does the DC charger from hobbyzone have the right connector? Or do you have to "doctor" one up?

What you need is a AC to DC converter. Like the kind that plug into your household outlet. The AC is coverted to DC and the output is routed via aligator clips. I then connect my charger to a cigarete lighter to aligator clip adapter and then charge. I think this a very convient method. I use it to charge my Aerobird Challenger batteries. By the way i think the Aerobird Challenger is a good first plane.[link=http://www.hobbyzonesports.com/Products/Detail.aspx?ProductID=HBZ3500]Click here to read about it.[/link]

We have been talking about the T-Hawk and comment on the Aerobird from time to time. Let's compare

The T-Hawk is a fine starter plane. It is very rugged and flies well. We
have two in our club. We have 2 Aerobirds and 3 Aerobird Challengers and two Xtremes, so I
have first hand observations as well as pilot feedback.

I will try to detail similarities and differences to help you evaluate and
have a price summary below based on my understanding of costs.

Similarities:

Both are pod and boom plane design
Both are three channel and have similar flying characteristics.
Both are in the 16 -18 oz range.
Both use a speed 380 motor
Both can have proportional throttle (t-hawk FM option required)
Both use a polypropylene body with a carbon boom
Both use foam wing and tail.

Differences (T hawk items first)

standard tail vs. V tail
standard servo/receiver/ESC vs integrated control board
pushrods vs pull pull design
AM/FM option vs FM only
FM 2000' range vs 2500' range
Requires 7 cell battery vs 6 or 7 cells
40" wing with wood spar vs 42" all foam wing
AC-3.5 hour charger vs DC Peak charger - 40 minutes
5-10 min flight with std battery vs. 7-15 min flight with std battery
2 batteries, 2 wings, 2 tails - 1 of each
parts by mail only in most areas - parts readily available in LHS
$5 extra to choose channel - choice of 6 channels at purchase


Aerobird Options (not avail for t-hawk)
Air to air combat module
Bomb/parachute drop
sport mode/pro mode

Typical prices for comparable starter packages
(these would be my starter pkg recommendation)

T-Hawk, 160+5+10+40+5 = $220 (mail order)
Base Plane package with FM option, channel choice, two batteries, two wings,
two tails -
Upgrade to NIMH, Optional 12V peak charger (60 min charge time), 8 transmitter
batteries

Aerobird - 150 + 15 + 10 + 25 = $200 ( at local hobby store)
Base plane package - add wing, tail and second battery
includes nimh and field 12V peak charger (40 minute charge) and 8 transmitter
batteries

I have not included shipping or sales tax in either as that will vary.

What you see is that the price difference between them is not great. Both are
great planes! You make the choice.


e-bay option

The Aerobird Challenger is available daily, new in box, on e-bay for about
$115. If you consider this a valid source, then the Aerobird comes in at
$165. Lots of Aerobird stuff on e-bay.

Appears to be a Parkzone problem. I can't find a servo anywhere

Ken, you also have to take into account that the Slo-V is VERY new on the market, and that parts support hasn't caught up to the plane. It's perfectly normal for ANY new product; the company has lots of money invested, and they want to start seeing some returns as soon as possible. To wait for the parts inventories to be in place would be quite costly.

If you could extract the servo from the plane and post a picture of it, we might be able to turn you on to a suitable replacement. For example, Hobbyzone planes use "generic" GWS servos.

As far as I know, Hobbyzone planes use servo components that are integrated into a circut board that also contians the receiver/ESC and BEC. It is all one board. Not replaceable at the component level. Fortunately the are pretty reliable.

You mean the Horizon HobbyZone planes like the Firebird and Aerobird, right? They use plain old servos that are, at least externally, identical to GWS Picos. There are a few different reincarnations of the venerable GWS Pico under different brand names, which leads me to believe that GWS is either buying theirs from an OEM, or they OEM servos for all these sources.

You can't buy just the circuit board for a HobbyZone plane; you have to buy the entire fuselage, which stinks IMHO. Maybe you're thinking of the Great Planes "Fly Zone" planes?

This is typical of the internals of a HobbyZone plane

No-one has suggested the 3 channel Wing Dragon. Easy to fly, very hard to break, standard componentry. Will fly very slow without stalling, because of the large high-lift wing. Lots of dihedral. Gives beginners a real chance to succeed even without help. Very inexpensive.

When you are ready to graduate from 3 channels, there is the new Wing Dragon Sportster, 4 channels, a little less dihedral, a lot more power, same servos, same ESC, same receiver, 4 channel version of the same transmitter. Many of the parts are also common.