Ok so i am looking into getting into RC planes. For now i just want something very basic that i can fly around in my back yard. I want to get a nice radio that will be good to use with nicer planes in the future, but for the plane i want something very basic. I also think i want to get an electric plane for now. I was looking to get the Airtronics VG400 channel radio. Any ideas for a good plane to start with? the radio with the servos and reciever is about $120-140. I would like to get he rest for about 100 bucks. Looking on tower hobbies there are many electric kits for like 30 bucks.

sorry, i jsut realized i posed this in the wrong area.

How bout something like this?

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGDW6&P=0

Everything you need even includes the motor and radio system already there. And you even save $25 for your order being over $125

And since it's foam easy to repair.

Remember those $30 kits require motors, speed controls, batteries, chargers, props, etc. This stuff adds up. Plus you said you want a good radio so you can use it with later planes. The VG400 isnt the best for that. If you want to keep costs down, just for now its fine, but since its not computerized, you can only use it with one plane, unless you want to adjust it everytime. But If you only want one plane thats fine. Also, its 4 channels. Thats also fine for most starter planes, but you made need more later.

I really like that one from tower hobbies you just recomended. its what i was looking for, small and something cheap that i can just go mess around with. is it really that hard to fly one like this? if i will be teaching myself is it going to be really hard

how about something like this. i know it is reallly cheap and probably flys like it, but something to jsut mess around with for now untill i get something nicer. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXLEZ4&P=M

Actually since your just looking to do it on your own in the back yard, something like that is probably ideal. Hope you have a very large back yard!! These things are harder to fly than you think, especially in small confined quarters, but at least with something like that your not out much money when you crash it, & you will crash it!

Another cheap little plane that is suppose to be very easy to fly & alot of fun is the aerohog(I believe it's called) anyway it's part of the airhogs line of toy planes you can get them at Wally-world for around $25 to $30. They have a number of different models now that are ready to fly with the radio & everything. They are cheap, fun, & readily available at most Walmarts without having to pay shipping & waiting for your new toy to arrive. If you find that you like flying & want to learn to fly RC for real, then find your local club & get with an Instructor who can teach you to fly safely with a more traditional type Trainer. Good luck, & have fun!!!

Get yourself a Tower Hobbies Trainer 40 and a Thunder Tiger 46 Pro, can't get any simpler...

Then all you need is a instructor.

Honestly I would save up the money and buy a true trainer. Hangar 9 has some nice ones. Check out the P-51 PTS. It is ready to fly and allows you to advance your skills with out having to buy another plane. Then go find an instructor. It will save you time and frustration in the long run. A big part of flying is understanding the physics behind flight and having good hand-eye coordination. Anywyas good luck to you!

If your going ot take up this hobby.....sell the house, your dog and anything else around that you don't need; because you'll want to spend all that on a new shop to build and store your planes in and then you can sleep in there too.
Seriously though, don't go cheap. Too many guys attempt to get into this hobby and spend $100. And then they are disappointed when they discover that the money they spent was wasted on a cheap little plane that doesn't do what the advertiser states. Find a club and a field to fly at and have the club members help you start out.

If you find a local club and check it out, talk to some people, you may find that they have a trainer that you can give a try with a instructor on the sticks. This will be more successful and you will be hooked for life.

just my 2 cents worth.

Del

I agree with what waross said. I started out with cheap electric and I did have fun with it, but when I did get my first fuel trainer, a nexstar, the fun really started. I did learn on my own for the most part and the electric was alot cheaper to fix, I agree if that is what you are thinking.

But now since I have already went down that road I would tell people to get a good fuel trainer and get some help and that will save you $$ in the long haul. And once you start you probably wont stop so start off with the fuel planes and you will be happier IMHO. Also the fuel planes are alot eaiser to fly than the cheap electric.

Their are alot of traniers to look at and I did start with the nexstar, but I have also bought a tower 40 which is also a great flyer and a bit cheaper than the nexstar. Which ever way you do go, electric or fuel, you are going to have fun and that is the whole point anyway.

my $.02

You get what you pay for in this hobby. You want electric you say, there is a whole lot more to electric that you think. Electric is nice because you can plug in and go but aquiring all the needed pieces can get very expensive. Vs. a gallon of fuel and some glow plugs.

I also recomend building a trainer kit. The Pt-40 is super easy to put together and is extremely durable. Also with a kit you'll learn a lot about flying in general without even leaving the ground. You will also be able to make your own repairs when the inevitable happens.

"If your going ot take up this hobby.....sell the house, your dog and anything else around that you don't need" because it aint cheap and if money is tight save up and do it right.

BMXstreeter15,

"advance your skills without having to buy another plane" ??? When would you NOT want to buy a new plane?

When the plane your flying is on it's way to re-kiting itself you should be thinking about your NEW PLANE...

Always keep a wreaked plane around so when you see a new one you can't live without you can just parade that wreak through the

house when you come home from the field for your wife to see and her sympathy will get you that new plane.... and I still sleep good at night.


I fly glow (slimers), gas AND volters, volters (the real ones) are the most expensive and if your into SCALE it's the only way to go.

I have about fifty flights on my 40 size OV-10 Bronco with Axi motors and it looks like the day I finished it except for some hangar

wrash. No cracks in the plastic cowls, I didn't have to butcher them up for the mufflers to hang out, no loose joints from vibration and

no oil soaked wood.

For those of you who are afraid of trying a twin engine airplane because of the often fatal "engine out" scenario, the chance's of that

happening with a volter are slim.