I am getting a LT-40 and I was wondering what type of radio do I get. I am new to this hobby and I figured that would be a good trainer, but not sure what else to purchase. Please help

Which brand you choose is personal preference choose which features you like the best. Some people like JR, some like Futaba, it's all personal preference.

4 Channels will keep you busy for a while, and is all you need for a trainer. I got a 6 channel for my first radio, so when I upgrade to a plane, say with flaps or landing gear, I will have the channels to do so. You will grow out of a 4 channel radio, you may or may not grow out of a 6, and more than likely will never even use 8 channels (some do, not most).

DSM radios are the latest technology. They allow you to fly without worrying about what frequency you or anyone else is on. FM radios still work fine, and will continue to work fine for at least a while.

I chose a Futaba 6EX for my first radio. 6 channels and computer programmability (which allows you to 'mix' channels together once you get more accomplished at flying. It allows you to store information about each plane, so you don't have to trim your plane every time you fly if you have multiple planes. Mixing allows you to 'mix in' rudder with aileron, or switch between ailerons and flaperons, which again you won't have to worry about for a while.

Well, I'm going to be the differing opinion here. First of all, there is nothing wrong with four channel radios. And you won't necessarily outgrow them. I've been flying for 12 years and I still have several 4 channels radios that I use all the time. To be totally honest with you, it's easy to say you need a radio for flaps and gear later on down the road, but a majority of pilots will never get to that point. Take a look at a vast majority of the sport planes out there these days and you'll see that they only require 4 channels. Yes, if you get into warbirds or 3D you may need more channels later. But trying to predict what type of plane you are flying in 2-4 years from now is really silly. So this is one reason why I recommend that beginners start out with bare bones basic radios. They can decide what advanced features later on after they start figuring out what kind of flying they are going to do.

The other reason I recommend a bare bones beginner radio is because student need to learn how to fly a plane. Also they need to learn how to set up a plane. I can't even count any more how many beginners I have seen using a computer radio to simply "adjust" with the radio to correct a setup on a radio, and then wind up with a plane that is at a mechanical disadvantage. They need to learn how to properly make mechanical adjustments to a plane instead of cheating with a radio. The same goes with flying the plane. They need to learn how to properly fly a plane and what to do with the sticks instead of letting a radio make adjustments for them. Pilots that rely on a radio will always need that "crutch" and will almost always be at a disadvantage.

And last, with a basic four channel radio there are several things you can do with it later on. Keep it and use it on a plane later on down the road. Use it as a buddy box later on. Pay it forward and donate it to somebody else getting started.

As to what brand to get. Here's my suggestion. Locate the club you are going to fly at and see what your instructor uses. This way he is more likely to have a buddy box that will hook up to your radio. Also, if you get the same brand he will be better suited to help you out. But in the four big names, Futaba, JR, Airtronics, and Hitec, the are all great radios and will do well.

Hope this helps

Ken

I tend to agree. If I'd gotten my Spektrum when I first started (it didn't even exist yet of course), I would have been very confused. Things like dual rates, exponential, EPA, mixing, flaps, retracts, auxiliary channels and stuff just muddy the waters when you are still trying to learn the basics of flight controls. A simple, 4-channel radio requires no programming. Just turn it on, flip the reversing switch if a servo goes the wrong way, center the trims and you're set.

I'd even stick with 72MHz for now. sure, 2.4GHz is great, I personally will never fly anything else unless something better comes along. Still most of these radios are fairly advanced and procedures like binding are just one more seemingly overwhelming detail for a beginner.

You can get a 72mHz Futaba complete with 4 decent servos for $119. JR has something similar for the same price. Either would work great for most trainers and sport planes. If you do end up outgrowing it, donate it, sell it at a club swap meet, sell it on eBay or whatever.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...dID=JSP14000**

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXEFJ4**&P=0

I also agree with everything Ken said, and I'll add one more bone to the pot...

Let's say that 3 years from now you're ready to move up to a better radio. In three years, the new radios will be much better than what they are now because their will be new-and-improved versions of what's currently on the market.

Example: If 3 years ago you bought a nice, 6-channel computer radio, you wouldn't have 2.4GHz. But if you had waited until NOW to upgrade, 2.4GHz would be an option you would probably jump on.

Well, I was the first to respond about the computer radios, etc., and while I can't disagree with everyone else who posted after me as they all have MUCH more experience, I can say that personally I got a trainer with the option of having dual aileron servos and flaps, and am getting a second plane that utilizes 7 servos and flaps. I like the 'bells and whistles' like flaps and retracts and whatever else to make a model plane seem more realistic, so a 6 channel radio was the way to go for me.

This is exactly the point I make here. Many beginners get a plane with "bells and whistles" on it and think that they need to use them all. And this is exactly why I recommend bare bones radios for beginners, so that they won't be tempted to play with all the gadgets. FatOrangeKat, I understand your situation on your plane. But in your case the dual aileron servos can easily be plugged into a Y-harness and there is no need to have a computer radio to control dual servos. As far as the flaps go, 99 times out of 100 you'll never use flaps while training. As an instructor I tell my students to not even worry about things like flaps and instead concentrate on learning to fly the plane and not play with the gadgets. A properly designed trainer will fly slow enough to land without having to use flaps, so IMHO they shouldn't even be on a the trainer to start with. Once a student has learned the basics of flight and has soloed then I encourage them to explore all that's available on aircraft out there, but when learning they should concentrate on learning the basics of flying.

Ken

I understand and agree. I don't plan on using more than 4 servos for a while. I plan on 'flying the wings off' my Nexstar, then playing around with the setup. The 6 channel computer radio was only $60 more than the 4ch basic radio, and being in school I really didn't want to think about buying another radio next year just so I could have flaps.

Since nobody else has posted a recommendation for a "trainer" radio, I'll throw one out there:

http://www.hobbypeople.net/prdcls/r463938.asp

Hobby People has the Airtronics VG400 radio system on sale for $99.99 with transmitter, 7 channel dual conversion receiver, tx and rx batteries, wall charger, power switch and 4 Airtronics 94102Z standard servos. This radio will also work as a buddy box on Airtronics higher end radios, including the 2.4Ghz FHSS RDS8000, if you choose to upgrade later.

I believe a simple radio is a good thing when training. The student needs to focus on flying essentials and doesn't need unnecessary distractions. I still fly with my Futaba 4YBF even though I have a 7C now. The 4YBF is great for sport planes, can be used as a buddy box, and comes in handy for using with various flight sims.

If there's a down side to have a good spare 4-channel sport radio handy, I sure can't think what it might be.

To add on to what Ed said here. One other thing I recommend for people to do is keep their trainers, even after they have soloed and moved on to other planes. There are lots of reasons why I recommend this. Even after 12 years of flying I still like to take my trainer out and fly it. It's really fun to take a trainer out and push it through advanced aerobatic maneuvers that you thought weren't possible when you were learning. It's also nice to have a trainer available to take people up for "demo flights". Anyway, the point of my post is that if you have a basic 4 channel radio you can just keep it in the trainer and then you'll always have it ready to fly. Plus, this way you don't have to dedicate a receiver for the computer radio you get down the road for your trainer. So in this situation that 4-channel radio will end up serving you for a very long time.

Ken