Hi, i am new to RC, and i would liek to buy a nitro trainer. Ihave done some research, but still unsure about which model to purchase.
The following are the choices that many have recomended, but which one is best overall?

1) Sig Kadet LT - 40,
2) Avistar 40 II MonoKote
3) NexSTAR Select - 46

Thanks in advance,
Leon</p>

Moved to RC Airplanes &gt;&gt; Beginner's Forum

Ken

I like # 1 and 2. Then there's #4
a Stik. JMO


Bob

Lots of info here
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm

my vote goes for the LT-40

Darnnnel. Are you thinking about a full build kit, an almost-ready-to-fly (arf), or a completely ready-to-fly plane, (rtf)? Your first two choices are excellent for arf's if you already have a radio and engine. The nexStar is a good all-in-one package if you need the engine, radio and plane. The nexstar comes with a very useful flight simulator and some useless bells and whistles. Any one would be a good first plane. You should also see spadtothebone.com for good, easily built planes. The trainers on that site are very good and very durable for guys likely to have "hard landings." If you get a rtf you'd do well to choose your second plane on spadtothebone.com. You can use your radio and engine from the first plane and get back into the air a lot quicker.


The S.P.A.D. forums on RCUniverse and RCGroups.com are great resources for beginners. Go to spadworld.net for the best available help on quick and easy builds that are affordable for frequent crashers. (You will crash a lot in the beginning.)

Good luck and don't get discouraged when the inevitable happens.

Jim Gallagher

For learning how to fly from never having done it before to solo and on to building your confidence I would go with #1 , then #3 , then #2. I have trained people to fly on all these planes and the LT-40 is about as good a high wing trainer as there is. The Nexstar has some unique features designed to help you learn, however many and I mean many Instructors do not understand the nature of the plane so if you get it be sure your instructor understands the features the plane has, if he tells you to buy it but take the training aids off I'd find a better instructor. The Avistar is also a good plane and I pick it last only because it seems to be the most fragile of the 3 listed.

In any event Join a Club, the AMA and get a good instructor and in no time you'll be flying. Best of luck.

darnnnel,

Another good plane to look at for an RTF is the Alpha 40. If your in an area that is windy, I've found the Alpha 40 to be an excellent trainer - we have lots of wind here in Wichita, KS and the Alpha is the trainer I've found I prefer to train on.

Before you make any decision on a plane, locate a local club and instructor and talk to them. Some area's have preferences for trainers, engines, radio's, etc. and an instructor will be the one to help you be successful in your training. There is also a chance you may be able to pick up a good deal on a used trainer package through contacts in a club.

Hogflyer

maybe the best answer here would be... which one you like the most?  you can't go wrong with any of them</p>

The H9 Alpha and Hobbico Avistar are practically the same airplane, and I'm very impressed with both as trainers. It's windy at my club most of the time and a traditional design trainer gets corky fast. That said, I've watched many with their Nexstars get the job done out there. The Avistar is our hands down favorite though, and that's from experience of watching new flyers learn faster on it than anything else.

Or you can look at the sticky at the top of this header bar. Mike and Ken try to keep up with what is new on the market.

The Alpha 40 is a good choice, or the Alpha 60. The 60 is a little better flyer, a little easier to see in the air ( bigger means more visable) and the motor will transfer to a lot of good second planes ( a 40 size will , too, but most everybody moves up in size, why not get ahead of the curve?
Good Flying!
Mike

Wow, i did not expect to get this much information within a few hours, i really appreciate all of your help. I took your advice and spoke with an instructor in the area, and he recomended the LT - 40, he felt it is more stable. I will be joining the AMA and a club today. Thanks again guys!

Leon

I would go with the Avistar. The problem with the LT 40 is it may be too stable.

A semi symmetrical airfoil like the one on the Avistar will allow you to be a little more creative with your flying. The LT 40 won't do as much as the Avistar

EDIT: Anyway you go though, you'll be fine. Joining the club and getting an instructor is the best way to go.

