I have been in to RC for a while now (cars and trucks) and I have been looking at getting started in airplanes.

question 1:I have been looking at a Cessna Skylane 182 [link=http://www.raidentech.com/cesk18263arf.html]here[/link] (they have them at my LHS)
Is this a good plane? I want something that is fairly easy to fly and will be an all around good plane. I'm not looking into stunts and stuff, just something I can fly aruond and have fun with.

question 2: What engine can I put in this airplane? I was looking at [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBY18&P=ML]this engine[/link] but not sure whether it is suitable for the job.

question 3 : I have a Hitec Laser 4, will this radio do? If not what should I use?

question 4: What servos should I use?

Remember, I am tight on money...

Answer 1: The plane you listed isn't a good choice for learning. The problem with scale or scale appearing planes is they are typically not as light or stable as a plane designed to be a trainer. There's a list of trainer planes pinned to the top of this forum. Since you're on a budget, one good choice is the Tower Trainer.
Answer 2: The .40 LA would be ok for a trainer. The .46 LA is only slightly more money, but would give you a bit more power.
Answer 3: The radio should do fine, as long as it's on an aircraft frequency. Is it 72 or 75 mhz?
Answer 4: Standard servos are fine for trainers. In the Futaba line these would be S3003 or S3304. A similar for Hitec would be HS325.

Also remember that you need to factor in the cost of some basic tools, glue, and field tools for fueling and starting your engine. You may have much of these already if you do nitro cars or trucks. You should also plan to join a club for instruction, meaning you should join AMA and the club.

Anyway, the plane purchase can be done quite economically. Good luck. If you've got more questions, or want clarification, ask away, we're here to help.

Sorry but did you notice that the ad said the plane was designed for an intermediate or advanced pilot and not a beginner? That basically means it is NOT a plane to learn to fly with.
Since you already have a transmitter and want to keep the cost down BUT reliable I suggest the following.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCAS2&P=ML
or
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXK971&P=ML
for an engine use
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXBY18&P=
or
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXFMD5&P=
You did not state if you had a RX for your transmitter and I am also unfamiliar with the Hitec line of servos. However you should know that most brands of servos will work sith most brands of Receivers. Sometimes minor mods may be needed to the connectors.

Another converter to the dark side.

That plane will work fine and good job on supporting your LHS. Motor, go with at least the 46 and if you can afford it, go with the AX series instead of the LA. Airplane motors will about last forever, so spend the money now and do it right. They are not like car motors.

Some may direct you to a more traditional trainer. You don't need it. A few years ago, I about destoyed the off road nitro off road program here, becasue I introduced them to airplanes. I taught about 50 of them how to fly and maybe 30 of them went hard and left cars all together.

You will taked to airplanes instantly, all these other guys did. So it allows you to go to plane #2, first. That Cessna has good looks and will give you a challange, where the basic trainer will not.

You radio is fine for now and regular servos will work fine. All those stock servos you won't run in your cars are fine for your airplane.

You still want some help, but you will be solo in about 5 flights, if even that many.

And another thing, planes are WAY cheaper than buggies and cars.

Thanks guys, I can get a person to help me fly through trainer mode on my TX. I'm trying not to go with a trainer, mainly because I don't want to have to buy another airplane when I get bored with the trainer, but still, I will keep it under consideration.

piper: I'm on 72 mhz

bruce: I have an RX and two nano servos (will they be good for anything?)

YNOT: I'm glad to see you like the Cessna, If I do go with the .40 LA will it be a bad decision?

Another question: If I were to get the cessna what do you think I would end up paying to get it to fly?

Once again, thanks!

If it is a "standard" RX and not a "park Flyer" or micro type (which may have a range problem) then the the RX will be fine, need to know the model to give a better answer.
Micro or nano servos would be too small for a 40 size plane.

I also stand by my opinion that you should fly a more conventional trainer for a first plane and have an instructor of course.

