i am trying to get into the r/c airplanes and was wondering whats the best trainer aircraft and if someone could give a list of clubs in the 65721 area? (Ozark, Missouri)

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXCXF4**&P=0 here is a good start for a glow trainer, there is still a few items to buy,but the tower46 is supposed to be a decent engine,from what some club members have said, and the radio will work for several advanced model planes,if you work the discount program tower offers then you can save a couple of bucks from the posted price,as well as there shipping.
It really depends where you want to start,glow or electric.

In the Springfield area 10 to 12 miles away. The Branson group thru AMA said yes to intro pilots.
Now you owe me a mailed carry- out chicken fried steak dinner from Lamberts. No dinner rolls off the floor please.

http://www.springfieldrcclub.com/
http://www.ozarkmtnbarnstormers.com/
http://www.bransonrc.org/

I've put together a list of planes that make good trainers and second planes. All of them on the list are proven planes that are well suited for successfully letting students learn to fly, or advance to a second plane. Check out the list here
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm] Looking for a trainer- what's available. (Updated 1-19-07) [/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

As for clubs in your area, here is the results of a search on the [link=http://www.modelaircraft.org]AMA website[/link] return.

SPRINGFIELD RC FLYING CLUB
10.37 miles
BARRY HARPER
260 COUNTRY LN
ROGERSVILLE MO 65742
Phone: 417-753-4645

OZARK MOUNTAIN BARNSTORMERS
11.17 miles
JAMES MIKULIN
714 PIN OAK DR
SPRINGFIELD MO 65809-1727
Phone: 417.300.1111

TRI-LAKES RC FLYING CLUB
11.55 miles
ANNETTE MCEVOY
3433 S CAMPBELL AVE #R
SPRINGFIELD MO 65807-5101
Phone: 417-581-1241


Hope this helps

Ken

RC Ken spent a lot of time developing the list of trainers listed by RTF, ARF, and kits in his sticky post, one of the very first ones in the Beginners Forum. Spend a little time in there and see what may meet your needs, go to the web site listed and take a look and see what you want to get. Generally speaking, though, the larger the airframe (within reason) the better the trainer will be because it will be both a tad slower than the smaller ones, and very visible. The RTF's all come with all that you need to fly that plane minus the field support stuff.. starter, fuel, tools, spare glow plug, and so on.

I have flown several trainers. I've flown the Tower 40, the NexSTAR Select, and the Hobbico Super Star. All fly great and are great trainers. The largest of the three is the NexSTAR Select, which is what I solo'ed with. My most recent purchase is the Hobbico Super Star. I bought it as a club trainer. I removed the OS LA 40 angine and put an OS 46 on board which really sparked it up a bit. It performs as a great trainer. I also have a buddy box to support new flyers without equipment. The reason I did this was so that any new-be's that are not sure if they want to do RC can come to our field, fly the trainer on an buddy box with a qualified instructor, and see if it's what they want to do without having to spend a lot of money on new equipment only to find that they don't like the hobby.

Good luck with anything you choose to fly.

DS.

Best is always going to get a subjective answer... in part because there are always variables like will it fly off a rough grass field or smooth asphalt, or does one wish an arf or kit build.

Our field is on an old dump ground and is a bit rough making it a bit difficult on tricycle gear, which is the format for many trainers.

So, a good plan is to visit your prospective flying field and get the opinions of what works well there.

I will offer my opinion to add to the mix to sort through. When looking for a trainer for my grandkids, I chose the Sig LT-25 Kadet. The Kadet series fly on the wing, meaning they have plenty of lift so that they can be slowed down yielding more reaction time that is very helpful when learning. The LT-25 is a tail dragger making it better for rougher fields, yet it has very good ground handling manners, sometimes a problem for a tail dragger. The wing is mounted with rubber bands, which are more forgiving when learning to land and suffering hanging a wing tip. Even though a .25 is all the power needed, the plane is fairly large and easy to see, yet at 4.25 lbs it likes to fly and his not wanting to dive for the ground.

Landing is the most difficult part of the learning process and most often the flair out just before touch down is challoenging. I've seen a great deal of nose gear bent on trainers causing a great amount of aggravation because of a failure to flair or too much flair causing a stall and then a hard hit on the nose. The LT-25 firstly doesn't have any nose gear and it needs little attention to the flair as the glide slope is so gentle that it simple lands itself, all that is needed is to track down the runway, cut the throttle and let it come down.

