Hi All,

Can anyone give me any advice as to the best glow powered trainer to purchase? I have never flown been into R/C before, and i would like to start by building a kit rather than an ARF aircraft. I have built gliders with paper/dope covering when i was a kid, and enjoyed ythe building process.

thanks

I suggest an LT-40 from SIG it builds nice and is probably the best trainer out there. but perhaps you should consider this, get your trainer as an arf there is still building to do. start your training. get and build a kit while your learning to fly.
welcome to our hobby

The LT-40 is a good kit and trainer, as is the Great Planes PT series, and the venerable Goldberg Eagles. If you've built other balsa planes in the past, you should have no trouble with these. I'm really glad to see a newbee who wants to build. There's a LOT of satisfaction in a plane you've built yourself, and you know how it's constructed. You also learn a little about how and why planes are designed and constructed the way they are. GO FOR IT!

Dr.1

PS You don't "build" an ARF, you "assemble" it. BIG difference.

Dr.1

picky picky


agreed with others... Sig LT-40 would be very nice.....

Goldberg Eagle 2. Best trainer, period.

Anybody wanna fight? Huh, huh?!!

I hope they haven't changed since they were bought out by Lanier, though.

Thanks Gents,

I think the LT40 is probably the go, especially with such a detailed build thread on here! Can you suggest a good engine / radio combination for this aircraft? i'll probably just bite the bullet on the radio - for $800 in stead of $400 it seems you can get a good programmable 7-8 channel instead of just a 4 channel. I'd like to build the aircraft i fly one day, so i'll need the extra channels for gear, flaps, spoliers etc.

Thanks for all the advice!

I would use an OS 46 AX even though smaller engines will fly the plane. I had one with an Irvine 53 intended for use with floats. It is a lot of fun to fly but throttle control is a must. A friend has it now after launching his trainer out the back of a pick up truck. The plane was secured to a holder but the holder wasn't secured to the truck bed! I have another one and plan on the OS 46 AX as I normally keep a trainer around for just having a relaxing flight or 2. The Sig LT-40 is hard to beat in either Kit or ARF versions. You can get a lot of radio in the $500.00 range. Check with local flyers to see what is used. This will help wiht programming information. I fly JR since many locals are JR sponsored. It really helps programming the upper level radios even though JR is probably the easiest to program. The radio, engine and other equipment can be used in future equipment. Good luck.
EXCAP232

Hi
I learned about 19 years ago on the Midwest Aerostar 40, what a nice building and flying aircraft. If you get confused with altitude, just chop the throttle let go of the sticks and the plane will right itsself. Here is a tower hobby link to it.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAP71&P=0

What ever you purchase, good luck with the hobby and have a great time doint it.


Bill

I'd leave the Goldberg alone...nobody gonna bring up the "senorita/senoir series from sig..man radios must be high $$ down under ($800[X(]).... but better to get a good radio now than buy the 4 ch and start wishing for more in a month...you REALLY want to build a plane lopk up Bruce Tharpe Engineering and take a gander at the King Air 11 ft wing span 30+ pounds 80cc engine ..hahah its got freakin gokart wheels for landing gear

I'd leave the Goldberg alone...nobody gonna bring up the "senorita/senoir series from sig..man radios must be high $$ down under ($800[X(]).... but better to get a good radio now than buy the 4 ch and start wishing for more in a month...you REALLY want to build a plane lopk up Bruce Tharpe Engineering and take a gander at theSuper Flying King 11 ft wing span 30+ pounds 80cc engine ..hahah its got freakin gokart wheels for landing gear...Rog

link http://www.btemodels.com/

Personally, I'd get an ARF trainer. Why? Because chances are you will crash. And if you crash something you have put your heart in for the last two months, it will really hurt. I speak from experience [&o]

I did this many years ago. I almost threw in the towel, but I went and got an ARF, and finished my learning experience on it. I've built many after that, but I wish I had just started with the ARF, and had all my bumps and knocks there.

This is just my 2 cents.

