Need Park Flyer Recommendations

[kiswa]

Okay, I'm a glow flyer myself so I don't know much of anything about electrics. I have a friend at work who wants to get his son into flying RC, but he wants to start with a park flyer first (since they're cheaper).

Can I get some recommendations on good park flyers for my friend's son? I know he wants at least three channel, preferably four channel birds, so his son can move up more easily to bigger birds.

Any help will be appreciated!

[rcers]

You will want to start with the GWS slow stick - then more on to 4 ch birds.

It is perfect for young fliers, slow and forgiving. It is so amazing I will always have one to just goof off with. Great planes.

Then he can move on to other planes.

mike

[kiswa]

Thanks for the recommendation.

Any others?

[aeropal]

Multiplex Easy Star (http://plawner.net/4/easystar/easystar.html) (needs a BIG park)

[Doppelganger]

I vote Easystar as well. Great airplane. Tough too. RTF version flys very well stock. I disagree with needing a big park. You just need big sky.:D

Steve

[stafphoto]

I say look for a GWS slow stick the ready to fly version is cheaper then the ready to fly version of the Easy Star by something like $40 if you look in the right places for it check www.rcuniverse.com (http://www.rcuniverse.com) in the park flyer or trainer area. Plus if you do crash and break something you can order the glider version of the slow stick for $21 at tower hobbies move your electrics over to it. And you have a whole new plane again. To do this with the Easy Star will cost you another $60-$70.

[Doppelganger]

Slowsticks don't do wind very well. You need calm weather to fly them. They can fly in a little wind, but for a beginner pilot, it would be difficult. The Easystar can be flown in 5-15 mph winds, even by a beginner. That just will not happen with a Slowstick. Also, the Easystar is a much more durable plane than the SS. We have 5 or six Easystars in our club. I've seen the abuse they take. Meaning, we combat with them. :)

They are also much more stable, and in my opinion, much easier to fly than the SS. You'd be better off buying the ARF version and adding your own electronics. That way you'll have a quality Radio and electronics for other projects that will surely follow. Sometimes thrift isn't the best path to success. Just my .41

Steve

[Steve]

I would tend to agree and vote for the EasyStar. I'm on SS#3, but it's now a brushless and modified quite a bit. I would rather fly the EasyStar stock than the SS....much easier in my opinion. For me, an underpowered SS(or any other plane) is no fun to fly.

Get the EasyStar. Surveys taken with beginners have consistently voted it the best.

[debhicks]

Well, my vote is the soarstar. It comes with motor and is very durable and stable. Then when he graduates, If ever, (taken me 5 years to pry my fingers off of my second one) he can go into something else. I am fly a shock flyer now. WOW!!!!:D :D

Going to make my soarstar into a photo plane. :D

We first flew that one in at least a 20 mile an hour wind. :eek: It was fun to watch. It likes to hover and thermal and loop and if your high enough it will even fly upside down. Mine likes me so much it will fly upside down right to my feet and land itself with no battery:) No damage. Lost the battery. Running Boxer Vs bad knees while flying. It was a draw. :eek:

Slobbering happy dog, pain racked pilot and plane with no battery. Everything turned out ok. :p

I am also a converted glow flyer as well. :p

Love the easy cleanup with electric.:D

[johnhay73]

I am still a novice flyer, so I have little experience and have only flown two planes, a GWS Beaver and a T-hawk (my plane). For what it's worth, I think the T-hawk is an excelent beginer's plane. I have a lot of fun with it and it has been very forgiving of my mistakes.

T-hawk homepage (http://www.readytoflyfun.com/thawk3chrtf.html)
Another T-hawk fan (http://www.shallowsky.com/planes/thawk/)

You can order it without a radio and use your own, if you wanted to save a little money.

[mrstormy]

I taught myself to fly on the slowstick and have moved up to 3D, Wings, you name it. Slowstick with no wind can't be beat. It flies so slow you have lots of time to react. I had my nephew taking off and landing in an hour. He had absolutely no flight experience beforehand.

Never flew the EasyStar so I can't comment on that. Looks like a good beginner also as the prop is rear facing.

Good luck

[DUCK !]

surprised no one has mentioned Firebird Commander for a beginner. I'm 75 yrs young and crashed more often than not. We live in the mountains of NC and getting with a buddy instructor was difficult and/or costly for dues. My son and I tried out Flight Sims thinking that would help and it did somewhat for eye/hand and learning controls. I have a Wingo, Virus, and one of those Delta wing things, but they all sit on the shelf cause the Firebird does it. First of all the Commander was my choice because of the thing-a-majig that helps you control the plane when you make a bad move. That attachment can be switched off later and you can fly in the more advanced mode. Then it has a module you can play around and drop parachutes or bombs. Or get real fancy and get two modules to shoot in a dogfight or even strafe something on the field. Yes, you can do touch and go landings later when you get better, but the best way to learn is to shove it on full speed and heave it over you head the way they show you. There's even a video DVD that goes with the package and you can fly right out of the box. My son and I both have our Firebirds and now we're trying to graduate to a bit more real looking more difficult to fly Parkzone J3 cubs. I wasted my time on the other stuff when I was learning cause I thought they were "cool looking" - they were nice to look at, but dogs to fly.
bob in mtns. of nc

[Doppelganger]

Well, as you can see, and would expect, there are many choices for a first bird. I guess people have to choose whats right for them. Be it crashworthiness, monetary, looks, flight behavior...ect. I think anything that is a pusher, can fly in wind, easy to fly, and is very durable would be a good choice. I would never buy a plane that I could only fly in dead calm if I'm trying to learn. That would be too limiting for me.

