I'm a newbie to all this R/C plane stuff and need a good starter. I have been looking at the alpha 40 and arrow 40 lately. I like the alpha because it will self-right itself if I get into trouble, but I also like the arrow because I can grow with it longer. I am usually preaty quick to pick up on things that involve hand eye cordination so I figure I wont take long to catch onto this stuff. I play video games at least 3 times a week so that helps out too I guess. So now that you know kind of where I stand, should "I get the arrow, or play it safe with the alpha? Any imput is appreciated

I have flown both and the both fly good. The alpha is what i learned on and its gentle and a good flyer. The arrow can be more aerobatic. If you play video games then you will probably learn a lot faster then most people. I play video games some and I got the hang of it pretty fast. If you want you can always get the alpha and when your ready buy the aero wing (or see if a person at your club has a wing from one that they crashed) and put it on your alpha. You will have to modify the alpha wing saddle to fit the arrow wing but I dont think it will be hard. My dad is about to do this with his alpha since it had a date with the tree a couple weekends ago.

The alpha is a good flyer you might look into it.

Either of those planes will do well for you to learn on. But I do think I need to comment on one thing you referenced. Don't count on the "self righting" to save yourself. I see a lot of beginners get burned by that statement. They will think that all they need to do is release the sticks and the plane will instantly pop upright and in level flight. While it's true that EVENTUALLY these planes will return the wings to level flight if they have enough time, in practice they will hit the ground long before they return the plane to level flight. It's really the difference between theory and practice. The best thing to look for in a trainer to "save the plane" is going to be an instructor that will take control of the plane when you get in trouble. Use the club locator on the AMA website to find clubs in the Tulsa area:

[link=http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx]AMA Chartered Clubs Locator[/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

I was going to say everything that Ken already said. EVERYTHING!

After some 25+ years of being out of the hobby and. hours of research here on RCU and other web-sites, I went with the arrow 40. A great model. Joined a club, got an instructor( which I highly suggest) and they all love it. Performs very well. The Evolution engine is great. Starts everytime and performs great.

My only problem is that all the instructors and other club members lke it to much and everyone wants to fly it. Maybe someday, I'll get a chance.

Nothing but compliments. For what its worth.

If you can't have fun, why show up!

When flying with an instructor, the Arrow won't present any more of a challenge than the Alpha will. You might even like the way the Arrow handles better in windy conditions. Both the H9 Arrow and Alpha are terrific trainer aircraft and either will be great to learn on.

When you're shopping, remember that in addition to the RTF airplane package that includes engine and radio, you're going to need some basic field equipment to start and maintain your airplane. You'll need a fuel pump, glow ignitor w/ charger, fuel cap kit with fuel line, prop/glow wrench, and a starting stick or electric starter and field battery as well as a bottle of glow fuel to get your plane up in the air.

Hangar 9 makes a nice little field kit that includes most of what you need in one box:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=HANSTART



You might also want to take a peek at the Thunder Tiger Easy Trainer 40H Super Combo:

[link=http://www.thundertiger4u.com/easy-trainer-super-comboblue-free-side-kick-p-13081.html?osCsid=1ddcfaff92acd221b9f17978943fbf50]Easy Trainer 40H Super Combo[/link]

It's a semi-symmetrical winged trainer with engine and radio system like the Arrow 40. It comes with the Side Kick field accessories included at no additional charge. It comes delivered to your door for $259.99, or about $100 less than the Arrow .40 RTF with field accessories.

You can read a review of the Easy Trainer .40 Super Combo here:

http://www.masportaviator.com/ah.asp?CatID=1&ID=124

The Alpha .40 RTF and Arrow .40 RTF packages are both superb airplanes. If you don't mind spending the extra $100, you'll be happy with any of these three high quality trainer packages.

I have an arrow and love it. It is my first plane and has made learning easy and fun. I would agree that all the club members have said nothing but great things about it. Great package for the $$$.

I picked up an Arrow about a week and a half ago and have loged 10-15 flights on already. As an instructor I like the way the plane flys. It is a lot more capable (read as FUN) than a flat bottom wing trainer. It will fly faster than most trainers even to the point of fluttering the control surfaces so this can teach you "throttle management" as it is just as happy flying at just more than a crawl with very forgiving stall charactoristics. As far as durability. I do not like the dents I get in the wing from the rubber bands and where it pinches against the wing craddle (I use 10 #64 bands to secure the wing) So while I do recomend the rubber band hold down for new pilots for the easy break away feature... I will likely convert mine to a bolt down system for ease of assembaly at the feild.

Uh oh.....here comes biged's east trainer 40h commercial again...how much of a kick back are you getting for those sets????

After an unfortunate incident with the ground a month and a half ago I maidened and soloed my second airframed Arrow on Saturday. It flew just as I remembered it and needed even less trimming than the first one. All of the field help I hve received has said that it flys a bit faster and lands a bit hotter than the very well loved LT-40. I spent nine months on the simulator while I was home with my kids so the transition to the air was relatively easy. I easily recommend this plane to any beginner....Instructor help is a valuble asset for a first timer though.

Hehe, you'd think the folks at http://www.thundertiger4u.com would throw me a bone, but it's pure altruism on my part.

This is simply a good example of why the Easy Trainer 40H super combo is such a great value. With a $92.98 price difference between the Arrow .40 RTF plus field accessories (including $8.99 shipping from Horizon) and the Easy Trainer 40H, you have to question which is really the better value.

