So what would you use for an electric practice plane. Something in the 4s or 5s range; maybe a 6s.

seems like time to try electric again. Maybe I can keep from lighting a farmers field on fire this time.

I got a 62" 3D Hobbies Osiris to practice with. 5s batteries that I use are half of my 2 meter plane's packs so it works out fine for me.

I'm a big fan of 3DhobbyShops 62" Osiris.  You can fly it on 5S or 6S with great results.  I think you'll find more than a few endorse that design.  Chris Moon has them at F3AUnlimited and of course direct from 3D, though I think they're in the middle of a corporate move at the moment.

I believe that the best practice plane for F3A is the Hyperion Helios 63

4260 - 500 motor
14x7 APC
80A ESC
5S 5000
Goteck 9257 digital coreless servos ( best fit ) 4,2 kgcm torque

Randy,

The Wind S 50 is also an excellent plane, as is the Miss Wind 50 bipe. Both fly great on 5S or 6S depending on which motor you get. If you purchase the recommended setup, you will need 6S. I have both and they both fly great,

Arch

Hi,

I have Sebart Wind S 50E - flies great. I use 6 cell Lipo. It is a thread here in this forum about this plane.

/Bo

I would get the Osiris (from F3AUnlimited.com - a real American pattern flyer runs the business, can't beat that.)

Don't use a 'practice plane', it's useless. Use your competition plane to practice with, as it's also the plane that you're going to be flying in competition.

You have a point and I do agree with you. However, it is not always possible to use your competition plane for practice due to time or space constraints. In which case it is better to fly a practice plane than not to fly at all. Just my 2 cents worth.....

I also agree in principal that you need to fly the plane you're going to compete with.  But that said, there's a few caveats.  First, I think the Osiris is very capable TO compete with. My son is flying one very successfully in Intermediate and I know of at least one person flying it in Masters.   

Second, I think there is also merit to using a plane like the Osiris for trying out new maneuvers you're less comfortable with or learning new sequence.  And as stated above, there are times when it's the only choice due to space constraints be it flying field size or vehicle transportation size. 

The Osiris, the Wind 50 and the like are all great planes to have in the hanger for a myriad of reasons.

True, offcourse besides wanting to fly pattern, we're all addicted to the scent of a new box opening.. i swear the manufacturer put some kind of gas into those boxes, as soon as the shopkeeper opens a box, you're hooked

It's nice to have more than one plane to play with, and if you haven't figured out how to do a certain move, it can be usefull, but other than that, from a pattern-perspective, in my opinion, it's useless to practice with another plane than your competition plane.

I have flown several smaller planes, a year ago my competition plane was a Sebart WindS 110, so I'm not against smaller planes, most of them fly great. I've flown a Protech Tojeiro .50, a Kyosho Oxalys .50, Sebart WindS .110, and also the Sebart Angel .50 (one flight) and WindS .50. They all fly great and all have their own strengts and weaknesses. I'm sure the same goes for the osiris.

However, I feel that flying pattern is also knowing your plane inside out. As stated, every plane has it's strong and weak points. The perfect plane simply does not exist (yet).

By flying your competition plane as much as you can, you learn to cope with it's weaknesses, correcting for those becomes automatic. By changing between planes, you never get this level of feel for a single plane.

It's the same thing for different disciplines in this hobby, like flying jets, helicopters, and so on. All great, but from a pure F3A/pattern point of view, it's contra-productive.

I agree as well that flying your 2m is the best practice. I used to do that but have had a break in flying and am not really interested in getting back in with my 2m. Also the field closest to my home is a little small for 2m f3a planes at least for my comfort factor. I also need something to learn this electric stuff with.

As a result I am looking for something to get back in with and probably fly in a few contests. The 5s is because i would like to use the packs in a 10s setup.

Does the Osiris really fly better than the Sebart stuff?

randy

I'm just one opinion, but I've flown both the wind 50 and the Osiris and prefer the Osiris... and I'm also flying a 2m Wind S Pro which is awesome.  The Osiris snaps more aggressively and seems to have better rolling/knife edge characteristics.    Flys great on a 5s setup, but you'll need to use a 16x10 prop to get true pattern unlimited verticals.  That set up will limit you to 5.5 - 6min flights.  The 6s setup provides longer flight times, but like you, I prefer just having 5s packs that I can also use in my 10s 2M planes.

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You have a point and I do agree with you. However, it is not always possible to use your competition plane for practice due to time or space constraints. In which case it is better to fly a practice plane than not to fly at all. Just my 2 cents worth.....
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" .... it is better to fly a practice plane than not to fly at all . "


That is a ***** answer. I agree 100 %

Regards

Randy,

I had the same objective as you: to preserve investment in 5s packs and avoid having to purchase others. I opted for the Wind 110, built stock, and flown 10s. It is working out very well.