Newbie Question
 

Greetings-

My 11 year old son is interested in flying R/C planes. What is a good started plane in the $150-$200 range?

RE: Newbie Question
 

Go to Tower Hobbies web site and look at most any of their Ready to fly setups or ARF's. The also have combos that include radio and engine for about $300. I have a Hobbico Superstar with a OS 40LA and it's a great basic trainer- very forgiving flight characteristics. SIG Seniorita is another good airplane, even Tower's trainer is o.k. , a lot like the Superstar.

RE: Newbie Question
 

If you plan on learning on your own (not generally recommended), and have limited funds, something like an Aerobird Challenger can be bought in the $150 range.
Dennis-

RE: Newbie Question
 

Do you have any suggestions for us in the area of training? Do you know of any groups or clubs that are willing to help teach a young boy to fly? We live in the central Illinois area.

RE: Newbie Question
 

Hitec "Sky scooter Pro II" Available from Tower Hobbies.com for around 149.99
Has all you need-battery, charger, radio, plane takes 20 mins. to build, and is very crash resistant, plus it has a "real" radio that can be used later.

RE: Newbie Question
 

If I remember correctly, the sky scooter pro is not recomended as a trainer. There are several foam electrics that are.

The first question you have to answer is electric or glow?. How much time do you want to put into putting something together?

You can talk to 5 different people and get 5 different opinions. Here is mine.

I have seen alot of people attempt our great sport of R/C. I have seen many succed and many fail. The ones that make it usually do a couple things. The first is they find a local flying club and join. This has far more bennifits than you caould imagine.

Here is a post I left for another beginner:
I can not strees enough the importance of finding your local flying club and joining them. Most, if not all, have a training plan and I have met very few people in the R/C world that would not help.

There are several advantages to joining a club.
1) The combined years of flying experiance is something of great education to learn from.
2)Most clubs habe a trainer and a buddy box and more than enough experianced pilots that are more than willing to help.
3)you have more help than you could imagine if needed
4)MOST IMPORTANT---------- You have to join AMA. Some people think this is a wast of money. I will tell you from experiance, it is worth it.

I was injured at our field. To make a long story short, the AMA insurance saved me a big hospital bill. An airplane ran into me from behind at near takeoff speed. The point is that the AMA provides you with insurance coverage as well as you local field.

5) You have access to people that can prefight your bird and make sure everything is flight worthy and safe. Even us experianced flyers like to have another set of eyes over things before maiden flight. We are all human and can forget things. A pretty simple way to reduce the risk of a problem on the first flight. Also they can fly and trim your plane for you.

All in all you will have a little investment joining a club. If you look at the advantages and the odds of trying to go it alone, well you have more than made up the investment. And it is a lot of fun too.

I just moved across my state and have no club here. I really miss the friendship and gathering with someone else to fly with.

Maybe I will start my own....... Well hope this helps, and have a great time. Too many people invest in the sport only to fail at their first attempt and then just quit out right. Sad way to try a sport.

Now for the plane. If you want electric (clean and quiet) then go to Hobby Lobby and look at the Tipsy and the Bright Star. Both excellent and very crash resistant. Only a couple hours to put together. If you want a glow powered plane then I would go to Tower hObbies and look at the Hobbico NexSTAR. I know the price is a little scarry but everything is done for you.

Most of the people that I have seen fail, and just give up, did so because they just tried it on their own.

Quality Equipment is the key. Good help is more valuable than you can imagine. Don't get stuck in the Ebay trap. I do a lot of trade on Ebay and when it comes to R/C there is a lot of junk there. Be careful

Dave

RE: Newbie Question
 

Wow, ya'll are a great help! Thanks alot! We have a local frild and club so we might start hanging around there alittle more. Thanks again.

RE: Newbie Question
 

Here's a direct link to the AMA's "Club Locater" page. Simply plug in your state or Zip Code and you'll find the clubs in your area. (I'm betting there are a few.)

If you're going to go the club route, and I highly recommend it, you' will need to join the AMA, or at least your son will if you aren't interested in flying. For your son it would only cost $1.00/year (I believe) without the magazine. If you wish to join it would be $58. There will also be a club membership fee, but usually not too much. (Two I belong to are $25 and $35.)

