good second plane
 

Been training with the Nextstar, looking for my next plane. Any suj. on a good second plane? I am into 3D, and been looking at the Pulse 60 from Hanger 9. Would this be a good choice? If not what would?

RE: good second plane
 

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. Check out the list here
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4537845/tm.htm] Looking for a trainer- what's available. (Updated 2-20-2008) [/link]

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: good second plane
 

There are lots of great reviews about the Pulse being a good second plane.

I just went from the Nexstar to the Dolphin 40 (Phoenix models, from Tower Hobbies, $99), and it's a BLAST!!! I hear it flies a lot like the Pulse, but it looks like you want 60 size, so Pulse would be great.

My suggestion is to make sure you are using your rudder in turns, for take off, and for landing. Flying the Nexstar made me look like a great pilot. Now with the second plane, I see that I need lots of work, mainly with the rudder. It is a very important tool for proper flying (not letting your tail fall when you make turns, etc.)

RE: good second plane
 

A Stick or a low wing sport like the World Models T-34 make a great second plane

RE: good second plane
 

My second plane was a twist 40. I learned on the mustang pts, so I got the hang of rudder input on take off right away. The twist is a blast to fly. I do have the throws turned down a bit as it responds REAL quick. It is very smooth on landing. with a slight head wind, you can almost set it down like a heli. If your into 3D, it may be a good option for you to look in to. Its also a fairly inexpensive plane.
You do have the option of a 60 version as well if you want something a bit bigger.

RE: good second plane
 

Ken this is on the venture 60 page.

"Sorry, the Venture 60 kit has been discontinued."

To bad, it looks a lot like the 4*60 and I bet it was also a great flying machine.

Don

RE: good second plane
 

If you have mastered the high wing trainer then I think that the next logical move is to master a low wing trainer, there are a lot of options here and I just can't remember all the low wing trainers but I will mention a few of them:
Kyosho, Calmato low wing trainer
Sig Four Star 40 low wing trainer
Tower Hobbies Voyager low wing trainer
Carl Goldber Tiger Low wing trainer

Any of those mentioned planes will last longer on your thumbs than any High wing trainer, because you now will learn some aerobatics maneuvers and they are capable to perform them flawlessly with a bit of forgiveness.

RE: good second plane
 

The Venture 60 is an excellent flying plane. I love mine. The Astro Hog is a great flyer, also, but different from the Venture.

RE: good second plane
 

Big Stick .60!!!!!

RE: good second plane
 

Ill probably get my house burt down for this but I think the great planes minnow is a real solid flyer. It can be hard to see its orientation sometimes but it flys good and solid. I have one with a OS91 and its quick but not "fast". It lands a lil hot but other than that I think its easier to fly then the nexstar. And it does still have a high wing even though its a tail dragger. The 4 stoke torque can easily get you out of a botched landing quick. The only time I put her in was a dead stick on takeoff. just swung her around with rudder, leveled it out and layed her in some tall grass. No damage. Im glad I bought it as a second plane. And Im no super pilot, I just take my time with the basics.

RE: good second plane
 

A lot of so-called good 2nd planes end up in the dumpster because their wing loadings are too high, so mistakes in judgement get amplified and second chances are rarely doled out.
A great second plane would be a .15 powered Slow Survivable Combat plane [SSC] like the Lanier Ripper or Treneff RC BattleAxe. 600 some odd sq inches and 40 ozs RTF. Aerobatic enough to be fun and a plane that you can land at your feet. Add a rudder to enhance spins and tumbles. These planes are versatile and will gladly accept .40 sized engines when you're ready. The key to having a low impact, low investment experience while you learn is to not get into too much plane too soon.
Another route to take if you have a taste for 3D is to go ahead and get a profile plane that specs out no heavier than 4 pounds [RTF] with about 600 square inches of wing. I would recommend taking a look at Ohio Model Products offerings.
Don't over look a SPAD type plane, the trade off is low investment, low build time for a plane that might not fly as well as a balsa counterpart, but great for an instructional tool.
Once you get some time under your belt, a great 3D trainer is the 24"x24" Pizza Box Flyer.

RE: good second plane
 

My 2nd plane was the T-28 Trojan parkflyer. Fantastic little plane.

My Pulse .60 is my 6th or 7th plane.

That's not to say you can't have a pulse as a 2nd plane, it's just the way it worked out for me. My 4th plane was a Hangar 9 Hellcat :D

The Pulse is probably the best plane I've ever flown though, it pretty much does everything, it's fast (with the specced Saito 1.00) The plane really does not have any bad habits and lands with a 10 foot roll out (slight headwind) if you nail it properly.

I love mine and wish I'd bought one as a 3rd plane, it's that good. I really hope I will be flying it for years tbh.

RE: good second plane
 

Even a Great Planes Super Sportster.

RE: good second plane
 

Ditto on that one!

love the plane mines got an os55ax and you could not ask for a better combo for a second plane

got all the power you could want yet doesnt sink like a rock if it ever deadsticks ...