The Evo TPS .45 ball-bearing engine is powerful, but the Thunder Tiger GP-42 is no slouch, either. The GP-42 has a reputation for being easier to tune, and most folks recommend that the first thing you do when you get the Evolution engine is remove the needle valve limiter so you can actually tune it properly. Both engines enjoy a 4 star rating here at RC Universe in the user review section.

The Hitec Laser 4 radio system included with the Easy Trainer 40 super combo includes features that the JR Sport S400 doesn't. The Laser 4 has end-point adjustment available for elevator and rudder settings, it also has built-in mixing for v-tail and elevon applications for use with other planes. The included Hitec Supreme receiver is a dual-conversion 8-channel model while the Arrow comes standard with the JR SR600 receiver, a 6-channel model that is single conversion FM.

As far as the airframes, they're so similar that it's suprising. The Arrow boasts a 63" wingspan compared to the Easy Trainer 40H's 61" wingspan. Both airframes build up to a 5.5 to 6lb. flying weight. Both airplanes feature wire landing gear and a wing held on by rubber bands and dowels. The one advantage that the Arrow offers as an airframe is Ultracote covering. Is this feature worth $93? Thunder Tiger doesn't seem to think so. They offer the Easy Trainer 40H Plus and the Easy Trainer 40T Plus ARFs, which are covered in Ultracote, for $10 more than the standard ARFs.

The Alpha and Arrow trainers are very nice, but they don't offer the same value that Thunder Tiger does.

OK, thanks for all the help and insight. So if I just have the money to spend and the price dosent matter a bit, which would be better?The Thunder Tiger or the H9 Arrow?

If price is no object, then get the Alpha .60 RTF trainer. It is the best RTF trainer sold today, with its large size providing more stability and better visibility than smaller .40-sized trainers. My second choice would be the Thunder Tiger Tiger Trainer .60 super combo. My third choice for best RTF, price being no object, is the Sig Kadet LT-40 RTF.

The Alpha/Arrow .40 RTFs and the Thunder Tiger 40H/40T Plus RTFs are honestly almost a dead tie from a quality standpoint. The Arrow is 2" longer and 2" greater in wingspan than the 40H. All of these trainers represent 4th place behind my top three choices above if price were no object. The covering on the non-plus versions of the Easy Trainer 40T/40H is good, strong covering, but it's not Ultracote. I believe all four of these choices are better for primary training than the rest:

Nexstar Select RTF - Nice but expensive, not great in windy conditions
Hobbistar Select RTF - Very nice package overall, covering is problematic
Avistar Select RTF - Excellent package, better covering than most other Hobbico airframes, weak engine, a little pricey.
Superstar Select RTF (glow) - Hobbico covering issues, weak engine, slightly pricey
Mustang PTS RTF - Expensive, better second plane than primary trainer
Raptor PTS RTF - Very expensive, very nice package, better second plane than primary trainer
Tower Trainer .40 RTF - Great value, powerful but finicky engine, Hobbico covering issues, soft gear wire

If cost matters most, the Tower Trainer RTF is available for $219.99 plus S&H this month, and it's a lot of plane for the money. You can fix the weak gear, you can toughen up the trim on the covering, and end up with a very good plane.

so a .60 would be better to start on than a .40? Is it just more stable in the wind or are there other things that make it better?

You live in Oklahoma and you need reasons other than, "more stable in the wind?"

Greater stability and visibility are usually major selling points. The landing gear on .60-sized trainers is often more robust than on .40-sized counterparts. I don't have enough specific hands-on time with Alpha .40s and .60s though, to make that assessment.

I will just say that the only disadvantage to a .60-sized Alpha compared to a .40-sized Alpha is cost. The plane will cost more to purchase, and it will use fuel at a modestly higher rate. If cost factors into your decision, then the Thunder Tiger Easy Trainer 40 super combos are your best value.

gotta reccommend the H9 alpha .40... it worked as a great trainer for me. have a couple other planes since, but that one is still a lot of fun to fly. you might be surprised how capable a trainer can fly. I will give you one word of advice though. if ya buy the alpha .40 ARF, even though there is no mention of it in the instructions, definitely use some epoxy to put the 2 wing halves together during your first assembly of the plane. if ya wonder why, see this thread [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4876737/mpage_1/key_hate%2Cmaiden%2Cmatches/tm.htm]my alpha 40[/link]

it was a great plane to learn the basics on and remains fun to fly after you are confident enough to fly alone.

for what it is worth though, H9 was awesome as far as customer service goes. I sent it back to them in pieces still packed with dirt and they sent me a brand new one no questions asked!!

I have the Alpha 60. Do you think i should epoxy my wing halves together? I mean, I use the bolts so really there is no way for them to separate, because both wing halves are held in place in the front by the wooden dowl, and in the back by the bolt. Should I still epoxy them?

well, i am not familiar with the .60, but the wing on the .40 is held on with rubber bands... so it sounds like the bolted wing is a bit more secure by nature. i was just relaying my experience. If you read the thread that i posted a link to, there were several that doubted the hypothesis that the wing separated before the crash. that was the diagnosis by several of the very experienced guys at the club. no saying fo sho what happened except that it went in hard and was a total loss. again like i said, H9 was AWESOME and replaced it free... whether i was right or not to even ask them to do so. just by the nature of a bolted wing i would think it is a more secure design. either way, I would highly reccomend any H9 product. I am very happy with my .40

have fun with any trainer you end up with. the whole learning process can be a lot of fun. I am sure that you have read the many threads that will tell you to get an instructor till you have some flights under your belt. this is good advice and will save you a lot of frustration and $$$. so have fun and welcome to the addiction