Is this a bad idea? I really want one of these

It's a free country. If you can afford it, you can buy it.

Operating it though is a whole different story!!!!

Yup...bad idea...bad, bad, bad. [sm=drowning.gif]If you decide otherwise, I would really like to see the video[]

D.W.

yes i agree with diceman,, you need to master a trainer then move to some sort of pattern
plane and master it before you go to jets.
if you have never flown before be sure you have a sesonded partner with a buddie box.

hehehe, you crack me up Dean

Learning to fly with a Jet is like Learning to ride a 1000CC sport bike before you have the training wheels off your pedal bike. You can do it, but it's gonna be costly and dangerous.

Don't do it!

Get an instructor and buy yourself a Nexstar trainer. It has a auto pilot and comes with the Real Flight simulator to help you learn!

You know, a guy at our flying field showed up with one of those last week. I test flew it for him and I don't see what's so special.
The autopilot really didn't hold alt or heading much and it fought me in the turns. It was squirly and wanted to bounce of every landing.
I still think you just can't beat a big .60 sized trainer for learning.

Far as that goes you cant beat an Alpha for a better landing tranier due to the higher than normal sink rate.

TTM,

If youre still going to do it, get a 'roo from CompositesARF.com
They seem to be pretty affordable (almost disposable) compared to other jets. People here like it a lot and they say many good things, though it is ugly as hell!

Good luck and always search for advice. Some guys are telling you not to do it. I may not agree with them but there is WISDOM in their words.

David

GO FOR IT! I can't think of a better way to waste several thousand dollars in one shot. Please post the crash video online so we can watch.

My first plane was a little 25 sized pattern type. I did it the hard way and got about 5 feet into the air before I slammed it into the runway. That was my first RC flight. I just had to have that sporty airplane. After that I got a Duraplane(more like the Durabrick) and crashed it about 50 times before I could fly one flight without crashing. But I finally did learn all by myself in a cow field.

Dont do it, this is not an instant gratification hobby.

But if you do decide to do it please tape it

hey i tend to agree with mot of these guys. i myself am thinking the exact same thing. im buying a AV8R and putting a home built motor on it. if you haven't flown a R/C at all i wouldn't recomend it, i flew a few trainers and had a few close calls but no crashes (yet). if you have the money i would try a JET 1 as a first plane, it is a VERY stable flyer and has some very nice low speed landings. i flew a freind of mine's Jet 1 and it was VERY stable, he brought it in for a landing at (i would guess) 15 mph. i flet like i could just walk out anf grab it outta the air (NEVER TRY THAT!). im no jet pilot, but if your really gonna do it you might look at homemade turbines, they are cheap and almost dispensible (Almost!). i'd recomend thomas kamps book on turbines. you can get it at:

https://www.traplet.com/pages/store/...d=3581&-search

good luck buddy and please keep me updated.

Pete

better yet, get a firebird XL and have some fun with it and if you crash it is so durable that its not even funny such a high climb rate its not even funny. then advance to like a trainer then a areobatics then look at a DUCTED FAN too many newbies go after the turbines spend 6 7 8 9 or 10 k on a jet and assemble it over 90 hours or so and it flies for 5 minutes before their 5' 300+mph pass smacks into the earth

firebird xl made my hobbyzone

Maxx ,

it HAS been done - in 1985 I trained a 16year old young man to fly a Byron F-16 with NO aircraft flight experince at all -and he was a really good student pilot - the the Byron F-16 was a really good trainer jet - you can slow fly it at 40mph and throttled back that Rossi .81 with a 32 oz.Sprite soda bottle fuel tank would run for 30min. or more . But you HAVE to be willing to do what your instructor tells you.
Yes,it CAN be done.

Jackjet

It is possible to learn on a HP aircraft no doubt, I'm a bonehead and dident pick up RC planes as quick as one of my other buddies that I taught a year ago. I tend to over analyze things and it screws up learning and being relaxed, which is very inportant.

The best pilots are the ones who dont think of anything but flying the plane, paradoxically this can aslo be the worst pilots...

Someone approached me a year ago or so at a jet meet and said, "I want to buy your BobCat" (should have snatched that deal right then), but you know, the guy had never touched a transmitter before, much less a turbine model! I looked at him and said, "pal, save yourself a lot of grief and expense. Go buy a turn key .40 size trainer for cheap and see if for one, you're really going to dig this hobby. For two, use the trainer to bring you up to speed on all the little things that bite: battery management, fuel management, fasteners, support equipment, insurance........and so much more".
Had he said, "I'd like to buy it and hang it up until I'm ready", hmmmmmmm. I might have said, "grab your checkbook Buddy, I'll start pulling the wings...."
BTW, the BobCat was MY first jet! Can you say "trial by fire". With that airplane, you learn fast or loose it! In hinze sight, I think there might have been several slower, more forgiving airframes for which to "learn jets" on, but few sport jets are prettier than the BobCat, for sure.
LKL