Sig

1. 4-star- nice easy build, fuselage a bit weak, a real floater, next time I'll take 2 bays off each side.
2. Mid-Star- this is the best kit I have ever built, fun to fly, docile
3. Kougar- this is next in line, will be my first try at sheeting foam
4. Fazer- this could be fun, not in the same league as Mojo, but prolly tracks a whole lot better
5. Something Extra- should have built when it was 79.00. I think the plug in wings might have thrown me off.

BlueJay Aircraft (Bridi)

1. Utter Chaos- well it's a chaos or kaos so it has to fly well
2. Vagabond- did I say I like trikes ?

Balsa Usa

1. Smoothie- a classic good flyer I'm told
2. Moonraker- dont know much about this one.... but looks good

Top-Flite

1. Contender- the once great model maker down to one....sad

Great Planes

1. Mustang- got a lot of kaos in her
2. Ultimate- everyone has to have one bipe

Well that's a start I'm sure I left some out.

Had a Fazer. Tons of fun and easy to build. Great plane. Not quite a beginners plane.

I would add the Goldberg Tiger 2 and the Mojo, Burrito, and Primo from SwanysHouse.

Also the Great Planes UltraSport 40 (currently out of stock but still in production?).

Also the Tower Hobbies Fun 51.

+ a bunch of Cubs

In the SIGs take a good look at the Kavalier, I have built several of them for club members for a racing class, nice build and great flying plane!!
Blue Jay has kept the prices down and cut a great kit. I'm a Kaos guy myself but after building and flying the Dirty Birdy I feel it is even more stable then the Kaos, does a much smoother knife edge too!! It has instructions for all three types of landing gear too.. Mine was a tail dragger. Blue Jay is keeping the Bridi designs alive and well but these are mor builders kits and a bit harder then SIG or GP. Just something to keep in mind.

Well I got the Bluejay Vagabond for Christmas. Just have to finish my work bench and then decide whether I build it or the Venture 60. It is a nice position to be in.
John

Poor feller!!!! I was looking at the Bridi Killer Bee but they are still out of stock. I did email them asking when they will have them in stock, let's see if I get an answer.

I like the Killer Bee too although the next kit I want from Bluejay is their Dirty Birdy.

Yah I know I'm a poor feller next up after that is the Ultra Sport 60 or CG Ultimate. I've been saving kits. I had an operation on my Achellies tendon last November and I can finally walk again. I just finished the wiring I started last January and my benches are just about ready to use. Lots of organization is going to be needed since I just threw everything onto shelves when we moved into our new house two years ago. I'm really getting excited since I've missed building.
John

To get back on topic check out Early RC models. They have a Falcon 56, Sr Falcon and a Trainermaster all 40 size.
John

DB is outstanding. I just lost this one in a mid air it's second time out!!

Grey Beard,
It seems I was just reading about your maiden flight. That's a bummer for sure. I know you never know their life expectancy but two flights is too short.

rkrider,
A couple of more kits. http://junorc.com/kits.html Tsunami .40. The Tsunami is a very smooth flying plane. It was one of the favorite planes of my mentor. Sadly he is no longer flying.

http://www.eurekaaircraft.com A bunch of different kits.
John

Second time out, not flights. I took it out once and got in about 5 flights to get it into trim, next weekend I had a mid air on the first flight. Just one of them flyen things!!

I could nvr quite get past the "looks" of the Tiger 2, but maybe they are better in RL. I built a Burrito and while it was fun, was just not the type of flying I like.
The Fun 51 is the best wind flyer I ever had. I could never get the gear to hold up though. I thought it flew much better than an Uproar I'd built.

Steve

I've often wondered about the Kavalier, I may have to add one to the collection. I'm really interested in Bluejay kits, when you say harder, do you mean not as much "hand holding" ?

Steve (also a graybeard)

I've got a kit built tower kaos and one kit in reserve, so I'm good with kaos right now. The Vagabond is the one I'm thinkig about ordering.

