I have always wanted to fly planes, and now i have a chance to. i have had rc cars and helicopters. also flight sim with about 40 hrs on it. now i am looking to buy first plane. looking to be around the 300$ range. the 2 models i like right now are the hobbyzone supercub and the e-flite apprentice 15e. would like it to be rtf. just wondering what everyone thinks and anymore info i can get.

I've put together a list of planes that make good trainers and second planes. All of them on the list are proven planes that are well suited for successfully letting students learn to fly, or advance to a second plane. Check out the list here
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm] Looking for a trainer- what's available. (Updated 2-20-2008) [/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

do you only want to fly electric? I am a fan of the cheap gws foamies with a good brushless. the slope glider versions are only $30 and can take a pounding. i would go w/ the estarter or slowstick. slowstick is very easy to fly (i learnt how to fly by myself with the ss) the estarter is a little harder but with 40+ hours in a sim you should be fine. the apprentice does not look bad if you are into rtf but i have never seen/delt with one. also the quality of the radio, esc, ect might or might not be as good as jr or futaba.
if you want a nitro plane the planes at spadflyer.com can take quite a few very hard landings and are about $50 with shipping and handleing.

The Apprentice is fantastic I've never had a problem with the esc , batt ,Tx , Rx eng. (small one with the servo after I smashed it nose first into the ground)
It takes hard landings extremely well I stalled it from 10- 15 ft up right onto the mains and never had a problem.
It has plenty of power when you need it yet flies so slow when you want it to and lands just perfectly.
goes together in 10minutes out of the box!

negitives are that
Cowl is abit fragile
Batt charges does not come with wall socket only alligator clips.

hope this helps



A VERY satified Apprentice (self taught on this plane) customer

gilliganfd432 -

You really can't go wrong with the Hobbyzone Super Cub. And from all things noted, the Apprentice is quite the nimble little bird as well. Granted you'll have to spend more for the Apprentice, however, it offers ailerons (the Super Cub does not) - which is a nice thing to have once you've mastered the basics of rudder and elevator flight. From what QF306 is saying there are some additional things you need to get for the kit however, the better the kit, the better the odds are you'll need to invest some more $$. I've got lots 'o aircraft and I have been wondering about purchasing an Apprentice myself strictly to review it and post it for beginners like yourself looking for some input.

I do have a review of the Super Cub at Control Chat. It's a site of mine, "..dedicated to the new and aspiring rc pilot." You can check it out if you're interested.

[link=http://controlchat.twointeract.com/2008/hobbyzone-super-cub/]Hobbyzone Super Cub Review - Control Chat[/link]

Hope this info helps. And if you do get the Apprentice, hit me up w/ a personal email - I'm really curious to hear more about it. QF306, could you do the same? I'd like to read what you have to say.

I just bought the apprentice pnp 229.00. i wish i had started with this plane. It is so easy to land and rolls on short grass ok. handles well in the wind. My first plane was a corsair second was a p-51 (all parkzone pnp) then i got tired of waiting on parts so i bought the apprentice. This hobby started with an cx2 then a blade 400. I think i need a blimp to round out the fleet.

As for sims i bought RF 4.5 when i got my blade 400. fearing seeing my 400 dollars self destruct i decided to train a bit. it did wonders for my hovering and my ability to recover from mistakes before i hit the ground. as for flying planes it helped but felt gamey ,fighting a headwind while landing in reality is something you just feel.