HI... Im a newbie and was wondering what, if any, are the differances in flying gas and electric? Is one more simplistic or faster or other things like that? I'd like all the details please. Thanks![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

There are more differences than I can comment on in a short quote. Gas is Easier to set up a plane and get going, and easier to get a fast plane. I find park flyers easier to learn to fly by yourself. If you want an electric plance to perform and look like a gas one, you will need quite a bit of learning as most normal kits do not seem to include performance power setups, they are designed more for the park flyer setup, where as with a gas plane, just get a kit, slap on any motor(mor or less) and you are good to go.
Keep in mind, gas is dirty and noisy. If you want more ask, and tell us your likes

Electrics are quiet, some REAL quiet.
Electrics are clean. No oil all over, no cleanup, no reaching around the screeming prop, driving to the flying field, or having to carry a 12-volt battery, starter, glow battery, fuel, rags, towels etc. out to the flight line.
Electrics fly like full scale airplanes, scale speed, scale manuvers, scale take-off, and the pilot flys it.
Glo motored planes jump off the ground, jerk around in the sky like a swallow chasing a gnat, and you more or less aim them, not fly them.
Like Sartori said, they are usually slower, and you do not really need an instructor to learn to fly them.
Read, study, learn about aviation, and you'll know what you are doing, and why the electric powered airplane is doing what it is doing.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
Guess which kind I fly![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Gas and glow airplanes sound a lot more like real airplanes and you cant beat the smell of a DA-150 with smoke on. As far as "aiming" the gas/glow airplanes need I remind you that nobody ever won TOC with an electric. I have nothing against electrics, the technology is coming along greatly. I have watched Gary write, Quique, peter goldsmith, and jason shulman fly electrics. Some of the things they did were amazing. Put for the previous poster to say gas/glow models are "aimed" shows his ignorance. I would assume that he has probobly never flown a gas plane that was above 1/3 scale. You must "fly the snaps" the same way you do in a real plane. I own both kinds and while electrics have there place I just dont think they will outperform glow or gas without spending some SERIOUS change.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]Ain't nothin' beats the smell of 2 stroke or 4 stroke exhaust ('cept maybe Moms apple pie) on a cool fall morning with the sun up 'bout halfway in the sky. Try it you'll like it.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

HEY LAYNE! I NEVER flew a glo powered radio controled model aircraft. I did fly Control Line glo power, and did not notice the aroma of the exhaust as desirable.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Notice that the original question was about "...differences about flying ...." which I think I addressed eloquently. He did not say "difference in performance, competition, racing, speed, adrobatics, etc".[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] I only tried to stick to the subject![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Performance, and competition are all part of the differance between the two. I do beleive that he did ask about speed, so I figured he would want to know about other performance features as well. While at the S.E. electric fly in I heard shulman say that he was going to fly his electric in the F3A Nationals next season. This clearly shows that electrics can perform with glow engines in some areas. He did say he had a lot more in the electric than he did in his glow model. And I actually heard a prediciton the other day by some of the electric ppl that they think that within 3 years everything under 11lbs will be electric, and everything above that will be gassers. I dont think that will happen in 3 years time but electrics have made a huge advancement with the Li-ion packs. I am going to buy one of these packs for my new 33% sukhoi as soon as the loan officer approves [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

The differences between the two are pretty clear.

With electric there is no mess
There is no noise (which I think sucks)
There is no smell of glow exhaust comming out of a 4 stroker (which a heavenly smell)
YOu dont really have to worry about tunning on the engine (which is a major plus)
As of right now glow out performs electric on a dollar to dollar basis (this is expected b/c when compared with glow the technology is new)
A lot of ppl dont respect electric (which they should respect some models, but lets face it a park flyer is basically a toy)

There are a few more differences but I will let someone else go into that right now b/c I am on the phone [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Ok, so briefly electric planes are more expensive but are less difficult to fly and fly almost as well as gas. One reply to my original question said that you did not need a trainer to learn how to fly an electric plane. This seems a bit inconsistant[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]. If they planes fly like the gas and glows then what makes them simple to fly? Also would someone who had been confident with a park flyer be able to fly anything confidently or are they that much different? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]


Thanks,
Oren [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

If you can fly a park flyer then you are on the right track to learning how to fly. However park flyers fly more like toys than airplanes. You need to move into a trainer of some type. If you stay electric then a sig rascal should be alright. If you want to fly glow then any standard trainer will work. I would suggest the Sig Kadet Lt-40 powered with a TT pro .46. If all you have flown is a park flyer then please dont try to jump on something like a CAP 232, Extra 300 or any other super high performance model!!! You might also want to stay away from warbirds until you get a better feel for the sticks. Sometimes the warbirds can be a handful!! The reason I say this is that park flyers kinda just float around with the wind and your control surfaces have a super "washy feeling" to them. To me a trainer plane has a washy feeling to it but beleive me you will be able to tell a huge difference, and with a high performance model you better be sure of your stick movements before you push them b/c these fly like they are on a rail and are not at all forgiving.

Bill L,
If you are aiming, and not lfying a glow powered plane, you are either doing something wrong or flying an ill mannered plane. Every plane has different flight characteristics, whether it be glow or electric. What works well with one plane will not always work on others. Differences in engines, props, and even wind direction and speed affect flight performance. One other thing I have found that affects flight is area. Trees tend to create turbulence, and may effect electrics, particularly park flyers, more than glow powered planes.


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<hr>Take-off is optional... Landing is mandatory.<hr></blockquote>[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

In defense and clarification. "aiming" is when the plane flies where ever you point the prop, ie; flying on the Prop. Yep, you can fly some electrics on the prop too, but I'm still flying the slower park flyers, and they fly "on the wing", ie; if there is not enough airspeed they stall, and no prop on a slow flyer will pull you out. It is either drop the nose, or hit the ground.
Full Agreement on the turbulance of trees, and the effect on electrics, or slow flyers. You can launch or ROG into the wind, and find that that same wind is rolling over trees, and blowing you right back onto the runway.
Another "wind" thing I find is that I launch in the school yard where there is no breeze, then get my Tubby Cubby up about 50 feet or more, and wow[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] is there a stiff 10 MPH or so breeze "up there."