first timer plane
 

I received an LT kit and OS .46 as a gift. I was frustrated with the building, expecting perfection from myself, but I did learn about building things. After the first crash I was to traumatized to fly it again and bought something that only a mother could love, a Armidillo trainer and put the .46 in it. They could call the Armidillo the "Thud"after the jet fighter bomber with same name. Ugly it is but you don't become attached to it to the point of slowing your learning and fun. The LT is too purty to crash but it does fly beautifully.

Looking to buy first plane
 

MGW flyer. I think you have a good setup in mind. I'm also a Morgantown flyer and you have a few options when you decide to fly. I would definately recommend joining an AMA Club simply because of all of the help you can receive from it's members. Hypter mentioned the private air strip at Valley Point which I've never been to. I'm sure it's nice, but if you go there make sure you have some help because you don't want to try and fly that thing yourself.

Also, Hypter mentioned the local club in Masontown WV called Windy Ridge RC Club. It’s the club I usually fly out of. It is an official AMA charter club and it has on average between 12-20 members each year (Not sure where he got 6?). The information about 1 plane at a time is also incorrect. There is no limit to the amount of planes that can be in the air at one time. However, out of courtesy, when a newbie is flying there are rarely any other planes in the sky. The simple fact is that the club has so few people on any given night that you get plenty of opportunities to fly. It’s a very laid back atmosphere and only cost $12 a year to be a member.

There are also clubs in Fairmont and Clarksburg which are larger clubs. The Clarksburg club has a website at http://www.cma1193.com/next.htm .

I’ve also heard of a group of individuals that fly near the Fort Martin Power Plant on saturday mornings. They are not an AMA club from what I understand.

The field near Mylan park where they launch the balloons from would actually be a nice place to fly. I haven’t thought about that. As Hypter said there may be some permission problems though. I’d check into it before going there.

If you have any questions or need help with anything just PM me? Have a good one.

Looking to buy first plane
 

coomarlin, I called and talked to Jim and he informed me of only 6 members and only one plane at a time in the air (maybe I missunderstood him :) )... wonder whats up with that.

anyway, the airstrip in valley point, there is a guy there that will help out alot. Checking into the other place that coomarlin has stated would be a good idea.

I am going to valley point tomorrow (if the wind isnt bad) you are more than welcome to join me

Looking to buy first plane
 

Hey wes. Maybe since you are fairly new to flying yourself Jim was letting you know that you could have the sky to yourself without risk of anyone else hitting your plane. Who knows :) But yes we usually can fly as many planes as we wish. Also, some members don't come every week so sometimes only 5-10 show up. Maybe he meant that sometimes only 6 people show up on any givin wednesday.

Hey is that field you are talking about in Valley Point the same one that they fly ultralights out of? I know where that is, but as you mentioned I thought it was private so I never bothered checking it out. So how do you get there from Masontown? Do you dare go to Bull Run and cross the "Bridge of Death"? LOL.

Looking to buy first plane
 

thanks for clearing that up for me... im sure that what me ment. ;)

the bridge of death....I HATE that bridge it is not safe anymore, but I do travel that road sometimes, but not with an airplane in the truck with me cause the road is waayyy to rough going up the other side, I dont want to hurt my baby ;). yes, it is where they fly ultralights, I believe Joe Elliot owns the place, my dad flew RC there when I was just a kid ( I can remember alot of crashes :D ) my Avatar pic was taken at rockville.

I am going up this afternoon, if you not doing anything you more than welcome to come up with me, I will probably be the only one going, so it would be nice to have some company.

Looking to buy first plane
 

I would highly recommend the kit. It will give you something to do over the winter and you will gain invaluable knowlege of how the plane works. If in the event of a cracsh you will be able to rebuild it. I also agree with Brian Soltis. I would go with the TTPro 46. I currently have 4 or 5 of them and I believe they have every bit as much power if not more than the OS 46 FX. You can get them for about 30-40 cheaper than the os also. Everything you are looking for can be had at Quantum Models except the Futaba radio and with an order of 100 or more shipping is free.

Looking to buy first plane
 

Doug, I flew a little with Mike D lastnight on G2, he said that you were building a 4*40 for him... have any pics, so I can see what I have to look forward too.

Crashing
 

Crashing seems to be some sort of badge of honor on these forums, and I always get the impression from reading these threads that crashing a trainer is unavoidable. I think that is a misimpression that gives newbies the wrong idea about LEARNING to fly.

Basically I don't agree that your trainer is doomed to become a pile of toothpicks. Granted I have a blazing six months of solo time on my trainer, but I've only had one major mishap that involved changing a broken engine mount.

If you don't want to crash your trainer...

USE your instructor. Even after you solo you will probably not be overly confident, so ask them to "keep an eye on you". If you feel nervous, ask to go back on the buddy box till your thumbs calm down. Ego is much cheaper than fixing a shattered fuse.

KNOW your limitations. a 15 mph crosswind may be more than you can handle. Don't fly.

PRACTICE LANDINGS - EVERY major trainer crash at our club this year was simply due to the fact that most of the instructors said that any landing was a good landing. My instructor said that until I had landed ON THE RUNWAY 30 times, I shouldn't consider myself "safe". In fact, one of the best aerobatic pilots in our club could only barely land his plane, he finally crashed it into a parked car (narrowly missing my truck BTW). All of the crashes could be attributed to a newbie's luck in getting a plane on the ground running out. I think a really good landing could be turned into a touch and go, i.e., if you have enough control to land where you can spin the engine up and keep flying, you're probably pretty competent.

Certainly nothing can guarantee you won't crash, but I just don't think it is "inevitable" that you will crash your trainer over the course of sane, methodical training.

Of course, once you decide to try and fly inverted at three feet off the deck all bets are off.

Looking to buy first plane
 

If you're willing to build, I would suggest the U.S. Aircore trainer. It is havier than a LT-40, which means it's a little harder to fly (but easy enough), and it has the advantage that it's almost impossible to damage it or the engine in a crash.

On the issue of the O.S. .46 FX vs the Thunder Tiger: I have two O.S. and one TT. At first I thought I prefered the OS because parts are more easily available (via Tower Hobbies), but now I realize you NEED parts more! The TT has proved to be much more rugged in crashes. In particular, the O.S. needle valve will break off ($9 part) if you look at it sideways. Personally, I don't think the slight safety advantage is worth the hassle of the remote needle valve, but then, I do all my adjustments from behind the engine. In terms of power, starting, idle, and reliability, I have found the engines to be almost identical over the two years I've owned them. If anything, my TT is more powerful, but it could be the muffler or the tuning, and I do almost all my flying at 1/2 throttle or less anyway.

Looking to buy first plane
 

The other recommendation I'd make is for the Hangar 9 Alpha Trainer. I don't have direct experience, but I've heard good things. The reason I recommend it is that I know from the flight training sessions at my club that a LOT of time is spent getting engines to run. Hangar 9 is the only company that has directed their effort toward making that task as simple as possible. Folks who have been around glow engines for years take a lot of knowledge for granted, but for most newbies, starting, breaking in, and tuning the engine is a huge learning curve.

Looking to buy first plane
 

also, coomarlin... you can actually see where we fly in valley point from windy ridge, of course you can see just about half the world from up there.