Well we started off with a Hobbyzone Super Cub RTF and I quickly mastered that. I have no problem with take offs, landings, or flying it. I also have used Great Plane's flight simulator quite a bit, I'm looking to see what people might recommend for the next step in learning to fly electrics? Thank you, Chris.

The next step is usually to get a good aileron trainer so that you can learn to fly the 4-channel planes. The best plane for this task used to be the Multiplex Minimagistar (Minimag), but a recent newcomer, the ParkZone T-28 Trojan, is even better. I've also seen some people go directly from the SuperCub to the ParkZone Typhoon2 or the ParkZone Stryker-C.

I've never owned a Stryker (mostly because I won't fly a plane that can't do ground take-offs) but I've seen others fly it and its a very nice plane, particularly in handling some wind. I've been flying the Typhoon for nearly two years and its a terrific plane. I recently bought a T-28 Trojan for a more relaxed flying experience compared to the Typhoon, and I'm amazed at how well it flies. For your situation, I would recommend the Trojan.

I found the hardest thing to master with the Stryker is the speed. It is relativly easy to fly and a great deal of fun. If you can hold back on the throttle in the beginning, this might make a good next step. (Normally this would make a nice 3rd or 4th plane..)

I've heard some people say the Horizon Extra 260 480 is a good plane. Originally I wanted a Mini-pulse but it seems people aren't overall very enthusiastic about the plane and a lot of people seem to agree the Extra makes for a better plane. Would this be okay to go to? Thank you.

Each person is different, so there is no absolutely correct answer. I would suggest that you stay with a foam plane for your aileron trainer because there will undoubtedly be "rough" landings and repairing a foam plane is much easier than repairing a wood frame plane. However, if you enjoy the building aspect of the hobby, then go for a wood frame. The E-flite MiniUltraStick (MUS) is probably the most forgiving plane for you to go with.

I think if you jump to the Extra it'll carted off the field in a bin bag before you've run down the 1st battery !!!!!!
LeoL suggested the MiniMag, it's what I went to after the SuperCub and in my opinion absolutely fantastic plane.
I recently flew a newbies T28 to help him out at the club but still think I prefer the MiniMag and it'll last twice as long / much more durable but the T28 has the looks !!!!!!!
When you've had you're aileron trainer, have moved the CoG further back, upped all the throws and it's become the plane that's limiting your aerobatics not your ability and can fly inveretd almost until it's boring - that's when to have a look at something like the Extra as they're totally different beasts !!!!!
You'll be suprised as well at how much more powerful the MiniMag is than than the SC with a decent brushless motor, I flew both the other weekend as I took a complete newbie out with my SC and then launched the MiniMag which my son is now flying.
Would suggest sticking to foam for now though whichever route you decide to take.

What stage of assembly is best to buy this plane as? It looks to me like the ready to fly version does not come setup for aileron use, I would assume I need a servo to set this up? Is the radio/receiver of any quality or am I best to buy it in some other form of assembly? Also anyone know of any places to get a good deal on this plane? Thanks.

I assume you meant the MiniMag ???????
Personally I bought the one that you put together, I understand their motors aren't brilliant and I wanted to put a reasonable brushless in it without too much cost. I used the GWS 2212/13T the motor mount then just needed some trimmimg to allow the motor to turn freely but I'm sure you can find an alternative motor that fits straight off.
Re the ailerons, when you build it you install a servo on each wing but if you want can fly it as 3 channel 1st using rudder only, then when you're used to it and want to go to 4 channel just cut the slits in between the ailerons and the wing to allow the ailerons to move and attach the servo's.
Any other queries just ket me know !!

Yeah, I was talking about the Minimag, sorry about any confusion. Is the kit easy to assemble? Would it be wise to use a brushless motor/esc/li-po setup that I could use in another plane like a Mini-Pulse or an Extra? I'm sort of on a tight budget and I don't want to keep buying stuff over and over again for different planes, I'd like to try to get a good setup I can use on multiple planes as I learn to fly. I think the motor I was looking at was an Eflite 480 brushless motor, 25 amp speed control, and a 11.1V 2100mah lipo. I know these components are good for both of the planes I want to get at a later time. Also, what servoes should I use for the plane (manufacturer/model/price?)? Thank you.

It's a heck of a thing to rip the avionics and motor out of a "working" aircraft to get another one going. If you spend the time to learn to fly the minimag properly then by the end of it you may have enough in even a modest budget to buy a new plane + avionics without resorting to decommissioning another one.

The 480's an awful lot of motor in the MiniMag, I've the E-Flight 450 in a Blast which I think is called a Flash over there and that's a full on 3D machine and yet bigger and heavier than the MiniMag. If you're trying to take future into account the I think for the extra $20/30's you can get a reasonable motor for I'd get something a bit less powerfull but maybe as you say the speed controller that can be used in soomething else but as ozrcboy says it's hard to rip bits out of a working model, my son now flies my MiniMag. Alternatively you could sell it as a complete working ship withh the "right" bits in.
Servo's, I used out of planes I'd destroyed like the aerobord swift and Ultrafly Phantom, in essence any reasonable 9gram ish should do the job for a plane like this.
In terms of building it personally I terrible at it and as a result don't enjoy and this was my 1st attempt which scared me BUT the instructions made it so easy, the only bit I slightly struggled with a bit was the mods to the motor mount but if you get a motor that fits you shouldn't have to do that.
Batteries, I used 2100's to start with a it was what gave me loads of stick time as I was getting over 23 mins and had 3 batteries.
About 3/4 months later I thought I was "bored" with the plane and rang a hobby shop, described my ability and asked what I should get next. He gave me some of the best advice ever, increase the throws slowly, one hole at a time and slowly move the CoG back, it totally changed the plane, made it more responsive and tiedied up rolls etc but more to the point started getting me ready for the next one !!!!!!
See you've got a sim as well, I managed having flown extra's etc on that and having had my MiniMag for about 5 months and could literally throw it around in the sky to jump to an Acromaster but it was stlll a big jump !!
Good luck and let us know how you get on but again any other queries just let me know !!!!!!

