Well i took her out today and crashed her. I was taxing her and she started to lift, then went straight up, then I lost total brain function and killed the motor and down elevater. She went nose first into the grass and broke the propeller. Everything else is fine. I cannot for the live of me get over this fear. I fly the sims great. But whenever I get the real controller in my hand, I lose all function in my brain.

Sounds like one of two things, aside from jitters, too tail heavy or elevator is way out of trim.
Takeoff should only require very little elevator and not until you get enough speed built up. If you get in the air too soon or use too much elevator or both. the wing will not have enough lift and it will stall causing the airplane to do as you describe.
Out of balance, tail heavy, will also act like that.

hi everyone. i am looking at getting into planes a little more. i had a firebird to start out, then i got a parkzone j3 cub and its way to easy. i was looking at getting the e-flite t-34 mentor rtf. any feedback is greatly appreciated

Are you talking about the new PTS plane? It hasn't been released yet, due out in April, so it would be hard to form an opinion.
Looks interesting.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=EFL4800

yes thats the one. do you think i should get the electristar like poorwboy did?

Blade,

Based on your posts, you are no longer a beginner, so this might not be the most appropirate place to ask. At this point I would suggest you leave the RTF space and move into a solid hobby radio and RR or ARFs so you can expand your options. However there are more and more good RTFs our there so stay with them if you like.

But that aside, it would be best if you shared your goals and your interests when you ask for recommendations on planes. Also include your budget.



So,

Both the T-34 PTS and the Electricstar come with a "solid hobby radio" in fact the T-34 comes with a Spektrum DX6i radio.
Blade;
No I am not saying you should just get the ElectricStar I am just saying not much is known about the T-34 "yet" because no one has flown one. From what you get it look like an OK deal and with some flying experience it would probably be a good plane.
There is heated debate on wiether the other two PTS airplanes (hangar 9 p-51 and F-22), that are advertised as trainers, are really good trainers or not. But neither one is a bad airplane at all for someone with flying experience.

thanks both for you opinion. i have looked around more and found a good plane. the t-28 trojan. i want a stable aircraft that can fly in a reletively small field but can also do mild aerobatics. my budget. i dont have one really i just want to keep it low so if i crash it, im not done for. heres a link for the t-28 trojan

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=PKZ4400

or not... lol

Try the plane called the Sky Fly(fly zone), it has tricycle landing gear. If you are looking for a tail wheel, I hear the Super Cub is a nice trainer plane and handles nicely in some wind. Take your time and don't rush your progress....

Fly Safely.

Well I maidened the electristar today, and it came back home in one piece. A little rough on the landings, but they get better every flight. The plane flys really nice and has plenty of power. Purchase well made. I was shaky the first flight second flight was like a dream. If you have never flown before make sure you have somebody there to bail you out. This plane can get out of control real fast for a beginner. I had about 3 weeks on the pz spitfire with no crashes, so I figured I would take off the electristar. And now All I want to do is keep flying. All well thanks for all the tips and advice everyone.[sm=thumbup.gif]

Poorwboy,
Glad to hear that you were successful this time around. Before I maidened my Estar, I had to adjust the ailerons so that they are both even and on the same plane as the wing. The elevator had to be adjusted towards the up position. On the radio, I reduced the expo to -20 so that it is not so sensitive around the center position. I find that if you pull up w/o having enough take-off speed, the plane likes to squirm a bit.

I've had 10-12 flights with it already, initially with NiMh, now I've switched to 2 x 7.4v 3000 lipos. I haven't crashed yet (knock on wood) but had a couple now so sweet landings, where the plane bounced a couple of times. When I feel daring, I fly when the wind is blowing 10+ mph in the same direction as the (dirt) run-way. It is fun landing at a snails pace while the wind keeps the plane aloft.

For $185 shipped (Tower Hobbies - $25 dollar promotional discount), this has to be the most "bang for the buck" RTR trainer on the market. I'm thinking about buying another just for parts.
Oh yeah, add $70 bucks for batteries.

