I am new to rc flying and I am looking for a good plane to train on. Are electrics or glow planes better to learn--and crash--with? My budget is around $200. $300 is the absolute maximum. Thanks for any help.

I'd say that many electrics are better to crash with: the low weight and slow speed reduce damage.

I started with a GWS E-Starter foamy, after using a simulator for a few months.

The best idea really is to join a club. Somebody even might have a trainer plane that they'll sell you cheap AND you will get instruction in building and flying.

I second the club joining idea. For $200, you can't get started easily, as the plane, radio, field accesories and AMA membership will get you far above that. If you absolutely can't go above 300, your options are limited. You could get a firebird or a similar ship, or you could simply save for longer and get a better electric or gas. If you are on a limited budget, consider buying a kit, and buying the parts to build it as you need them. That will stretch the expenditure out some. Unfortunately, complete, ready to fly airplanes with everything you need are usually just glorified toys, and the larger, more serious "hobby" types don't come complete. A little more information as to what you are looking to get into would help.

You check out the link below for a mostly complete system that includes the plane, engine, and radio sytem. It sells for $380.00.
Here is another one for $280.00. Hope this helps ot at least gives an idea of what you need for a minimum basic setup. You will still need fuel, props, a starter, glow plug driver, battery to run the starter and driver and a fuel pump. Add $10.00 on to this to get a tool box from Wallmart to use as a field box. These are the extras that are needed but most new flyers don't know about it. [8D]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LA1065**&P=1

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LA1064**&P=1

Electric's are better for crashing & glow are a lot better for flying.
(from a monetary standpoint anyway)

How many flights are you planning on in a day? Standard training at our field is considered to be 6, ten minute flights. You won't get 10 minutes out of a battery pack unless you upgrade, more like 6-8 minutes then you have to land. Then do you want to plunk in another fully charged pack or put the pack on a charger and wait 45 minutes to an hour?!? Now you either need more battery packs or a fast field charger. On glow planes, you refuel and you are ready to go again. [8D]

I think you can get a decent small electric plane (airframe, power system w/ battery, radio, charger) in the air for $300. Not sure about glow, unless you can get some used equipment.

While the battery is charging, you have a good chance to try and figure out what the old boys are saying... or listen to them swearing at their clunks, fuel filters, needles and mufflers.

edit: and glow plugs, glow starters, starters and power panels.

I will build a glow plane too, but not before I have a separate room for the smelly things

edit: Some people live with others who do not appreciate the irresistible perfumes that the LHS sells.

My personal opinion is I really like glow alot. I am going to try an electric Mini Telemaster build this Spring so I can't really give an opinion on that yet.

About a trainer, my personal favorite three are as follows below. I have built all three of them and like them all alot:

Sig Kadet LT-40 Trainer Kit .30-.40,70"
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFG11&P=0

Goldberg Eaglet 50 Trainer Kit .09-.25,50"
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDJC4&P=0

Great Planes PT-40 MKII Trainer Kit .35-.46,60"
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ557&P=0

Heres another fast way to get a plane into the air. Its a Tower Hobbies Tower Trainer 40 MKII 4-Channel Ready to Fly 62" wing span. Includes completed plane with a 46 size engine and radio system allready installed for $260.00.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LA1147**&P=1[8D][8D]

I did a bit of research and found glows can be expensive to fix and needs more maintenance. So I think I may go with an electric and practice with that and move up to glows later. Also, the club joining ideal sounds great. I think I'll just do that. Thanks for all the help!

Yes, you may be right about that, but electrics are very expensive to build . . . as they need expensive speed controls, batteries, charger etc. etc. etc. But I am still building one to see for myself how an electric turns out.

Unless you get something like this, It looks nice and INCLUDES the motor.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ554&P=7

Maybe I should have gotten this instead, but I liked the looks of the Mini Telemaster more .

An electric the size of a typical glow plane can be expensive. The parkflyer-size planes (mine are from GWS) are not expensive. Brushed motors and controllers are not expensive. Brushless (more efficiency -> more power) is another thing. Batteries, if you go LiPo, are not cheap but NiMH is still a viable option. Chargers can be expensive if you want a do-everything unit but lesser models might serve you well for the near future.

The support gear and fuel for a glow plane is not free either.

For me, electric was the more practical way to get started. Depending on your circumstances (where you live, with whom, do you always have heavy winds, how far is the nearest "real" flying site, etc) it might or might not be the best for you.

Anyway, the decision to join a club first is a good decision.