I was about to say exactly what george foreman did there... I highly recommend a cheap ARF for a trainer. not many trainers have a very long expiration date, so if you just play the odds, chances are that plane is coming back in pieces at some point not too far in the future. if you have spent hours/weeks assembling it you probably won't be coming back to the hobby. an extreme fear of crashing can also hinder learning, so if you are afraid to fly it in a 6mph wind that won't help you either.

if you want to build, here is what I suggest. buy a kit and an arf trainer at the same time, and then start flying the arf and building the kit. take your time and do a good job on the kit, by the time you have it done you should have enough experience on the arf to fly it.

My goodness, what a bunch of pessimists. With the probability of a crash was as high as you guys are suggesting, it's a wonder anyone flies R/C planes. Sure, ARFs are easier and there's less personal investment involved. But, if they guy has researched the options and has decided to build, great! I say enjoy! I suspect there might be a few less crashes during learning if the students built kits, assuming they can build them right, rather than slapping together an $80 ARF.

I tend to agree with Piper_chuck on this one. One of the downsides of ARF's is the fact that people tend to not care as much when they crash them. Why not? We all live in a disposable society these days. Instant this, throw away that. This is why ARF's and RTF's have become so popular. You can buy one and in just a few days, or hours, you can be in the air. If you crash it's only a few days before you are back in the air. I've seen this attitude at the field many times over. But now look at a plane that is built from a kit. People who fly these tend to want to take better care of them because of the time that is invested in the building of that plane. But should one avoid building a plane because "you're going to crash it?" That attitude comes from the same throw away attitude that I spoke of above. Just because you are learning doesn't mean that you aren't going to crash your plane beyond repair. I think that more people should build their trainers these days. Yes it does take longer to build it, but the feeling of satisfaction you get from building it will well outweigh the time it's going to take to build it. There are going to be many that are going to step and give me a hundred reasons why they prefer to fly ARF/RTF's. But until you have built a plane and flown it you just can't get into an argument about it because you don't have the same frame of reference as those that have built a plane. Ask any of those that have recently built planes and have had build threads here on RCU. Many of them gave the same arguments that I hear all the time: too busy, no room to build, not enough skills, not enough money, I don't know how, it's too hard, etc..... Now that they have tackled and completed a build they are no longer saying that, in fact most of them are now planning their 2nd, 3rd, even their 4th build. Many say that kits are dying, but I tend to disagree with that. There are plenty of kits out there, and I don't see them going anywhere soon. ARF's are here to stay and that is not going to change, but I predict that kits will start making a comeback in the next few years. As those that were part of the "instant gratification" generation discover the joys of building kits, they will start to demand that the manufacturers bring back their kits.

Many people can't wait to get rid of their trainers once they have learned to fly. I think that is a mistake. I've been in the hobby for 10 years and I still have my trainer and it has somewhere around 600 flights on it right now. And yes, I still take it out and fly it occasionally. It's a total blast to fly your trainer from time to time. Before you ask, no I didn't build my trainer. I inherited it when my father died and I leaned to fly on it out of respect to him because he never got a chance to fly it before he died. But it didn't take me too long after I learned to fly that I started building kits. And the skills that I have from building kits comes in very handy when I do crash a plane. I have the ability to repair a plane and put it back in the air, while others that don't would merely throw the plane away.

To sum everything up. I think that there is no reason at all why a person can't build their own trainer. To tell them that they shouldn't do it because they are just going to crash it is reckless thinking. Using that same train of thought we wouldn't get in our car in the morning because there is a chance you could have an accident. Avoid that airliner because it could crash. Don't eat that hamburger because it may have e-coli in it. Don't drink that water because it might have poisons in it. Heck, don't even get out of bed in the morning............

Go ahead and build that trainer. Take my word for it, the satisfaction you get from seeing it fly will make every second worth it..

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Ken

Ditto what Ken said about keeping your trainer. I don't have mine any more, I wore it out. I've been missing it over the years. [] One of my fellow club members has been hoarding 2 kits and I've been waiting over a year for him to part with one. Last Sunday, he sold one to me, YAY! As soon as I get my new plane maidened, possibly tomorrow afternoon, do a bit more maintenance on some existing planes, and get my Slowstick assembled (it's for flying in my backyard), my new (old) kit wil go on the building table.

