Suggestions for first trainer

[AndySeven]

I want to learn to fly RC. Not sure if I'll stay with it so I will start electric, that way I already have batteries/charger.

I done some on line looking and think this might be my best bet. Any thoughts on this or other planes.

Remember I'm an old guy so no longer does my little plastic brain soak up knowledge quickly.

[turok007]

parkzone super cub RTF  excellent starter plane.

[QRC]

Have a look at either the Max Thrust Riot or the WOT 4, very good planes, they are more than just a trainer and great for a beginner.

[turok007]

the wot 4 is a excellent plane but if you have no flying experience.  then i would still go for the cub.  but if you have someone who can buddy box with you then the wot 4 should be fine. or a basic flight sim will help a lot i had one of them FMS ones.    and QRC  is that max thrust a copy of the wot 4.  lol

Edited April 19, 2014 by turok007

[QRC]

Buying either of my suggestions would save money in the long run, yes get a flight sim with a decent tx and practise. Then go live and join a club for further tuition and support if required.

[matt.c]

Supercub. Im flying one and its so simple.

[Zardoz]

Just dipping my toes with a Hobbyking Bixler and it's brilliant. With it being a push prop there's less chance of me breaking it if it comes down too hard. Have a DX6i TX that connected to my mates TX via a trainer lead so he can take over if it gets away from me 

 

Love it so far! Very predictable and can fly at very low speed.

 

Oh and the Phoenix flight sim is great too as I can use the DX6i with it.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Zardoz

[Zardoz]

Quoted myself, sorry!

Edited April 29, 2014 by Zardoz

[skuzzy12]

I learnt on a micro As3x spitfire from parkzone. Sure its not the best choice but i also had a flight simulator to help

 

I still love flying it now its so small and agile you can fly round a single football pitch and because of the as3x it handles the wind rather well

 

when you move to a larger plane you just have to remeber to make everything 3x larger.

 

for example Height of the plane

 

How much space to turn and how long to land

 

http://www.rcpitstop.co.uk/parkzone-ultra-micro-spitfire-mk-ix-bnf-pkzu2180-2692-p.asp I have herd the T-28 trojan is a lot easier to fly then any spitfire (being one of the hardest warbirds) 

 

There is also a micro supercub too at RTF price of

[Tamiyacowboy]

Being out in Canada and those lovely open views, mountains and the likes. 

 

hmmmm theres only one trainer i can think of that would be at home in Canada

and that would be the hobbyking Bixler 

 

its a high wing FPV type glider, its rear motor mount and pusher prop.

has a lovely floaty glide and will climb on command. the bixler made its name

from its stability in fpv and its floaty slow speed or fairly swift travel cruise. 

 

It does not need to be fitted out for a camera and can be flown as a rudder elevator throttle config

until the learner can cope with aierloins  and 4 chanel flight.

Being a foam like build ( yes you build it yourself ) it is fairly simple if you follow instructions and take your time.

 

Once airborne your free, just be nice and light on the throttle and keep nice and low ( no higher than the trees )

until you have the hand of things. the reason i push you towards a glider is the floatyness and the stability in a foam body.

its Big and loud and it screams fly me.  being big its going to be more easy to see and spot out in the wild to.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Tamiyacowboy

[Smoothybb]

I would give a third recommendation for the Bixler having had two now. I started with a zaggy, then EDF wing before getting the Bix. Definitely the easiest of the 3 to fly, with reduced rates it's easy to keep it airborne and providing it's trimmed somewhere close, it'll be very forgiving if you just let go of the sticks. It happily limps around on 1/3 throttle but loves to sit up high and glide around with little or no input required. It's not 'quick' in standard form but it should provide a few ring twitching moments as you get more adventurous with your manoeuvres. The 1.1 is good to go out of the box but plenty of info on RCGROUPS for advice on fixing the wings etc. Being a foamie, if it doesn't bounce, all it needs is a hairdryer and some glue to sort it out. I stupidly forgot to install the wing spa on my second one and the wings folded up and it speared the ground from about 30m's up. Took it home, spent 15mins with the hairdryer and hot glue gun and it was back in the air the same afternoon (with the wing spa added this time).