If you just want to play around to see if you "might" like this hobby then go electric. When you find out how slow and underpowered the electrics are (unless you upgrade big time with lots of cash) and decide you might want a plane with full control and 4 channels that you can easily take off from a grass field you will have to go with glow. Then you will be spending the same money all over again instead of being able to move on to a "2nd type" sport plane.

Let me add to what Fastsky said..


Any training program worth it's salt teaches you NOT TO CRASH! The object is to fly and enjoy the hobby not crash.. unless, of course, you don't much care about how much you spend and how others think of your abilities. Personally, I don't like to crash, not even a little. So, find yourself a good local club with an intact training program then of course, an instructor. Either electric or glow will do, however, the bigger the plane the easier it will be to learn with, so that sort of lends itself to a good glow, and there are many many posts here on RCU that make recommendations. Most of all, thought, get into a training program with an instructor using a buddy box. You will be much happier. Then, after you solo, and you still want to crash airplanes, then knock yourself out!! It's your money.

DS.

Ok here's my advice. I learned on electric before switching to glow. The one thing that I have learned from doing it this way, is that eventually, you will regret spending all that money on electric when you could have gone glow from the get go. I started three years ago on a plane call the Soarstar (copy of Hobby-Lobby's Wingo), I then had to buy a radio system to go with it and servos. All total, I spent over $250 to get it up in the air. If you are frugal, you can have a very fun, forgiving glow trainer plane for less than this amount.

Example:

World Models Sky Raider Mach I ARF(high wing semi-symmetrica trainer, easy to assemble and flys great) $69.99
Thunder Tiger .40 $65
Futaba or Hitec Sport 4-Channel Radio $120
Total $254.00

If you buy this online from Tower, they always have discount codes that give you so much off a purchase if it totals a certain amount. In fact yesterday, they emailed me with this month's code of $30 off a $199 purchase so you out of pocket total is now $224. This leaves you an extra $76 to buy support equipmnet (glow plug heater, fuel and fuel pump) or possibly upgrade your initial radio purchase (which is always a good idea to buy more radio than you need b/c you will grow into it)

IMO, electric is nice and clean, but it is more expensive than glow.

A]glow OR B]electric:

1)Whats easier to learn on?
2)Which is more forgiving with hard landings?
3)What gives more flying time per flight?
4)Which flys slower? Has easier/softer landings?

I know that obviously glow is better for maneuvers, but can electrics accomplish simple maneuvers besides just flying?

1. It depends on your situation and how much wind you have to deal with up there. If alot, then definitely glow, if not, then it's pretty much a tie.

2. Glow by far. Most glow powered planes can take alot before stuff starts to break. I've seen some really rough landings and no damage other than a bent gear (which can easily be fixed by the two wonderful things God gave us called hands) and sometimes, a broken prop. Electrics on the other hand are built to be very light and somewhat makes them fragile IMO.

3. Glow by far if the throttle is not ran wide open the entire flight. Some guys fly over 20 minutes with proper throttle management. Electrics can go this long too, but it requires Lipos which can be expensive for the higher capacity ones.

4. This question all depends on the exact plane chosen. I will say that glow planes are definitely more stable just because they are bigger in size and can handle the winds much better.

Re: "Which flys slower? Has easier/softer landings? "< In theory the lighter the plane the softer the landings therfore the small park flyer type planes should be able to land slower and softer. In practice a good trainer such as an LT40 with a 70" wingspan will easily land at a slow walk and touches down like a feather. This is due to the type of wing and the size of the wing vs. the weight. The LT40 has the same light wing loading as some gliders.

Um...

I have 3 electrics and have spent a good deal of money on them, but I have never flown them. It seems that every time I am loading-up to go to the field, even if I INTEND to try my electrics, I just grab a glow plane and go. Prolly just force of habit.

There are some electric planes with built-up wings and fuselages, but they are built very light and quickly become 'balsa-mulch' in a crash, (battery packs are like hammers in a crash).

I like to see my big, smelly, oily, noisy, smoky plane on it's long gliding descent to the center of a long runway and taxi back. Then, cut the engine and pick it up....but that's just me.

Remember, a flat-winged foam plane does not... 'fly'; it ...'vectors thrust'. If you want to fly, (and not steer a very elaborate fan), get a plane with an airfoil whether it be electric or glow.

