Worst Trainer?
 

Everyone seems to have a favorite trainer. There are pages and pages of posts on someones favorite trainer. Personally, I have not found a plane that wasn't stamped trainer that didn't fly fairly well(ARF or build-up). So, what's the worst trainer? I would like to know what to look out for ;) .

Worst Trainer?
 

Why waste time worrying about it?just buy one of the good ones,and the market will take care of the junk.

Good one....what kevin said
 

Bolar,
I think you should find a good kit,
from say SIG or ? and get some balsa dust
up your nose and everywhere else.
Glue your fingers all to hell and really
feel the plane man. Think of all the
neat stuff you could learn in the process.
Buy a kit and build it from the inside out
than the outside in. Get an instructor and
solo that baby. It's what I did years ago
and I have many fond memories. You have
plenty of time to worry about all the other stuff later.
People can make pizza boxes fly for pete's sake.
If you don't have time to build than oh well.
There are plenty of good arfs as you mentioned.
Pick one out..assemble it and good luck guy!
I guess my pick for the worst trainer or first plane
would have to be a a a ah a MUD DUCK! :bananahea

Peace, :spinnyeye
Chris

Worst Trainer?
 

Worst? Mud Duck? Why?

Or are you actually talking about the Giant Mud Duck and its foam-board siblings? I thought the original 56" balsa Duck is a great little plane -- maybe not the best trainer, but way better than some of the flitty heavy little small trainers I've seen.

I don't have one specific worst in mind, but I've never seen a 1/2A "trainer" that was as good a trainer as any of the larger trainer planes. In fact, other than sailplane-like designs (tutor, twilighter, etc.) I've never seen ANY 1/2A that I'd use as a trainer, whether it's labeled "trainer" or not. It takes more than a high mounted wing to make a good trainer.

Worst Trainer?
 

the duraplane has to be the worst rc invention of the 20th century!!!!

Worst Trainer?
 

The worst trainer is an aircraft which was never intended to be a trainer, but the newbie has insisted its going to be their first airplane (aka a scale P51 or similar). Yes, I've seen it happen and it is ugly.

At our club field we are encouraging the new guys to purchase the Aircore 40. It's horribly ugly, but will rebound from a crash better than eny other trainer I've seen. It's about as stable as any other trainer I've seen. It definitely needs an O.S. 46FX or equivilant for power. Bought one for my son. Hope to finish it soon.

Worst Trainer?
 

The worse trainer is a 40% cap on high rates.
I don't know of any beginner or even someone with some time under there belt who is able to fly that monster!

Worst Trainer?
 

There may be worse ones that purport to be trainers, but the Duraplane is at the bottom of my barrel. It's got way too much wing loading to fly slow and smooth for a beginner. I know... it's built to crash... and a good thing too, considering. That feature nearly always gets used. I've always been surprised they fly as well as they do, which is not very, considering the weight.

Worst Trainer?
 

Here is another vote for the DURAPLANE. This is the world,s worst trainer that is marketed as such!

Worst Trainer?
 

My first plane was a Tower trainer and I cannot say how good or bad a trainer it was. When it crashed shortly into its first flight, it spread balsa over a big area.

With a few mods its not hard to reduce the weight of a Duraplane by a 1/4 lb. and besides, a slightly higher wing loading makes them less affected by gusts. I replaced the aluminum section of the fusalage with a box section of pine (I did this to eliminate radio interference, but it was lighter as well). I also replaced the supplied engine mount with 1" maple and a Sullivan engine mount (also lighter). At 5.25 lbs. it flies great and when I do land hard (crash) it can usually be fixed at the field or at home that evening and be flying the next day. I think most folks hate this plane because it's ugly, but when it's windy their planes are on the ground or at home.

Worst Trainer?
 

TonyD

When you graduate on to a better airplane, then you will know the difference in the Duraplane and one that flies so much better. Until then, if the Duraplane 'floats your boat', be happy with it and enjoy it.

Whether or not a pilot flies his plane on windy days is a matter of their personal preference or their ability to fly on windy days and has little or nothing to do with the ability of the aircraft to be flown in the wind. It is pretty windy outside now but I am headed to the flying field to fly my Corsair as soon as this is posted.

Worst Trainer?
 

aptar,
In fact, I also fly a Topflite Cessna and an Ultra Stick. At the field I fly at, I'm not alone when I decide not to risk planes I have more time and/or money in. But my point was, while some trainers fly better, if one crash sidelines a newbie until he can put all the splinters back together or buy another plane, how does that make them better trainers? Even when there's great flying conditions, I always have a little anxiety when it's a plane I worked on all winter. IMO the Duraplane is a good trainer because its survivability removes some of that anxiety and lets a new pilot concentrate on flying instead of not crashing.

