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Best Electro Trainer?
In your opinion, what is the best electro trainer to get into RC planes, and why? This is going to be my first RC plane, but have had experience with control line planes. I have had experience with building balsa models, so they are not out of the question. My price range is >$200.
Thanks! |
RE: Best Electro Trainer
Horace,
I learned to fly on a Multiplex EasyStar. It is a three channel plane (rudder, elevator, throttle) and it is extremely durable. I probably used upwards of a two ounce bottle of CA on the plane for repairs and it still flies great. I have snapped the fuse in two pieces on several occasions and both wing tips have been glued back on. This has much less to do with the flying qualities of the plane than with the pilot, who had to do things the hard way and suffered the consequences. This can be a docile plane with the factory Speed 400 motor and a 7.2 or 8.4 volt nicad or nimh battery pack or a more aggressive plane with a little bit of hop-up work (the owner of my lhs built one with a Hacker brushless motor and used two lipo packs in parallel....he claims that is will climb out at a high angle of attack and also claims that he flew for roughly 45 minutes before landing....he says the only reason he landed is 'cause he got tired). Anyway, Tower Hobbies and Hobby-Lobby both carry this plane in kit form as well as a complete package and you should be able to get airborne under or right around your $200 limit. There may very well be better planes out there than the EasyStar, I don't know. I can only report on what I have experience with. Others may have something better in mind. Just something to think about. Steve:) |
RE: Best Electro Trainer?
READY TO FLY STARTER PLANES - Electric Parkflyers
No building - they practically fly right out of the box These also glide well so you can thermal soar with them under the right conditions. Slow-V from Parkzone - $140 - Space CL2/3 Best flown in still to under 5 mph breeze. This is the best choice for people who only have a small space to fly or who have an indoor place to fly, such as a gym or similar space. http://h1071118.hobbyshopnow.com/pro...p?prod=PKZ1300 Discussion Thread http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_20...tm.htm#2089493 Video http://users.cwnet.com/dhsc19/Slo_V_Aerobatics.wmv Night fly module on a Slo-V http://rc-galaxy.com/messageboard/mb...ViewMsg&num=-8 T-Hawk - RTF - Excellent Value - $170 - space CL1 Comes with extra wing, tail and battery Flies well and stands up to hard landings Can be flown on 27 MHz or 72 MHz http://www.toytx.com/thawk3chrtf.html T-Hawk - Without Radio - add your radio and receiver http://www.readytoflyfun.com/wittran.html T-Hawk Discussion Thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...ighlight=THawk Videos http://www.readytoflyfun.com/thawkvideos.html Easy Star - RTF - $180 - Space CL1 Believe this goes easily back in the box to keep in the car Super tough foam. Comes with 72 MHz radio in the US. Good parkflyer and a good glider Radio in RTF package can be used to fly other planes http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/240025.asp Easy Star - ARF - Add you own radio gear http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/240009.asp Discussion Thread on Easy Star http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258656 Video - touch and gos http://plawner.org/video/easygo.wmv Video - Testing the plane's behavior http://plawner.org/video/easystar.wmv Aerobird Challenger - RTF Electric - $150 - Space CL1 Great keep in the car plane - take off the wing and it goes back in the box! I started on an Aerobird RTF. I have over 350 flights on my Aerobirds. I also thermal and slope soar this plane. Flies well and stands up to hard landings. Their add on fun accessories for night flying, air to air combat and drop module add to the fun! http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...p?prod=HBZ3500 Review http://www.hobbyzonesports.com/Disco...ID=1289#Page01 Discussion Thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147621 Video http://www.parkflyers.com/html/aerobird_video.html ALMOST READY TO FLY and EASY TO BUILD KITS - STARTER PLANES Below are ARF and simple kit planes. You will need to buy a radio if you don't have one, so you might want to read these articles on radios. The articles are written for sailplane beginners, but all the info applies to electrics too. Entry Level Radios - If you have to go cheap http://www.rcezine.com/cms/article.php?cat=&id=44 Computer Radios - The recommended path for almost everyone http://www.rcezine.com/cms/article.php?cat=&id=65 Below are ARFs wood and foam packages as well as some are very easy to build all wood kits. In each case you must add your own radio, receiver, servos, speed control, batteries and battery charger. They all come with a motor. Slow stick - $35 - CL2/3 Best flown in still to under 5 mph breeze. This is an excellent choice for people who have a smaller space to fly. Can also be flown indoors in a gym or similar space. http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...