Hey everyone,
I'm looking to start moving away from ARF's, and go more towards building kits. I have been flying rc airplanes for about 5 years, have both nitro and electric airplanes, and my building experience is as much as building 3 ARF kis brings you. I also have only some basic tools. I want to start enjoying the building portion of model aviation more, and I feel that a kit could do that for me. Problem is, I don't know where to start. Do any of you know of any type of, or specific kit that is an easy first build, very well made, and fun to fly? I'm open to backyard flyers, electrics, and nitro's up to .40 sized (I fly at a small feild).

Thanks in advance!
Mike<br type="_moz" />

You will hear this a lot but the 4* 40 or 60. I use the 60 size to teach building. Problem is after 5 years of flying it may not be enough plane for you. It's usually what would be someones second plane. A better flying plane {stunts} would be the Super Sportster. A very easy build and a cheap kit but a super little stunt plane is the Up-Roar or Dazzler. Not sure if the Dazzler is still in kit form or not. The Roar has a fixed wing though and may make your transport harder?? The kit is under $50.00 though and the plane is a kick to fly and easy to land. If you state the type of planes you like everyone will have a lot more ideas for you.

Taking into consideration what Gray Beard said about the 4* being not enough plane for you (it would still be fun flying and great building experience to learn from), I would also recommend checking out a Great Planes Ultra Sport 60 or Goldberg Super Chipmunk kits. 

Another one I've thought about adding to my own list is the Great Planes Extra 300S kit.  The build on these shouldn't be too bad and they will give you a plane you can enjoy for many years to come...

Good luck!

+1, all good kits. The Top Flite Gold Gold edition warbirds are great choices for anyones first try at building a nice kit but the planes and builds are a little more advanced. Everything mentioned so far can be bought through Tower. Any of them except the 4*, it's a SIG kit and the Great Planes and SIG kits have some of the very best plans and instructions. Step by step with good photos.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">a kit i'm finishing up now is the carl goldberg tiger 2. pretty much along the same lines as the 4*40; very easy build, nice looking plane, great flyer from what i've read and seen in videos, and very easy to modify if you dig into some of the threads in the forums here. a lot of good ideas and advice. my first build was the great planes RV-4, which wasn't very difficult in my opinion. if you have any experience putting things together, and you're willing to put a little time and patience into something and ask questions along the way if you don't understand something, and you don't get too bored of something that isn't instant,ANYONE here would be glad to get you away from the devil of buying ARF's.

onto the next issue. tools... if you pick out a kit that you want to build and can get to an instruction manual without buying it just yet, in the beginning of it will be a list of tools and supplies necessary to build it. somethings are necessary, others are optional. you don't have to go out and buy everything on the list just because it's there. plus reading the manual will get you familiarized with the build before spending your hard earned cash to get into something you may feel is a little too advanced for you.a list of things i use all the time:

tons of #11 exacto blades
tons of t-pins
tons of little clamps
fine tooth razor saw
course tooth razorsaw
small miter box for the razor saws (for cutting the millions of sticks that come in kits)
6" easy sander
11 " multi-purpose easy sander
different grits of sandpaper maybe some 80, 150, 320, 400
ithink it's called a pen drill (about the size of a short ink pen with tiny drill bits you spin by hand)
jeweler's files
precision screwdrivers
allen wrenches
sometimes a dremel with sanding drums for making holes in cowls
razor plane
hinge slotting tool/marking tool
robart hinge point drill guide (more often than CA hinges now days)
a pencil for marking (ink pen won't erase and takes too much sanding)
small triangles for squaringthings up (like drafting style ones but small)
and i guess lots of wood glue and epoxy would about wrap it up.

just be careful. it's like potato chips... once you pop, you can't stop!! noone caneat just one, whatever you want to say.

there issomething awesome knowingyou built that monstrosity that you just put in theair and kept there.

</span>

All the kits mentioned are good choices.  I started building my second Tiger 60a few days ago.  Take into account it is my second Tiger in 1 year so.....it only took me 1 evening to build the fuse.  I built the tail feathers this morning.  The wing takes a little longer, but not much.  Maybe 3 -4 evenings.  And then the radio/motor install and covering.  All the kits previously mentioned are probably just as easy.  But as GreyBeard says....5 yrs flyin may mean those are not what you are interested in flyin now.  The Tiger is a very good 2nd or 3rd plane.  I am not at all sure if it takes more runway to land than a 40 size.  Takeoffs are in less than 50 feet.

