I have a firebird freedom, but i don't think i'm ready to fly it because of all the bad reviews i have read on it. I would like to get two more planes to begin my flight career with I would like to get one that is an ARF, and one that is a kit plane, just to get some airplane modeling experiece. I have made model boats , so i'm not a complete beginner with that. Building time is not a large factor for the kit (i would have about an hour and a half to work on it a day). The desired price for both of these models together is, hopefully, less than $200.

Recently, I have been doing some time on the simulator. It is fun, but right now i really want to get into the air. A few years back, my dad got me a Hobbyzone plane, which i believe was an aerobird challenger(but i'm not sure). I was very excited about my new plane so i got it into the air ASAP, then during the flight i got scared that i would crash and completely total it. I handed the transmitter to my dad, who with no flight experience, crashed it into a tree. This accident discouraged me but now i've decided i want to try to fly again.

There are no flight groups within an hour of my house, so i believe i'll be going at it alone. I'll be flying at an outdoor complex of a soccerfield, tennis court, and a baseball field that has an approximate diameter of 500-550 yards. Is this big enough? i haven't been able to find anything else bigger than that near my house.

Thanks in advance for the help,

Johnny

You start out by saying you have a Firebird Freedom, one of the simplest and easiest to fly planes but you're NOT ready for it? You want to buy more complex planes?
But you let your dad fly your last one fully knowing that he couldn't fly it.

And now you say there are NO clubs around a major metropolitan area>

What about these 6 Pittsburg clubs?
http://www.modelaircraft.org/ClubZip...A&c=Pittsburgh

Am I missing something here?

Sorry to say but from what I have seen you can barely get an ARF for around the $200, let alone an ARF AND A KIT.

My opinion is to build your own kit (the LT-40 is a great choice) and while you are having fun with that learn some flying on the Firebird Freedom.

Just my 2-cents worth.

I STAND CORRECTED:

LT-40 ARF http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFG19&P=7 $139.99



Lanier Dominator 500 Kit .32-.46,52" http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNS16&P=0 $52.99


They both look like very nice airplanes.

Tiger - tower trainer ARF = $70
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCAS2&P=ML
LT-40 kit = $100
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCAS2&P=ML
Total for both = $170 plus shipping

He couldn't get a RTF for that price but that isn't what he asked for.

PLUS IF YOU ORDER FROM TOWER HOBBIES RIGHT NOW, YOU GET . . .

Save $25.00 off Your $149 Order!
Order NOW and save $25.00! Place at least a $149 order for a limited time and we'll take $25.00 off the total! All you have to do to claim your savings is click on ad number 010E9 and it will be placed in your shopping cart. This special offer is not retroactive. Please, only one promotional ad number per order.

Tiger - the Dominator is a RACING plane for intermediate to advanced pilots and NOT training.

Yes, I realized that after writing the first post.
But from the reviews I have heard about the Tower Trainer ARF is the covering and graphics starts peeling off in only a short while.

I still believe it would be his best bet to go with my second post above:

LT-40 ARF $139.99
Dominator 500 kit $52.99
Shipping $8.99
Total $201.97
ad number 010E9 for $149 order and you save $25
TOTAL FOR THIS ORDER = $176.97

Duraplane trainer http://www2.gpmd.com/image/d/dura1111.jpg Add $2 to the above order = $178.97 (still under $200 )


Not as nice-looking but would be a nice build for a beginner with limited experience.

But I still love the looks of the Dominator 500

well my suggestion it to look around for a hobby shop... a lot of hobby shops will be wanting to get rid of their overhead due to the wonderful tax time that is coming and are reducing prices. I just got a ARF 40 Trainer, a Futaba 6exas and a Super Tiger 40 for $269. Just have to take a look around. There are a lot of great trainer planes out there. Just have to look around... Good luck

EVEN BETTER:

Great Planes PT-20 MKII Trainer Kit .15-.25,52.75" http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ555&P=0
$59.99

LT-40 ARF http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFG19&P=7
$139.99

Both for $199.98
Shipping $8.99
#ad number 010E9 for $149 order and you save $25
TOTAL FOR THIS ORDER = $183.97 (And still less than $200 for two great airplanes )

There are many many combinations for less than $200 just gotta look.

Do you have any hobby shops in your area? You can get good deals on pre-built airplanes. In my Local Hobby Shop he has a completely built airplane (low-wing, but you get the idea) for $100. But like an ARF it doesnt come with radio or engine.

And you can get kits anywhere for less than $100

Have I given you any ideas, I hope I was somewhat of a help

Hi johnnybegood,
I hope you consider this good advice. R/C is a wonderfull lifetime hobby. You can ruin the whole thing by plunging in and having some bad experiences. You already had some bad experience. The most important thing to do now is to learn to fly and have a good time with it. I had about 30 crashes with my trainer as I was learning to fly. I had 2 leasons from a trainer and did the rest alone. Today many students learn to fly and will solo without ever having crashed. There are many clubs in your area, Pittsburgh, PA. You need to find an instructor to teach you. Every club I know of has willing instructors that teach for free. You need to join the AMA and the club you choose, but you will have a good experience. Here is how to find clubs in your area:

Go to http://www.modelaircraft.org/programs.asp Click on click on About AMA, then on Charter Club.

Resist purchasing other planes until after you have learned to fly and can do it well.

Too many things in johnny's original post points to it just being a troll. Plus the fact that he hasn't replied to any of the posts in here, and the fact that he only has 4 posts total. If it was someone truly wanting advise, they would be watching their thread closely and would have more questions after inital responses.

Don't be too quick to label someone a troll. If he truly is a nooblet beginner, he might thing because the Firebird has bad reviews, he might not be able to handle it.

Also, a lot of people don't know about the AMA club finder, and it's not like clubs are openly advertised.

Let's wait to see if he responds.

His other thread, reads basically the same. Doubt a troll, just confused.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_52...tm.htm#5237958

Hmmmm the thread in that link has been moved to the moderators bad thread form, so maybe one of the mods thinks the same thing.

I tanked that thread. It's against the RCU Community Rules to post the same message in multiple forums at the same time:

Ken

But that doesn't make his request insincere.

Very well said. I know I am constantly watching my threads looking for responses (I log on for hours at a time looking for advises, even if its not in threads I wrote). I don't know what a TROLL is in NET terminology, but this guy would be one.

I can not get to that thread, it says:

Access is Denied.
You either don't have the right to access or have attempted to access private area.

Please login with sufficient credential or click here to go back to forum's home page.


Does that have anything to do with it saying "bad thread holding forum"?

Troll, Noun. A troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, or off-topic, or with the intent of provoking a negative reaction from others.

Which is also where "Please do not feed the trolls" comes from.

You can also attach an image such as the one below in lieu of a response.

NOT DIRECTED TOWARDS JOHNNY!!

Yes, see post 19 this thread. Must be a moderator or above to access. When I saw it, it had not been denied yet.