&products_id=2 or Slow stick Complete Package incl radio - $150 (need battery charger) http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...roducts_id=602 The Slow Stick Info Site http://mattsrc.rchomepage.com/ssir/index.shtml Discussion Thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...hreadid=122951 video http://www.skrogg.com/sun.wmv Tiger Moth - $50 CL 2/3 http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...products_id=20 or Tiger moth Complete Package incl. radio - $150 (need battery charger) http://www.gwsexpert.com/product_inf...roducts_id=343 Best flown in still to under 5 mph breeze. This is an excellent choice for people who have a smaller space to fly. Can also be flown indoors in a gym or similar space. Cool looking little plane. http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/prod...p?prod=GWS1020 Review http://www.backyardflyer.com/BY/articles/tiger_moth.asp Tipsey - $55 CL 1 Remove the wing and it goes back in the box for simple protected transport or keep in the car fun! http://www.hobby-lobby.com/tipsy.htm Review http://www.hobby-lobby.com/pdf/gr6232.pdf http://rcgroups.com/links/index.php?...at=198&id=3871 Magpie - CL 2 I recommend the $55 package with two wings. Has slow fly/trainer wing AND an aileron sport wing. Master the first, then advance to the second. They offer a complete package with both wings and all the electroncis for $160 Makes it so easy to get it right! http://www.mountainmodels.com/magpie.php discussion threads http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...51#post3502851 http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...=SmoothE+build Video - slow fly wing http://www.mountainmodels.com/Magpie.wmv Sport wing http://www.mountainmodels.com/MagpieSP.wmv SmoothE - E$50 CL2 Easy to build Balsa and foam kit. Build as 3 Channel Slow Flyer Optional 4 channel aileron trainer when you are ready http://www.mountainmodels.com/smoothe.php Discussion Threads http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...=SmoothE+build http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...&page=19&pp=15 Funny video http://www.mountainmodels.com/SmoothEsmall.WMV Carbon Falcon ARF - $140 including servos Almost nothing to build. This may be the ultimate take it with you plane Folds up to almost nothing for travel or for keep in the car fun! http://www.acesim.com/rc/p2/p2.html Review http://rcgroups.com/links/index.php?...at=198&id=4236 Video http://www.acesim.com/rc/p2/videos.html Frog - Foam kit CL2 - $39 http://www.foamfly.com/customer/prod...acfe94b8213f09 Instructions http://www.foamfly.com/Plans/Frog_Instructions.PDF Dandy - $42 - CL2 Wood kit http://www.mountainmodels.com/dandy.php Complete package - $122 Build thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=359035 Video http://www.mountainmodels.com/dandy.wmv Dusk Stik $40 CL2 Balsa Wood Kit Similar to GWS Slow stick or ParkZone Slo-V in design http://www.mountainmodels.com/duskstik.php Complete package with all electroncis - $112 http://www.mountainmodels.com/duskstik.php ELECTRIC PARK/GLIDERS Have you considered an electric glider? Usually larger than the typical parkflyer, they also tend to be quite stable and fly a bit slower, which makes them easy to fly. If you would like to try soaring with the birds, then an electric glider might be a good choice. These planes are launched with an electric motor. They can be flown around using the motor, like a parkflyer, or they can be flown to height, then the motor is turned off and you hunt for thermals, just like the birds. They can do loops and simple aerobatics, but are really optimized for thermal soaring. The Aerobird and the T-Hawk, which are often mentioned as first parkflyers, glide and thermal pretty well, but they come with fixed props. These planes include folding props which make the plane more streamlined and so it can glide better than a fixed propeller plane. Some are RTF which are fully built, include all the radio gear with everything installed. Battery and charger are included with the RTF planes. Some are ARFs where you assemble the simple package, then add your own radio equipment. Some are available either way. With these planes you get a good first plane, a good first electric and a good electric glider. It may not have been what you were thinking, but it may be exactly what you were looking for. Easy Star - RTF - also listed above CL1 This is a Park Glider - can be flown as parkflyer or glider Great keep in the car plane! http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/240025.asp Easy Star - ARF - Add you own radio gear http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/240009.asp Discussion Thread on Easy Star http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258656 Video - touch and gos http://plawner.org/video/easygo.wmv Video - Testing the plane's behavior http://plawner.org/video/easystar.wmv Ventura RTF ParkFlyer/e-glider - $120 CL-1 I have not flown this one but have read many good reports Includes one battery and a timed charger. Add a second battery pack and a peak charger and you are set. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXGFK0&P=ML Review http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=393 Video http://67.18.81.100/rcuvideos/magazi...93/Ventura.wmv http://www.hobbico.com/gallery/hcaa2010-large.mpg Ascent - this is a park glider ARF - CL2 It can be flown as a parkflyer or a glider http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByC...ProdID=EFL1075 Review http://rcgroups.com/links/index.php?...at=237&id=4233 Easy Glider - This is probably too large to be considered a park flyer but the combination of great flying ability, tough Elapor construction and great thermal or slope soaring ability makes this an excellent first electric sailplane. - CL2 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKHS8&P=7 http://www.multiplexusa.com/models/P...asyGliderE.htm http://www.modelspot.com/mpx/easyglider.htm Video http://www.multiplex-rc.de/cms/vorsc...r_electric.wmv http://www.elflight.dk/video5/easy-gl-hang.wmv Discussion Thread http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=347989 If you are not familiar with soaring, it is a lot of fun. Flights can be as short as parkflyer flights, or can last for hours, if you find lift. This article may be helpful in understanding lift and the fun that e-gliders offer to the electric flyer. Finding Lift http://www.rcezine.com/cms/article.php?cat=&id=57 |
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