kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

Okay, I fly glow, so I have no idea about electrics. But a guy I work with wants to get his son interested in flying and wants to do it cheaper than glow and without having to have an airfield to fly at.

So, electric guys, what electric planes can you recommend as far as park flyers that have at least three channels? I'd prefer he get a four channel bird so he can move up to bigger planes (electric or glow, I don't care) without then having to learn how to use ailerons, but whatever you guys tell me is what I'll tell him. I really don't know the first thing about electrics, park flyers or otherwise.

Thanks!

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

So, I take it the Electric forum doesn't get as many people going through it as the glow forum....

Any help here guys?

mrbass111

no one answered me either. you could try that new forum. theres a post at the top of the beginners forum. or you could ask in beginners.

frvrngn

My Feedback: (1)

I am new but can answer with what advice was given to me and what I did buy. If you want to build, everybody seems to love the Slowstick or Magpie. As I didnt want to build, people told me the Slo-V or Aerobird Challenger from the Hobbyzone/Parkzone people. I ended up with the Slo-V and couldnt be happier. If flies great even for a complete rookie like me. It hates wind, so keep that in mind. Anything in the 5mph-10mph range it gets a little erratic and you need to keep an eye on it. You can help it out with a bigger battery pack and playing with the adj wing position, but it really likes calm days. If its calm it can almost fly itself its so stable. Its pretty much a copy of the Slowstick in a RTF. $130 gets you out the door and flying in under an hour. Replacement parts are dirt cheap as well. Keep in mind that all Zone products are proprietary and you cant transfer electronics or change things around easily.

The ABC is bigger and faster than the Slo-V and can take a pretty good beating as long as you do some reinforcements before flight to the motor mount, boom, v tail, etc. If you go that route there are several threads covering those mods and they are all simple. If you like the pod/boom style there is also the Wing Dragon from Parkflyers. Its not a v-tail and I believe you can transfer the eletronics around. I dont know much about that plane...

That being said, I now want something faster and more aerobatic - I think the Stryker is next on my list I think I will always like flying the Slo-V though, its perfect for the small park next to my house.

EDIT: If you really want him in a 4 channel, Parkflyers makes a Cessna trainer that can be flown 3 channel first. Then he can always switch over when he is ready.

jmir

My Feedback: (1)

I would recommend a Parkflyers Cessna 182. Simple to assemble, easy to fly, very stable airplane. Plenty of power with stock equipment - also can run as is with 2 cell li-po battery.

They are currently selling the 3-channel version for under $100 and the 4-channel version starting bid is around $120 on E-bay. I think the regular prices are $139 and $179 respectively.
They come ready to fly with everything included except the 8 AA cells for the transmitter.
The 4-channel version is much better, of course.

Check them out at www.parkflyers.com

Good luck!

kiswa

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks!

Any more recommendations guys?

lwatson

My Feedback: (2)

If you are not afraid of an easy build. I would get the Dandy Sport from Mountain Models. This will allow you to get transmitter, receiver and servos that can go into the next plane. The plane loops and rolls with stock power. I love it, simply the best aileron trainer. I am not afraid to hand the transmitter to anyone, I just keep my thumbs really close.

Larry

htjoel

Hello Kiswa,

I am just returning to R/C flight myself after almost 20 years. I was a glow person way back when (Northeast Aerodynamics Train-Air 40) but I decided to go the electric route on my return trip.

I have a fairly good-size hangar of electrics now, all RTF (luv that instant gratification:). I started with a Shun-Da J3 Cub, and now also have 2 ParkZone planes, Cub and Decathlon. I have also recently acquired the ParkFlyers Cessna 182, but that is a four-channel ship w/ ailerons. ParkFlyers does have a 3-ch version of the 182, but I haven't flown it.

If economics is a factor, check out Shun Da J3 Cub from GiantSunToys.com, under $100 plus shipping. All you need are 8 AA alkalines for radio, as everything else is included. James, the owner, provides excellent customer service and will help you out with more suggestions. Good scale looks, hands-off stable, enough power to loop with a shallow dive. Will even fly in a light breeze, but above 5 mph it's best to have an experienced pilot around. It will definitely ROG but will take practice to do so successfully.

The ParkZone cub is a very gentle flier, also all inclusive. It 'floats' better than the SD cub, but is also more sensitive to wind conditions. I would probably suggest the Super Decathlon as a second plane, as the larger control surfaces make it more sensitive to pilot inputs. Both these planes are more expensive, but there are some good deals to be had on eBay if you look around.

Hope this helps,
Joel

stockdaddy

A lot of these parkflyers still require a lot of room to fly so be careful which one you choose if you have limited room to fly.

Dr.Watson

My Feedback: (10)

Multiplex Easy Star. its a 3 channel EPP foam pusher plane. very tough and for about $180 you get everything you need to fly except 8 AA batteries. it comes with a hitec focus SS (single stick)and 2 servos ESC and reciever that you can use in your next 3 channel plane. very tough.

Time Pilot

I like my GWS Estarter, a 4 channel trainer. They come with a 400 motor now, might be D gearing. If so, you could run it with a 3 cell 1500 mah Lipo and a 9x5 prop and get some good performance out of it.

Or, you could do like I did and get a 350 motor, a C gearbox and a 9x7 prop with a good 7 cell battery, like the 1150's Nimh at cheapbatterypacks.com. I get 15 - 20 minutes a pack and am quite content with the way she flies like this. I don't get vertical performance, but 'spirited' performance.

As an aside, I don't think electric is much cheaper to get into than glow. Small kits seem to be more expensive than glow kits, a good motor & speed controler is more expensive than a glow engine, mini & micro servos are more expensive and then there are the flight packs and chargers....

eckace1

I would recomend the slow stick as your firs plane. You will need to get radio gear radio, reciever ,esc,servos batt. etc you don,t need top of the line just the basics . It is an easy build very stable plane to learn on. Also you can modify as you learn hope this helps eckace1