Buying my first pattern aircraft.

Narrowed it down to Sebart Angel 30 and Hyperion Helios 25e.

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers.

Neither ... Angel 50 ... heheheheee ... just kidding. In my bias opinion take the Sebart they make amazing planes. Puts planes from GP H9 to shame, really.

Have you checked out 3D Hobby Shop for a pattern plane? Their products are NICE.

http://www.3dhobbyshop.com/SearchRes...x?CategoryID=4

gb

Thanks fr the link Jumper.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia, so the p&p and import duty could be significant.

The Angel and Helios are available locally from an online store that I've bought a lot of goods from in the past, which is why I've narrowed it down to those two.

Leaning heavily towards the Angel 30 at the moment.

I believe you get what you pay for. The SebArt kits are not cheap, but they are high quality products. I am going to get the SebArt Wind. There are a number of SebArt planes in my club, and each is really, really nice.

My club president has the Katana 50 and I was there when he maidened it a few weeks ago. He is really into 3D but knows a little IMAC. I watched the plane take-off smoothly, a nicely tracked oval turn back to upwind, and a 45 climb into inverted for the initial CG check. This thing was absolutely straight as an arrow; I knew it as soon as I saw it. Pres. said the same thing. Right out of the box it flew great, and it's not even a pattern ship.

Three of our best pilots are flying SebArts, and you can believe I've been watching them, inspecting them, and asking lots of questions. Everything is nice, from the covering to the PC board motor supports to the flight characteristics.

I hate to be that guy who talks about 'the guy at the field', but I've been paying a lot of attention to these planes and am ready to cough up $650 for a 70" SebArt.