First Pattern Plane
 

Taking the advice of a few people and going to learn precision flying before I attempt to get into 3D next year, so I need a good starter pattern plane. Currently, I have a spare Thunder Tiger .46 Pro that I can use. Money is a big issue also, So please keep this in mind.

4 planes I am looking at currently are:

Javelin II by Cermark
Skylark by Hobby Lobby
Venus by Great Planes
SeaBee by Phoenix Models

Thanks for any advice.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

hrmmmm, 25 views, 0 replies.

Is this a forum for lurkers? :D

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

From that list: Venus. But it won't have a lot of extra pulling power for verticals, so you'll have to fly it fast and rely on momentum.

-Mike

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

Go for the Javelin II. I have one of these with an Evolution .46 and it flys better than my H9 80" Cap and my Creek Hobbies Quest .90. It is absolutely rock stable. I'll fly it in 20+ kts here on the coast and it barely moves. Everyone usually says the same thing after it flys. First that they cant beleive a .46 will pull it around that good, and second that it is one of the smoothest most stable planes they have seen. Im planning on purchasing another JII and putting an OS 50sx on it to compete in sportsman, and selling my 72" Quest. The Javelin is that much better. Hope this Helps.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

Been doing lots of searching and so far, the J II is my top pick, then the Venus.

What prop are you running on it with your Evo46?

BTW, do you pilot the AV8-B? I was an avionics tech with MALS-13 in Yuma, and MALS-14 in Desert Storm. CAINS tech (ASN-130 INS)

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

i like the stream 50 from mrc .flys great i have OS63 in it with the horti tuned pipe .fast and will go straight up till you can't see it .:D:D:D

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

My buddy uses a javelin for practice...he has flown it hundreds of times. Burned up a couple OS50's (TX heat) and is now running the OS 46ax and has more power than the 50. We have a rough field and the original gear lasted a very long time. It has since been replaced with a homemade swept aluminum gear. That dang cheap airframe is still going....great airplane for the money...just my $.02

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

I flew the Venus with YS63, and was very happy with that combination. A TT46Pro would have more than enough vertical power, so no problem there. I'm now flying the Javelin II with the same YS63, and it is definitely more of a pattern model than the Venus was, not knocking the Venus at all, since it flew pattern maneuvers beautifully, but not with the stability of the Javelin.

I think if you mount your 46 Pro in the Javelin, you might want to fiddle with mounting angle and maybe tank shelf to get everything lined up right--exhaust position, engine head, tank elevation relative to spraybar. Firewall width is pretty narrow. I think the best two-stroke mounting might be inverted, which means lower tank than with the stock shelf. My pattern coach flew a Javelin very competitively in his Intermediate days on an inverted OS70 four-stroke, and had to open the bottom of the fuselage to get his tank positioned right. He had to start his engine inverted, then turn it upright once the engine warmed up.

My Javelin weighs 6 lbs 1 oz with 5 oz lead in the nose to make it balance (that long tail!). I don't know that I ever weighed the Venus, but it was considerably lighter--probably not much over 5 lbs, and the problem there was it did not want to come back down. If I had no headwind, I had to kill the throttle to get it down. Lowest idle I could get would carry it along in ground effect for the length of the field. I did take measures to lighten both planes.

No experience with your two other candidates.

By the way, if price is a consideration, you might have a look at the Fascination being sold here on RCU. It's maybe a pig in the poke, since no one has come on with a flight report that I'm aware of. However the Chinese have come a long way with their ARFs, and there are some nice lowball priced clones on the market. The Fascination looks right, has a great price. I'd give it a tumble if I needed a plane to learn pattern on.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

Go with the venus my combo is an os 46ax and hitec servos. It flys like a dream, and like a knife.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

I'ld take the Javelin or the Skylark, the skylark is very light and flies like a dream (it also has a cut put in the fuselage to conceal your muffler ;)
I have one with an Irvine .53 and flies great

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

widebody 40 arf is on sale for 199 at planes plus.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

all are good, I liked the Hobbico Spectrum but thats discontinued. Javellin II is a great plane but if price is a factor try this one as I just got it:


http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=43102



matt

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

If you like to build the Widebody .40 is pretty hard to beat. It's a small pattern airplane that doesn't know it's small.

RE: First Pattern Plane
 

I have eyed that one many times so far, but was waiting on someone to let us know how it is. Looking at the picture for it, it appears its missing some hardware. Does it include everything but radio gear?