If you want a good trainer that will take you to the next level go with the Hangar 9 p51 PTS. It is an excellent trainer plane & when you get used to it you can take off all the trainer BS & It flies like a sport model. My 9 yr old son is flying one now without all the trainer stuff on it.



That was Quick

Too much $ [] If I had the money I would get it. Why is the cessna so hard to fly?[sm=confused_smile.gif]

I don't know what the plane will sell for, I'm guessing 180-200.

Spend 100 on an engine if you can. The LA 40 is a solid motor, for 15 bucks more you can get the 46. The AX series have more power and you will be soooo much happier with. I know in car motors, you spend 300 bucks on a motor that is a pain to tune and its more trouble then its worth. Airplane motors are way different. They run great from day one. OS, you can not beat at any price. You are going to want the extra power. I find it hard to believe that what ever your running in your buggies or trucks or whatever, you have the stock motor in every one. You zoomed something up.

The nano servos are not really good for anything on that bird, maybe the throttle. You have any stock Traxxas servos, or something you pulled for a RTR buggy? Those will work fine. Spend 20 bucks on each servo.

I predict the future

If the previous R/C car/truck/buggy experence was not there, my advice would be different. I would not recomend that Cessna.

I have some Traxxas servos. Of course I have tossed the stock engines in my trucks! I will try to get the AX.

This is a stupid question: are airplane engines ringed? I know truck engines aren't, thats why they only last 8 gallons.
Thanks for the help!

Are you saying that I should not get the cessna? No one around my area fly's trainers, they all fly the real thing. There are a bundle of pilots that can help show me how to fly the cessna. Its not that I don't like the idea of a trainer, its just I want something I won't get bored with any time soon.
Just so you guys know, I have flown some airplanes (not my own) and one of them was the cessna. I'm just a noob, but I know I can fly.

It's not that scale planes are so terribly hard to fly than it is that they are unforgiving of pranged landings and more difficult to repair and a scale Cessna is probably just as "boring" as a trainer. There's more to trainers than being easy to fly (do landings with), they are also designed to take the abuse of beginner's landings. Wait till you can do a "grease job" landing every time with your trainer before moving on to scale planes, even Cessnas or Cubs. Also, wait till you can do the pattern inverted with your trainer before you declare them boring.

Are airplane engines ringed? Some are but most 2-strokes in the .40 to .46 range are not. The OS .46 AX is not. The vast majority of 4-stroke engines are ringed. Most airplane engines outlast car engines because they don't rev as high, use lower nitro fuel, and airplane fuel has a higher oil content. Engines that run up in the sky also ingest a lot less dirt than buggie engines do.

That's a nice looking Cesna ARF. OK, that's what you want to learn on, good enough. I first recommend you get a Great Planes G2 or G3 Flight Sim and practice flying the C-182 on there until you can take off, fly, and land flawlessly every time. Next, get one of the experienced fliers at your field to trim it out for you. Get on a BUDDY BOX with your instructor and go for it. Good luck.

I predict he will get his Cessna and stuff it and disappear. When you do not want to go through the proper learning process, just give up .

In most cases, I agree. However the plane would be a Corsair.

It is the previous R/C car experence that I am factoring in. I taught 50 or so people in the past 2 years, who all came from racing off road cars. They took to airplanes like I have never seen. They have the eye/hand, throttle control and left and right, both comming and going.

Based off my previous experence with teaching R/C car drivers, I say the Cessna will work fine and he may be looking to trade some car stuff for airplane stuff, real soon.

"Just Give Up"... What kind of statement is that? Times, equipment and people change, hopefully for the better. My method will work. I have found a few trainers that are more like a traditional second plane. A positive attitude and influence will help here, not negative statements. The Cessna 182 is no much different than some of the trainers on the market. Good luck with the Cessna, let us know how you progress.

