled up in knots-------you just automatically do whats needed for correction and fly it out. If you have to think about it--then it's not second nature.

Do yourself a favor and fly you trainer some more. Trainers WILL fly aerobatics. They will snap and roll and do everything a hot aerobatic plane will do. Sloppy---yes, but they will do it.

Don't rush into a Mustang. Take the advice already given to you in this thread and get a Goldburg Tiger, a Sig 4*60 or a 4*40. Make them a taildragger. If your flying a trike trainer and you go for the Mustang--you might not ever get it off the ground before you crash it. Mustangs are taildraggers. You need to take little steps. Keep flying the trainer and get better with it.


$400 budget? Okay, here goes:

4*60 ARF -- $209

Tower Hobbies .75 engine -- $95

Hitec 475HB Deluxe servos--5--at $18 apiece--$90

Hitec Electron 6 Reciever--$55

Hobbico Hydrimax 1200mah 6V MH reciever battery $20

Your up to about $500---but you should be able to scrape up an extra $100 somewhere. Or maybe you've already got some servos, or a reciever.

Don't strip the servos and engine from your trainer. My rule is "Never strip a plane thats still flying." Leave it together. If it works--don't mess it up.

Option #2:
Great Planes Big Stick 40-- $125

Hitec 425BB servos--5--at $15 apiece--$75

Magnum XLS .46 engine--$68
(Option #2a---GMS .47 engine--$65)

Hitec Electron 6 RX -- $55

Hobbico Hydrimax 1200mah 6V MH RX battery -- $20

This setup is about $325. Not too shabby for $325. Good sport plane. You could easily convert it taildragger--which I would recommend. Semi-symetrical wings.

This could easily be done for under $400. You'll need servo extensions, and some other hardware and some foam for the battery and RX.

Step up slowly. Get your thumbs tuned up on a semi-symetrical plane for awhile. You will be less likely to crash your planes if you take your time and move up slowly.

You've got plenty of time. No reason to rush.

WEll if you want my version. Dont get a p-51. Get a step up. You really cant do all that RCpilet said on hte nexstar, so its not your fault. MY definition of mastered is (and it refers to me and how i decided i mastered it) - Take off, land, got your wings, practised stalls, did basic aerobatic maneuvers (rolls, loops, a trIENR cant hande much more the nthat), touch and goes, deadsticks. If you can do that, your fine for a step up. I got an easy sport, which is htink was the best investement ever. ITs a great flyign plane and i will hold on to it for a while. I did soem pretty sick tricks with it that i could have never done on my trainer. I did an inverted pass over my field with it, but im trying to do full circels inverted, thats my checkpoint for an aerobatic plane like the H9 Twist.

Sorry to differ, but that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Rolling circles, multiple aileron rolls without losing altitude or looking like a banana? If your criteria were applied to every beginner, most would never get past a trainer.
P-51 Mustang for your second plane? My suggestion is that it's a very bad idea.
[/quote]
Before you blindly dismissed it, did you actually look up the plane he was most likely talking about?

I think stunner was talking about the P-51 trainer from hanger 9 not one of the sport planes. I have one of those and it flies really well... the instructer at the airfield is training 2 people on them right now and he said that they are really good although harder then the alpha to learn with... so it seems like it could be a good plane to go with as a second and a little iffier as a trainer. Just my .02

You CAN do all the aerobatics with a trainer. Its the best plane to learn on.

Go try it sometime. Crank up the throws and go for it.

Your response that its "rediculous" just goes to show that you've never tried it. If you had--you'd know that any trainer can do all the aerobatics.

The guy never specified WHAT P-51 he was looking at. If he was talking about the TRAINER P-51 from H9-------then I still stand by my convictions that he should get a Stick or some other semi-symetrical winged plane.

Don't hammer me for saying that aerobatics are possible on a trainer. Just go try it sometime.

This has become a funny post

Rcpilet and piper_chuck are both correct in their opinions. I give you a little story then you can make a decision off of that.

No one taught me how to fly . So every time I wanted to move forward with developing my skills I just did it and paid for it if I crashed. When I got into glow I had a trainer that I flew every weekend for almost a year straight before buying something more advanced to fly. I met a guy one day who was an very experienced flier and I gave him the sticks the first time I met him and the way he flew my trainer was nothing like the way I thought I mastered flying my trainer. ( are you getting the point so far) . When he flew my trainer it was effortlessly compared to me. It was graceful and smoothness all the time he had the sticks. I told him I was ready for another plane and he told me to practice a little more on the trainer and I did until I thought I was flying the same way he did that day. I started doing low fly bys , barrel rolls, large loops , inverted flight with ease, touch and goes , and landing ,taxing and taking off again with out the engine stopping. That was when I moved on.

The moral of the story is , you have to feel comfortable with the way you fly and no one can do that for you . That is make you feel comfortable about your flying. That is why I say pipe and Rcpilet are both right but are on edge because they are eager to help you the best way they know how.

GL

RCF esq.

Sorry for using the term mastered , but What I mean to say was a soled about a month and a half ago, i can do all basic procedures (landing,takeoff) no problem, I can loops, basic spins. However I am going to take your advice and spend another couple of months getting my flying skills to the next level. I was not going to buy the plane tomorrow, or even this month. I was just planning for it, getting money together. Most likely the earliest i will be purchasing another plane is late December, early January. Thank u very much for your posted comments.

also srry i did not mention this but i was talking about the P-51 trainer from hanger 9. To me it seemed like the next set up.

