Hi
I was wondering if I could use all your experience and knowledge to advise me on something.
I have tought myself to fly with the Eflite Apprentice and Realflight G4 and I'm going to go to the local club for the social side of things anyway.
I was wondering if the Eflite T34 Mentor ePTS would be a perfect second plane? I've read that it is not really a starter plane but is it a good second plane?
Thanks in advance
Peter Cochrane

QF306 -

Get ready for the bombardment of opinions here All good of course...I'll toss in my quick two cents.

The T34 ePTS is a good airplane ( I own the T-34 Hangar 9 version - it rocks!) however, I wouldn't suggest it if you haven't been able to do numerous 'error free' flight sessions. It might be too much of a jump for you coming from the Apprentice. Since you're joining a club, see if you can tandem with a few fellow pilots and their second aircraft's - to get a feel for a few different models. My suggestions are:

1. [link=http://controlchat.twointeract.com/2008/parkzone-t-28-trojan]Parkzone T-28 Trojan - Electric[/link]
2. [link=http://www.carlgoldbergproducts.com/airplanes/gbga0066.html]Carl Goldberg Tiger 2 - Glow Power[/link]

The first link is to a review I did at my site, Control Chat. Fyi....otherwise this is just my two cents.

Best o' luck at finding your next aircraft QF306!

I'll second everything apwachhotz said, but I'll split the vote on planes. Parkzone T-28 electric is excellent choice, but I prefer the Hobbico Avistar for a glow trainer!

I had the Phenoix Dolphin as my second plane. I absolutely loved this plane. It can do just about anything yet still be very forgiving. I had a small battery fire so once I replace the baterry and the receiver it's back in the air.

chopper

Have you looked into the hangar 9 p51 PTS? I have seen newbies fly them flawlessey, and the good thing is once you master it you can remove the wing droops, upgrade the engine and have a wicked warbird that not only looks nice but has flaps I believe too. I do not have the knowledge of most of the members here but my friend has over 30 planes and has a PTS p51 and said it actually flew better than his first high wing trainer plane. And keep up on that real flight sim, why dont you go too knifeedge.com and download a p51 or t34 and fly it on the sim, thats what I did to master my trainer and nitro helis. I love my alpha 40 as my trainer and did not use a instructor I just practiced with the RF sim and it flew almost identical too the PT 40 on the sim but the only difference is you dont have sweaty palms and risk smashing your plane into a billion pieces LOL....My second plane is going to be a Pulse Xt 40 PNP from H9. Just gotta order it up and make the gear more durable.

Uh-oh... now come the naysayers...

IMHO it's not a bad second plane ( or even a first ) with a few caveats, and it does scale up nicely into a sports plane...

A Pulse XT is a bit more forgiving though the gear are a bit weak.

I was more looking for an electric aircraft for multiple uses.
I thought the eflite t34 was good because it is still a trainer , strong landing gear for my rough grass/dirt field , flaps , great electrics to use when progressing , also good aircraft for FPV and photography.
Thanks for all your inputs and $0.02 please keep them coming.
Thanks
Peter

The EFlight T-34 should be a great second plane if you're confident with takeoffs and landings on your Apprentice. We have a self-taught pilot at our club who is quite good with his EFlight T-34 Mentor but who is just now learning to fly and tune glow engines.

I'm honestly confused as to why anyone would think that the T-28 Trojan from Parkzone would be fine but the EFlight T-34 wouldn't be just as easy to fly. If the EFlight T-34 PTS appeals to you, then by all means give one a try!

QF306 -

Heheheheh...don't you love this place. You never have to worry about people never getting you their thoughts.

Funny you mention the whole photography thing. I actually hollowed out the center portion of my PZ T-28 foamy and placed a Cannon Elph in there for aerial video. It worked out awesome (granted you're looking down all the time...but hey, it was a start!) I even Velcro'd the same camera to the side of a Super Cub (of all planes) and did the same. Ok, ok...Sounds like you have your heart set on the Mentor, and who could blame you - it rocks! My suggestion would be this:

Get your bird, build it, and make a good friend at the club you belong to and ask them to tandem with you until you get your 'thumbs'. Of course they have to be experienced... If you're willing to take the time you will be very very very happy with your purchase. The size of the Mentor will definitely give you what you're looking for and all of the guts of the plane (motor, batteries, servos, etc.) are a good investment for going into electrics.

If you're willing to learn with someone (i.e. tandem) you'll be fine with your Mentor. Heck, I taught my girlfriend to fly with a [link=http://www.multiplexusa.com/models/kits/acromaster_.php]Multiplex AcroMaster[/link] - and her first solo was on it!

