I've heard that several models of airplane make a "GOOD first aileron" trainer." But why? What determines that? What makes one aileron model better than another in general? I've been looking at a few models (for example see below) and just thinking ahead to the future, wondering how it is that some can claim to be good "first" 4-channel trainers and others don't make that claim. Can someone help me understand? If you're familiar with the Mountain Models line for example, is the DandySport really easier to fly than the MiniFlash? Is the SmoothE a better first trainer than the DandySport? And why would that be the case, if so?

Here are some of the examples I'm looking at (what makes any of these a 'better' first trainer than another?)

M.M. MiniFlash



M.M. SmoothE



M.M. DandySport



GWS E-Starter

Hi there, again! Not a dumb question at all.

I can speak for the Dandy. It's mild mannered with the Sport wing. I have both the balsa and the foam Sport wings and the airplane is a stable and docile aileron trainer.

There's nor particular magic to learning ailerons - you pretty much fly the same as a rudder/elevator plane. On the transmitter you set the right stick for aileron roll with right/left movement, have elevator as before with up/down. Rudder gets moved over to the left stick, which it shares with the throttle.

To turn you use the right stick same as you do with a 3-channel plane.

What makes one airplane a better trainer than another is stability. The Dandy Sport, the SmoothE and the EStarter share some design commonalities: some wing dihedral which adds to stability in the roll axis, and a fairly long moment arm from wing to tailplanes, making response on the pitch and yaw axes more gradual than will be found with the MiniFlash, which is "short-coupled." The Mini Flash is shorter from wing to tailplanes meaning that response to pitch and yaw will be more quick and pronounced .... probably more than a beginner can handle. That is what makes it a great aerobatic and 3D plane.

I love my Dandy Sport, and I liked having the GT wing to move up to without having to get an entire new airplane. The GT wing is symmetrical, has no dihedral and a bit less span than the Sport wing, so it's a good way to transition to the next level of flying with a familiar airplane.

Hope this has helped some.

Best,

BobbyG

Bobby, that is the best description I've read so far anywhere online (for a beginner like me!). Thank you so much. You obviously have a fondness for your Dandy Sport, and I have to say I've been thinking it's a very nice plane as well just reading about it online. I hope you won't mind my wondering further (you guys are like a fountain of knowledge and I feel almost guilty for asking and asking but since you've been so kind already I'll press my luck and hope for the best).

I suppose this could be called a motor question. Did you set your Dandy Sport up just as they describe it? With the EPS300-C motor and the Pixie ESC? I ask because one of the things I've noticed with the M.M. planes is that they have "recommended" power plants only, and I started wondering if someone used a different EPS like the 350 or the 400, or a different ESC with around the same number of amps they already owned rather than buying the 'exact' 300 motor, would that also work? As long as you had enough power for the eps and the esc to run? I understand that there's a difference in the amount of power that the 300 takes as opposed to the 350 or the 400, etc, and that the 'ratio' you see on each one seems to have something to do with the size of the propellor you can use, but I don't understand how you figure that out. Especially when you're dealing with the SAME series, different letters. For example, there are about 5 models of each kind of engine it looks like, EPS-300-B, 300-C, 300-D, then the 350 series and 400 series it's the same deal all over again, the A, B, C, D versions, etc... and I can't find a good description anywhere of what makes them 'different' from one another other than the ratio, which is related to the propellor, which confuses me, which is why I ask. [8D] lol

D. (the knowledge-starved)

Quite literally, the only difference within a given series is the gear ratios. A higher gear ratio allows you to spin a larger propeller at a lower RPM on the same amount of power. You're gaining thrust at the expense of speed. More acceleration, less top-end. The key is in finding the right mix for the specific plane.

Talking specifically about GWS stuff, you can usually replace an EPS300C with an EPS350C of the same gear ratio for a performance increase. What happens is the EPS350C's "hotter" motor spins faster, in turn spinning the propeller faster. Nothing is free, though. The EPS350C will draw more Amps to turn the propeller faster. This means better performance at the cost of shorter flight times.

An EPS400C isn't really comparable. It's a much larger, heavier motor that requires a completely different power system. Apples and oranges, you know.

As long as the ESC you have is rated to handle at least as many Amps as the power system will be drawing, it's not an issue. Doesn't matter who you buy it from.

You can see charts that show the relationship between voltage, current draw, and thrust at http://www.gws.com.tw.

Thank you very much, Matt !