Thanks
Stunner

there is a huge thread about this plane and I am sorry I missed the beginning of it when this plane came out because I am now getting into flying faster planes. Any way if I find it as it comes across my email box often I will put the link in here for you to use.

I hope I wasn't telling you not to buy any given plane. You can always by any plane no matter what caliper of a plane it is and have it ready for when you are ready to move on to the next level.

PS prices go up not down so if you can get it now I wouldn't wait if I were you. there is a huge thread about this plane and I am sorry I missed the beginning of it when this plane came out because I am now getting into flying faster planes. Any way if I find it as it comes across my email box often I will put the link in here for you to use.

I hope I wasn't telling you not to buy any given plane. You can always by any plane no matter what caliper of a plane it is and have it ready for when you are ready to move on to the next level.

PS prices go up not down so if you can get it now I wouldn't wait if I were you.

I suspect that the H9 P-51 trainer would make a pretty good second plane. Sounds like you could handle it.

Reread my response, it had nothing to do with the plane, it was about the pilots. Some of the manuevers that you suggested that a person do before moving from their trainer are things that many (most) pilots will never do with a trainer, or any other plane. If someone wants a P-51 and the new P-51 PTS meets that desire, I say go for it. Not all people who fly R/C aspire to doing rolling circles, for many (most) it's just about flying a plane that meets their idea of cool.

Thanks for your responses,

My second plane was the Carl Goldberg Tiger 60, still one of a handful of RC planes in my hangar. Please feel free to view my personal page with pictures if you'd like.

This is a nice big stable low winger that has good takeoff, landing, and aerobatic ability. My experience indicated that this plane has sensitive control capability and can easily be overcontrolled. Even if you're confident with your trainer abilities it might be a good idea to have an experienced pilot work with you on this one for your first few flights.

Hell, I've been flying for over 40 years and I STILL can't do a rolling circle!

Well I have pretty much narrowed down on a few planes,

1. P-51 mustang trainer from hangar-9
2. Sig 4 Star 60
3.Carl Goldberg Tiger 60
4.Great Planes Big Stick 40

What do u think?

Stunner,
First of all you should be applauded for getting to your second plane. I know a lot of people that get discouraged long before feeling like they have reached a point to move on to a more challenging plane. That is what the hobby is all about, challenging yourself. RCPilet is simply trying to express that you never really master it, you always find ways to challenge yourself, and that is good. So great, you sound ready for a new plane, dont let that trainer hold you back. But I would suggest that you take some time to think about what YOU want out of the next plane. How far do YOU want to go, what do YOU want to achieve, and most important, what style of flying are YOU most interested in? Dont settle on something because of the price, you are better to wait and as RCPilet pointed out, you can find ways to challenge yourself with that trainer. Get something that is going to transition you into your third or fourth plane. If you are interested in pattern, I would suggest getting a taildragger and a low wing. The Four star and the tiger would both be good. I would not go with the p51 because war-birds typically have smaller control surfaces which require (and allow) you to fly faster but they are not as forgiving on landing (when the speed is slower). The big stick is OK but it does not fly as true (straight or patterned) as the four star or tiger. My choice would be the four star. One other thing, check out some hobby shops. I often find great deals on used planes that are already assembled (Sometimes with the engine and servos already in it). So you just finish the job up and then fly em. You can save yourself some money that way and get more for your money. Good luck, and hey, let us know what you end up doing....Dan

I bought a Seagull p-51 .46 size for my second plane. The guy at my local hobby shop told me that he doesn't ever recommend a warbird as a second plane but he had flown one that his friend had bought a was really impressed at how gentle it flew. I flew this plane for 47 flights with no problems, had a couple of harder than you should landings but it actually floated in pretty nice. A servo control horn that broke was the demise of this plane i really liked it and at some point in time i will have another.

I will now prepare to be flamed[:@][&:]

Flyboy76

Well, I have decided to go with the 4 star 60 however i am going to take your advices and hold off a littl. I dont want to rush into anything so i am going to wait towards december and buy it then. Here is the engine and radio i picked out to go with it. I decided i need a radio that has some extra channels and all teh fancy stuff so i going to get a 7 ccahnnel radio. If anyone disagrees with anything that i list please tell me why and state what you would get instead. thanks.

1.4*60 ARF -209
2.Magnum XL-70RFS 4-Stroke -150
3.Futaba 7CAF 7-Channel FM/4 S3004 Servos -239

then also the other stuff, 13*6 prop,1 s3004 standard, glow plug,y harness,Hobbico Extension 12" Futaba J ,and then needed nuts and bolts.

Total -around $630

Th eonly things i am not to sure on are the radio and the engine. Does anyone think I should just get a 2 stroke for 50 bucks less.
I know in posts before i stated that i had a 400 price limit, howeever i think i can scrape together another 200 bucks.
Wht do u think about the engine and radio i selected?

Again,
Thanks

Either go with a 2 stroke, or get a .90 4 stroke. I don't think the performance will be great with a .70.

Edit: Or you could stick with the .70 size 4 stroke but pick a 4*40 instead.

I agree with Chuck. The 70 would be great in a 4 star 40 but in a 60 it would be marginal. If you want the 60 size go for a 90 size four stroke.

Can u even fit the 70 4 stroke in the 4*40 ?