Having been out of the R/C world for a few years, I am going to jump back in soon. What trainers are the most recomended these days? We deal with high heat / altitudes on summer days, and usually have a min. of a 10 mph wind. I have picked up a good deal on a six channel 2.4 ghz Futaba already, so that's what gear I will be using. Also, I am wanting to hang a gasser on the front since nitro has been hard to come by locally. I was thinking G20 since I know that will power one of the planes I have in mind after I get my feet back under me. Any suggestions are apreciated. Oh, and it can be wood , foam, kit, ARF, doesn't really matter to me.

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

How much expierence and what kinda planes where you flying before you took the time off? Also what kinda planes do you have in mind for once you get your thumbs back? Depending on how much expierence you had and what kinda models you plain on getting you might be fine with just some help your first couple flights till you feel comfortable again. If you were flying fully aerobatic planes before I wouldn't think it would make much sense to go back to a pure trainer just because you havent flown for a couple years.

La Racers fly great so do sticks, pulse xts just to name a few

http://www.airborne-models.com/html/...p?ProductID=91

You can never go wrong with a stick/stik. I'm not familiar with the G20 and what size of plaes it'll fly, but sticks/stiks come in sizes from .10 to giants. Sticks can be tame like a trainer and be turned out for some crazy aerobatics by just a flip of a switch. And i've never met a stick that didn't like wind.

I'm curious about your statement "since nitro has been hard to come by locally."

I live in Garland and it is easy for me to find glow fuel. I guess if I wanted to mix my own it might be slightly inconvenient, but, Mike's Hobby Shop in Carrollton had gallon jugs of pure nitromethane on the shelf when I was there in April.

In premade fuels, Mike carries Cool Power, Omega, Powermaster, Ritch's Brew, and Wildcat. Possibly others, but I remember seeing these.

A '60 size' trainer will handle quite a bit of wind. I have a Great Planes PT-60 with a Magnum 91 four stroke. It is kit built with no dihedral in the wing and is a tail dragger. It handles the local winds very well. The recommended four stroke is a 70 but the 91 works very well. This particular kit tends to build tail heavy so using a slifghtly heavier engine reduces the nose weight needed for balancing. Even when it is very hot and humid, there is plenty of power.

I had also taken a couple of years off from flying when I restarted several months ago. I used my trainer again because I figured it was the easiest plane to fly and it was the cheapest and most forgiving. I am glad I did because the first few flights were challenging. Luckily I picked right back up on it and and am progressing nicely. Don't be in a hurry and take the safe/easy route.

I need to change my location thing as I am no longer in the Dallas area. I am in Midland now. The LHS is a real PITA to deal with, and he caters mostly to the car crowd now. Most of the guys here are flying gas, or electric now.

Like some others here without knowing what your experience level is makes it difficult.

I had about a 14 year layoff returning to the hobby about six months ago. I had several airplanes in storage, most pretty well storage worn. I selected an old Sweet Stik as my re-entry trainer to get going again. I recovered the airplane, got the engine running well. Then went out to the local field and flew a few hops. The first flight was not all that comfortable as it was a maiden flight for the old re-covered bird. Once trimmed out it flew great. It wasn't too long before I was dragging my old King Cobra out of the shed for some flight time. Yes, both airplanes are still in one piece

I'd say a large Stik with the G-20 or G-26 would be great setup. It will be a good airplane to get you back in the swing of things and one you can certainly advance with quickly.

Welcome back!

Hanger 9 ultra lite stick comes in several sizes as an arf and the mods to make it SWEET are here on RCU. It is a fine stick

Thanks for all the ideas so far. I was flying relatively high performance low wing stuff before I hung it up, but I think going back to square one is the best thing for me to do. I had rather spend the $$ on a good trainer than try to get in over my head and crach a bunch of stuff.

Check out the EBT from 3dhobbyshop.com. EBT stands for Electric Basic Trainer, but it is capable of much more than that. Flies incredibly slow, but will loop, roll, knife edge and even hover. They have a great video of it on that site.
I've had 40 plus planes, and I wished I would have been able to get this plane, when I was looking for an aileron trainer.