Steve

The Falcon 56 would be cool. That was the second kit that I built (goldberg version)

Steve

I didnt know about junorc...thanks ! I've looked at Eureka's site, I like full kit's mostly, seems kinda high for a short kit.

Steve

OK, I kinda agree on the Tiger 2. It's a bit boxy. But, compared to a Burrito?!?! Or a Fun 51?!?! I'll take a little boxy over flat any day.

Lol, yep the Burrito is nothing to look at for sure, but it does a great job for it's intended purpose. I gave the profile "3D" deal a try because at the time thats the only folks who
where designing new kits. I just found that it was not the type of flying I like. I lean more towards sport/ ole skool pattern. My Fun 51 really surprised me, it tracked very well for
a "flat" plane. It would do some of the 3d stuff too, but not like the Burrito for sure. I may build another someday if I can figure how to mod the gear to take helo landings.

Steve

Different planes Bridi designed are a bit easier to build then some of his other designs. His Kaos is easier to build then the Dirty Birdy due to the difference in the fuse design. None of them are hard to build but todays builders are used to better instructions with nice pictures you can follow. In the old school builds all we had were writen instructions, just 8.5X11 paper telling you what to do. None of that use a 18 inch 3/8X38 stick, it will just say to use a 3/8X3/8 stick so you need to do a bit more of that thinking stuff or you may have to go buy more wood. It's just different then todays kits. You can't compare these kits with something from SIG or GP. It's just how it was and is done. After building a few of these older designs you will be able to slip right into plans building without too much trouble though so they are a very good aid to learning. Nott so much harder but different. I have been given a few started old school kits by friends that just couldn't figure things out. They just require more thought. That and more carving and sanding. I like them but I also enjoy building from plans. The Birdy was a nice build and I only messed up one part but worked around it. No one I know or fly with today {ARF people} would have ever been able to spot my mistake, I just made it look cool and the guys loved my Mod.
Gene

Thanks Gene, I kinda figured that they wouldn't have the detailed instructions that the newer kits do. I've built enough kits so that I can hopefully fake my way through one.
By the way, I first got into RC while stationed at Nellis in the 70's. I believe the field was built by the Circus Circus owner at that time. He used to hold some type of pattern contest with the hot shots from Europe showing up.
I also remember some sort of 1/4 scale meet out your way. That was a giant plane in those days...lol

Cheers
Steve

The Vagabond instructions are just as Gray Beard describes. There are however 2 pages of photgraphs at the end of the instructions. No captions just small photos but enough to give you an idea of what needs to be done. Looks like fun. The balsa in my kit looks first rate - at least the ribs do. I'm not going to pull everything out of the box as I never be able to fit everything back in.
John

Thanks John, I know what you mean, I took out a sweet stick kit I have to see how many die cut parts there where and it took me forever to fit it all back in

Steve

Mr. Bennett was really into RC. His first house is just down the road from me on LVB. The home is long gone but his private RC field is still there!!! Yes, it gets used! He is the one that got parks and rec to build the field not too far from me, Bennett field. He held IMAC, Pattern and IMAA events out there. Those were the days when Vegas was the MECA of RC events. After he passed all that went away. The gas and hotel prices didn't help at all either. Not a lot going on in the area these days but there are a few events every year, just nothing like the good old days. The field is there and in good shape, it's twin is on the other side of town, Whilly McCool field, closer to the base then Bennett.
Anyone with some kits under there belts should have no trouble with the older kits, they just aren't going to go together as quick and easy. It hurts my head to do a lot of thnking so I only work on these kits a few hours a day. I have templates for the DB but I'm going to move onto something else next. I have a new set of plans!!!!!!!! Something I built once before and crashed due to an operator malfunction.
Gene

Well come on you can't just tease us. Spill the beans.

If I buy another kit without building something the wife is going to killl me. I really want a Dirty Birdy. It's an disease.
John