Just so you know, most experienced 3d'ers make fun of the U-can-do series of planes. Get yourself a profile plane. To go a step further, skip the .40-50 sized profile and jump to the .60 sized You'll thank me.......

Here is my .40 sized primo and my .60 sized Mojo.....The Mojo is 10X easier to hover than the primo.

Try the Edge 540bp with the eflite 450 outrunner. Real simple assembly... Fully 3d ..On a windy day I can keep mine in the air fifteen minutes by getting it to altitude and using minimal throttle input to keep it there. For intermediate pilots start on lo rates which give full aerobatic capabilities then switch to hi rates for 3d stuff. Uses a 13oo milliamp battery (get two)..8 minutes is pretty standard air time. Hand launches easily. Takes off from the ground in about ten feet.

Building notes:
1.Landing gear should be reinforced with stronger mounting bolts.
2.Be careful when assembling the two piece elevator. You may have to carve out the space where the two pieces meet under the vertical fin to give them freedom of movement.
3.There are wooden guides for the elevator and rudder servo push rods. The mounting holes for the guides in the side of the fuse may be difficult to find. One was evident visually. The other I had to hunt for.
4.Control horns are a breeze to install.
5.I used model tape to secure the servo wires under the belly of the plane.
6.The mount for the motor has to be cut to length. This was not a problem but a bumpy landing caused the motor mount (a balsa would stick) to fracture. I cut a new stick made of harder wood and mounted it with about a 5 degree right thrust angle. It worked like a champ.

I'M NOT A SKILLED 3D PILOT BUT I DO LIKE TO HANG IT OFF THE PROP ONCE IN AWHILE. I LOVE THIS PLANE. IT LOOKS GREAT (MANY COMPLIMENTS ON THE PLANE ITSELF) AND FLYS EASY. IT WILL TAKE YOU ANYWHERE YOU WANT TO GO IN RC FLYING.


HOME THIS HELPS..GOOD LUCK AND GOOD FLYING..RCinfo

if you're looking for a small 3D plane, look at Valuehobby 35 Sabre. Another great choice are the flat profile foamies from DW Foamies. Those things fly like nothing you've ever seen. You can walk out and grab it from the air on a slow fly by.

Most of the serious 3D electric balsa fliers usually go with 3dhobbyshop, extreme flight or precision aerobatics. Skip the mass produced stuff from Great Planes and Horizon.

A little fragile, can be a easy fix,has a big thick wing, big surfaces, very light wing loading, not too expensive; the PA Addiction... been flying mine for two years and still love it in all flying conditions. Fits in my car RTF, put a battery in and fly.

Cheers,
Steve

i second the mojo .40
any .46 sized engine has enough power to hover and give a decent pullout, ax55 i had a hard time with because right where it wanted to hover was right where the ax55 has a midrange deadspot so it would always die on me, put a gms.47 in it and couldnt be happier
just put whatever engine you have a few galloins through and you would trust your life on.....if you cant trust your life on it dont put it in your 3d plane....just asking for trouble

how does the mojo .60 fly with the magnum .91??? enough power?

Maybe, but not perfect.


Saito 100 and mojo 60 are a match made in heaven. It's the perfect combo.

I own two and they are light planes.

Mine are both electrics.

That said, I would not recommend them as 3D planes...

They are

- Too small ( the larger the better for 3D learning )
- Wrong airfoil for slow 3D
- These are really more small aerobatic planes.
- Edge's tend to tip stall when loaded down because of the purposely snap friendly design of the wings.

All bad for a beginner 3D'er.

I'll echo ChuckW's suggestion of the OMP profile plane.
The profile fuselage adds lateral stability in high alpha flight regimes.

I have a Twist 40 practically the same size as the OMP 40 Extra profile, and the latter is far more stable...
However again bigger is better and the larger planes fare better.

The U-Can-Do is an excellent 3D plane and the relatively large size of the 40 ( compared to other offerings ) is a plus...
Yes the AX55 is plenty, if you select the right prop!

Funtana's & Katana's ( practically the same plane ) also do fairly well.... but again larger is better for 3D.

The single most "docile" plane I've ever flown, while in High alpha, was the now discontinued "Passion 3D".

The thing would hover and torque roll by itself.

Get this plane: http://www.dwfoamies.com/index.php?p...art&Itemid=343

You can get the Dynamo power combo, that includes motor, prop, and ESC for another $50. Throw in some decent 25C 1000mAh lipos, and some cheap HXT900 servos, you have a great 3D trainer.

I would stay away from balsa for your first plane. You're going to crash it...a lot. Foamies are super easy to fix. Just bring some foam safe CA with you and often you can be back in the air in a minute or two. The DW foamies fly great, I'm using one to learn 3D on, and their customer service is top notch (my kit had the wrong motor mount, a quick email, and the correct replacement was in the mail the next day, no questions asked). Plus with these you can just go the local school yard to practice w/o having to pack up a nitro to go to the field.

I have this exact same model to learn 3D. The fuse is made of EPP foam and is great. I've crashed it several times now with hardly any repairs needed. If this were a balsa model, it would have been totaled 5 times over by now.