 

Once you're comfortable with it as standard, bigger motor, battery and prop speeds it up a bit (COG needs re-doing for sure) then trim the tips from the wings and you have something less glidey but a lot quicker and a lot more agile. Alternatively leave the wings as they are and chuck it off a ridge with the power left off. Penetration isn't great but when balanced it sits riding the lift all day long. I have 2 sets of wings, having applied excessive forces to the first fuselage (full speed into the ground) and for the time being, I'm not looking for another powered plane because of how flexible the Bix can be.

[turok007]

so your first flying machine was a zaggy. 

[Smoothybb]

No, my first model was a zaggy. I never said it flew 

 

It went something like this:

 

Buy second hand, change esc as had blown, fry new esc by mis-wiring.

Replace motor and esc (correctly wired) take field, crash. Crash. Crash some more.

Try again but crash, then crash again, then give up and gift it to a mate.

 

Buy decent radio gear + sonic, less crashing (marginally).

Continue crashing and repairing sonic with blasts of actual flight. Seriously, some days it went up and down without needing a repair (quite rare though).

 

Buy Bixler, put together, launch as it came out of the box, fly around, very happy.

Get confident, get stupid, pile Bixler into ground (after a good few months of flying).

Replace Bixler, mod it and mod old wings for faster flight.

 

Swear at zaggy whenever my mate shows it to me. Power bits have been ripped off and now only used on the slope.

[Yoshimoto]

Im going to throw a spanner in the works here.....

Personally i learnt with a depron self built indoor/parkflyer-my first was a 3DX,downloaded the plans off the net along with dozens of others-i quickly moved onto tougher EPP parkflyers and havnt looked back since-the old boys at my club could not believe i had only been flying 3 months on my 1st visit-i never used a buddy set-up or a club teacher.

I did buy Phoenix simulator which did help a little but nothing like actually flying in real air.

 

The reason i can only recommend an epp model is its crash worthy nature and the fact that with the correct choice of model will allow very very slow flight speeds allowing the learner to basically completely stall the planes flight and also be able to save it on prop power instantly,its much easier to get to grips with the control dynamics in slow motion.This added to the ultra quick and cheap repairs made it a complete no-brainer for me-and since ive taught 2 other complete novices to fly in themselves in less than 5 packs each.

 

The depron was my first choice because of costs alone but ideally id suggest an epp model.

 

Ive often visited my club to see lads with 1m+ nitro models constructed from traditional balsa who have been waiting patiently on the flight instructors sessions literally for years without much progress.

 

EPP repairs at the field in minutes-doesnt cost very much in initial outlay and weighs little too so even full power crashes are often shrugged off with little more than a new prop and a little Cyano or UHU Por.

 

One thing i will definitely recommend is a decent radio with end points,expo,DR this will help you no end in getting to grips with your first flying tool 

 

For me the key was slow flyer type model it makes life a lot easier...dont be pu toff by a 3D tag-it doesnt mean it can only fly 3D but it will have a huge flight envelope and can be setup to fly like a pussy cat.

 

Have a look at the HK EPP models-great value-i also like the Twisted Hobbies and Hyperion stuff a bit nicer and very good slow flyers 

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/gallery/image/29094-/

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/gallery/image/29095-/

http://www.msuk-forum.co.uk/gallery/image/28687-/

 

Yoshimoto

Edited May 12, 2014 by Yoshimoto

[Smoothybb]

Good point on the radio gear. My first was a cheap nasty HK job with basic mixing but no dual rates. I ditched it after 1 attempt and borrowed my mates with dual rates. They're not compulsory for new fliers but having dual rates really helps a lot when you're frantically yanking at the controls trying to beat gravity at it's own game.