Hello All,

I have been lurking around on the pattern forum for quite a while and I think I am ready to take the leap to pattern flying. I have been flying a 3D foamy for a while but I don't think I like it as much as I thought I would. I really want to learn the smooth F3A aerobatics, but I am low on budget and don't have more than $200 to spend on the plane and electronics. I have been looking at a few airplanes at hobbycity.com which are:

1- Supervision XP by TMpro
2- Hotpoint EP
3- CAP 232 (http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=5387)

Now, I do not know if any of these planes would be a good choice and I need suggestion on a good plane to get started with. Do you guys recommend any of the above planes? I am even willing to build one from scratch if there are good plans available.

What are the key things you would look for when selecting your first pattern type plane?

I would highly appreciate any help I can get.

Thanks...

Of the planes listed above, the Hotpoint is the best I think. You can get cheap motor, controller and servos from hobbycity as well.

The Supervision looks good, but I think it is bigger than the hotpoint. that means more money for larger motor and batteries. I may be wrong, since I am not that familiar with these. Either it or the Hotpoint will work. Don't go for the CAP.

Thanks shannah,

I was more inclined towards Supervision XP but its out of stock at hobbycity. I was thinking that Supervision would be better because of bigger wingspan, but a better question to ask is what would be a good beginner pattern plane?

Help would be much appreciated.

Thanks...

You can learn to fly pattern with a smaller electric plane for sure. Either the hotpoint or the Supervision would work, so would the horizon Brio. You could also check out the Hyperion planes (3dhobbyshop.com) look at this thread as well http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7174074/tm.htm. If you are looking to fly in a contest sometime in the future then you will want to have something a little larger and more powerful which can easily handle a bit of wind. Planes like the Horizon Hobbies Diamante 25 would work. Kyosho has some as well. Those tend to be pricier than your indicated range however. You might look for someone at one of the local clubs (SVF is nearby Glendale) that has something for sale. Post a want ad at the field and you'll be surprised at the choices available. That way you get in the air quick and for less overall cost. If you want to run glow then there are a lot of choices.

I have a Vanquish and Element 30 as small electric pattern planes and both are good. I think the Fliton Element 30 is slightly better than the Vanquish.

For Sportsman pattern you can fly literally anything. If you only have 200 bucks, practice Sportsman with the most stable plane you have...a low wing trainer or sport plane is fine. Save your money and go to a contest or two. Then if you really want to fly pattern, get "mini 2 meter" plane like the Sport Focus (YS110 sized) or the upcoming "mini" Black Magic .

My $0.02 worth.

George

I need to echo George's suggestion. Go fly Sportsman with a good low wing plane, heck an Ugly Stik will do the sequence, and then if you do like Pattern save some coin and get a pattern plane down the road.

The most important thing is PRACTICE. My first year I flew an Excelleron 90 and one of the guys I flew against had a Tracer 40. You don't need big or even a "Pattern" plane to get started.

Good points. I learned the basics on a quickie 500 with a os-40. If you want electric, that would probably cost more than a glow set up.

Thanks for the good advice everyone! I think I am gonna start with the sportsman type and then eventually get a true F3A type plane (I don't even know if I am use the right term here).

speaking of ugly stick... I have always liked the Miss Martha 5 (which looks a lot like ugly stick), I think I will build an electric version of it and practice on it.

Thanks...

You might want to check out Tower Hobbies website. I was looking at their latest mailer and they have Kaos kits, as well as a couple other kits that would work well for an entry level plane. Thats a great flying plane for what you are looking for. You could probably convert it to electric, or go with a cheap .45 glow motor.

I think I should have clarified that an Ugly Stik will do the sequence but other planes will do it better. I have never seen a Miss Marhta but tried to search for one and came up empty other than a PDF of plans.

If you are going to go through the work to build a plane, or in the case of the Miss Martha scratch build one, you might want to look at some other options. A 40 sized KAOS is a pretty good flying plane as are the Venus 40, Venus II, Kobra, Tiger 60, Dirty Birdy 40 or 60 (if you can find one), and Great Planes have brought back the Tracer and the Ultra Sport 40.

I forgot to add the Cermark Javelin II, World Models Groovy 50 and Spot On 50 to the list.

Check this location for the Miss Martha. It's said to be
the grandma/pa of fun-fly type aircraft. PM rainedave
in the classic pattern section, he may have a set of MM
plans that you can convert for electric use.


http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_25...tm.htm#2511420

I have the Javelin II and the World Models Groovy 50 and they are no where near as good as the SebArt Angel, in fact I have not found anything as good as the Angel in that price range, it fly's like my Composite's can't recommend it highly enough, never fail to impress anyone who fly's it, or put a smile on my face.

This plane will do the sequance beutifully and land slowly, which most pattern aircraft have difficulty doing.

Mike