The worst Trainer
 

The worst trainer is one that will restrict your flying and learning skills after about the fourth or fifth flight.
The mfg make all of these flat bottom wings and the only thing they are good for is the first few flights. The best trainer is a good flight simulator program on your computer. A flight simulator will save you on the average about three airplanes the first year that you fly RC airplanes. And if this is true the flight simulator is free isn't it. I would like to hear some others comment on this comment.
If you want to see a what is a good trainer is, go to the thread about the Tower Kaos 40 and read. The good trainer is not the Kaos 40.
Lee

Worst Trainer?
 

THE WORST TRAINER...is a Hangar9 Pizzazz on a OS 61 FX

Worst Trainer?
 

Sig Kougar with an Irvine carbed MDS48 and 1 inch of control throw on all surfaces. :D

not a great trainer.. but ..HOOooooooo what a blast. lol

Worst Trainer?
 

Diamond Dust, yes it actually say's "flies like a trainer" on the box.

Trainers
 

I bought a Dura-plane when they first came out. I don't know how much different they are now to the one I got. It was a fast plane and would glide like a brick in an engine out situation. I had fun with it after I learned how to fly.

The only other trainers I have had problems with were the Aircore-Trainers. Beginners seem to have a problem building the wing straight.

Worst Trainer?
 

Taught my brother how to fly on a durastik....There are better flying trainers, BUT It took quite a beating....He doesn't know or care to repair airplanes.....so any repairs after crashes were mainly done by me with him looking on. This plane took a beating with almost ZERO maintence or repair. Usually we just had to replace a needle valve assembly on the FP 40 when he would bury the engine in the ground. It was the perfect plane for him. He now flies an durabat and loves it.....to each his own I guess
Brian

Worst Trainer
 

In 1983 I tought a good friend how to fly from scratch on a Byron F-16 ducted fan with a Rossi .81 engine-I would just take it off and get it up to 500ft and it only took him 20 10min.flights and he could fly by himself real good-in 1 week he could take off and land-really well.So I would say some Jets are better trainers than others-but the Byron F-16 is a good jet trainer.



Jackjet

Worst Trainer?
 

I think the duraplane IS durable.... but it needs about two feet MORE wing to fly like a trainer, rather than a brick!!

Worst Trainer?
 

I had one guy that would not listen. He insisted on and actually got a Royal P-38 kit. Paid a fortune for it and it was the worst building job I have ever seen. He never finished it. sanded through the sheeting many times trying to make is smooth. He destroyed it. What a mess.

Worst Trainer?
 

I flew the duraplane without any instruction, I dont think its all that bad. I enjoy it more now. It s not the worst trainer. That vote goes to the RCM trainer. Weve got a couple of them that were put together awful and and floated toooo much.

Worst Trainer?
 

Every airplane obviously flies good enough for someone to have deemed them marketable, so I think that there is as many "worst" trainers as there are pilots. It's what you want out of this hobby that maks one trainer a "best" and another a "worst" trainer. If you hate building, don't have a lot of time, and take chances trying to learn quickly or go it on your own and would probably quit over a destructive whipe-out...an LT-40 kit would be a "worst" trainer for you. If you are a craftsman, enjoy building, are not impatient, have a good dedicated instructor, don't take chances and can't stand ugly airplanes...a DuraPlane may be your "worst" trainer.

I think that naming a "worst" trainer is either impossible or must be looked at on a pilot by pilot viewpoint. The absolute bottom line is that the "best" trainer for you is one that will keep you in the hobby and motovate you on to your next airplane...and your "worst" trainer is one that will give you a bad experience and make you find another hobby.

Along these lines, in my first year in the hobby I destroyed a SIG Colt, a Balsa USA Swizzle stick, A SIG Cadet, and then a Goldberg Falcon 56. I was in school 40 hours a week and was working full time. I was a "fair" pilot who didn't go to the field to fly the pattern all day...I wanted to get radical and have fun. I got a hold of something called a Lanier Comet. Took one afternoon to put it together...it was ugly, heavy, and flew like crap...but that plane got me to the field, and I put it through hell and it took the abuse. I went from hating a hobby that involved too may hours of building...to really having a ball with something that got me in the air dispite my lack of time and finances. At that time...a plane that many laughed at and called the worst thing to ever happen to the hobby...was actually the "best" plane for me at the time. Had it not been for that flying turd, I may be a golfer or something now:)

Worst Trainer?
 