This is a lowcost motor for the EBT and its fantastic,

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s..._507W&cda=6614

Take a look at this Gas trainer for 26cc engine


Michel

This is a great topic thread, as I am also getting back into the hobby after a ten year break. I've got about a dozen flights in on a Tower Hobbies Trainer 40 with an OS .25 in it. Plane flies great and does aerobatics just fine. (I had a lot of experience in the past.) My problem is that my landings are awful! The plane is 5 lbs with the CG at 33% with an empty tank. In no wind conditions it is really hard to bring down as it floats virtually forever. Anyone have any advice for me? Other than that it is a plain great trainer, and very rugged from what I can tell.

The old Hangar 9 Arrow ARF is a good bird, 40 size high wing but with a semi-symetrical airfoil for some [8D]aerobatics!

I thought about starting my own thread for this same subject - maybe I can get some free advice, too.

I have been out of the hobby for 15 years. I learned on a Dynaflight Butterfly with an OS .20 FP - it was a powder puff, and I eventually got too wild with it and had a wing shear off. My next plane was a Great Planes PT-20. I learned that I don't like dealing with small planes, especially when there's wind involved. I was mostly done building a .60-sized seaplane when I left for college. The airframe got demolished when my parents moved, but I still have the Fox Eagle .74 glow engine and my Futaba 4-ch radio from it, although it's 15 years old and I don't know if there are new frequency limitations that would prevent me from using it. At the very least I figure I'll have to buy new battery packs for the TX and RX as the old ni-cad batteries are probably no good.

I'd like to get a 60-sized ARF to start flying right away with the engine and radio I already have and spend the winter building the "next plane" to take a 30cc-sized gasoline engine I'm going to convert with my father in-law. I have been practicing with the FS One simulator (man, it'll show you how rusty you are) and I have been making very good progress flying different planes on the sim. I want an ARF that I can set up gentle at first, but something that won't be so boring or fragile as the Butterfly that I end up ripping it's wing off once I get my confidence back. You know, something with growth potential.

Would something like the Great Planes .60 Big Stik be something I could probably handle, or should I go for a more traditional trainer? I have even heard folks say a Sig four star isn't too bad for someone with some prior experience.

m

I would say the stick would be ok if you were to buddy box with an instructor until you get your thumbs back or at least the first few flights just to see where you stand.
15 years is a long time but it should come back pretty quick especially with the sim time.

I'd say a giant Stik for your engine of choice.

Here,
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKJY0&P=SM

I have the 40 size and love it.

JMO,

Bob

Giant Stik for the .74 glow I have or the 30cc gasser I'm going to build? Is that a vote that a Stik can be set up on the mild side for an "advanced beginner" like me?

Typically a stick would be more of a second plane but they can be set up mild and there are a number of people out there that did use a stick as a primary trainer.

I was looking at the wing loading numbers, and the Great Planes .60 Big Stik seems to compare favorably - 15 oz/ft2 with a 66" span. Compared to the Hangar 9 Alpha 60 @ 17.9 oz/ft2 and 71.5" span, Hobbico Hobbistar 60 @ 19.5 oz/ft2 and 71" span, and Tower Trainer 60 @ 19.7 oz/ft2 and 69.5" span, the Stik seems like it's in the right ball park. True, it has a symmetric airfoil, but so did my PT-20. I would trust the Stik not to break apart midair if I try to get some aerobatics out of it, either...

Navy Guns,

I was referring to the OP, with my earlier post.

Bob

Go big:

http://www.btemodels.com/sfk.html

It would be fun to tell people "Zenoah G62" when they ask what engine you bought for your trainer!

Thanks to advice I got on this great forum, I got back into RC after a ten year break with a Tower Hobbies Trainer 40. I put an OS MAX 25 on it and it does great off short grass and the structure is very rugged. It is not as docile as a Butterfly which I also learned on about 20 years ago. The Trainer 40 has a 62 inch span so it is easy to see. I do wish it had a bit more wing on it as it is pretty fast for a trainer, attributed probably to its weight which makes it rugged. Am building a 75 inch wing for it now so I can train my girlfriend to fly it as she is interested. For me the stock ship was the perfect re-entry airplane as it had me back to flying aerobatics on my third flight. Good luck on your return to the hobby! I am sure you will love being back as much as I do!