Hey guys, so I have been flying rc planes for a few years, have flown a variety of models, starting with a hobbico nexstar and progressing to park fliers and warbirds and my latest plane being a umx extra 300. I have spent many hours on realflight flying all of the planes including many jets. I am looking at getting started into real jets, and by that I mean turbines, but that is what I am seeking advice for. What do jet jocks consider to be a "ready" pilot for making the jump to jets. I have put many hours into the jets in realflight with all sorts of failures and weather conditions to test my ability and have done quite well i believe. If you think I am ready, then what is a good beginner turbine, or even edf if turbine is too advanced to start with? And I would prefer scale or sport before an ugly boring turbine trainer. Thanks!

best advice i could give
do you want to grow in the jet world or just have a reliable jet to beat around

also depends on radio system you have

i started kind of back wards and avoided all the recommendations that were given to me
i started with a brand new scale jet l 39 like the one on your realflight
my god it was not so easy and more a nightmare

after many troubles with that i took the advice of good friend of mine and i
took a second hand boomerang elan jet wih my jet central rabbit turbine 19 lbs
this is absolutely the best intermediate trainer on the market
with this jet turbine combo you will definetly have a fun flier that can do many acrobatics and also slow and steady
flight
here is a video
at florida jets with my jet in 20 mph winds very stable and easy to land
this is absolutely the best way to go


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_yHAP9SJ2E

Start small and work your way up, just like anything else. I asked a question about real flight and the real thing(turbines) a while ago. Well after flying turbines I can honestly say, it's just..different. I didnt find any simulator to be of real help with jets. Start with a habu or something similar, or the habu32 if you think it will be fine for you. Best bang for the buck IMO, and just work your way up and let it come to you. Once you get going, you will be able to figure out your own abilities and what you think you can handle..Find a club in your area where there are jets and talk to some of the guys flying them. Despite some of these threads, everyone I met at meets have been super nice and are more than willing to help. This, IMO, is the best way to get where you need to go..Hope it helps

Buy a second hand Boomerang and enlist the help of someone that knows about Jets to help you. If you can get one with a Turbine that will transfew to another plane so much the better but this is not that important because once you get hooked you will want to keep the boomer.

Regards

Dennis

+1 on the Boomerangs and as Dennis said, you will likely always keep one in the stable.

I started with turbines 3 years ago after 15 years of flying (a lot of them giant scale aerobats both sequence and 3D). I can tell you, jets are a whole different animal especially scale jets. You're now dealing with high wing loadings, retracts, no prop blast or instant acceleration to get you out of trouble. Jets aren't hard to fly at speed, it's the landing that will bite you when you are new to them. It's a whole new experience and one I have enjoyed but it takes time to learn and adapt.

The Boomerang will be a nice intermediate step to get you used to some of these things before going to a scale ship.

Mike

All of the above comments are right on . You should start with something that will let your confidence build slowly , do not rush . All jet incedints are very costly , and although many of us can afford it, it slowly eats away at your confidence , and make one very discouraged quickly . I have been in jets for quite some time and only recently I can truly say that I had a very successful year. By that I mean I can go fly and come back home with my jet intact and having to do no major repairs at all . I have seen many rush into jets and like the previous comment said lost it completely on the landing. It is the most intimidating part of jet flying, Once it is mastered you will be on your way to success . By all mean get some help .

Good luck

You should also do some legwork ...... you need to get to the jet meets/rallys in the area to observe, ask questions, listen, and ask even more questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions ...... most of us love to talk about this addiction we have.

I also would suggest getting the foam Habu .... as an initial starting point. Get it now, you will be able to handle it. Its fun, flies well, is reasonably priced, and will introduce you to that jet look (in the air). I routinely fly my foam Habu year round (even in winter) just to keep the thumbs moving ......

Bob

I'm a newbie and ask this same questions a few months ago.  Go with the Boomerrang Nano.  Its a great jet and very easy to fly, it is a true trainer!  I sold mine and i wish i didn't [].   I think a might buy another one.  It's perfect for short runways!

Any of the Boomerang line of jets would be a great starter.

I have two ideas on this subject, I think its down to your confidence in your ability aswell as Flying Site Location/Size/Tarmac or Grass and Surroundings. If you feel you'd be comfortable in flying and landing a model with a slightly higher Top Speed/Landing Approach Speed or Stall Speed then I would by all means buy a jet that you think will suite you most after perhaps asking around at any local Jet Meetings. I started with a Jet Legend Hawk with a Wren SuperSport (not an ideal training model), and there was alot of people who reccomended I fitted my turbine into a Boomerang Jet before flying the Hawk, but without wanting to sound big headed in anyway, Id put quite alot of Stick Time in on Sport / F3A models and felt I was ready to deal with any of the stereotypical flying / landing characteristics of the Hawk.

On the other hand, we also fly a Boomerang Elan with a Wren SuperSport and found it be well capable of 190mph and with a small amount of tweaking it would perform any stunt asked of it aswell as landing at walking pace, I know that this may not be what your looking, even we admit, it has a look only its mother could love but a very good introduction to Jets.

Hope this helps.

Regards Jame

+1 with everything said above.

a good EDF jet like the Habu32 or something of the like will give you a good bit of experience of "jet" flying w/o the rules of the turbine waiver. My experience was allot of 3D/pattern giant scale models, Warbirds, Heli's, DF jets and Q40 pylon racers before i got into jets. I had flown all kinds of airplanes to gain different techniques needed for different types of flying. After a few years absence in the hobby, i got back into jets with a Comp-Arf Eurosport. Its semi-scale, has great handling characteristics even as slow speeds and is moderately fast. Landing is a breeze as long as you keep the nose up to keep the speed consistent, and since its a fairly simple airframe setup wise, I have recommended it to a few people who have similar background experience in RC as i did.

Alright thanks guys.  I think for now I will pick up a habu edf foamie and hope to get more of a grasp on this.  What about like an avonds f15 for a starter? I remember being told a while back that was a good first turbine.

John, Really just any mfgr. of the F-15's will fly well. It seems you're looking at scale jets for your first and that's not bad, but do look into the EuroSport scale jets (Comp-ARF has them), they fly very well and are stable.. even during the landing phase.

The Reaction X ARF (Bruce Tharpe Engineering) is a very good sport jet, it also has trailing link landing gear that absorbs energy from the 'not-so-great landings' we have from time to time.