Steven

RE: good second plane
 

I fully agree with this statement. Although they are capable of slow speeds, they will also get into a stall that's hard to get out of. Under some circumstances like cross winds and gusty conditions, they have to land hot using a shallow approach with little margin for error. This means that when the Edges and Caps pack it in and go home, it's time to do the same with the Sig Four-Star. A trainer can fly in a much greater variety of weather.

For a second plane, I would agree with combatpigg that a 3D type would be better, with a thick airfoil and the rates dialed down. Or, get stik or something similar. A highly aerobatic plane that's less likely to stall will boost confidence. With a low-wing "trainer", a crash can be a debilitating experience because, well, it's how others are likely to view it. You get the "He crashed his trainer and he's been flying for over a year!" crap that wouldn't even be brought up if it were a Twist 3D instead.

NorfolkSouthern

RE: good second plane
 

Norfolk, the funny thing is that the lighter and superior flying planes have spoiled me and it is hard to go back to those run-of-the-mill types that the mainstream wants to keep buying, flying and crashing.
For those who like to fly planes that require a higher level of judgement and skill to bring home in one piece.....continue to march. I'd rather be flying something that I can practice eye level flat spins with and land in the back of my truck.

RE: good second plane
 

I have my eyes set on this as my second plane, I like the cowl and it looks like a good candidate for a tail dragger conversion. I won't be getting my second plane till prolly around September or later so I could change my mind, "shrug".[sm=71_71.gif]
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCLX6&P=SM

RE: good second plane
 

I have a Hangar-9 Tango, pigg. It ground handles like a bear at times, and getting off the ground in funny weather conditions can be a challenge. But once it's up there, I'm about 99% assured of getting it back in one piece. And it has never let me down in a dead stick, even when the engine died too far out and I had to land in some weeds. I can do stuff with the Tango that would most likely shred a Tiger 2 to pieces. In comparison, I have to fly my low-wing "trainer" ultra conservatively and land it as if it were a warbird.

So far, the Tango is my favorite and best flying plane. I trust that airframe with my expensive OS 55 AX, reciever, and servos, and I won't hesitate to buy another when this one wears out. And here's an added bonus: Nobody ever thinks of the Tango as less than a 3RD plane and this is because of the rudder coupling and ground handling. My criteria, however, is how a plane is going to behave when it stops flying. Will it just drop the nose? Will it drop a wing? Can it recover from a death spiral and land on its feet like I routinely do with my Tango? An RC plane that's not capable of the latter is not going to be much fun to fly when conditions are compromised in the slightest way.

NorfolkSouthern

RE: good second plane
 

Twist 40, can land at walking speed & do any thing you can throw at it. All that for a $100.00

RE: good second plane
 

Big Stick .40 with a good .46 on the firewall.

Good luck
Frank

RE: good second plane
 

Edit: Never mind I know the answer to this question

RE: good second plane
 

The Twist and Big Stik are a couple good examples. I'd honestly like something to fly in conditions that are a little too nasty to bother bringing my Rapture 40. The tough part for me would be which one to choose. How about a Hangar-9 Twist PNP?

NorfolkSouthern

RE: good second plane
 

The best nasty weather planes that I know of are your .32-.46 powered deltas like a Diamond Dust. They pierce the wind and have no side area to speak of to get blown around. They are a nice compliment to any fleet, and the .32 powered Dusts come out weighing 2.5 pounds with standard radio gear....so they land / flare to a gentle landing and also fly nicely at lower speeds as you get used to them. Figure on about 130 mph with a OS .32, blurry fast rolls when provoked....but also a fairly gentle flyer on low rates.
They are cheap, simple and easy...plus thrilling to fly.
An easy to see covering scheme that points out which side is up is very important. [8D]

RE: good second plane
 

A delta... Not the prettiest critter at the field for sure. But they work. How about a Sig Wonder? I know a few instructors like to shudder at the mere mention of those things (or even a delta, for that matter), but if it slices and dices then lands rather than deciding do do the ballet dance while shredding its wing tips and I can handle it, then why not?

NorfolkSouthern

RE: good second plane
 

I can't speak directly about the Wonder or the Shrike, but guys swear by them. There have been many threads about them done at the Extreme Speed forum. Same rules apply, if set up lightly and intelligently...you'll end up with fun planes to fly that are easy to keep in one piece. The Diamond Dust has fewer pieces and is a superior overall flyer IMO.
The launch technique is the main hurdle. I cringe to watch a friend launch. He lays his radio in his left hand, releases the plane with his right hand, then transfers the radio back to his right hand to fly it. I've suggested that he learn to launch [release] with the left hand and keep his right thumb on the TX, but old habits are hard to break.
The instructors who shudder at the mention of a delta aren't speaking from a position of experience. 25 years ago when I took my first delta to the field, the club "know-it-all" came charging up and blurted out that there were very few men in the world capable of flying these things and that I shouldn't try without expert help. Of course I didn't listen to him and tossed my OS .10 powered "Lil Toad" skyward and had a great time with those planes ever since.