What RCKen just said................Ditto!
I also agree about the LT-40. An option, if you are looking at bringing the project in a little cheaper is the LT-40's little brother the LT-25. With a .25 two stroke, the LT-25 is a great flying small field airplane. You can use standard servos and equipment, and because it is a bit smaller its easier to transport an a car.
The LT-40 or the 25 are hard to beat as entry level trainers.

Piper_chuck,
Ditto right back at you. I have a Tower Trainer kit that I plan on building. My first trainer is a Tower Trainer and I want to retire it and hang it up for sentimental reasons, because it was my dad's plane and it's means a lot to me. Last year I was planning on building it this winter and do a build thread on it for the Beginner's Forum here, but that was before the opportunity to do the PIF build came up. I'm still planning on building the trainer, but it may be a little closer to this summer. I want to have a trainer to fly when I'm in the mood to fly it, but I also have some other plans for it too. I plan on covering it entirely in transparent monokote so that I can use it as a teaching tool for students I am training. It's a lot easier to explain something when they can see it actually "working". And since I'm going to cover it in transparent monokote I'm also considering putting in a set of the ultra bright LED's and use it for night flying too.

Ken

Great post and great advise as usual, I love RCU. Tasesq, in addition to all the great advised here may I share with you Mr. Jerry Bates guide that also aided me in the pursuit of building from plans/kits which I think it's a great approach, because you get to know your plane intimately; by this I mean that you know precisely what is under every inch of covering and in the event of a mishap you know what and how to repair/replace the damage. I am also new and the advice obtained here on RCU, and this guide has helped me a lot. Here is the link http://www.rcscalebuilder.com/Tutori...om%20Plans.htm

I also believe that people should learn to build a kit as it does make you feel like you have really done something worth while. At the same time I think the ARF's are a must in this day and age, but they sure don't do much for learning the whole hobby and puffing up your chest because you ASSEMBLED it.
In the last 3 mo. I have had a number of students / people that had NO idea how to repair their plane when they had damage and some of it was so minor I couldn't believe it. I think as I get older that this is something that rubs me wrong that people haven't learned the basic's.
Now if you want to fly and you want to build also, maybe the suggestion to get an ARF and a kit wasn't so bad and the suggestion about the Midwest Aero Star might also fit. Midwest still has the Aerostar kits and they also sell it as an ARF so you can get the best of both worlds. What ever you do be sure to get assistance and ---- ENJOY !!! RED

I got mine or whats left of it.. an eagle 2 kit I built..12 years ago my club branched off,,unfortunatly I got hooked up with the wrong branch,,these are the snobs that turned me off the hobby and made me decide to teach myself...shortly there after crashing my plane,,,the last straw believe it or not wasnt a crash but my step daughter slamming the car door shut on the wing...it went in the corner of the basement after that,,,10 years later I decided to try again in the 1/2A planes 20 planes later I still love to build from scratch and kits and ARF..2 weeks from now is our annual swap meet ,,talk about your kid in a candy store!!! Chuck you coming up for it?? Oh and btw your welcome to whats left of my eagle if you want....Rog

Believe me, I wasn't trying to talk him out of ever building a kit. There's nothing like building one. It's just nice to not turn it back into a kit in one weekend.

My comment goes out the window if you have a well versed flyer who will teach you to fly. This will keep you from starting off with bad habits, and keep it on once piece.

Rog, I have the swap meet on my calendar, I'll probably be there. But, I absolutely must leave my money at home, I've got way too much stuff. Thanks for the offer of the eagle, but I don't do well at getting around to repairs.

I've got to go out the Charlotte later on this year Chuck. I'll tell you what, I'll come by and take some of your stuff off of your hands. That way you can buy more!!!! Ain't I a nice guy?? Anything for a friend!!

Ken

Thanks buddy. Plan to stay over a weekend, I live a couple hours from Charlotte.