How realistic is it for someone who has mastered their trainer(Hobbico Hobbistar 60) to fly a hangar 9 182 or top flite 182 as their second plane?

That's going to be quite a bit of a leap for a second plane. Both of those models of 182's are going to fly very scale like and are going to require skills that you just won't have developed on your trainer. I would hold of on flying those until you get a little more stick time on some more advanced planes than a trainer.

Ken

It's going to feel quite a bit different from a trainer. You'll be on that right thumb a bit more to keep the wings level, for one thing. Plus, it will be more pitch sensitive. Yank the elevator on takeoff without enough airspeed, and you'll find yourself doing an expensive cartwheel. It won't "harrier" at slow speeds very well, so you'll have to fly it, not float it when landing. It'll do aerobatics, but you really don't want to push it too much because it won't recover as easily from stalls as other sport planes. So, there you have it: Tippy ailerons, a somewhat twitchy elevator, and kind of a bad habit of spinning after stalling. At least it won't be as hairy as my little HOB Decathlon, but it's not going to be as easy to manage as a Pulse XT either.

NorfolkSouthern

Will you be able to fly a 182? Yes.

The problem doesn't lie in your abilty to fly - If you can handle a trainer, you can fly a 182.

The problem is experience. If you get in trouble, can you get OUT of trouble? Or are you only "good" when everything is going right?

Let's face it, if you're going to crash due to inexperience, it's better to crash a $100 plane than a $300 plane

Suavehouse504, is this the H9 Cessna 182 you are talking about? If so, it fly's just as Norfolksouthern said. I flew the H9 Cessna 182( Giant Scale ) about a year ago and she was ahandful.My brother spent between 2,000 and 2,400 on this Cessna and countless hours building and he couldn't fly it because of little experience.

After seeing the moneyand time he dedicated to this airplane and him not being able to fly it made me feel bad. We went to the airport, I did the maiden and flew it a 2nd time to let him get some stick time in and onto Ebay she went.

Stay away from this Cessna, it is heavy, has low wing area, isn't forgiving and experience is a must.

If you really like the Cessna, you can still get 1, but stay in the 10 lb range and away from the 17 and 20 pounders.

Yes, thats the one. I was also eye balling the top-flite 182 arf. After reading the last couple of posts I've decided on the Hangar 9pulse 125 arf as a second plane

Actually, mine is the Great Planes version, which doesn't have flaps. I would say that they all bear some similarities.

NorfolkSouthern

I think both Top-Flite and Great Planes Cessna's would work for ya. The Pulse is certainly pound for pound though.

Guys the Cessna is not that bad of a plane for a second bird. If you have been flying the trainer for a season now you can fly the Cessna.
A: It is still a high wing aircraft
B: It still is a tricycle gear airframe
C: You dont have to fly it a mach 3 to keep it in the air
If you fly the H9 Cessna if will float "a bit" but that is why you will need to learn how to use the flaps. This is a natural progression from 1 aircraft to another. Dont let the other guys scare you away. If you do crash (we all have done it) just pick up the peices and do another.

TSHARK203,

We aren't trying to scare anybody. I'm a self taught expert rc pilot with 20 years experience,ZERO crashes. I have never seen, nor spoken to an rc instructor.

suavehouse504 has an ATP certificate and he is no stranger to physics, but is new to rc. Telling himit's okto crash a $2,500 plane andjust go buy another one is simply NOT cool. I have always believed a person could learn rc without crashing and I'm a clear example of it.

Yes, it's a high wing, has tri-gear and doesn't have to fly mach 3 to stay afloat. It goes much farther than that such as, size to weight ratio, rate of decent, rc experience and on and on.

He made the right choice by choosing the Pulse, at least he'll go home with a plane in 1 piece.

Hi:
If you do go ahead with a Pulse 125, be sure and read all the forums on this plane. I have one with a 25cc gas engine and the plane flies great. I have just come out of a trainer. The plane seems to have some flutter problems in the elevator. Either tape or pin the hinges on the elevator. I also took the covering off the bottom of the stabilizer and sheeted it with 1/16 balsa and then recovered it. A number of people have had the same problems.

Let me know if you have a questions.

I'd just say grab the 100 dollar Hangar 9 value series Cessna and cut your teeth on that.....Everything you have in your trainer will fit right in it. believe me if you fly that long enough the Hangar 9 or Top Flite 182 will be a dream.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN1600

Or go with the Stick....

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN1700

Thanks TSHARK - I'm in the middle of building the Top Flite 182 kit but decided to stop and build the Telemaster trainer first. I'm new to powered RC but plan to learn on that one first, then move to my Skylane. I have a great instructor at SCCMAS so I'm confident towards my progression. By the way - great looking Cessna!

Art

I agree with Tshark also. And my H9 C182 didn't cost 2500 bucks either, more like 1100.