The armadillo combat 40 is definitly the worst trainer, that thing flew like a pair of pliers. I remember landing at 3/4 throttle because any less and it fell out of the sky lol.

Worst Trainer?
 

The worst trainer is the one that doesn't have an instructor with it.

Worst Trainer?
 

Yeah , but it makes for good watching!!

Worst Trainer?
 

say what you want about duraplanes....I taught my brother how to fly on one......and man what a beating it took !!!!!! He loves it

B-

Duraplane
 

I think that the duraplane is the second worst flying "trainer" that I have seen. I got one when I started out and it crashed into some trees on the 2nd flight due to interference. It broke and bad that I decided not to fix it. I got a Hobbico Airvista and have been alot more happy with it.

The worst flying "trainer" is the Hobbico Sturdy Birdy. A new guy showed up at the field with one powered by a Fox .40 engine. A .25 is reccommended to power it. He had a Fox .40 on it and it was very underpowered. It crashed on almost every flight. It didn't break, but I would rather have an airplane that exploded when it crashed, but flew well.

Worst Trainer?
 

I cannot comment either way on the DuraPlane, but I think it's funny that one of the new guys at our field has a homing beacon on his for when it's lost in the corn! LOL

Hearing the plane run up, then BEEP BEEP BEEP, funny!

Worst Trainer?
 

Heh!!

RCM trainer here, bought the combo from tower hobbies with magnum .40 engine for 150 bucks.


Not only has it taught me how to fly, has survived a horrific run in with a fence post(snapped fencepost in half, just busted leading edge, wing spar intact), duct taped the damn hole in the leading edge, has flown ever since.

It does seem to float more then my buddies hobbico trainer, was wondering if it was just me.


Magnum engine is reliable and strong, people at my club were laughing when they saw Magnum, they all OS people, well, they aren't laughing now, I either lucked out, or magnum makes good engines now. Very powerful engine.


30 or so flights on it now, many run ins with mother earth, all repairable, has a nice grey duct tape pattern on it now, all over, and it still flying strong. I may recover it someday and fix some of the nastier dents, but has served me well.

Solo flying within 1/2 gallon of gas, including 2.5 tanks worth of engine break in.


Mill, the RCM bandit.

Worst Trainer?
 

I thought those were one and the same.... flying and not crashing!

gus

Re: Duraplane
 

Yep, I second that. I've got a Sturdy Birdy, at least the duraplane has a tricycle gear...

My SB flys using a OS25LA. It has just enough power, but I'm thinking of an Irvine .39 for it. I would think that a 40 size engine would be too heavy, unless you get a hot .46 to make up for the extra weight.

I got mine as an alternative as I didn't want to risk wrecking my Superstar 60, but having seen it fly, I'll save it for a second plane to practice taildragger handling....

I'm also thinking about getting replacement symetrical wing cores for it......

Would you believe my intructor managed to get it to fly inverted with the standard flat wing and the 25?

Worst Trainer?
 

Yes the Sturdy Birdy flies like a drain pipe with a bit of foam strapped to it.....oh...hang on!!!...thats what it is!!!

1. It flies far too fast for a trainer
2. Its too heavy, it doesn't glide with no power
3. Wing loading is way too high
4. I never ever had a "floater" of a landing with this plane.

But hey maybe thats just me.....i crash everything.....just crashed my arising star today...ouch....tried to do a loop without enough height and in bad light....lost orientation of the plane and didn't know whethere to pull up or down....so for safety i just ditched... :-(

Worst Trainer?
 

I say the worst trainer world be the SU-97 Bear Nuclear bomber that appeared in one of the Model Airplane News magazines. I do not remember the exact specs but it took two pilots, had auto starts, and was three feet from ground to the tip of the fin!

Worst Trainer?
 

Like Tattoo said, "worst trainer" really depends on what you want to get out of the plane/hobby. In my opinion, the worst trainers are these small electric 2 or 3 channel "birds" (firebird, aerobird, fighterbird etc.) They may be fine if you just want a unique toy to fool around with, or if you are looking for a good way to frustrate yourself, but they wont teach you how to fly a radio controlled airplane. If you intend to progress to a 4 channel plane, this is not the way to go. How can you expect to learn to fly with a plane that doesn't even have an elevator (fighterbird)? I see more and more posts about these planes here in the beginner section asking if they are a good "first plane". They are more of a last plane - fun in their own right, but a completely different animal than a 4 channel glow trainer. When you say "first plane", it kind of implies that there will more to follow down the road. If you want something to toss around the backyard or the park, I'm sure these little birds are just the ticket, but if you are looking for a rewarding lifelong hobby, get a real trainer and do it right the first time.