Enjoy!!!

i also started out with electrics and I personally wish i would have just jumped to glow. I actually think glows are cheaper. i was always messing up electronics, batterys would need to be replaced, but that isnt even the reason i like glow more, i like glow more because if you try you can keep an airplanes up for 20+ minutes. then when its time to land, just let everything cool off, maybe check the reciever battery, fill it up and your good to go. I am also the kind of guy that likes tinkering with stuff so electrics didnt keep me busy at night, and as for repairs and maintnence, their really is not as much as i thought, a little after run oil, and maybe change a glow plug and your set. I have had a few electrics, larger ones for 600 size motors and none of them fly as slow as my ModelTech Magic Funfly. some people may disagree with me but i would actually recommend that for a first plane, my first glow plane was a hobbico avistar, i thought it was much easier to fly then the electrics, much more stable, but lands a little faster then a normal trainer because it has a semi-semetrical airfoil to make it more aerobatic. The reason i didnt get into glow first was because i thought fuel was going to cost a lot of money that i didnt have, but i was wrong, its amazing how long a gallon of fuel lasts, it takes about 2 weekends of a lot of flying to use up 1 gallon. all depends on what you want to do.

This is not a question of power source. All depends on what sort of an airframe you have. However, a big plane tolerates wind better and big electrics are still expensive.

Not primarily a question of power source. I have done a few scary looking arrivals with my GWS foamies (disorientation or too much wind for my skill level) without significant damage. I broke the nose off my GWS Formosa "Pattern style" parkflyer, in a nosedive to a frozen lake. It was easy to fix.

My GWS E-Starter with a $40 (??) LiPo gives me two or three flights that last long enough for me to feel I am losing focus.

Not primarily a question of power source. Most glow planes that I see at the field "LOOK" faster and cover more sky than the electrics that I see. I have also seen electrics that approach 200 mph.

Many pilots at F3A aerobatics Wold Championships are nowadays using electric motors in their competition ships. Those big power systems are scary expensive. But I have a feeling that the cost of electric flying is going down. My GWS Formosa, with a $100 (?) power system does big loops and neat rolls. My skill is the limit.

Edit:
I said before that I will also build one or more glow planes. It is not because I need more power: I could get all the power I need for ANY aerobatics, using electric. In a spell of madness and too much money, I bought a very nice engine long before I built my first plane. I want to put that engine to use. I also think that using a glow engine feels different from using electric power. I do not mean different performance, I mean something psychological.

I think some of the world's best aerobatics guys do not use electrics by chance. I am sure they think that electrics have a performance advantage at what they are doing. Why else would they spend all that money it costs nowadays. (Pretty irrelevant for a beginner but I had to say it.)

Davori your in the wrong forum chief,,in here all your going to hear is that you need a .40 size trainer...........if you only have $200..AMA membershio is $58 and your club dues and joining fee are probably gonna be ~$100......which leaves you $42 for a plane/radio,,,what you want is a parkflyer..Go GWS pico or slow stick buy a couple of battery paks so you can fly a few times, I would recommend getting a decent 4 channel radio not one of the ones that need 8 AA batteries but come with a pak and a charger, fly it early sat morning at a schoolyard,,use your charger to slow charge 2 or 3 paks....go to the electric forums/ parkflyers....hurry get out of here!...Rog

you'll see either way you go, once you have the radio and gear, planes,especially electric (GWS) are actually pretty cheap, if you completely trash a Pico stick another one is like $40

Well, I know AMA membership and club dues, etc. will add up to $100-$200, and I've factored that into my budget. So $200 for dues and $300 for the plane is about $500, which was my actual budget. But after looking over all these replies, I realized that $300 may not be enough to get me a decent 4 channel plane. How about $400? At this price range, can I get a decent 4 channel glow/electric plane? Some of the planes I've seen online like the Nexstar is huge. I've also seen some much smaller planes (about 1.5 feet wingspan), are they really that much harder to learn on?

What's wrong with the Hobbico Avistar??? I've taught plenty of students that have come out with this plane and IMHO it's a pretty nice little deal. The price is $279.99 and that includes the plane, motor, and radio. And Tower is currently running an offer for any orders over $199 you can take $30 off the price of the order, so that gets the price down to $249.00. Well within your budget, and you still have money to buy ground support equipment. I've taught plenty of students on this trainer and it's a decent flying plane. I think that you would do well with it.

Hope this helps

Ken

1.5 feet sounds like either a toy or an indoor plane. Some people are happy to start with a toy plane but those things, apparently, have no equipment that you can transfer into a more advanced design.

(oooops, let's not start a discussion about "toys" and "not toys". I am happy to admit that my clumsy aerobatics are a form of "play", as opposed to something that makes a difference for the world in general.)

If you go electric, look at something like 3 feet span minimum (and obviously it must be a high wing trainer). If you go glow, something like 60 inches is a good starting point.

Bigger planes are easier to see and they tolerate wind better.

$400 should equip you OK, whichever way you go. You need to generate a list of your needs and start looking for where to get everything. Try to get some quality, not necessarily more features and bells and whistles.