Hello
I've been flying helis for 2 years now and I want to try airplanes for a change of pace. I have never flown a plane so I need your advise on which one to get. Looking for the best beginer model you know of I would like to stay with a RTF if I could any suggestions would be appreciated.

Check out RCken's list of good trainers (linked below). Any plane on the list is good, but I would suggest the tower trainer RTF. It's the best value and a decent plane. Even though you have heli experience it is recomended to get an instructor at your local club.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm


Austin

What do you think of the hobby zone super cub rtf. I forgot to mention I would like to go electric and it would be even better if I could find a plane that uses the same batteries as my Black hawk heli. 11.1 2200mah

Well your going to have a hard time finding a plane that uses the same batteries as your chopper. Unless you get all the stuff seperate and plan it out to use that battery. The hobbyzone super cub is an excellent plane if you want to go electric. In my opinion is it the best begginer plane in that price range.

Here is a thread that is just for the super cub, I'm sure the guys there would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_43...tm.htm#4371835


Austin

I would suggest you get a Hobbico Nexstar RTF.





-- TakingFlight96

Nice plane!, but I would like to stay electric for now.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXSGY1**&P=ML
This is the electric version of the Nexstar.
A bit pricey but a good trainer.

What makes this plane better or worth the extra 250 dollars over the hobbyzone super cub? As a trainer

I'm not sure it's worth $250 more (I did say it was pricey) but it is a MUCH better plane. The Hobbyzone is much lest stable in flight and will be much harder to see as it gets further away. Take a look at the features list for the plane and you will see that it also includes a simulator designed around THIS plane. It's fairly rugged and comes with a radio system that can be moved on to other planes in the future if desired. The sim is a nice feature because even with Heli experience there will be a lot to learn. Working with an instructor would also be a good idea initially although you can expect to be weaned off quickly. IMO the Hobbyzone is more of a TOY than a serious plane capable of taking you to higher levels of enjoyment and preparing you for even better planes later on.

http://www.towerhobbies.com/products...co/hcaa12.html

here is another electric trainer just reduced to $199 I would reccomend
upgrading to the lipo batteries as you know with your electric heli's the performance
will be increased.

if you progress to more aeobatic aircraft the lipos you already have can be used
in smaller parkflyer type planes.

with either of these planes is it possible to land on a gravel road? or do I need a smooth runway I looked around and I can't find the diameter of the tires. Do you know how big they are. and is it possible to put bigger tires on them for rougher terain. As far as an instructor I don't have that luxury. I live in a small town and only know of one other person that flys planes.. and he is just getting into it to. Kinda like helis I had to teach myself.. yes I learned by trial and error and had to replace alot of parts but I figured it out over time. I will have to do the same here with planes.

Hey DeerHunter...
All these planes these guys are suggesting are great..

I personally learned on the ParkZone Slo-V, this plane is a VERY good trainer and flies very slow for beginners... Now the difference between lets say the HobbyZone SuperCub and the Nexstar or Nexstar EP is the fact that the HobbyZone Supercub is a PARKFLYER... as is the parkzone Slo-v....

The Nexstars have a 69 Inch wingspan! its a big plane and very powerful compared to a little Hobbyzone SuperCub These planes have some serious glow engines, and the Electric model has a SERIOUS Brushless motor, esc, and battery.... I own a Nexstar also and its an AWESOME plane... no bad tendencies and very forgiving... you can slow it down to literally a walking speed for landings.

The Gravel Road thing... the Nexstar will have NO PROBLEM landing in even decent size grasses... Gravel would be no problem.. the SuperCub COULD land on a gravel road but it will be very bumby and it couldn't take off from the gravel road without a tire getting caught on a rock and nosing over.

So in conclusion, If you want an airplane to take out to a park or just a field not sanctioned by the AMA... or if you're on a tight budget go with the HobbyZone SuperCub, but if you want to be able to actually go out to the field and fly with the guys there and have a true... powerful and large... RC Aircraft that will serve you VERY WELL in the training process, Go with the Nexstar or Nexstar EP....

Heres some pictures of my Nexstar and one of my Slo-v... I now have A LOT more planes.. believe me man... you're GOING to be addicted no matter which plane you start off with! Hope this helps you out and good luck!

I'd go with the nexstar. I started on a supercub, but I had zero RC experience. You'll be bored with it after a couple of flights. Plus, the supercub doesn't like rough ground.

I would go with the Hobbico Electricstar mentioned by overbored77.
It is every bit as good as the nexstar at half the price.
And yes you can land on gravel or even grass.

The super cub probably won't take off in gravel. But it is super easily hand launched. If you get a nextar you won't be able to hand launch that. If you don't plan on getting an instructor than your possibility of success is much less than if you get a super cub. The nextar and the super cub are two different types of planes. It's like comparing a dirt bike to a harley. A nexstar wouldn't make a very good park flyer. As it is big and the electric version is somewhat underpowered. The nexstar would be great if you plan to continue the airplane part of the hobby. Where the super cub would be more of a plane to have fun with and fly just about anywhere.