Worst Trainer?
 

Hi !! I have started with a SIG Kadet LT 40 . But due to the investment of time and money ,I put it away till I learned to fly hahaha dont seem to make much sence does it !! when here the story ! I was on a trainer cord for about 2 flights and I work construction so I hardly ever had a chance to fly . normal stick time was during not very good weather ! and nobody was willing to go teach in the rain hahaha !
so I got a Zagi 400x and a duraplane 40 with a tower 46 LOL... that engine really sucked !! ran only when it wanted too ! ya had lotsa guys look at it ! anyway as I gained some flight ability with the Zagi I headed to the duraplane ! and yep you gessed it I learned to dead stick land everytime and some flights were not more than 30 sec long lol.. But on the ocassional 5min flight I did learn to fly ! it took all summer LOL !! and a few new drain pipes and so on .. and replaced the tower 46 with a OS 40 FX .. Bottom line is this I agree totaly on trainer cords and instructors .. But with that said and with since flying many brands of trainers I have this to say ! the balsa trainers are all many times better flying than the Duraplane is !! My Kadet LT 40 is so sweet a flyer compared to the duraplane hahaha not even in the same class at all !! but that kadet would have been replaced only a time or 2 befor I would have thrown in the towel Im very sure of that !! but due to nearly no cost but time to repaire the duraplane I stayed with the sport !! Im so glad I did I love this hobbie or mmmmm no its a way of life now LOL.. anyway I Know first hand that the dura isnt a great flying trainer but it just may keep a new flyer in the hobby if some self teaching is the only option !

Worst Trainer?
 

Amazing how far afield from the original question this has gotten! Forget about looking for the "worst" and take the recommendations of several seasoned instructors for the good ones! Remember it's best to obtain a trainer the Instructor likes and feels comfortable with, after all you are using his time and he wants you flying asap(the right way). Just my experiences. There is some real junk out there that is billed as a trainer, the instructor most likely recognize this even if he has not personally done anything with that particular plane.

Worst Trainer?
 

Hi GIZMO ! I was just sorta defending the duraplane I know its not a great trainer and I would even say of all trainers I flown its the worst LOL !! But yet there is a place for it in the world of trainers !! only way I would class it as a trainer is due to its repairabliity !! As someone said it flys like a brick !! but with a little morter its back in the air !!
there cant be enough good said when it comes to instructors !And so true as to using a trainer that is seen as a trainer in the eyes of your instructor is a true plus !!
I dont thinkl this tread has wondered off the beaten path of its original question!! it just looks to me that just giving a name to a worst trainer isnt working !

Worst Trainer?
 

I've helped a lot of guys at our club fly their trainers. The worst trainer is the one that is poorly built, has sloppy controls and warped surfaces. I don't care how good the kit was, if you have to battle with the plane it will impede your progress.

One guy in our club brought a little monster to the field. It simply would not roll right. He refused to even attempt to use the rudder which is the only way to turn it to the right. On top of that he refused to hook up the rudder to aileron channel and just glue the ailerons at neutral.

To make matters worse, he had a brand new Sig Kadet LT ARF that was very nicely built. But he said he didn't want to try to fly it until he learned to land the plane he was currently "flying." Everyone who helped him eventually said they would not help him any more because after 5 months he made no progress with that crappy plane he had because even our best pilots could barely control it. Unfortunately, we don't have anyone in our club who is a safety officer that has the authority to ground an aircraft. That's another issue.

So one day this guy sticks his plane in a tree and can't find it. We're all thinking, "Thank God for that!" Unfortunately he found it and repaired it. The stabilizer now had about 1" of anhedral and a one piece elevator. Obviously there was a little binding going on there. Eventually he started flying at a different club because none of use would help him any more because his plane was dangerous and he refused to listen to the voice of experience.

Bottom line is that it's not just the plane, but the person who built and maintains it.

Worst Trainer?
 

The worst trainer ever is one of those Aircore things. I tried to teach a guy to fly one once, what a hunk of junk! They weigh a ton and the fuel took the coloring right off the cloroplast. They fly like a concrete block coated with lead. 2nd worse is a Duraplane.