Beginner Help . . .
 

Okay, need some help with finding a kit or plans. I having been floating around the local hobby shop for the last few months looking for a kit to build. I have been looking at the Ultra Stick series from hangar 9, but every kit that I have found is an ARF. I really want a kit to build and I really like the look and features of the Ultra Stick. I discussed this with the owner and he is under the impression that there is a Ultra Stick kit available, I have researched this and I have not been able to find such a thing. So what I am looking for is a kit version of the Ultra Stick, plans for an Ultra Stick or an equal design. I am looking for something that will use an electric motor or a gas that uses a 0.60 or less, any input is much appreciated.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

No kit exists for the H-9 Ultra sticks, but there are other similar stick kits available. I even asked H-9 for plans and those are not available either.
The H-9 Ultra sticks are SUPERB second trainers. I had 2 stick planes before I moved on. Get the ARF, if you really like it and fly it till it falls apart.


Have fun!!

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

I am tempted to do what you suggest, but I would really like to build a plane. If anyone can provide me with some high res pics, airfoil specs, and dimensions; I should be able to design my own that is similar to the Ultra Stick. I have a decent amount of experience with building planes, but very little with flying the actual aircraft.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

There is a kit version of the Great Planes Easy Sport available, and it is similar in design to the Ultra Stik. The Easy Sport would normally be flown with a .46 sized glow motor:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ564&P=0

The Easy Sport is basically just a "Stik" design with a bubble canopy on top of the wing for appearance's sake

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

How does performance compare to the Hangar 9, would quad flaps be that big of a mod for the GP?

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

The publishers of Model Airplane News and R/C Modeler have huge inventories of plans. The AMA also has lots of plans that have been published in their magazine. Given the popularity of sticks, there should be several designs that meet your needs. Here are a few places to look:
http://www.rcstore.com/rs/general/plans.asp?catego=PL
http://www.rcmmagazine.com/store/store-plans.html
http://www.modelaircraft.org/plansmain.asp

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

I've put together a list of planes that make good trainers and second planes. All of them on the list are proven planes that are well suited for successfully letting students learn to fly, or advance to a second plane. I've also included kits on here as well. Check out the list here
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm] Looking for a trainer- what's available. (Updated 1-19-07) [/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Have you checked out Bridi kits ?... They have a nice Stik kit..
[link=http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/bridistick.html]Bridi Stik[/link]
I had an Easy Sport when I first started flying... Nice plane and all but a good Stik will fly circles around it...... I have the GP 60 size Stik and it is one of the best all around flying planes I have ever had... Love them Stiks

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

The Bridi Stik is a BIG plane requiring a 90-120 engine. Pretty big investment and leap for a first plane.

Since you have some building experience I agree with Chuck on checking with the plan services. Save the time of making drawings that may be of an unairworthy plane. Go with a proven product at least for the first one. And try to stick to a .40 size engine up to a .60 maximum. Keeps the plane size within reason and the costs.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Bigger is better :D Might be better then a scratch built for the first plane also.... IMHO a 40 sixe GP Stik ARF would be great... You won't feel so bad when you lose it :D

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

The Ultra Stik is a bit more aerobatic. The GP Easy Sport is more comparable to the Hangar 9 Super Stik in that the Ultra Stik has more rudder authority and is designed for quad flaps.

Stik ARFs are so plentiful now that finding them in a kit form is more of a challenge these days. The Easy Sport .40 kit sounds like a good fit for what you want to do, and Great Planes kits have a good reputation for excellent instructions and for going together easily.

The nice part about you already having building experience and going with the kit version of the Easy Sport is you could bash your Easy Sport kit and add flaps if you want them. You could also enlarge the rudder a bit if you'd like.

The bottom line? If you want an Ultra Stik, buy an Ultra Stik ARF. If you want to build a kit and something close to the Ultra Stik is what you want, then the Great Planes Easy Sport .40 kit fits the bill very nicely.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Thanks for the help everyone, currently I have built the majority of 3 planes from scratch, 2 of which are airworthy. The Easy Sport is looking like the better choice, I have both an O.S. 0.50 FX and a O.S. 0.61 FX available to me and I think it would be interesting to see how the larger engines will perform. I most likely will not be building this till late spring, but it gives me a goal to save for.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Now that I am thinking about it, what are the major differences in the Easy Sport 40 and 60; since I have a 60 available, it might be better to stick with the suggested size of motor.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Easy Sport .60 kits are no longer in production. The only difference between the two kits should be the size and weight of the finished plane; the Easy Sport .60 didn't vary from the .40-sized model with regard to structure or airframe features. The planes were similar enough that Great Planes used the same instruction manual for both kits, but obviously the build plans themselves were different:

http://manuals.hobbico.com/gpm/gpma0150-0152-manual.pdf

An Easy Sport .40 kit powered with an O.S. Max .50 SX would be a lot of fun to fly!

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Okay, I have read through the instructions for the ES 40 and determined that is what I will build this spring. I have available to me OS 0.50 SX with Tuned Exhaust and all of the building supplies necessary; what radio do you suggest for a beginner. Could someone suggest a radio to use, I have had experience with a JR XP7202 and found that I love it. For those who are not familiar, it is a 7 channel transmitter with channel synthesizer and all the tweaks I could imagine. The only problem is that it costs $300 with receiver and servos, I do not know if I can hack that much cash, any other suggestions. Lastly, for any body who has built this kit before, any suggestions on approaching an building it.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

If you like JR
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...dID=JSP16000**
or if Futaba
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXHYK7**&P=

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Okay, after talking to some other people, they have convinced me that I need to buy a cheap trainer, probably electric. I am wondering what to buy, I would like something that uses all control surfaces, not just elevator and rudder. I know how to fly, because I am a student pilot, but I need to get used to flying R/C because it is entirely different.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

If you are looking for a small/light/cheap electric trainer with ailerons, GWS E-Starter is one pretty good option. I felt it was a little fast for me, learning on my own. If you have an instructor, it will be perfect.

Also, get a simulator. The point of view from the ground is "a bit" different from what a real pilot sees. FMS is free. I used it just with the keyboard to get used to the perspective.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

That electric looks good, especially since it is only $35, I will look into it; also, does anybody have an opinion on the Radical Verti-go 125 ( half way down on this page, [link=http://radicalrc.secure-mall.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=146&cart=554695]HERE[/link]). From what I understand, you can fly it slow or fast, just depends on motor/battery combo, so I essentially could scale the airplane as I progress from learning and to 3-D.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Any inputs on Radical RC, the nice thing is that they are right across the street from where I work and I have only heard good things about the owner.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Gearhead, none of the planes on that page would be good for learning on.

Your best bet would be go go with the easy sport.. BUT, you'll need an instructor.

IF you want to start out with something simple, here's a really good 3-channel plane that someone with full-scale experience could probably fly quite easily (I flew one last fall and had a ball with it)

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HBZ7100

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Here's a kit very similar to the Ultrastick, just smaller: http://cavemanrc.com/default.asp?PageID=BS_Photo

I suppose it could be scaled up but the smaller plane might be fun as is. I also bought Das Ugly Stick plans from RCM. They could be tweaked to be more like the Ultrastick.

RE: Beginner Help . . .
 

Gearhead,

You won't regret building the Easysport 40. I built 2 of them and assembled 1 ARF. All were good flyers and the kits were very durable.
IMO they would be appropriate for training, however as mentioned previously, an instructor is strongly recommended.

DaveB