While it is a kit that needs built, it is a very easy kit to build and do so true so that flight performance is not compromised. And... building it is a plus because trainers very often suffer some landing mishaps and having built this plane, the new pilot will find it easier to repair than an arf as there will be scrap covering and intimacy with the construction of the plane. The wing loading is also so light that a few repairs won't make it too heavy to fly well.

A last word about the LT-25 Kadet, models have a recommended range of motors and a lot if not most modelers go with the highest or even go higher than that range. This plane is an exception... Sig ranges this plane .25 to .32 but they advise the .25 and wisely so as it is all this plane needs.

Have fun...enjoy the hobby... it is a great one

i'm not a real big fan of trainer planes but the only one i like is the avistar 40. it is very stable. and is also semi aerobatic. it is a light airplane so a 46 propped right will have really good power. it can take a heck of a beating and is easy to repair. if i was going to buy a trainer again this would be the plane i woudl buy. this was my first airplane and if i wouldn't have destroyed it i would still have it. i pushed it too hard and flew it like an aerobatic airplane. folded the wings up. too many g-forces at the bottom of a cuban 8. i'm thinking about buying me another one just because i like the way it flys. and i dont even like trainers but i like this one.

Thankyou all for the great help!! this is why i joined rcuniverse because of the friendliness and quick/reliable response from the users. i am very grateful!

I don't know if it's the best, but I learned on Sig Kadet Senior (arf w/ ailerons) and OS .46 FX. Plane was incredibly
stable and flew great. My instructor had me taking off landing and doing some basic aerobatics (loops and rolls)
the first day. We waited till the second session to do sustained inverted flight. Hey Dick you forgot to add
PT-40 and Kadet senior to the list of trainers you've flown.

I don't think it's so much the BEST trainer that you need to look for, but a good instructor with patience
and people skills is a must.

The Kadet Sr. is a fantastic trainer - nice, slow landings due to the huge wing area. Only draw back is transporting it due to the size, even with the wing taken apart the fuselage is still quite large. It's also quite managable in higher winds that will keep other trainers on the ground or bouncing almost out of control. One of the best planes I've flown and a blast when it comes to vertical or backwards landings.

All of the planes in the Kadet series are good trainers. The most over looked is the Kadet Mk II since it's the oldest of the bunch and needs to be built, but could very well be the most rugged of the Kadet series. I've spent a lot of time flying the Mk I which is rudder/elevator/throttle, no ailerons.

Hogflyer

i learned on the avistar, i have also flown the superstar, the avistar is a more advanced trainer, but still very easy to fly

hi from the ozark mountain barnstormers!
and welcome to the hobby. don't buy anything yet and come out and fly, i will gladly put you up on a trainer cord on my trainer, on a wed. or sun. our club has a bunch of tight wads.....errr i mean efficient spenders. there is some available used flight equipment( flight boxes etc.) and trainers that we sometime pick up in a sale or in a lot purchase and the guys make this stuff available at cost..and these guys are CHEAP...errr i ment frugal. i know that right now there is a couple trainers and a good bunch of ground equip that one of our guys is sitting on and he is reasonable to work with if your serious.

our field is located as follows:
from 65 / hwy CC go west on CC just past Fremont hills turn Left or south on Cheyenne you will see our sign on the right if the gait is open come on in clear down the where the cars park..Visitors are always welcome. we usally let new prospective members fly a few times as guests and we don't mind if other club's members stop in to fly and say boo occasionally either.
i am off work for a while do to some surgery but i am flying some and would consider training you to fly. just ask which guys teach and you'll get my name. see the list of contact posted earlier and jim mikulin is posted as the contact he has my # also. this is a realy good time to do this, if you pick up some used stuff ( it will be good cause i hate teaching on junk) we could get you training pretty quick.

108 in the shade at my house at 4:30 in the afternoon(probably 104 actually)....monocoat heat gun??? i don't need no stinkin' heat gun!!![>:]
going flying around 6o because some newbies may show up.....don't you wish you were that enthused?[&:]

9 pm late entry: went out and two guys showed up, one regular and one new prospect. let the guy thinkin about gettin into rc planes fly my trusty old trainer on the buddy box. he did fine said he had lots of simulator time. i think he got bit by the rc bug[&:]

Lots of good suggestions so far, and I don't usually recommend these, but if you want CHEAP there's nothing cheaper than a SPAD

SPADs are airplanes that you "Fold" from Coroplast (That's the stuff election signs are made of - Next year you can go out and steal as much as you need )

Take a look in the SPAD forum here at RCU or www.spadtothebone.com

Yes, spads are about as cheap as they get, If your interested you might check out the spad forum here on RCU