Good luck on your future flights!!!

I knew you would get a handle on it
There is no looking back now, good for you.

I agree this plane is a steal at that price, And a really stable flying plane. I also have noticed shes a little squirmy on slow takeoffs, But once up to speed she flys real nice. Well good luck with the star and good flying.

Thanks missleman, you just have to get her up and get over that first flight. Thats what worked for me, Now I cant keep her out of the air.[sm=shades_smile.gif]

Congratulations on your first flight, PWB!

You see all kinds of people here asking for tips on flying for the first time, and lots of them want their first plane to be something "cool" like a 'stang, or a corsair, or a giles/yak/cap, and you hear us all telling them that they'll likely snap it in in seconds, right?

Well, your plane just saved you from that! That "squirmy, mushy" feeling on slow take-offs is a result of the plane trying to plow itself some altitude at what is effectively stall speed. Sort of a harrier take-off. If you'd been flying any of the planes I just mentioned, instead of a proper trainer, the stall would have been much more pronounced, and you'd have a bag of splinters!

Try to make your take-off runs as long as possible. Ease the throttle on (take 3-5 seconds to roll it all in), and allow the plane to accelerate. If it's a trike, leave the elevator alone! If it's a taildragger, you'll have to "fly the tail" a while. Be ready on the rudder to keep'er on line. When the plane is at a comfortable flying speed, you'll know it! The slightest bump will have 'er airborne. Actually, many trainers will simply take off by themselves at this point. Then a real nice, pretty and scale-like climb out will result, and you'll be looking like a pro!

You'll look even more like a pro on your "second" plane, likely a more capable and demanding mistress, when you apply the same technique.

Congrats again, you're gonna be broke for a long time as a result of this!

J

Well I havent been on in a while, and so much has happened. Like everybody has said this hobby is like a drug. The hangar is getting quite full. I now have a pz trojan with turnigy 400 watt motor, man what a blast to fly. I bought a stryker c, I have crashed this one a few times it gets hard to see sometimes but a blast to fly. I still have the freedom and the spitfire and electristar. I upgraded everything to a spektrum radio, really nice radio. The electristar has a new name FRANKENSTAR lol. The reason for this is because last weekend I went to fly her and it was quite windy, so I tried anyway. I made a wrong adjustment on the spektrum and took out 50% elevater instead of rudder. So I got up to take off speed and she was barely lifting, and I knew something was wrong. She finally lifted about 2 feet off the ground and a gust of wind came up and caught the wing and was pushing her over. I tried to compensate with full right aileron and full right rudder to no avail. Well wing tip hit the ground and sent the nose like a lawn dart. If I had more elevater I could of pulled out of it. Damage was pretty intense, busted motor off with firewall, split the fuse apart, and broken pieces everywhere. Well now comes frankenstar, I was always dissapointed with the flight time of this plane andlipos for this thing are exspensive. So I put a glow engine in her. I built a new firewall and fixed everything else on her. And then mounted a os 46 ax on her. This is my first time with a airplane glow engine, so I was worried about thrust angle and everything. I spent alot of time setting her up. Well final out come is I am now hooked on glow power. I flew her about 6 times today, Man what a blast to fly, and loads more power. She will climb vertical now. The only problem I had was I had to alot of weight on the rear to balance her out. I only put a 8 oz tank in and still get 12-15 minutes out of her. Not much more time but the same power the whole flight. Before I was lucky if I got 8 minutes out of her. I am beyond happy with the glow conversion. Well thats it for now and happy flying to everyone. Oh by the way the reason for frankenstar is all the repairs I did and the beauty hanging off the front. I'll have to take a picture and post it.

She,s a beauty.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2556.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2555.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2553.jpg
And a few more of the other birds.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2559.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2558.jpg
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h2...y/HPIM2557.jpg

I like it
There is that certain feel you get flying glow that an electric just doesn't do for me. Don't get me wrong I enjoy my electrics but I have more fun with glow.