When the H9 Cessna first came out it was $600, or morenot including shipping and insurance. Just the kit was $700 when it arrivedat ourdoor. According toyou that leaves 400 dollars for engine, radio, servos and optional accessories.Yes, you could rob servos, radio, engine for other planes you may have and be able to have the Cessna ready for flight with $1,100 but we bought everything new.

How much do you think it would cost you if you had to start from scratch? I'm talking about new products in the box, not used crap from Ebay and used parts from other planes.

I bought everything new including a Saito 150 and a Pitts muffler, servos, etc.All new and in the boxes/bags. Guess that blows your theory out the water.

People have tried to convince me that the earthis flat, I still don't believe them.

That's all...

I have no doubt that a commercial full-scale pilot can afford the H-9 Cessna with all the trimmings. And yes, a Cessna can be flown with trainer experience. I am testimony to that. Just make sure the engine is reliable and the radio equipment fully tested. If the weight and control settings are within specs, then it shouldn't be too difficult to trim the Cessna. But, my Great Planes Cessna 182 had some issues with the engine and the radio was set up poorly. That, and I also reinforced some areas that really didn't need it, adding some un-necessary weight.

It still flew just fine, in spite of the dead sticks caused by an engine that wasn't tuned properly. It wasn't much more difficult to fly than my trainer, but it still required more airspeed and I had to get into the habit of keeping the nose down to keep the controls effective and mitigate stalls. This was especially important when the engine died, but I still managed to get it back in one piece. It was also hard back then for me to differentiate between aerodynamics, and radio problems. More experience taught me to recognize the difference, though, and I have since learned how to better recover from mistakes.

I'm not saying that a Cessna is a bad second plane. The GP Cessna is, more or less, considered as suitable for a novice, or someone who is just transitioning from a trainer. But still, the introduction explicitly stated that it was NOT a beginner's airplane. None the less, the instructions on my ARF were reasonably well detailed, enough to where I was able to get it airworthy even though I had very limited building experience and no help from others. It was a bit more involved than other ARFs, but it could still be put together by someone fairly new to the hobby. My understanding is that the Top-Flite 182 has very good flight characteristics, and is forgiving in its flight tendencies. Since the ARF shares essentially the same airframe as the kit, it should fly similar. But, again, one MUST anticipate the limitations of this scale craft and others like it during the selection process.

NorfolkSouthern

Thanks for all the replies guys. Like I stated before I'm purchasing a pulse, and will probably buy a cessna or the cherokee very soon afterwards. I also found this 182 by China model products.

http://www.nitroplanes.com/cmsk12enposc.html

The reviews seem to be pretty good. Anyone flown this model?

Suave

Looks nice. But some of the cheaper ARF's have a shelf paper like covering that tends to wrinkle and cannot be ironed tight. I'm not familiar with CMP models. But check with someone that is familiar with CMPbefore you pull the trigger.

As for my 1100 dollar H9 Cessna. I didn't pay 700 for my airframe, I paid 400. The engine was a little over 400 and the muffler was 35. The servos and wires and spinner , battery and liitle stuff was about another 200 from Tower. The rest was shipping.I am installing a reciever and switchthat I already had. I'm not sure why anyone would despute that.Iguess he got burned pretty badly. But that doesn't mean you have to. Shoparound. We can all learn from one another's mistakes.

Thats great... I am self taught my self. But it does not take a person having top stay in a trainer for ever. It all depends on your comfort level of flying and how much you want to spend. Oh and also yea right....everyone.....EVERYONE CRASHES......at some point in time. I have crashed a $100 trainer up to a $8000 turbine. It does happen, that is just a fact of the hobby. Suave fly what you want many if you like it go for it.

Oh man, I don't want to crash this Cessna. I am putting hours into it - here's the wing under construction. I can't belive how close I got the tolerances for polyhedral and washout.

Art

WOW Moms Mistake, you must be really good.

I've put a lot of hard work, time and PASSION into rc planes. Iread an interviewabout a pro dirtbike racer in a rc magazine about 27 years ago. He was asked, what are a few of your hobbies. He said he liked to go fishing, camping and loved crashing rc planes ( Meaning he couldn't fly'em ), that was the trigger for me. I was always curious at how hard itmusthave beenfor him.

We usually go to the field 4 to6 times a year at the most, some people fly much more. 75 to 80% of the flights I've made are maidens, I rarely fly the same aircraft twice. 4 rc planes is all I have ever owned, 2 never had engines. Most of my flight time is with others planes and me teaching them.

Still have the 1st and only radio I ever bought 23 years ago, a Futaba 4 channel Attack. It'sa great possibility I'll do the maidenwith a 50lbturbo prop Airtractor next year with the 4 channel Attack

TShark is right, I may crash 1 day and if I do, I want lose any sleep over it.


Thanks...

Can you tell me more about this project?