Sherman

The GP Easy Sport, while mostly considered a trainer, can be quite maneauvarable, and is a good stepping stone to more sophisticated planes.
I have also seen many fairly new pilots with the Avistar, and am pretty impressed with how many staunts it can do and the general flying characteristics.

Choosing your next plane can be tons of fun. Good luck.

SharpProp

My second plane was an Ultra Stick 40. Still love this plane. The first time I flew it I was nervous even though it was an ARF. My muffler fell off in flight causing me to lose power and crash on the maiden flight. THAT HURT! I bought a new one a few months later and I still have it and its great. The point is that they all come down or at least get banged up sooner or later. If you are going to take the time to build nice planes, do it cause you like building nice planes.....and when you eventually have an unfortunate incident.... think to yourself " oh goody, I get to rebuild". Just remember though, just because it takes a beating doesn't mean it's Kaput. None of this is going to help you calm your nerves on your maiden though, that's just the nature of the hobby...lol.

Here are some things you may experience though, to help mentally prepare you:
You'll get the field, calm and collected...... assemble your plane, calm and collected.....then check things over (ailerons going the right way?, etc.) Still calm? yeah
Time to start your engine....THUMP. Good times, engine is running beautifully. Old guys surround your plane and tell you how nice it is and tell you there is no time like the present to get her up. ( no pressure)
THUMP THUMP.....Man it just got a little warmer out here! Taxi out.....awe crap what did I get myself into. Can't turn around now though, the old guys are watching.
Giver her gas and go.......THUMP THUMP THUMP. YOUR HEART IS POUNDING NOW! Pull back and start climbing.....Little nervous but holding it together.
THEN YOU GO FOR YOUR FIRST TURN. AAAAAAAh! This for me is the weirdest feeling with a new plane. The first thing you see is it doesn't turn like your trainer did. It will roll a bit, but won't actually turn like your trainer did, until you give it some elevator to pull back. Then when you get it coming back at you....you will have to level it out on your own. It's not that any of this is much harder....it just "feels" different, and that's what alway gets my nerves going. If you remember that it will be different it may not surprise you as much. OH and use plenty of expo (between 35% - 40%)
my $.02

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Absolutely. One of the first challenges to overcome with RC, especially with aircraft. (because mistakes can be more costly than cars on the ground.. you can stop them.. but stopping an aircraft usually means... well, you get the idea)

Anyway, orientation and stick control helps a lot. Knowing left from right is another thing. When a car comes toward you, just as the aircraft does, you always have to remember that a left turn is the CAR or AIRCRAFT left, not the person holding the transmitter box's left. That does not come naturally, it takes practice and repeated actions by the pilot. That's why, most good instructors, will have newbe's doing figure eights an awful lot, getting used to making both right AND left turns both going away from you and going towards you.

The car RC'ers have already learned that, so that's one step that they don't really need to learn when learning to fly RC Aircraft.

I was the instructor for two of our club members (at least one is a frequent RCUniverse user) that flew I believe two flights on the buddy box. I immediately saw that he knew left from right and orientation, so I focused on take off and landing. He picked it up right away and solo'ed after the second buddy box session and, soon thereafter, was flying Pattern.

We both attributed that to his experiences with RC Cars. So, yeah, it really helps.

CGr.

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

hahaha, don't forget the guys that also need to learn up and down control too when flying low passes inverted. I've heard the splattering crunching sounds on the runway when they forget down is up when pulling out of the low fly by.

speedracer55

i agree with chuck w i fly a 4 star 60 with a super tiger 90 and i love it its very forgiving aircraft

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

But it's only because you guys didn't fly a Sky Raider to compare to it. The SIG is over $200, and the Sky Raider is $89.99. To some that makes a difference. I've flown both, the Sky Raider doesn't need coupling in a knife edge and doesn't float so much you are inclined to clip the wing. It's over rated. I like the BTE version much better.


Here is a link

http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=1958

Check out airbornes overstock section on the bottom right of the home page. A few super discounts in there that I buy from time to time.
A similar plane to the legendary Astro Hog 60 is the Emeraude 60 Super Sports. I have this arf and it's a super fast build, the construction is excellent, and the hinges are already installed, metal hinges, not CA. The tail bolts on, which I use for alignment and epoxy it. Very nice flier. It was on overstock for only $100, couldn't pass it up.

http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=44

Pecanpatch

Those ST.90's are shakers man........ consider using rubber isolators if you mount that beast up on there [X(]

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

Only when you don't balance the prop, I've never had any displacement under 1.60 shake on me at all. Check your spinner too.

RogerParrett

My second plane (coming from a Kadet LT-40) is a 40 sized U-Can-Do w/ an O.S. 46AX engine. Got it on sale a couple of weeks ago from Tower for about $135.

Don't let the "3D" part intimidate you. I set my plane to low rates and it flies like a trainer. The biggest difference is that it doesn't "flop over" like the LT-40 does when I do stall turns, split-S's, etc.

It takes off and lands like a dream - even though I'd "heard things" about taking off and landing tail-draggers.

Good Flying.... Roger

GaryHarris

Well, I changed my mind about getting the Big Stik. Once I mounted all the tail feathers on the 4* last night I fell back in love with the plane. You guys know how when you build a kit, all those little boo-boos start adding up and you feel like the plane is turning into a pile of crap and wont fly? lol. Now that the fuse is covered and the rear end glued up, its really starting to look like a sweet plane! Today I should have the landing gear mounted and once I install that Saito in, Ill really be motivated again. Kit building can be a very mental thing. [X(]

The 4* 60 will be my second plane. While I'm flying that Ill probably go ahead and build the GP Pete 'n Poke thats been sitting around for ages. Thatll be a good plane for my Magnum .52 FS that in the L-T 40 right now. By the time I get that plane built, Ill have been flying the 4* long enough I should be ready for the SSE.

speedracer55

hey gary harris let me say these to you what some told me when i started 3 yr ago doint get to attached to youre plaine you never know when youre goint to loose it

speedracer55

hey garry i fly a 4 star 60 with a supertiger90 and it was my 2 aircraft its very forgiving you will love it

bklambdin

If you want to learn to fly, really learn all the controls, then get a MOJO 60 with Saito 125, 100 or OS 91fs.

It's the slowest most forgiving plane, will do anything you can think of.

butch longshore

The stick is a great plane your motor will fly it fine! If you fly you will crash that is what makes it fun!

GaryHarris

After flying yesterday, I'm ready for the 4*.

Somehow, someway I am greasing all of my landings, double loops, torque rolls during a loop with hard banking using rudder and airlons and even the dreaded right hand turns. Still a little weak on the right handers with rudder though. I have learned not to just visualize the plane, but to feel it!

hulio516

The 4 star 60 will be a "piece of cake" and so is the goldberg tiger 60, another "piece of cake" to fly.