i would recomend maybe a GWS Formosa with the stock setup then when you get better stick in a brushless setup and with the brushless they are a blast to fly and are virtully indistructible

Is there a motor someone can reccomend for the minimag that drops right in? I'm not all too comfortable with modifying the motor mount at this point. Is the kit easy to assemble for a beginner? Is there a lot of construction involved?

It's really easy to build, it sounds as though you're about as good at that sort of thing as I am and it really put me off to start with as I really am hopeless at anything like that and was pleasantly suprised at how easy it was taking into account my complete lack of ability !!!!!!
The only real bit of advice are take your time over it and just check things before you glue them, if you get a motor that is too big by chance again I can talk you through what to do and it's not hard, just needs ideally a dremmel or something similar although I didn't even have that at the time and just used a craft knife with a new blade to trim some of the bits back.
I'll post on another site as well and see if I can find someone who's got a motor that slots straight in.

Thought you might find this useful as well http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=544877
you can see he also refers to trimming the motor mount in Power Options #2. I also found these motors http://www.giantcod.co.uk/product_in...bdff25534c8ba4 which are also on e-bay and just that fraction thinner than the GWS which may allow it to turn ar at least a bit less trimming, they're also on E-Bay if you google the model number

Thanks for all the help guys! I'm having a little trouble deciding on what radio to get. Right now I've got a nitro trainer that is in need of a radio, I'm assuming it needs at least 5 channels. Like I was saying earlier, I want to wind up getting an E-flite Extra at some point and on Horizon's website it says it's best to use a 6 channel radio for proper "mixing". My question I guess is, should I spend the money on a DX6 from Spektrum or would something like a JR 600 radio be a quality radio that's going to last me? I'd like to have whatever radio I get now last at least a few years assuming I keep getting better, I know if I go to a larger plane the potential for more channels may come in. Once again thanks for all the help!

Me again !!!
Sorry don't mean to monpolise this thread and I'm sure others will chip in on the radio as well, as a rule of thumb buy the best TX you can.
I tried the cheaper route and now have 2 TX's at home that are going spare so you end up buying the better unit in the long run but hopefully without wasting it on lesser ones that you then upgrade from later and are never going to get your money back on.
I bought the DX7 a few months back but did look at the DX6i this Saturday and in reality I probably could of done with that as it's an awful lot of radio for the cost !!!
I'd also look at the Extreme Flight 45" Extra and the Precision Aerobatics Extra 260 as alternatives to the E-Flight Extra when the time comes as some say the build quality may be better than E-Flights.

Well I'm glad someone else has an idea of what I'm going through with this! I'm leaning towards just getting the Spektrum radio. I run rc cars as well and I started with a Spektrum DX2 for that and decided I wanted a more quality radio and upgraded to an Airtronics M11, the radio I always wanted and should have got originally. I'll check into those other Extra's, I noticed in the Mini-Pulse thread there was some question of how well E-flite planes are built. For now, I'm probably going to start looking for a Minimag kit to buy, the lowest priced one I've found is $64.99 with $6.82 for shipping. Does anyone know of a better deal I can get?

This motor, KD 2209-28T 1050kv 15A Brushless Outrunner, is $29.99 with $10 shipping, does that sound like a fair price? What kind of ESC should I be looking for this motor? What battery should I be choosing (Li-po, NiMH, mAH, voltage)?

As far as servoes are concerned are there any brands to avoid? With my cars I run mainly Airtronics as I think they are of the highest quality, but at the same time they are quite expensive, not looking to break the bank on the servoes for the plane. Any reccomendations for servoes would be great.

Thanks all!

Have sent you a PM as well but just happened to come across this http://www.rcmf.co.uk/4um/index.php/topic,61220.0.html which may help with your Servo choice

I checked out, I can get those HXT 9.2g servoes for $10.95, not bad, I think it's the 9309 model. I'm gonna look on eBay for them and see what they charge. Any input on a speed control? I have no idea of what amperage I should get for that motor Wittering suggested. Thanks.

I thought that the e-flight apprentice is a good one. Or you can go to lowes and get some foam to build your own plane and use the electronics from the super cub. If you do build your own plane from plans or off the top of your head, you should get the specktrom DX6i. Very good radio. Itis $180. I dont think it can do gas planes though. The DX6i is a 6 channel radio. If you do get into gas planes, get the spektrom DX7. It is a 7 channel radio and is $345. It is a great radiol.

Did you get the MiniMag in the end, if so what have you put with it and how are you getting on ????