hello everyone,

I'm new to RC flying just got hooked when my grandson "DYLAN" got his new CESSNA 182 park flyer for christmas.

I hope he will help me get my feet wet on his plane so I can purchase one for myself I want to go really fast, any suggestions on a really fast electric model or is nitro the best way to go?


Thanks!
Papaoneone

You are in no position to consider high speed electric models until you have considerable experience under your belt. The FAI record in 1998 is about 170mph and unofficial runs have been clocked over 200mph. Keep this in mind- your model would be pulling more amps than your house does! But if you want something to wish for, go to www.hobby-lobby.com and check out some hotliners.

There are plenty of fast electrics available at reasonable prices, starting with the Parkzone P-51, FW-190, and F-27 Stryker:

http://www.parkzone.com/Default.aspx

If you want something with a little assembly required, check out the Zagi flying wings from Trick R/C:

http://www.trickrc.com

If you want a more modestly priced package that's ready to fly, check out the Phase 3 Swoop from Hobbypeople.net:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/107116.asp

Dsegal is right in cautioning you, however. The faster they fly, the faster and harder they crash. Don't be afraid to get your own Cessna-style park flyer and get really comfortable with basic flying skills as well as launches and landings before you fork over $250 for a ready-to-fly F-27C Stryker or a Zagi Tazz and a computer radio. A little patience now can save you a great deal of heartbreak in the not-too-distant future!

One thing to remember is response time. Trying to keep one or two maneuvers ahead of the plane flying slow is hard enough for a beginner. If you have one traveling at, let's say 40 mph, you can see what it is doing, but may not have the reaction time to correct problems as they arise. Double that speed and you will divide the reaction time by four and before you know it, well, it's a pile of foam, plastic, balsa, whatever... and you will have a very sad face on while trying to figure out what went wrong.

Get some time in with a good basic trainer and move up slowly to something that goes fast. Believe me, you won't be sorry.

I had a Ripmax Rapier. I bought it while I was in training. I hesitated to build it for over a year until I was able to fly other aircraft at relatively fast speeds. But, nothing prepared me for flying that Rapier. I powered it with an OS 50. My instructor was the first to fly it. His reaction to me was to put it aside for a little while, which I did. About a month later, I put it up myself. It flew great, but I never really hit full throttle except on take-off (hand launch) but backed off almost immediately. About a month or two later, one member had a police hand-held RADAR gun and was timing our aircraft. Well, one of the pro's took my Rapier up. We clocked it at 121.5 mph. They both said that it would go faster if I changed the prop. I was satisfied that it would go that fast and left it alone. But, at that speed, it was a blurry white speck as it flew by. I don't know how he managed to fly it let alone control it.. but that he did. But, he has about 30 years experience.

Take the advice offered here.. take it slow and easy and work up slowly to that hot-rod.

DS

The fastest plane for elecrtics can probably be found on the Scheubler website, BUT this is no beginners plane.. well over 200 mph and requires a bungee launcher.. after that, the european F5D pylon racers are probably next.. see http://www.icare-rc.com/stinger.htm.. here again, not for beginners. A real good one to start with is the HOBBY LOBBY "Stinger" this is a sport plane from Checkslovakia and is quite fast but lands like a glider. This is a good one to start with, it also hand launches like a dream

OOPPSS I forgot, a REAL GOOD and fast plane is the MULTIPLEX FUN-JET, very easy to fly and launch, fast and lands at a crawl... Tower sells them

My first plane was (and it is still flying) a GWS E-Starter, a high-wing electric "trainer" with ailerons, built light. The light weight allows it to fly slowly but also makes it pretty sensitive to wind. Still, during the first few flights everything seemed to happen frighteningly fast.

My next step was a GWS Formosa, a low wing aerobatic plane not built for speed. I put a more powerful motor in it and the bigger battery made it heavier too. The first few flights (and crashes) seemed fast enough, again.

... Another vote for starting easy and working your way up to whatever you want to reach ...

I also have one now, an electric ducted fan flying wing, the Great Planes XPD-8 HyperFlow Ducted Fan, that is very very fast. It's just about at my limit of capabilities, if not beyond. Not recommended for a beginner. But, it's another one of the EP's available for those that want to fly at blinding speeds.

DS.

Hello again everyone,

Thanks for all the suggestions and I believe I'll take everyones advice and start at a slow pace, besides I have more time than money and from what I've seen so far fast flight can get very expensive.

I didn't realize that RC flight was as big as it is "wow" there's no end to whats out there!

geh3, you posted a link for the 200 mph plane ( http://www.icare-rc.com/stinger.htm ) is there an error I cant find it? Thanks, Papaoneone

Nevermind geh3,

I just clicked on the link that I posted in my reply to you and I found it (didnt put the double period at the end of my link "ha ha" should have noticed that huh? The plane looks like a sail plane dosen't it.


Thanks,
Papaoneone

That link was for a typical european f5D pylon racer, these really move but the fastest electric plane that I know of is the Schubeler electric jet that is on the scheubeler website.

Those electric pylon racers do not have any rules saying that they have to look like real aircraft. They are built purely for efficient fast flight and turns. I have seen some of those in flight at full speed and find them intimidating: they make me want to duck behind a big car.

yes... ducking is a good idea depending on who is flying those little beasties and how good their equipment is.. one of thise could do some serious damage!!

The slope gliders, which have no motors, have the fastest speed of 301mph. Take a look at the Excite F5D at www.nesail.com, under electric, and pylon or hotliner, also soaringusa has lots of fast type sail planes.

We have a guy flying large jets at our club. Having a plane that has to be reversed every four or five seconds so it stays visible and inside the airfield (which is surrounded by homes) is not my idea of fun. I'd rather have a biplane that does graceful aerobatics at a slow pace, but that's just me.

Have you considered model rockets? They're fast and have parachutes so they can be reused (unlike 170 mph planes in inexperienced hands).