leftyb

I flew RC a lot...25 years ago. I still have my equipment but it is no longer valid. (At least that is what I was told at the local hobby shop) I would like to get back into RC as inexpensively as possible. Is there a good ARF on the market with a four channel tx, receiver and all equipment that can be used in other planes as my experience grows. I am really not too interested in a three channel set. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

LeftyB

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what kind of plane are you looking for? A glider, arobatic/3D plane, or just a normal plane you can fly in your back yard?

leftyb

An areobatic would be fine or just one to fly around at the park. I want to see if my grandson has any interest in flying RC. My dad got me interested and he was a builder. I am not.

NotAnAceYet

My Feedback: (9)

I was faced with the same question a couple of months ago. Had flown glow 25 years ago - decided to get back in - but into electric. I bought a T-Hawk. It is a 3 channel, but they have an option to buy it without the radio and receiver. I bought it and then purchased a 4 channel on my own so I can move it to other planes in the future. Good airplane - did my maiden flight today - very tough plane - flew it into a telephone/power pole - almost no damage - picked it up, checked it out, and flew it without needing any repair. BTW, it comes stock with and extra wing, and extra horiz and vert stab, as well as 3 props. A good plane for the money!
Good luck with your decision.

Rebellion

My Feedback: (2)

Welcome back ! Not sure exactly what you're looking for but try [link=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/]here[/link], they offer several combos and are great people to deal with.

David E.

darrell_f

My Feedback: (2)

I don't think that a package like that really exists. After looking, I decided that I needed to buy the components individually. A cost effective radio that will allow you to grow with the hobby is a Hitec Flash 5. It can be bought with very good micro receiver and micro servos. With the radio, I started with a GWS Slow Stick (3 ch) and have since added GWS EStarter (4ch), Corsair (4 ch) and Formosa (4ch). These foam planes are inexpensive, easy to build and repairable. They will fly much better if you order the slope glider version without motor and add a brushless. Radio, flight pack, and plane to get started will run you about $250.

Matt Kirsch

My Feedback: (21)

Well, there are plenty of ARFs that can be purchased as part of a combo package, like those at Hobby Lobby. As far as RTF, there's not much, if anything out there meets your criteria that could be considered a good plane. Most are 3-channel, and the radios are proprietary, or cheap junk that you wouldn't want to use in future planes. For what they are, they serve their purpose well, but the ONLY serve that one purpose.

You definitely won't want an aerobatic plane as your first one after 25 years away. Like riding a bicycle, you never forget, but you do get rusty, and you don't want to knock the rust off by smashing your first plane in 25 years into the ground...

Any of the V-tail RTF sets like the Firebird Commander, Aerobird Challenger, or T-Hawk would be a good inexpensive way to get your flying legs back. If you decide it's not for you anymore, then you're not out much. If you decide to go whole-hog again, you don't have so much invested that you're wasting money.

BTW, the hobby shop owner probably wasn't jerking you around. The frequency allocations have changed drastically in the last 25 years. I am pretty sure your radio is still on the old "7-channel" scheme, as 1979 is a little bit before the original 30 even-numbered 72MHz channels were obtained. Even if you could get the transmitter modified these days, by the time you paid for it and bought new NiCds and receivers, you'd have more than what a new setup would cost.

aaronford

The T-hawk was a good trainer, if a bit fast. The "toy" radio delivered with my T-hawk RTF has a range greater than my eyesight, so I suppose it is pretty good. I will be transferring my T-hawk electronics to my next plane, likely a SS ARF, when it comes. Pilot2Pilothobbies.com sells a RTF slowstick for about 235 including everything you need to get in the air. The ARF version sells for 35 bucks. So theoretically, you could buy the t-hawk RTF ($165) and a Slow Stick ARF ($35) and get off cheaper than buying the SS RTF. Who Knew?

gravityrules

I faced pretty much the same decisions you're facing when I got back into flying (except I was a control line guy -rc was too expensive). I took a path similar to darrel_f, with a few detours. After wasting money on a Megatech piece of junk, I got an Aerobird that was sturdy and fun to learn on. A friend flew the T-hawk and it's similar. I, too, coughed up the $ for a Hitec Flash 5 setup and went right into a GWS P-51 Mustang. Big mistake! Now am flying a GWS E-Starter which is a great aileron trainer, and will do moderate aerobatics. I am building a GWS Spitfire (hopefully I'm a better pilot now). Nice thing about the GWS line is that you can take all the stuff from one plane to the next.

Electrics are a blast! Just find and open area, plug in the battery and away you go.

leftyb

Thanks for all of the responses. I'm not sure yet what I will do but it seems that buying the Hitech Flash 5 would be the best route. I am really confused about battery packs and amps and how to determine the BEC size required. Any suggestions for some good web sites that explane this information in simple terms? Btw, have any of you dealt with Raidon Tech? They seem to offer several 3 channel planes (mostly sailplanes) at really low prices. http://www.raidentech.com/sdaisa3rtf.html

Again, thanks for responding.