Hey all,

I went to the LHS looking for a good second plane for when I am done with the trainer. I had ordered a sig something extra but there was an issue in the shipping from Nevada and Tower promptly refunded my $$.

The guy there has 3 of these "gathering dust" and said he will cut me a deal on one for $80. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGGM2&P=K he says it should be a good second, anything not 3-4D would be fine.

So would it be a good second and should I go for it ???

I have the rx, tx, servos and engine, building supplies all ready to go.

That plane has a very thin wing. It is designed for racing.

I don't think it would make a very good second plane.

Check the sticky at the top of the beginner's forum for a good selection of second planes

I fully agree with Minn. If you want a great flying low wing as a second plane, have a look at the Carl Goldgerg Tiger series, the Sig Fourstar series, Hanger 9 Pulse XT series or the Phoenix Dolphin. All great flying planes and great 2nd planes.

Cheers
Curt

IMHO the LHS owner says it's a great second plane so that he can get it off of his shelves. It's not a good second plane as Minn said, it's more for speed than anything else.

Ken

Yeah,
Don't get caught up with the deals, if it isn't a good fit, it's still $80 that you could have spent on a better plane that fits your needs and desires better. Take a look around the shop and see if you spot and Seagull models ARF's. I have been hearing good things about their quality as a Vietnamese (I think) ARF company, lower costs too.
Good luck,
Curtis

And $80 is not that good of a deal, you could find a better plane for not much if any more. Check out World Models, they make some nice flying cheap planes.

[link]http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=1104[/link]

I have no personal experience with this plane but know of several who have flown and it and really like it.

I would go for something like a Kaos or a 4 star. Great planes Escapade looks like a good one too, I haven't seen one fly, but I'm going to be the guinea pig around here and try one. Has anyone else flown the Escapade?

The plane was over in the warbird pile, I was checking out the kits he was watching me eyeball the warbird stacks, and suggested this plane as a cheaper easier version, when I told him I was still soloing my hobbistar and not ready to really fly them yet he offered the deal.

So I posted here and am glad that I did.

The warbirds are where my heart leads me but I dont want a strega in a tree on the way.

thanks for the advice guys

You can get a World Models Skyraider mach 2 arf for $80, and they are excellent second planes. I have one and it is alot of fun. Super easy to fly, but can do knife edges and snap rolls really well. http://www.airborne-models.com/html/...p?ProductID=16 They're $69.99 at my LHS in Moore, OK.

not ahere second plane is NOT intermediate good second plane, maybe 3rd or 4th. it says "intermediate or advance " somebody on there second plane is not intermediate, get a four start 40 or a stick.

the gp rapture is 90 bucks on tower, a good second plane
a little shaping required but nothing to bad
it flies great (for the 10 min i have flown mine, just got it as a second plane)

put the bottle down[sm=confused_smile.gif]

either that or the la racer would be great second airplanes and wonderful sport flyers

Looky here we all would like to tell some thing differnt. But my second plane was a quikie with 25 fp on it. Then a week later there was a thunder tiger 46 on it. Then a couple of monthes went by there was a dubb jet 50 on it. You fly what you think you can fly. GO OUT THERE AND HAVE FUN. The skies are the limts. we cant tell you what your capable of flying. and dont listen to me in five years ive lost 6 planes. 4 where my flaut

My 2 cents Troubled - IMHO, going straight from a Hobbistar to a pylon racer is just a good way to quickly learn how to rebuild after the crash. 25 years and a couple dozen planes in the dirt -(yes, the majority were my fault, some not). Granted, a Q-500 witha .25 is a ball to fly, they just do not fit the bill as a 2nd plane . And I have done my fair share of Q-500 racing over the years. A few new pilots can make the transition, but most cannot.

Phoniex - Minn & RCKen are steering you on the right track. I totally agree with the Sig Fourstar series, Hanger 9 Pulse XT series, or a Stik series (Ultra Stik or Ugly Stik 40 size versions). Not that there are no other good 2nd planes out there, but those listed have proven themsleves over the years. I believe in having a plane that is still slow enough to teach, but being able to increase the fun. I still know a lot of pilots that fly "2nd planes" as their only planes and have a lot of flying under their belts. Having an experienced instructor next to you for the first few flights of a second plane can also help you out.

I bought one of these http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXDJD4&P=0 I wanted to learn to build, I have a long time until I will even want to fly anything but my trainer, so it is a good time to learn

I am also ordering supplies over a few weeks time few things here and there so I got plenty of time.

Good choice for a first build. Just build it by the instructions and if you have any questions ask before proceding. You could also start a build thread on it.

Good luck and happy flying.

I agree with craig- good choice for a 2nd plane plus the added benefit of learning to build a kit. The plane is a pretty easy (in relative terms from an old kit builder) to build. Make sure that you have a good flat surface to work off of - just don't use the dining room table! Medium CA, 5 minute and 30 minute epoxy, a couple of rolls of covering, razor blades, straight pins, plenty of time, and lots of other cool tools will get you through. Read the instructions two or three times before you start. It might surprise you how fast the plane goes together! Have fun