Hey,

My name is Doug and I'm looking to get into flying jets. I need some information on what kind of plane would be good to start with and if I need to join anything. Your response would be helpful.

Doug

Doug,
Tell us about the field you'll be flying from the most, is it grass, paved, long, short, high elevation, sea level, etc. IMO, this is what will dictate the turbine you'll fly and have the most fun with. Who wants to repair landing gear every weekend?
For example, I fly from a 500' grass strip with open approaches at 600 feet above sea level. Would a 35 pound scale jet be a good choice? I'm a very experienced flyer so I've lost the training wheels 3 decades ago! Yeah this would be "cool" to have, BUT I'm looking for a turbine model to fly every weekend without hassles. My choice is a BTE Models Reaction 54 all balsa kit. Will do @ 140MPH and slow to a walk for landing. With a "54" class turbine the empty weight will be at 17 pounds. Here's a link

http://www.btemodels.com/intheworks.html

This is what I chose. YOUR decision may be completely different.

BTW... The ROOKIE came in a very close second. The landing gear thing took it out of first place for me.

Dave Rigotti

The field that I am at has about a 500' paved runway. Its at sealevel and is open all around so I have alot of room to fly low and alot of room for approches.

if you are looking for a very easy turbine to fly, the facet 2300 with a p-80 is the way togo. i have 17 flights on mine in the past 2 months, took my waiver test 2 weeks ago and past it while the wind was blowing 25 mph across the runway. she flys great

mark

I'll second the Facet as a good jet trainer. I was really impressed with how slow it will fly, something that is good for a beginner especially during landing. It is available in 2 versions a Facet 1200 for 12 to 14 lbs turbines and a Facet 2300 for a 24lb + turbine.

Another good trainer jet, if you like delta type jets, is the Super Reaper by Mick Reeves. It's rated for a 12 lbs turbine but a lot of people have installed an 18 lbs + as well. It builds quickly and flies good.

Just do a search on for Facet or Super Reaper and you will find more information. Best thing to do is find out who flies jets close to you and start making friends with them. You can learn a lot.

Good Luck,

JR Gautreaux

Doug


I see you are in Newport News,I am in Va Beach.My best advice would be to come down to Fentress Naval Auxillary Field on a weekend sometime.We have about 6 guys who fly jets here ,you could watch the action,we have quite a few very knowledgable turbine guys here.I myself will be getting my first stick time on my first turbine (Skymaster Gripen) after the holidays.I am looking very forward to it.I started flying DF jets back about 2 years ago.I got tired of the headaches,mess & constant adjusting of the DF engines [:'(]


Fentress is only about 45 minutes from you.It is in Chesapeake .It would be a great place to come watch turbines fly & ask lots of questions to help steer you in the right direction man


Steve