Hi, my uncle is looking for a rc glider, he wants one w/ a motor and all, pre built and not TOO expensive, and hes a begginer in r/c. If any one has any suggestions please tell me...

thanks, jason

I started flying in March of 2003. I had no interest in building models, so I
went the R-T-F route. I think this is such a great way to get started

I will just share the path I took. There is a motor glider RTF listed at the bottom.

I am a first timer. However I am also one of these guys that goes into intense
research when I get interested in something. After several months of research,
talking to people, flyers I decided to start with an electric parkflyer. I
looked at lots of planes and packages and selected the Aerobird.

It is a super value and very easy to fly. It includes a peak charger that can
be used in a car, as well as the batteries for the radio. Wings and other
parts are cheap and available at most hobby stores.

The new version, the Aerobird Challenger looks to be an even better performer.
Also, it has two flight modes - Sport for the beginner or relaxed flyer and
expert for the more advanced or aggressive flyer.

HobbyZone AEROBIRD CHALLENGER
THREE CHANNEL ELECTRIC PARKFLYER

Very inexpensive and rugged for a three channel starter - $115-$150
The plane comes complete and fully assembled. Charge the flight battery with
the included 12 V peak charger, put
on the wing, put the included batteries in the transmitter and up you go!
With a little throttle management you can get flights of 12-15 minutes on a
battery.

The plane is very rugged, but there is a full line of parts available at
reasonable cost. You can replace the whole main fuselage for $49 including the
motor and all the flight electronics. A wing is $15 and the tail is $9. So, if
you crash badly you can get everything for under $75 and you are back in the
with a three channel plane.

In addition to being a fun parkflyer, the plane glides very nicely. We
thremal soar the Aerobirds at our glider club field. Because the plane only
has a 42" wingspan it can't go as high as the sailplanes because we would lose
site of it. I have also read reports of people slope soaring with the
Aerobird. This is a very versitle plane.

If you are interested I have written up a tips sheet on how to fix the
Aerobird.

Here is a review of the Aerobird ( before the new Aerobird Challenger)

http://www1.wildhobbies.com/news/def...&articleid=853
On these pages you will find Videos of the Aerobird in flight
http://www.parkflyers.com/html/aerobird_video.html
http://www.modelflight.com.au/model_flight_videos.htm

With 100+ flights on the Aerobird, I fly in 15 MPH winds and fly with great
confidence. Personally, after all the bad landings I am amazed that the plane
still flies, I love it and have recommended it to many friends who fly them
now as well. They all learned very quickly!


From Electric Park Flyer to Sailplane

THE GREAT PLANES SPRIT SELECT 2 METER

If you are more interested in sailplanes than parkflyers, the Spirit Select is
completely assembled with all the electronics installed. It includes a 72 MHZ
three channel radio. It is branded Hobbico, but it is really a Hitec radio.

Here is a link to the site where I purchased it for $139 complete!
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXVK55**&P=7

Here is a link to the ARF version where you can find links to two product
reviews. If you want to do some building, the ARF is the route, but for an
extra $40, I got the radio and the plane ready to fly. For me that was
perfect.
http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1045.html
Video
http://www.greatplanes.com/gallery/gpma16.mov

The plane has spoilers built in the wings that are not set-up when you get it.
If you want to use spoilers, you can set them up later, as I did. The third
channel on the radio operates the spoilers. The included instructions tell
you how to do it.

I started flying the Spirit in Mid July and have about 65 flights on it. I now
have that down pretty well. This plane has a reputation of being a great
thermalling plane but I have heard of people flying it on slopes as well. I
is so great when I get it so high it is just a dot in the sky. I recently
built an electric power pod for it so I can launch it with an electric motor
if I like, but can take it back off so that I have a pure sailplane. I
definitely recommend it as a first sailplane.


