RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

You don't have to avoid the Nexstar as it's not a horrible plane but it is not worth $400+ dollars new .
I just found a Nexstar RTF deal two years old flown a handful of times for a new club member on craigslist for $180.00 . If you can find a good or hardly used one for $200.00 or under don't pass it by ! 
I would say start looking for used trainer planes in your area and go that route for now, You may get everything you need and then some for pennies on the dollar. Even if the engine was not maintained properly and only lasts you a year you will still be ahead of the game after you repair the bearings or just buy another engine. I have bought a lot of used planes and components over the years and never really got burned .
You said you have a club nearby so as others have stated ,join it and ask some of the members and you may find everything you need right there for cheap plus you will have or should have a few who will help you and teach you to fly.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Glow for me also. Mr. Cain in post number seven shared some very good advice. I like the sound also and the general mechanics that go with it. If I had to fly electric, it would be easy for me to give up the hobby[X(].

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

I couldn't agree more with this opinion. I currently am 60% electric but for learning glow flight time can't be beat. Fill the tank - go up again in minutes you can be in the air all day. Especially with a bigger electric you need a substantial power source or 20 batteries to equal the stick time.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Really, you purchased three flight packs and a field charger. By doing so you can fly all day as long as the batteries in the TX hold up. Fly on one and have the charger charging the second.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Learning to fly can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. Go to one of the club meetings in the area and ask around. Find a used trainer with an engine. You can normally pick them up for under $100.00. Swap meets if held in your area can be a gold mine for getting things at bargain basement price. In many cases you can get things for pennies on the dollar.

Many clubs have training programs. Make sure the club you are joining has one. Our club has a training program where you can fly for thirty days at no charge on a club trainer all you have to do is show up.

Radios, now this is a huge debate. Many will suggest the big four (Futaba, Airtronics, JR, Spektrum). I broke away from that thinking over four years ago and never looked back. I use the Turnigy and Flysky radios. Nine channel under $100.00 shipped to the house. Made in the same factory as JR they are reliable. That is what you need. A reliable radio that does not get hit or has glitches. You have a choice of a large variety of frequency modules you can use in it too. I fly everything with them, from foamies to large gas models.

Engines, I would buy a 45 or 46 to start if going new. Those are so versatile as they will power many airplanes once you are past your trainer. I would look at the Magnum or ASP. Both are inexpensive and run good, parts are available at a fraction of the cost compared to many others.

Always remember. This is a hobby. You do not have to spend a fortune on stuff to have a lot of fun and enjoy yourself. The final decision is all yours. You have a wide variety of thoughts here and now mine have been added.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

A vote for glow or small gas from me. Electric maybe, but I still would prefer glow for training and definitely get involved with a club training program. Many have a glow trainer for teaching and you can invest in your first decent plane that way by not tying up funds in a trainer.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

I have flown both glow and electric, and each provides a real different experience. Flying and working on glow planes is hands-on and all about tools and the mechanical.  That's good for me. I like messing with motors, starting them up, cleaning them and the whole ritual that you have to follow in order to successfully operate a glow fuel plane.  Lots of people complain about the clean-up and maintenance, but I think it's interesting and relaxing.

When I fly electric planes, it's more of a scientific experience,e .g, learning about volts, amps and so on.  It's less about the hands and tools than it is about careful calculations.

I usually don't think about which is more expensive before I buy a plane. All of it costs a bunch of money! That said, in the end, if you like the hobby and stick with it, you will probably fly both.  Most guys at my field, myself included, fly both.  I guess I would say get the kind (glow or electric) which suits you best today, understanding that you could always try something different tomorrow.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Hey lots of realy great info for me to chew on from everyone. I do realy appriciate it. Everything mentioned will be concidered. I have the money to dive right in, but Id rather be well prepared. This certainly helps with that.

Thanks again.

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Well, I kinda' figured it wus 'cause on final, I set the props to "FULL INCREASE" so them thar' govenors adjusted the pitch to maintain rpm (usually set at 2800) at whatever power I allowed through the throttles. If I had to go around, then the props would be capable of strong power for such.
If I came to idle prior to touchdown, the props would go to FLAT PITCH as they were trying to maintain the approach pitch setting. That ain't good because like a RUNAWAY PROP which is the most dangerous situation a prop can provide (other than coming off the shaft) as it becomes a massive SPEED BRAKE, with NO accelerated air over the wing and BOOM on the landing gear. [:@] After touchdown and retarding throttles to idle, it is a GOOD thing, especially on short runways. After thousands of jet hours, that was a real lesson to relearn, but one learned quickly![:@] DARN, I still loved those R-2800 gas burners!
Lights in the cockpit are usually labeled with PTT, "Press To Test". Prop drivers usually added another P. Press To Test P. "Props, Throttles, Throttles, Props." If a Pilot forgot that, then it became PRESS TO TEST PILOT :D

Yes, KEN, & OTHERS, this is way off course, but these young folks might like to know that there is more than one-way, and there are reasons for the different opinions. It's not all like an I-Phone which I recently obtained one ,and can barely call out on it. :eek: This cell phone stuff is really HARD! :D

Out of my 13 USAF years, 5 were trying to make fighter-pilots out of college kids. Once they got the hang of things they transformed VERY WELL. Same for Newbies to accompleshed RC pilots. Background can well assist a newbie to remember facts and adjust those facts to his/her own methods. These guys CAN Think. Hopefully background information can ease their transitions.

The only time in 41 years of 1:1 scale that I did NOT land on a runway, was when I was NOT thinking,!!! and it was my first flight in that specific type.[&o]

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

In my opinion. glow is the way to go. Sorry, I havent' read the whole thread so forgive me if this is redundant. Ilearned on gas planes in the mid 80s... so maybe I'm biased, but looking at the state of RCs today, these electric planes don't teach you real flight physics. I mean, they fly, and obviously real physics are involved, but they can do things that real plane cannot, due to theire weight. I would point out that even gas powered planes can do stuff that 'real' planes cannot. This is true, but gas planes are much, much more closer to a real plane than an electric imo (unless you purpusefully overweitght an electric).

In my opinion, the more realisti/basicc, the better when learning a new skill. You can always move to electric later.

Other than that... for superficial reasons... gas SOUNDS and LOOKS (and smells) awesome, compared to electric! There's nothing imo that sounds cooler than a giant biplane with a YS 120 on it! Smoke sky-writting... awesome!

RE: Electric or Glow Trainer
 

Train on what you intend to fly.. simple as that. Skllls learnd when flying electrics do you no good when flying glow. Throttle management for one.