I am looking on moving from 4wd monster trucks to the air ( the ground got a little boring, not much challenge)-- I also had noone to ride with...
I am looking at either planes or heli's and cant make up my mind. I am leaning toward planes because they look to be easier to learn to opperate, and a little simpler. I want something that after I get the basics I can move on to higher aerobatics. It seems that a heli has less room for mistake being it does not have wings to glide on. Is there anything I am missing here, please help me. I really enjoy watching others fly,and I'm really interested in getting into a new field of the great hobby of RC!
Corey

Exactly the same reason I went to planes too. As far as which to go with, planes/heli, well that's like you asking us which type of underware to wear. I sudjest you get one of the high end simulators that suports both planes and heli's and see which you find more satisfying. Or ask your wife/girlfreind/significant other as they would answer the other question as well.

C,
That's good advice. Check out a sim, if your serious it will be money well spent. That way you can sample the "Buffet" (not Jimmy)[sm=teeth_smile.gif] I also think as soon as you start using that sim you'll know!!



PS Chicks dig Boxers!

I think there both fun but i only like to fly the little micros helis lol there a little hard though but like arrow said get yourself a simulator and try flying both heli and planes see what you like better i personally like planes better

I have both. From an Aerobird Challenger up to a GP Super Sportster gasser, and from that crappy fixed pitch Dragonfly heli up to a T-Rex SE. I like both of them, but I fly the planes much more just because I'm much better with them. IF I start to get bored and am looking for a challenge, I'll take the T-Rex out.

You're right, planes, especially beginner ones, are much more forgiving. Helis without power are essenntially a rock, but they can be saved with autorotations. Helis tend to be more expensive as well. I've spent almost as much onmy T-Rex as I have on my 82" Sportster.

If you've never flown before, don't think you're going to get one model and progress from learning to fly to extreme aerobatics on that one plane. While they ARE easier than helis, they certainly aren't the kind of thing to just go an fly. Start with a high-wing trainer like and Avistar (while will do some aerobatics, but just the basics), and as everyone else said, get a simulator. Real Flight G3 is pretty much the norm, but there is also Reflex and FS-One. Reflex is supposed to be a better sim, but I've heard it's not too easy to set up (including instructions in German). FS-One is just out this month, so it is not as mature or stable as G3. I'm hearing opinions on both sides of the good/bad fence for it.

If you're not sure you're going to like flying, don't go overboard on your first model. Buy a foamie electric RTF that won't set you back more than a couple hundred bucks to test the waters.

thanks i appreciate it!
Corey

I've never flown a heli except in sims, but I'm flat out boggled by the number of moving parts in a good model (like the T-Rex). We have club members that are much more aerobatic with helis than with planes. Inverted, backwards, tail first inside and outside loops. Just too much for my mind to grasp. But they also go through three or four sets of bearings in the engine and throughout the copter in a year. There's a lot of upkeep.

I have both and enjoy both but by far airplanes are easier to learn and much more forgiving on the occasional oops.

Old saying goes...

Helicopters don't fly, they beat the air into submission.

or something I got from a military guy...

10,000 parts spinning around an oil leak.

A good analogy to trying to hover a helicopter is trying to balance a marble on a piece of glass.

I don't know, I personally didn't find heli's any harder to learn than a plane. It's just different. Put some training gear on a .30+ size nitro heli and hop around the ground at your own pace. Pretty soon your doing fast forward flight.

And an unpowered heli is not a "rock". Autos are not that difficult to do (I just make them look that way). A skilled heli pilot can do all kinds of crazy manuevers while autorotating - inverted, rolls, piro's, etc.

One advantage that I really liked about the helis is that you don't need a lot of wood working tools/skills. Grab your screw drivers and hex wrenches and your gone!

I agree with the sim idea. Get a good one and try them out yourself. Also find a good club so that you can see what is available.