OH bigedmustafa - reason i mentioned not going with the Mentor is its durability from a beginners standpoint - IF learning on it solo. In my opinion, fixing a foam flier from a bad incident is much easier then fixing a wood/balsa model. Especially when we all know what it's like to be a beginner - you don't want to be fixing all the time, you want to be flying.

Yes I do have my Heart (and wallet) set on the Mentor but at the same time I don't want to get an aircraft that is way out of my skill level and/or confidence level.
I'm certinally going to take it to the field and buddy box for a while (my Apprentice still has the marks from my DIY approach[:@]).
I'm really excited about going to a club (my frist visit is going to be on Sunday to the Cowra Model Aero Club)
basically I'm asking is the Mentor suited to

A person who has reasonable skill levels on a 4 channel aircraft eg soft landings good x wind landings smooth turns etc?
Grass/ dirt fields?
Large open spaces eg 1000s of acres of ag land?
FPV compatable?(eventually)
a great aircraft to fly on the field and off it around the farm?

Thanks

P.S apwacholz I Will post a very long written report / review of the Apprentice soon.

If you want a built up wood airframe and you want to go with electric, the T-34 will be just fine. It's a nice looking plane and will do exactly what you want. As you progress, throw a larger motor and ESC in it and have even more fun. I've been flying a few years now but I've thought about picking up the T-34 myself.

The Parkzone T-28 is another good one that costs a little less and is made of the same foam as your Apprentice. It is surprisingly durable and repair parts are available.

Either way you'll be happy.

If you decide you'd rather step up to glow then I'd say stick with an intermediate type trainer like a Hobbico Avistar or World Models Sky Raider mach-1.

No matter what you choose, you are going in a great direction getting into a club and I'm sure you'll do great.

QF306 -

In regards to all your questions, yup, the Mentor will do and take all of those with ease. Of course, all within reason as there is no crash resistant aircraft that I know of out there
As for confidence and skill level, with a few tandem flights and some good 'ol knowledge from the experienced you'll not only gain a lot of confidence flying - like ChuckW said, you'll have an aircraft that will grow with you for years!

Fly On QF306! And I'll be looking for that review.

Another alternative the MultiPlex MiniMag, doesn't look as good as a T 28 but quite a bit more durable.

Again, I'll second what apwachhotz said. From a beginners stand point, the t-28 is less expensive, more forgiving, and easier to repair than the T-34. If he goes to the club and gets help, he should be fine with either plane!

Old post here, but I recently purchased the Eflite T34 Mentor, and have flown the Trojan, the foamie is a good value buy, but a whole new experience with the Mentor, you want to be confident with a trainer first and mastered there, Mentor is an excellent advancement...flew the Trojan dozens of times and certainly is a beautiful flyer but the front nose gear eventually breaks with my needed inproved landings with a low wing...Mentor with its added droops and some flaps and you'll have no issue landing this puppie..it comes in like an airliner even in the grass with things level its increadible in landings, is faster with some throttle and behaves best with slight speed, it will balloon abit with the beginner settings but simple downstick and trim helps tremendously, mine deadsticks with no throttle, I can flare early and no wing stalls, simply keeps flying! Nearing only a dozen flights and I'm sold on the Mentor, is absolutely a fantastic experience, this is all wood frame and monokote covered, have to say, my first real bird and very impressed...

Note do the basics in preflight checks, out of the box I failed to snug the prop, it was lose from the manufacture, not realizing this my maiden flight at only 25 or so feet and likely things shook before the prop flew off as also the canopy released in mid air as well with a strong pop, thought what the heck and noticed no power, turned down wind on me and without airspeed still able to make it level just before touchdown in the grass, rolled over slightly on the nose to a stop but unscathed ! Droops and Flaps saved it all as well as a cool head...after retightening the prop all is well, terrific handling, I'm pleased...<>...

As I'm new with these low wings, the Mentor handles grass landings with ease, enough room I don't have to worry about over shooting the strip or contact w/pavement, tho again this one flares increadibly well even above the famed Trojan, I personally would do the grass first as having great fortune there but your option, other than my maiden tho its been picture perfect on each landing even with my questionable landing skills on these faster birds...caught a video of an overshoot and ending with a Mentor with no front end, so be cautious, give it room...if your really new get a pilot !!

Use to say the terrific Radian Glider was my alltime favored, but look out, Here's the Mentor !!

BEST ..<>...

We have a young man, 10 years old, who learned to fly on real flight and who has as a first plane the T-28, because thats what he wanted. He cannot reliably fly a 40 size glow trainer however. I've flown both the T-28 and T-34 and I'd say get the T-34 Mentor. It flies very well and will allow you to progress as your skill increases.

My vote goes to the T34. I learned on a Nexstar Glow, and I've just recently moved to the T34. It sure doesn't have allot of power though. I doubt that it will be long before I remove the droops and go to the Power 32 system. This plane has a ton of glide with the droops!