Hello everybody, I am looking for a good electric RTF airplane to fly off a pond at my apartment complex. The pond is quite large (16 Acres, [.3 x .1miles]) I do have experience with rc airplanes in the past including patten planes, .40 trainers, helicopters, etc. So far I have narrowed it down to the following:


E-Flite Apprentice 15e W/Floats ...................$299 + $35 for floats
Wilga-2000 brushless (banana hobby)..............$179
J-power cessna (banana hobby).....................$249


I havent heard of any reports on anybody equiping the J-power with floats, so i dont know how well it would work (ROW?) or what floats to use. What airplane would you guys go with, or suggest another one that is in the general price range of less than $400 RTF. does anybody here have experience with the Apprentice with floats. is the quality of the j-power cessna very good? Thanks for the help!!

Jeff

The Wilga 2000 from BananaHobby is made-in-China junk. Worse than bad instructions - flat out incomplete. Terrible kit quality - the radio was set up not for US standard. Documentation was unclear. No documentation on ESC programming mode at all. Control surfaces are terrible... Rudder push rod bends instead of moving the rudder. The ailerons flex and are sloppy with poor masking tape hinges. The prop mount is prone to failure. Wing mounts are not durable.

I had a problem with the radio initially and BananaHobby was unavailable for support after five requests. They get a failing grade for sure.

In my experience, this model is a waste of money.

(Disclosure: This is only my second model. My first one is also a foam park flyer - ParkZone Trojan. By comparison, it's a Cadillac!)

The Wilga does need work. I had to redo the pusrods and amount of throws and some minor set up work. Once this was doen it actually flew pretty well.

Disclosure- I have had hundreds of planes and been flying since the 1960's.

Stay away from banana hobby, there are lots of threads about them being a scam. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6958720/tm.htm

Do you mind if I ask you a noob question: How do you secure the prop (which has hex insets on each side) with the two M3 nuts included? I guessed that I should install one nut, push the prop on using the hex inset, then add a washer and the final nut. Is that right?

Jeff,
Google up an Aircraft called "The Red Crown" it looks just like the Wilga and is less expensive !! As for the J-power 182, I have one and am in the process of building it now.
Its quality appears very good, but the Battery Box is on the bottom of the fuselage, which may get water ingestion if floats were added.......MC

I ordered a Wilga from A Main Hobbies about a month ago. I purchased the model with a brushless motor, servos and speed control installed. It was 174.63 which includes the cost of UPS ground shipping. I received my model in 8 days. I am not an electric guy but wanted something to fly off a pond about 100 yards from my house. I did a few modifications before the first flight. I put some spreader bars between the floats to keep them at 10" apart where the undercarriage secures the floats. I used thin piano wire, bending it at 90 degrees on each end, and wrapping it with thread on which I put a few drops of thin CA to bind it together. I cut the foam all the way through on the hinge line of the rudder and the elevator, then hinged them with some DuBro hinge tape. Both surfaces move without binding. Finally I "Z-Poxied" a square of .75 oz. fiber glass cloth on the top and bottom of the wing to strengthen the wing. I flew it for the first time yesterday and had a great time. It was up on step in about 10 feet, got off the water soon after I applied a little elevator, cruised around for 10 minutes, mostly at half throttle, then came in for a pretty landing. Wind was about 7-8 mph and I had no trouble taxiing in any direction while on the water, I do suggest using aileron with the rudder when you are trying to turn while taxiing on the water. I am going to enjoy flying this little electric float plane early in the morning here in Tennessee!

I'd go with the eflite apprentice.</p>