Austin

Well put ACarter.... if you want a plane to have fun w/ and just learn to fly and not really pursue the airplane part of the hobby (which you will whether you plane to or not believe me... its VERY addicting) get the supercub.. but what if your PLANNING on pursuing the hobby... Nexstar or a similar trainers the way to go

Acarter, comapring the supercub to a nexstar, or electristar is like comparing a toys r us
electric motorcycle to a harley. At $159 for the supercub, 3 channel rudder only.
or the electristar 4 channel with a 4exa radio, and plane can do some aerobatics.
and the power system could be moved into another plane. the price difference
is worth more than just $40. plus right now Tower is taking $20 off a $149 order
which makes the electristar $179. To me it's a no brainer.

I have to say in my experience the helicopter is 5 times harder to fly after flying
airplanes first. I would have to say if you are comfortable flying a heli and can do so
with confidence, the transition to planes will be smooth as long as you take your time
and keep some distance between plane and ground.



.

Yup the electricstar works just fine off gravel or grass. You can put larger wheels on it to facilitate things.

It's a much better and larger plane than the SuperCub and better suited for a beginner.

Easier to see, more channels, standardized equipment, etc.

LiPo provides an inherent upgrade option for you later.

You can get the plane and a couple of spare packs for a very reasonable cost.

You can eveng go for batteries with an additional cell for more voltage, which gives the plane LiPo like performance and a reasonable cost.

IMHO the new price point makes it a much better entry electric than the 3Ch park flyers.

So basicly what I am gathering right now is if I plan on just a basic plane to get into not knowing how I will like it compared to helis and don't have much to spend I should go with the super Cub. But if I pursue this hobby and plan on advancing with planes the nextar would be the way to go. mainly because of the better radio that can be transfered to other planes later on in the future. and it is all set up with the brushless. It is also set up with lipo compatible which is definitily a benifit. And it sounds like I would get bored fairly quick with the super cub.. Is that because of the limited controls being only a 3 channel.?
It may be what I have experienced in helis. I started with the coaxial cx2 which is great for the beginer but has limited capibilities so you cannot perform real flying but was good for it's purpose. But if you want to get a heli with full capibilities you have to move up to the CCPM helis. but their again I don't recomend a beginer start out with that.

chevyman
I believe your 100 percent right.. I understand the addiction. I feel the same way with helis. that may be why I want to broaden my horizons a little and try out planes. The challenge is what brought me to helis first.. and let me say I could have saved a ton of money if I found a cheaper hobby!!! but what the heck I enjoy it

There is actually a 3rd choice.
AMA has a program called introductory pilot program.
What that is participating clubs have an introductory trainer and a club owned airplane, you get to fly the clubs airplane and train for 30 days at no cost to you. A great way to find out if this hobby is for you before dishing out your hard earned money.

that would be great if I had a club near by.. the closest one to me is 100 miles away.. I don't mind dishing out a few hundred bucks. If I don't spend it on planes I'll just spend it on guns, hunting, fishing or that new snowmobile i have my eye on!!!!

the one down side I see is that I have to purchase seperately 2 batteries and if I go nicad i will need a charger as well. that would bump the price up 119 dollars plus shipping..

Yup, but sooner rather than later you are going to have to do that anyway with an electric.

With an electric plane you need a set of batteries to fly with and assuming you have a good fast field charger, another set to charge while you are flying.

That's in a best case, assuming you'll be able to fast charge both packs at once and rest a few minutes between flights.

You could fly with the first packs, land, start charging them ( it will take 1 hour ), screw around talking to everyone for 10-15 minutes, then fly for another 10-15 minutes, wait another 10, then start flying with the second pack.

With electrics you end up with a box full of battery packs sooner or later. Ideally these should be set up to maximize your usage of the batteries.

Often you can combine two battery packs to either get more Amps or Voltage for other planes, or the reverse.

This means you end up with an investment in batteries.

With glows you forgo this investment up front, but end up spending over time on fuel.

The latter is a little easier for the newbie to stomach, especially for decent trainer sized aircraft. Electrics are more convenient though.

In either case you are best off maximizing the use you will get out of your purchase even if it means WAITING now, until you can spend a bit more.

e.g. Why purchase an RTF with a so-so 3-4 channel radio? You can buy a good computer controlled radio now ( or later ) that will handle multiple planes at the same time ( something called "model memory" ).

You'll spend more on the radio, but it will be the only one you'll need for a long time saving you money on each subsequent plane and you'll have a better quality device to use over the entire period of time.

While that may blow your budget, you can buy it now, then wait and get a PNP plane later, etc.

The impulse is to get something you can fly "NOW", but that results in purchasing something less than optimal.

I've been here, and didn't heed the advice, and ended up spending more than I should have over time.

Lets look at the 3 planes a little closer. We'll start with the super cub.

Foam construction, may be a little more forgining in an impact. Very light.
Budget minded 3 channel TX. You probably won't be using this on other planes.
480 brushed motor and 1000mah 8.4 volt battery. Fine for cub but thats it.
Light plane needs little wind to fly. Battery limited to this and other hobby zone planes.
Nice looking plane and flys very gentle on calm day, add wind and it's a handful.