Jet, Crash and Steve came up with another all time favorite kit and it is an easy build and great flying machine.
The tools crash mentioned are nice to have, I don't have all of them but I get by.
This is a photo of the plane I'm finishing up right now, it's not a kit and it's not an easy build plus it's 1/4 scale so it's not small.
My main building tools are the exacto knife. I only used two blades but I sharpen them on a stone and strop, I strop them as soon as they show any sign of dull. T-pins, I have a couple of packs I have used for years. Clamps of different types I use a lot of but I buy them at harbor freight so they are cheap. A razor knife is great I have one plus a cheap cut off saw. Glues of course, I use a lot of CA and epoxy. That's about it. If you think you need something go buy one.
The number one item is my building board. Mine is old and made of pine but #1, it's flat!! Go through the list crash gave you and I bet you have a lot of it at home right now.
Later on a covering iron and maybe a heat shrink gun? Nice to have even if all you ever fly are ARFs.
Good luck to you and just holler when you need help!!

Build a sig four star 40 or 60. It's a great first time kit to build. All laser cut parts make for a simple build. I'm just wrapping up a 60 right now.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys!<div>I'm seriously considering a four star or a tiger 2. Trust me, I don't mind an airplane that isn't very aerobatic or too challenging to fly; slow, easy flying is my style anyway! Besides, I already have 1 fantastic 3D plane (E-flite Eratix 25) and one is enough for me. Thank's again!</div><div>
</div><div>Mike</div>

Jetblast, allow me to toss out my first build, and favorite plane to take flying, the Top Flite Contender. I learned alot from building this plane with it's up-turned wing tips and large single flap on the wing center. The best part is, since it's not a scale plane, any mistakes you make, you can just "fix" and call customization. . I really think this plane could fit your needs, it can be flown on a 40 or 60 size engine, the airframe is not too large at a 53" wingspan, and can fly pretty aggresively, or very gently (especially with the flap down).

I know that you said one 3D plane is enough, but these are one of the best, if not the best- The Mojo from Paul Swany. Build super easy and are super strong with the rod running front to back. They fly really tame also on low rates. The stall speed is really low. Can't believe how slow it can fly. I know that other planes look like it, (Twist, Uproar, etc) but they don't fly like it.

Here's a link to his site. [link]http://www.swanyshouse.com/index.aspx[/link]

Do a search on Youtube and you'll find alot of videos of his planes.

Video of the Mojo 60- [link]http://youtu.be/SL44sAinU_4[/link]

Here's one of the 40 that explains different features of it. [link]http://youtu.be/EO07ZZDjfGI[/link]

By the way, these kits are made in the good old USA!

I was tempted to recommend the 4 Star 40 or the Tiger 2, both are good fliers and easy to build, but you have been flying for 5 years, you need somethin more advanced, "very well made and fun to fly up to .40 size". I think the Sig Somethin Extra is the kit you are looking for. Easy to build, high quality materials and outsanding sport/fun fly airplane.

I have built a few kits, Tiger 60, 4 Star 120, TF Sea Fury, MOJO 40, and a few ARFS.

This is just a suggestion for you. You can go on Tower's web site and look at the available kits. Pick one, and you can then see the manuals that come with the kits. Take the time to read a few manuals from different manufacturers. You will get a pretty good idea of whats required to build a kit. Most of them are pretty easy to build. Most manufacturers web sites contain a link to the manuals. I was just suggesting Tower as it contains several manufacturers.

Good luck, and always remember that these guys on here will help you out if you get stuck.

Someone posted before suggesting the TF Contender. I think this is an excellent choice given your flying experience. The instructions are very thorough and sequential.

Good luck!

This is an excellent suggestion that I typically do myself when deciding on my next kit. Looking at the manual will give you an idea of how easy/involved the build will be, what to expect, and even what tools you will need.

The Sig 4* is no doubt a favorite among most, so you definitely won't go wrong with that or the Tiger. If you're not in a rush, you may consider waiting for the Venture 60 to become available from Bruce Tharpe Engineering (http://www.btemodels.com/). He designed the original 4*, and from what Ihave read, the Venture 60 is an improved version of it. It's definitely on the top of my list...

How about the Sig Kougar MKII sport/pattern kit. 

I'll toss in the suggestion of a SIG Mid-Star 40.

Balsa USA makes a kit designed as a kit building trainer. They've specifically designed the kit and instructions to teach all the primary kit building skills. It's a high-wing cabin aircraft with ailerons. Sounds like just the ticket.

Sig Somethin Extra looks like a really fun plane, thanks for the suggestion! The Contender looks a tad too fast for my field, and I've decided that I certainly do want a more aerobatic plane than a 4*. I'll look into the Extra a bit more

Mike<br type="_moz" />

The SSE is an easy build, and a blast to fly. So far on mine it's had an OS 55, Magnum 52 four stroke (not enough engine for performance, but it would fly it) and currently has a Magnum 46. You can also find several build threads on here for the SSE.