Eflite T34 Mentor
 

LHS recommends this as my first large plane. I have a UM T28 now that I have flown, but too small for takeoff and landing from my grass. Also too light for anything over 1 knot. He said its pretty durable, and very stable. What would I need for rough grass field flying with this one?

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

That depends on how rough the grass is.  Look at the wheels.  Look at the grass.  If the grass is higher then the wheels you are going to have a problem.

You can try putting on gigantic foam wheels, but if the grass is more than 1/2 the height of the wheels you will likely have issues.

Do you have a problem with hand launching your planes?   I take the landing gear off and hand launch all the time.

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

I hand launch my UM T-28 all the time, its the landing Im worried about, catching a 5lb+ plane while still tring to maintain control is not the easiest thing to do. LOL I'm looking for an easy to fly plane that I can fly in my fields, yet can be sporty if I want it to be, and not cost a small fortune. This one is right on the fence being at $449, but since I have a DX6i already I can probably recuop $150-175 putting the included radio on Ebay. It's between this one and the ParkZone T-28, not the Ultra Micro, I already have one of those.

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

I have the T34 Mentor and it grass lands great, but area is mowed etc, you may check for a better field to land. Its nose gear is very solid as check the video review where they slam it on the table, my kind of plane ! But is bulsa so you don't want to run into a curb or crash land. With any flaps it lands like a dream, gives several moments to correct the landing, I can actually flare too soon, lower the nose more than once before touchdown, its an increadible flyer. My first flight the prop was loose, it zinged off, with the vibration even the canopy popped off, was only 12 foot high but it kept flying and landed perfectly as it turned back into the breeze, knew I had a better than average flyer !

Believe I did hand launch it a couple times, it will perform there, this ship tho is larger than the parkflyer, but if any level grass area or pavement its a cinch to take off with zero issues. Hold off on the pavement landings if your not sure on this as could do damage there with any crash, less likely on the grass.

No I don't suggest to hand catch, its a larger ship, not necessary with the correct landing area.

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

good to hear, Ihavent done eanything with it yet, still have to put the tail on it. But first going to make sure everything is tight, and put a latch on the canopy since it does tend to come off all on its own. Ihave 3 more battery packs and a charger on order, should beh here by friday, then Ican get it all put together, and try to get in touch with my friends who fly. Iinstalled a flap servo too, so I dont have to screw with the flaps.

The good news is it has rained pretty good here so the gound is soft enough to roll. Hopefully Ican get a nice smooth section rolled out as a runway.

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

Great, good luck with your maiden, it will take off reasonably fast with enough throttle, might have a slight torque depending on the throttle used etc, else should be an easy take off, have extra room tho for safety. Had mine set with a slight amount of flaps, takes away a little of the penetration inflight, but landings are unbelieveably soft, still suggest grass landings at the start. Its too much investment to have any misshaps. Mine is still intact, but yet to fly this year, waiting for improvements on the weather.

RE: Eflite T34 Mentor
 

I got in touch with my old flying friends who fly behind his house. He has a real B17 that he is slowly restoring, and has all kinds of planes. He has a 1/4 scale P51 made out of aluminum that has Ithink he said 110" wing span, and flys off a 4 stroke .90. His brouther has a T34 the same size as mine with a gasser in it, so this should be interesting. We will see which one has more pep, the electrice or the gas. Of course this will be after I learn to fly it without crashing and can take the droops off. He also has a wing section from Shoo Shoo baby. It was not used in the restoration of the plane, he has an E model that is actually shown in one of those B-17 books you can get at the hobby shop, it was converted to an experimental cargo plane. Here is a link to that plane www.usaaf.com/b17/index.htm