Hi everyone
I need help or advice on what starter plane I need to buy. My brother went to work in a different state about 2 years ago, and he left me a brand new RC plane he built up himself. I would love to fly and have been wanting to get in the hobby for a number of years now, but never really knew where to start. I am not completely new to RC, I have had a few nitro trucks, so not a total beginner. I have a flight simulator in which I have put quite a few hours on.

The plane my brother left is is a Great Planes Extra 300s It's got a 50cc gas engine (not nitro) (not really sure, but thats what my bro said it was) it's complete with all the servo's and radio. It has never been flown, nor is it aligned or balanced....not sure how to do that. I have a Futaba
T9CAP remote for it.

So here's the real question...

What trainer plane would you recommend I buy, to get the experience I need to fly this plane?

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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

<u><font color="#0000ff" size="2"><font color="#0000ff" size="2">Looking for a trainer- what's available. (Updated 01-03-2009)</font></font></u>
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For more info on what's involved with getting started check the site Minnflyer and myself have put together, www.gettingairborne.com

Hope this helps</p>

Ken</p></font></font></font>

No.23: There are many posts on here dealing with what you're asking. Just have to look and find them. Start with beginners. That plane your brother let you is a great one and you will love to fly it in about 2 yrs, of practise with basic trainers. Enjoy the hobby but be resouceful.

Sounds to me like you have one heck of a good brother. That sounds like a nice setup. You are on the right track as it will be a while before you are ready to fly that plane. Let it serve as something to work towards, a Goal to be achieved so to speak.

I just started in this Hobby last fall, and soloed my trainer earlier this spring. I am now in the process of building my third plane while I am flying my trainer, and my Cherokee. I am telling you this because there is no way I would be where I am right now without the help of the folks in my Club. The best thing you can do is find a club nearby that can help you get started. They can help you find a trainer to learn on if the club does not have one that you could use. They will be able to teach you all about the hobby, and keep you heading in the right direction. It looks like there are a couple of clubs in Sioux Falls and one in Brookings.

Link to the club finder.
http://www.modelaircraft.org/clubsearch.aspx

Also read the threads at the top of the beginner section labeled as stickys. There is tons of good info there.

I know there are tons of training planes out there, I am very well aware of that. I'm looking for something not more then $150 or so since I don't have too much of a budget to go by. I was just wondering if the beginner plane would give me the experience I need to fly the extra 300s or if I'm going to need something more advanced.
Thanks

You will probably need a conventional trainer, and then a low-wing sport plane and get proficient with both before flying the big Extra. Those big planes are fairly expensive, and if you crash it, your wallet will hate you, especially if you are on a tight budget like it sounds like you are.

That big gas extra is a very advanced plane and I would recommend flying for one or two seasons before trying your hand at the extra, maybe get somebody to buddy box you with it your first time if you aren't sure if you can handle it or not.

Is there a Giant trainer out that he could buy and swap all of the stuff from the extra into it to learn to fly then swap back once he is proficient enough. I was just wondering. I think that it would be pretty bad a** to have a trainer with a 50cc gas on it.

It would be downright dangerous to have a beginner flying a plane that big.
To the OP: If money is tight, you might consider selling your giant aerobat. Even if you already have the plane, it's not cheap to fly those birds. For what that plane is worth, you could have your trainer and second plane all ready to go, along with your AMA membership, club dues and supplies for a year.

That was actually what I was wondering myself. Whats the difference between a trainer and a plane like the extra 300s? (Aside from $300 and about $1000) I did look around for this on the forum, but I couldn't find anything. I did some research and I'm planning on building up a Great Planes PT40 MKII. Can I use the radio and some of the servo's on this model, the radio is a futaba r148dp and there are at least 5 servo's that are futaba 3305's. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

The difference is the maneuverability and stall characteristics. The aerobatic planes, of which the Extra 300 is one, are highly maneuverable and have wings that are designed to tip stall with certain inputs to make certain maneuvers better. Tip stalls are great when you want to get a super fast roll or go into a flat spin, but they really suck when you want to land and get one unexpectedly. They are also very neutral in their handling meaning that they do exactly what you tell them and nothing else. Essentially, everything that can be done in the design to make them maneuver faster or have bigger control response has been done. A trainer is the opposite- much slower control response, difficult to stall, and it is designed aerodynamically to fly straight and level. In between the two are the sport planes like Sig 4Stars, Ugly Sticks, and many others that have more forgiving stall characteristics but do have bigger control response than trainers.

To answer your other question- You can use your transmitter and reciever on any plane you might choose to fly. I didn't see that servo listed in Futaba's reference, but anything appropriate for your 300 is too big for a trainer. Before buying a trainer, you might consider visiting the club where you plan to get your training and meet with the instructors. They are likely to have a pet airplane that they are confident in to train with, and sometimes there are connections to used stuff that is still good.