The cost of a decent 40 size trainer and the related field equipment and assorted glues and stuff, will run around $500. May sound a bit high, but compare it to golf, or skiing, or an ATV. ;)

This is one of the most terrific hobbys out there, and the people are very friendly, very helpful, and for the better part, extremely trustworthy. There's a thread in the "Clubhouse" forum running now that will give you a good idea of what the hobby's about.

Here's the thread: http://www.modelaircraft.org/templat...677786D06500E8

Good luck, and have fun!
Dennis-

RE: Newbie Question
 

I live in North Carolina, so I don't know any clubs up there, but look up a hobby shop in the Yellow pages, give them a call, and ask about a local club. Most shops can put you onto something; follow their lead and check out a couple of their recommendations, meet some people and ask a lot of questions. Anybody worth a damn will give you plenty of time and assistance to get you started on the right path; after all, you might become their club's next dues paying member.

RE: Newbie Question
 

Hi,

Go to www. Hobby-lobby.com and look at the miss 2. it might be a little expensive, but it is a great trainer. You might want to look into joining a local club, and getting an instructor. If the miss 2 is too expensive then look at Hobbyzone Zone 1 Super Cub RTF. I've heard great thing about it, but have never flown it.


Good Luck!,
Kristian1108 :D

RE: Newbie Question
 

Learning to fly RC is a great way to enjoy each other's company. One nice part of the club atmosphere is that you will find many very helpful people that are willing to share their experiences and their talents.

You will have several decisions to make, and all of them have some plus's and minus's.

For instance, if you decide to go electric, there are numerous planes that will do the job, but some are worth the effort, and some are not. Then, if you DO select electric, you will have to decide if you want to use LiPo battery packs or Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) or Nickle Cadmium (NiCd) packs. Then if you want to use brushed or brushless motors. And, each of these selections will need some additional care and feeding.

If you go glow, well, the choices are a bit easier, but there are other issues like fuel, learning how to start the engines and tuning them, and so on. Electrics don't need that type of tuning, you hook them up and then run them.

Glow fuel engines will pretty much keep the power level constant throughout the use of the tank of fuel, however, electrics tend to lose power as the battery pack drains down.

When you select glow, you can pretty much go with the engine that is recommended. For instance, if you get a '40' size trainer, well, a 40 sized engine will do the trick. With Electrics, well, there are a lot of choices, but not all choices will do the trick. You have to match weight and flying style with the motor/electronic speed control (ESC)/battery pack size and voltage. It gets complicate. However, they are much cleaner, "green" (no polution), and quiet.

All this can be discussed between you, your son, and the instructor at the club you visit, and hopefully join. A lot of clubs offer "junior" or "student" memberships where the "junior or student" does not have to pay dues as long as he/she is accompanied by the parent. Remember, they are not a baby sitting service. (not intended to be harsh, but just a reminder that they are there to fly their planes and don't want/need that responsibility. And, you never know.. you might get hooked too!! Then it becomes a win-win-win situation (win for you, your son, and the club).

So, do some reading here on RCU, find a club and talk to them, and go to your local hobby shop and talk to them. At the field, ask if they can recommend a hobby shop for you to go to. Not all hobby shops are willing to offer advice or help with choices... some will be more concerned about selling a product than helping out. You would end up with something that may look good, but is absolutely useless as a trainer.

By the way, I say hobby shop because they, too, need your support. You may save a few bucks with the mail order houses, and most of the good ones (Tower Hobbies, for instance) offer great support, speed in filling your order, and great prices. But, often, your local hobby shop will match the price you may get from the mail order houses. Hey, that does not mean you should ignore the mail order houses, because you can get some great pricing from them, but just remember your local hobby shop.

Enjoy yourself, and, remember that there are absoultely no stupid questions. Ask away.

CGr.

RE: Newbie Question
 

It's always nice to see a four and a half year old thread come back to life.

RE: Newbie Question
 

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha:D:) I didnt even notice till you posted . It's all good though.