I need to chose a plane, youve probably heard this before, but i don't know which one. Can you guys help me find one thats sporty, but not to mych because i havnt been flying for mor than a year,electric, cheap(400Cnd) and three channels? I really need help.

3 channel AND sporty? You might want to look at Hobby Zone's Aerobird Challenger. Ive heard the sky scooter pro is good, maybe a flying wing if you have a mixing radio. Those are my suggestions. Hope it helps.

-John

My first question would be: What are you flying now?
My second question would be: What kind of equipment do you have?
My third question would be: What do YOU like to fly?

Even in Canadian funds, $400 is quite a chunk of change. That's like, $16 in the USA Just kidding, the Canadian dollar's pretty strong right now IIRC. It's worth $17

Anyway, ARF or kit or does it even matter? Most any 4-channel can be built as a 3-channel by locking the rudder in place. If you're looking for sporty kits, try http://www.mountainmodels.com. Hobby Lobby has lots of ideas for sporty ARFs, http://www.hobby-lobby.com.

I have been flying for a year with a two channel electric plane, not very sporty. Now i want to get something more advanced but not to complicated, perferribly electric rtf (doesnt have to be),will keep me busy( minor tricks since it took me forever to get this money). Also a good flight time and park flyer, can roll take off, and LOOKS LIKE A PLANE it doesnt have to be completely this way but close. Thanks for the ideas the challenger looks neat and the one from mountain hobbys.

I would sugest wattage mini max its a 3 channel hi wing electric that can loop and roll as well as long flight times and wont break the bank (around 30.00 us)

My second and third planes were Hobby-Lobby's Mini-Piper and Rare Bear slowflyer.

I like the Mini-Piper for it's landing gear. I added a tailwheel and can rise off pavement and land. It will loop and stall-turn. It can even roll (good for a rudder-only plane) but you'll crash a LOT trying to get that right. And it flies a pretty long time. It was a good challenge right after the Firebird, and I still like to fly it.

It will fly inverted, though it slips off the altitude pretty quicky. It will NOT outside loop, no matter how hard you try.

The Rare Bear is a fun, precision flying plane. It uses aileron to turn instead of rudder. so it rolls much easier, and the turns are a lot more responsive too. It rolls, loops, and flies inverted (better than the Piper). No landing gear, though, so it's relegated to hand launches and grass landings. I put Li-Polymers in it and I cannot fly long enough to empty the batteries.

It's a low-wing plane, and quite responsive, so you may consider the Piper first.

I would recommend an Aerobird Challenger, but you want something that looks more like a full scale plane. How about this one.

SKY SCOOTER PRO II

I almost bought this one when I got my Aerobird. You can get it as an ARF or as a RTF package with a 72 MHZ Hitec 3 channel radio for about $160. When I bought the Aerobird, this package was $260, now it is $160 and well worth your consideration.
http://www.hitecrcd.com/Funtec/Pro2.htm
Videos
http://www.hitecrcd.com/Funtec/videos.htm

Thats awsome.... The only problem i can see with it is that it cant do a rolling take off..

Try the sky scooter II pro or maybe a flying wing like the Ele-Bee or the unicorn.

OK, didn't know that was a requirement.

Look at the GWS Beaver.....does everthing but inverted..Will invert, but loses altitude. This is ARF. Will take a newbie about 5 hours to assemble.

Neat!!!! I iht get that... or he aerobird. At this point I cant tell.

I have 100+ flights on my Aerobird and love it. It was my first plane which I purchased in March of this year. I now have 6 planes. 2 Electrics and 4 gliders.

I think it is a wonderful plane and the new Challenger model is even better.

Well I just decided to get the aerobird challenger. Can you give me a list of the aerobatics i can o with it and can't, i need to know otherwise ill try and completely crash it. thanks!!!

Congratulations on your first threee channel plane. If you had a Firebird XL, Commander or one of the other larger HobbyZone 2 channel planes, you batteries will fit the Aerobird. The wings will fit as well. And the Aerobird comes with a field peak charger so you can recharge between flights. I have 5 batteries and two chargers. I fly for hours.

No I can't list all the stunts the plane can and can't do. However the plane comes with a video that shows some of the stunts it can do.

In general, the plane can perform the aerobatics that can be performed with a rudder/elevator/throttle plane that has a high undercambered wing. If you are an accomplished pilot looking for a pattern plane, this is the wrong choice. But I presume that is not what you are looking for.

The Sky Scooter is more Aerobatic, as it has ailerons, but no rudder so you can't perform rudder based stunds. Also, as you noted, it does not have landing gear. It also can't take the batteries or wings from the other hobbyzone planes.

If you are interested in Aerobatics, this book might be of interest:
Aerobatics for Everyone Book
by Model Airplane News
http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/man/man2018.htm

This site has lots of info on Aerobatics.
http://www.nsrca.org/beginnerA.htm

This link goes to a beginner series that the Aerobird, in the hands of a skilled pilot, can probably perform. The rolls will be rudder rolls rather than aileron rolls which means more barrel like than axial.
http://www.nsrca.org/technical/beginners/begin3.htm

While the Aerobird can perform a number of stunts, by design it is a stable airplane with a high, under cambered wing with rudder and elevator control. This kind of plane is designed more for stability and ease of recovery than aerobatic performance.

When you are so good with the Aerobird that you can perform this sequence, then you will need a 4 channel aerobat to perform more advance moves.

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Can you give me a video of an axial roll. I didn't know there was such thing. Thanks.

Oh and i hate to bombard you with questions. i need to know if i should buy the plane before or after christmas, other than that ill click the button right know to order>

If you can fly it now, you probably should buy it now. Why wait?

An axial roll is one where the plane rotates around its center, as if a rod were run from nose to tail and the plane was rotating on it. Like a chick on a spit over a fire.

This video of the sky scooter shows axial rolls. The Aerobird can not roll like this.

A barel roll is one where the plane rolls, but makes a bigger circle in the process, as if it were attached to the inside of a barel and the barrel was rolling.

A skilled pilot can probably barrel roll an Aerobird challenger in Pro mode. I have never done it on my older Aerobird, but I am not one for aerobatics either.

Ailerons will allow you to do more axial rolls. Rudder rolls tend to be more barrel rolls.

Hope that

You can fly completely solo in winter?