I just purchased an Aircore Trainer 40. Just wanted to see about getting some feedback on this plane. What does everyone think of the Aircore trainer?

this is the kind of question you should ask before you buy...you would probably been advised to go in another direction, what engine do you have, you need atleast a .46, yes it is a tough plane, but usually tough planes are a bit heavy and have to fly a bit faster to stay in the air so if a mistake does happen, it happens faster...Rog

I have a .46 I am putting in it. I like building, I never built one of these. Thats why I went ahead and got it. Probably be something different next month. Thanks for the reply.

Well, no offense but its not really building, its more of a fold and glue kind of thing,,it may be a great flyer dont get me wrong...but its a spad (Simple Plastic Airplane Design) and as such usually people build them because they are cheap, like $10 in parts , so they arent usually bought....good luck with it and I hope it works well for you...Rog

Ahem. Having actually flown one, and used it for the purpose of training the student who bought it, I would say it is a perfectly adequate training plane. It will fly slow, and is well behaved.

Yes, it's different. That doesn't make it bad, as I learned when helping the student.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

Just dont ever buy the cub version. It SUCKS. you may need more than a .46 for it.

I bought one of these about 8 years ago. I put it on floats with a 40 size engine. Never was able to get it off the water. I am about to try a 61 on it and see if that helps any. Built mine with the flaps and was hoping in would be a good flyer. Let me know how yours does with the 46. I may pull the floats and try it on land. In case your wondering the aircore floats kind of suck in my opinion.

I read somewhere in order to use the floats you will need more ummph, hence the need for a larger engine, or maybe a prop change. I talked with a guy who is running a .46 on one he says it is great. I plan to build and fly next week. I will let you guys know how it goes. Thanks for all the replies. Reed

It's ugly, but it flys well and it's tough. Good trainer, IMO.

Dr.1

I had one, and I have a friend who gave me parts for 3 of the low wing Colt Trainers.

here is what I can tell you:

A .46 is not alot of power for that plane, it will be a bit sluggish and need a long take off roll, but for a trainer slow is not a bad thing.

The plane can take one heck of a pounding, I saw my buddy nose dive his at full throttle into the ground, and he had it up the next weekend, you cannot do that with Balsa.

If you want to fly floats on it, you will need a .60 for sure to get any reasonable performance.

It is not really building, but folding and gluing, still it will take some time. I have now built about 7 planes and can tell you that the fun I have is the building side of the hobby, Aircore does not come close to the pride of building a proper balsa plane from plans and a box of wood.

Enjoy it, you will have fun, the .46 should be OK

I'll add something to my previous post. Yes, it's a little heavy and the .46 is a good engine for it. However, the landing speed is reasonnable, and the extra weight will help the novice handle winds that would ground other trainers.

Dr.1

rhousejr : Just never you mind, go ahead and fly it.

When you want advice on the definition of the terrm "building", I guess you can just look here in the "Beginners" forum, no shortage of guys who know that definition here.

Sheesh,
Dave Olson

tHANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES, IT IS REALLY HELPFUL AND FUN.

My brother had one and it flew okay, but wouldn't float like a wood trainer. He sold it to my uncle, who crashed it into power lines 2 times, flew it through the spokes of a wheel line, and into te ground and it still lived. It finally met it's death after a full speed crash into the ground due to battery failure. Tough plane otherwise.

Dave - I have no problem with this plane, it is a great one for beginners, and it goes together very fast. In my opinion there is not as much pride - for me anyway- in building that plane vs one of the other kits I have now built that's all.

The Aircore trainer was my first plane and I enjoyed it until someone stole it out of my garage. It is great to learn on and it fast and easy to put together, and at the end of the day it got me into the hobby and directed me to building.

I have 7 planes (plus the Aircore) that I have built, so I am not exactly a "beginner".

I have several SPADS and they are heavy but they take a lot of punishment. Check out the Spadet 40 at http://www.spadtothebone.com/SPAD/index.html for a trainer.

Fellas may laugh at the appearance but they are durable. First bipe just folded it together in an afternoon!!
Nearest LHS is about 1000 miles and a border crossing, I like durable.