mcpastore

I picked up a couple of Aero Aces about a month ago and have been flying the crap out of them. I am looking at getting a little more serious into the hobby, but my budget is currently rather tight. I am looking for a 3CH or 4CH RTF complete with everything for around $100. Max I want to go is $150. There are no LHS around me, so it must be an online purchase, and hopefully replacement parts are easily available online. Also, I will be flying by myself with no training. Please make some recommendations.

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

Based on your criteria, three electric RTF packages come to mind. Take a look at the Hobbico Flyzone Mini Ventura ($89.99), the Hobbico Flyzone Ventura ($129.99), or the Hobbyzone Super Cub ($159.99). All three are 3-channel RTF packages from major manufacturers. All three are suitable for teaching yourself to fly. All three should be readily available from your local hobby store or most major online retailers and spare parts should be readily available.

What to avoid? A solid fuselage and a traditional t-tail is easier to keep aligned than a v-tail at the end of a thin "stick" fuselage. I purchased a Hobbyzone Aerobird Challenger, but I couldn't fly it very effectively until after I went through flight training on glow planes first. I found the plane difficult to keep trimmed properly, and I often had trouble keeping the plane under any kind of control once airborn. It was fun to fly the Aerobird after I gained a lot of experience on other planes, but I had no luck trying to teach myself to fly with it.

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

Unfortunately I think all you're going to find in an RTF electric for $100 is toy junk!! Most of the small cheap electrics are grossly under-powered & don't fly very well. This one may not be a whole lot different I'm not really sure because I have never flown one. It does look like it may be a little better than some of the others in it's class though because of the fact that it is a true 4 channel & it has traditional type tail feathers with an elevator & a rudder instead of a V-tail. This means that control imput wise it will act like a real 4 channel trainer, it also has ailerons which most of them don't. It costs a little more than you stated at $159 but right now they are showing a 3 day sale price of $20 off. It looks better to me than the Aerobird series. If I were going to try the cheap electric RTF thing I might give this one a try.

http://www.parkflyers.com/html/begin-air.html

After looking closer at this link I see that this thing is not under-powered like most of them either. It has a 480 motor in it which is good power for a plane this light. They claim it will do speeds of up to 50mph. The flight videos actually shows it doing some loops & rolls. It looks like it flys pretty darn well!! They also have all the spare parts for it available for very reasonable prices. I would really give this one some thought if an inexpensive electric is what you are looking for, I am more impressed with this one than any of the others I've seen & I've pretty much looked at all of them.

mcpastore

Thanks for the recommendations! Anyone else have any comments?

mrodgers88

Yup:

You would probably have much better results posting over in the electric flight section judging from comments like this (no offense meant to the one who posted that):

I'm in the same boat as you are. I'm looking to get cheaply into flying RC. My budget is pretty much the same as your's, around $100. I've been reading as much as I could in several forums. This is what I've come up with.

Flyzone SkyFly - $99 - pusher prop pod and boom 3 channel. Dual stick transmitter with conventional tail. Controls are said to be junk (as in the elevator and rudder), but can be modded to have better control. Also doesn't use conventional servos for control. It uses some type of "fishing line" control which tends to stretch or something.

Aerobird Challenger - $109 - pusher prop pod and boom. This is one that is raved about from everyone of this type of plane. 3 channel with single stick controller that has a thumbslide for the throttle. Has a V-tail which incorporates mixing to control elevator and rudder on the tail. I guess this thing scoots pretty good and has excellent control and flight from what I've read.

T-Hawk - $150ish? - Pusher prop pod and boom. Similar to the Aerobird Challenger in it has I think a V-tail. Haven't read much about it as it's out of my price range.

Megatech Freedom Flyer - $130-150 - this is a Cessna looking bird, 3 channels. Has a dual stick 4 channel transmitter and cheap, but conventional servos/electronics that you could use again in something else (I'm thinking in DIY foamie stuff where I want to go to). From what I've read, most Megatech stuff is junk, but the Freedom Flyer is a remake of the Airstrike with much smaller/lighter electronics and actually flies pretty good.

Wattage and Parkzone Cessna 180 - $130-150 - again 3 channel, but I think you could also get a 4 channel too for more cash. Looks scale to a Cessna. These and the Megatech have the props out front though, so they are prone to crash damage.

Multiplex EasyStar - $159 (at hobby-lobby.com), but $189 regularly - Pusher prop. This is the most recommended RTF for a first timer as I have read. Made from Elapor (polystyrene/polypropylene mix), it is very crash resistant and can be very easily repaired as it is made from foam. Search any of the RC electric forums for this and you'll have reading for a year to do.

These are only my observations from the forums so far. I've never flown RC and am desperately in debt with credit cards and loans. But I do want to get into this hobby. In fact, I'm selling the motorcycle more to buy tires for the primary vehicle, but will use the extra to pick up a plane. I'm tied as to what the heck I'd like to get. If I had the money, I'd go with the Multplex hands down from what I've read on the forums. The Aerobird would be a close 2nd, but I like the idea of some of them coming with an actual dual stick 4 channel transmitter as I think it would be possible to then use that in a DIY foamie plane made from Blucore/Depron. The transmitter system is the most expense of this hobby and I just can't do it.

Good luck and don't listen to the folks who will tell you electrics or the cheap electrics are just toys. I've read 4000-8000 post threads that will tell you otherwise.

Missileman

Ok my 2c.
GWS- Slow stick (400 size) or Estarter.
Both are ARFs with motor and gearbox included in the $30 ish dollar range and a GWS flight pack that includes all the electronics, including a 4 channel radio, is about $70.
I prefer the Estarter as it is a 4 channel airplane and a good trainer.
SLOW STICK
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHCJ2&P=ML
Estarter
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHCL2&P=7

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

None taken LOl. Just stating the truth!! I'm sorry that this doesn't fit your budget, I was in the same boat as the two of you, so I know how frustrating it can be. However I'm not going to sit here & lie to you or the poster of this thread by telling you what you want to hear if it isn't the truth. I tried to go this route myself, & the truth of the matter is that for $100 or less in an RTF electric all I found was junk!! When it was all said & done I found myself wishing I had waited until I could have put a little more money together to get something a little more flyable. Then I was right back where I started from only $100 in the hole with a junky toy airplane that didn't fly worth spit. I do believe that there are a few out there though for only around $50 to $60 more than the originally stated budget that might be a lot better. I still stand behind that statement. IMO all you get for $100 RTF is junk. However, one man's junk is another man's treasure, so who knows? You may just be delighted with one of those $100 planes. I hope you are both able to find something you like for the money you are willing to spend. Good luck