Hi!
Fun thing this!
Are you kidding????
That Cessna is no good if he is a newbie! He will crash it in no time. Why? Brecause the airplane isn't as forgiving as a normal trainer These are the items that doesn't make it a good trainer.
It doesn have a a wing with enough dihedral. second the wing isn't thick enough (Thick wings fly better and are safer for a newbie) third all the scale pherefenalia on the plane is no good...may look good... but isn't for a newbie! These glassed windows (Will break in the first light crash), wheelpants (will hinder talke off and if the airplane evetually takes to the air...will be destroyed in the first hard landing...there are several more things about this airplane that makes it bad as a trainer but I stop here.
Here is what a good trainer look like. (Multiplex ARF electric trainer) or a wooden ARF trainer
(Kyosho Calmato).

Regards!
Jan K

The problem is that YNOT is telling him what he WANTS to hear and that's all he WILL hear.

I would have to agree. As I've followed this thread it does seem as if the original poster has his mind set as to what he wants to do and is just looking for somebody to validate that decision, no matter whether it's good or bad advice. I feel that telling this person that a Cessna 182 would be suitable for learning to fly is just poor advice, and possibly setting him up for failure down the road.

As far as a trainer being boring. Planes aren't boring, there are only boring pilots. I've been flying for 10 years now and I still have my trainer, and I still take it to the field and fly it regularly. Until you can fly a full set of acrobatics with your trainer I would say that you haven't fully explored what your trainer can do. Can you take off, roll inverted, and fly 3 complete circuits of your field while still inverted??

Having used RC cars does help SOME when moving to planes, but it can also hurt in some ways. It does help in the fact that the student is going to have a feel for the sticks as they start on their airplane. The student may also not be bothered by stick reversal after dealing with cars. But when dealing with cars most drivers learn that if their car gets out of control you simply close the throttle and let the car come to a stop. Big big trouble if they try this with an airplane.


Ken

This is the kind of statement it is. Remember a short time back, that guy who kept buying new planes, and throwing them in the trash one after another. Why waste time on somebody who wants shortcuts. Many people here "tap dance" too much. Tell them the truth! If a guy wants his first plane to be a P-51, tell him to go ahead and get one and at the same time, tell him how long it's going to last and to come back when he is ready to do it the right way.

I recall saying to people many times here to just get the box out of the car, place it behind the wheel, run over it and just get it over with. The R/C hobby has spent all these years developing a system for us to make it easier to learn. If they don't want to, hey, it's not my wallet. There was a more recent one here somewhere about what would the best plane be when no isntructor is around? How about a brick with wings.

If money is an issue to some, they need to pay attention. If there really is no instructor around. A conventional trainer setup is not a bright idea to take the beating it will get. To bring this on my level, I flew military helicopters for 20 years. If I had decided to spend $1500 on a Raptor setup instead of flying the simulator for a while, my first flight would have destroyed the aircraft.

SG16
WOW. Its getting warm in here [sm=angry_smile.gif]. We have a Goldberg Eagle & a Hangar 9 PTS for trainer planes. I will say the eagle should be able to take more of a beating than the PTS. But for some reason My son does a better job flying the PTS than he does the Eagle. My feeling is if you have a good instructor to help, learn on what you want to fly. on the other hand like myself many years ago I had to teach myself to fly, go with something cheaper because you will be replacing it [sm=spinnyeyes.gif]. just my thought.



That was Quick

OK I think you guys have pursuaded me to get a trainer first. I will probably buy the cessna later on, when I learn how to fly. I will most likely start out with the Tower Trainer. It looks like an OK airplane. I really didn't mean to say that trainers were boring, I take that statment back.

What do you guys think of the Tower Trainer? Will the O.S. .46 LA work well with it? Will some cheap Traxxas MT servos work?

I know flying is hard at first so I take back what I said.

Thanks guys....[8D]

The Tower Trainer will probably do a good job of keeping you occupied for a while. I've been working with mine for the past 3 months. Mind you I still fly with an instructor and haven't soloed yet. However on high rates, and with a .46, I've seen my TT do some fairly interesting aerobatics with a very experienced pilot at the controls.

The tower trainer with an OS46 LA is a great combo. I have heard that the Tower trainer flies fine with a 40LA as well but the extra power certainly wont hurt.
Not sure about the servos but standard Futaba servos are only $12 each.