SPECTRA MOTOR GLIDER

I don't have one of these, but if you are more likely to buy a motor glider
than a pure sailplane, there is a version of the Spirit called the Spectra.
Essentially the same plane, but with a motor. Again, tower has it for $199
RTF - Add $10 for Eveready's and you are set.
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXVJ51**&P=7


Both the Aerobird and the Spirit have been a pleasure. I would recommend them
to anyone starting out in electrics or gliders who would like to go the
ready-to-fly route rather then building.

If you are interested in sailplanes/gliders, visit this link and look for the
article on getting started with gliders.

http://www.rclibrary.com/index.php

Thanks alot for the info!!!I actually have a slow stick and he saw me flying it but he wants a glider. I told him about how he should start w/ a begginers airplane lke the aero bird, or firebird... but he just wants a glider. thanks again.

-Jason

This is a good glider for the beginner. Our club has trained a few people on this.
The [link=http://www.nesail-online.com/detail.php?productID=1445]Defiant[/link] by Northeast Sailplane Products

some good gliders are dicussed here:

Favoriate Glider or Sailplane

I tried something totally new with my Aerobird today. I took it slope soaring. What a blast! The motor is off and it just floats along the cliff on the lift.

Unfortunately while the wind was doing 10-15 mph, the temperature was around 10 degrees F. My hands were so cold that when I took my gloves off to put the rubber bands on the wing, it actually hurt.

I only flew for about 3 minutes, when the transmitter battery warning beeper
sounded. I don't think they are that old, I think they were just too cold. I can understand that.

So rather than try new batteries, I decided to call it quits. But that was enough to show me that the Aerobird can slope quiet well.

And, the wind was not really at the ideal angle. It was not straight into the
hill. It was more like a 45 degree angle which is not ideal, but there was enough lift to take the bird up!

This was my first slope soar, but it won't be the last! So much fun!

The last plane listed in my post above IS a RTF motor glider. However, jsut for info, while I would not call the Aerobird a glider, it glides very well. I thermal mine and I just started slope gliding it.

Many of aeajr's suggestions sound good, but I would actually disagree with him about the Spectra. The Spectra was my first plane, and I thought it was decent until I tried out some other gliders -- the Spectra's vertical tail seems comparatively undersized and the turns are sluggish.

Horizon hobby has the Aspire 2M -- unfortunately, I don't know how that compares with a Spectra. They also have a $70 S400 glider that has a good reputation on rcgroups. Does anybody remember what this glider is called?

Ch.

Don't know where we disagree, but that doesn't matter.

The Aspire, at least the EP-Aspire, would be in the same general class as the Spectra. Similar size, weight. Both are Rudder/Elevator ships.

I am not aware of a RTF Aspire, but it might be available. It is certainly available ARF.

I believe one of our club members has an EP-Aspire. Another has the unpowered Aspire. I believe they both like them.

Can't comment about how the EP Aspire flies compared to the Spectra. I have never flown either one.

Why not just an E-raider??? exellent on the slopes, maybe the plain raider is even better because it weighs about 8 ounces less...these are exellent gliders for slope check em out at [link=http://www.wingwarrior.com]Wing Warior's site[/link] pretty impressive planes. either that or a spirit 2 meter glider.

How about an Ascent? They are like $69 plus radio gear, batteries plus very limited assembly required.

You know I may have this wroing. Does prebuilt mean take it out of the box and fly, or is an almost ready to fly that needs 4-10 hours of assembly fit into his idea of already built? He would have to buy a radio and receiver, servos and a speed control and install the electronics in the plane. Then he would have to balance the plane.

Would that fit his idea of ready built?

For example, the Great Planes Spectra, that I mentioned above, is available as an ARF or an RTF.
http://www.greatplanes.com/airplanes/gpma1050.html

The ARF probably would take 4-8 hours to get ready for flight and you need to buy the electroncis yourself.

The RTF comes with the radio and all the electronics installed. Fly in an hour or less.

Which is your Uncle looking for?

Can't find the URL, no matter what I substitute for the (****).

I tried several ways to post this but since the link exists on another forum it seems that RCU has cencored it and won't let me post it. Sorry!

I will try to send it to you in a PM

the missing letters are

t o r q u e r o l l . c o m

let's see if this works.