Thanks, just to understand you better what does "semi symmetrical airfoil " mean?</p>

Basically, if you look at the wing from a cross section point of view, the bottom of the wing will look similar or identical to the top of the wing. In a nut shell, if it's semi-symmetrical...the bottom of the wing will be slightly rounded. A fully symmetrical airfoil (found on aerobatic/advanced planes) will be fully rounded. The top and bottom of the wing will look identical, from the cross section of the wing.

A plane like the LT 40 I believe has a flat bottom airfoil. That is, the wing will have a rounded top, and flat bottom. Here's the breakdown:

Flat bottom airfoil - Most stability, least aerobatic ability
Semi Symmetrical airfoil - Still somewhat stable, somewhat aerobatic
Fully symmetrical aitfoil - least stable, goes where you point it, highly aerobatic.

This is the "cliffnotes" explanation. It might just have confused you...when you have a wing in your hand and can look it will be a lot easier to see what the differences are.

If you browse around this website...in some of the forums, there's likely a better and more scientifically correct explanation than mine.

Most importantly welcome to this hobby!!!

I am always glad to see someone buy a plane and want to learn to fly it. Make sure you frequent this site with any questions....there's a wealth of information here.

Great choice!!! Your instructor has recommended a plane that flys very well, it is even capable of basic aerobatics. Once you have learned all it can teach you it will be time to move to a more advanced aircraft.Try and have some fun learning !!

I understand - i looked at some pictures and followed your cliffnotes! Thanks again, cant wait to get out there. </p>

I'd recommend that you get yourself a stik. Build it with a tricycle gear. Keep the rates very low and get an instructor. As your skills improve, the stik has a much wider flight envelope than the trainers. But it's still stable and docile enough to teach you the basics. Plus it handles wind like any trainer can only dream of doing.

darnnnel ,

What you should be looking for is a high-winger with a semi-symmetrical airfoil wing. The high-wing part will be of use when you dont lineup or level your landings correctly and the semi-symmetrical wing will allow the airplane to grow with you to some extent i.e. you can increase the throws later and fly the basic aerobatics with the same model. Also look for atleast about 60" in a 40 size model as it will offer the best stability.

In fact I did all my basic aerobatic training on my high wing trainer including loops, rolls, inverted, split-s, cuban-half-8, cuban-8s, vertical figure-8s, stall-turns and even spirals. Infact the only things I couldnt do was hover, snap and knife edge. That is the beauty of the semi-symmetrical wing: you can do all this and know that when you level out you can fly out of any trouble. I had a lot of trouble doing this with some collegues' planes that had flat bottoms.

I dont have much experience with the models you have listed but am told that the Avistar is more aerobatic capable. The LT-40 is good too, but I am concerned with it if it is a low winger.

Ameyam

You can get an LT-40 from Nitroplanes.com.
They are original Sig ARFs that got misdirected so they will have the same fine design just not much in the way of warranty .

As you go to more symmetrical wings they also become less wind sensitive. Big flat bottom wings are like parachutes in the wind. That's one of the reasons sticks are so easy to fly- their wings don't care how fast the wind is or what direction it's coming from so long as it from the general frontal direction.

I would recommend the Carl Goldberg Eagle 2 ARF.

The LT-40 is a good choice and a solid plane.I had one with an Enya 45cx engine and that was fine. The only problem I had with it was that when trying to land it would float forever. The darn thing just did not want to give up flying.

I also had the smaller one they make. I think that was a 20 size. I built both of these planes from kits and they are about as good as there is. Every piece fit like it was supposed to and the builds were a breeze. The instructions are second to none.

Here's another 2cents while we're at it: I've flown every plane mentioned except the Goldberg Eagle. My personal choice is the Avistar. I teach a lot of people to fly RC and the Hobbyzone Super Cub and the Avistar are my two workhorses for training new pilots.
But here's what I tell most people: If you're concerned about nothing other than a nitro trainer that is going to get you in the air quickly and easily, go with a PT-40, or LT-40, or any of the other flat bottom winged trainers. Even the Nexstar will get the job done if you leave all the crazy gadgets off of it. If you love flying like I do, even these planes will never get boring.
But, if you want a trainer that flies easy, but is going to grow with you and do the best job of getting you ready for your next plane, then you need a semi-symetrical high wing like the Avistar or Alpha. I personally prefer the Avistar as I find it to be more aerobatic and better in the wind.