Steve

[AEAJR]

If he wants an RTF:

Easy Star
T-Hawk
Aerobird Challenger.

If the space is small and the wind is calm,

Slo-V (very similar to slow stick)

If he wants 4 channels and will do some assembly and provide the radio:

GWS e-starter

Mountain Models Magpie www.mountainmodels.com (http://www.mountainmodels.com)

Available with 3 channel AND 4 channel wing for $55, if he can do a little building, the Magpie might be the perfect plane. Foam body and wing. Great flyer. Start on 3 channel, than add a servo and the 4 channel wing. Then you are ready for anything!!

[Snowplane]

I highly recommend the EasyStar RTF. You can bang this thing around and the most you seem to need is some CA and you're back up. I learned to fly by myself on this one, it can fly upside-down and can do loops but is very forgiving in your first flights.

[mle2tie]

if you want to build a kit ( glue your fingers to stuff) mountian models has been mentioned, and ill mention stevens aero model the squirthttp://www.stevensaero.com/cart/cart.php?target=product&product_id=575&category_id=56

[Tailspin Ken]

MM Magpie, no doubt about it. Very durable, handles wind well. Great bang for the buck!
Ken

[AEAJR]

Some real good suggestions here. I have poste my own, but let me comment on a few points.

The HobbyZone planes that have the Xport, like the Aerobird, add an extra dimmension of fun. 15 minutes to get it into the air + 40 minutes to charge the battery. Parachute drops, air to air combat, even night fly modules. Lots of incentive and things to keep it interesting for a kid. These planes are generally available at hobby stores as are all the parts. Very well supported.

The Easy Star has a gigantic following. Easy to build, or RTF. Flies great, hard to break and easy to fix. The wing is so good that this plane also makes a great first motor glider. Hard to go wrong with this one. :)

The MM Magpie is a super easy to build foam kit plane. A great father/son project. With two wings available for the plane, you can start with the three channel slow fly/trainer wing, then graduate to the advanced aileron trainer wing with one more servo. Great flyer and great growth system.

These three give you a very wide range of options each with a unique set of values.

[we77we77]

Any thoughts on the great planes BLT?

Mike

[Plane_freak]

Buy something GWS. Go to there website www.gws.com.tw (http://www.gws.com.tw) A tigermoth would be suitable and like most people have been saying the SlowStick is very easy to fly. If you break anything GWS parts are usually easy to find and to buy. I have owned 2 firebirds. The original sucked and would only turn in one direction then I lost control of it because of a little wind and it ended up crashing. My second Firebird which I got as a gift is still in one piece but it only turns well in 1 direction.
Go with a slowstick or Tigermoth. The tigermoth is a little more fragile a little harder to fly.

[Doppelganger]

The tigermoth is a little more fragile a little harder to fly.

For that reason alone I would not recommend that plane.:confused: We just had another flyer in our group fly an Easystar. Best trainer around. IMHO of course.;)

[flyranger]

Any thoughts on the great planes BLT?

Mike
I successfully flew the BLT yesterday in 3-5 mph winds with no problems. However, this was my second attempt. I'm a intermediate builder (glow-powered experience from about 15 years ago - new to electrics) but a novice pilot. I love Great Planes for their plans and picture assembly manuals. You can even download and print the manual before flying. Now, here's what I had to modify to get this flying for me. Never, ever use the recommended power setup - you will be flying "on the wing" and that is NOT a good idea for a novice pilot. You need enough power to get "two mistakes high" in a hurry, then back off the throttle and enjoy yourself. I used a e-flight PARK 370 brushless and a 5:3:3 gearbox swinging a 10x7 prop, powered by a Castle Creations 25 amp ESC and a 6 cell 720mAhr NiMh battery. Plenty of power and first three flights were 10-12 minutes long (plenty of excitement for me - my neck gets sore after that).
2nd mod was the landing gear - my new power setup needed more ground clearance so I bought some 1/16 inch rod and bent my own. 3rd mod was to use a 1/4" balsa stick for the fuselage instead of trying to build the hollow fuse from sheets and formers. I did not notice any weight penalty and the plane is a lot more sturdier (I tend to land hard - hehe). Since this was a rebuild of an already built once ( and destroyed once) plane, I bought the Dubro park flyer pushrod set and the Dubro plastic tail skid. All up weight was 13 oz and static thrust full throttle was over 11 oz. Yes, I used a wattmeter to ensure motor would not exceed its 7 amp max limit. Takeoff was in less than 6 feet and hand launches fly almost out of my hand. Don't forget to decorate the top of the wing in a high visibility pattern to help turning recognition (forgot that when flying the original stock model - cardiac arrest!)

[flyranger]

posted pics of modified Basic Light Trainer (BLT) sandwich two

[timocharis]

The Aerobird/Firebirds aren't often recommended by folks who've been around a while. I think that's because in that genre, the T-Hawk is far superior. The Easy Star is an excellent alternative (light and slower), and the Slow Stick is great in low wind -- as has been said before.

Though the [various]birds are passable, they don't represent good value by comparison, nor do they perform as well.


Dave North

[flyranger]

Waiting for the winds to die down for my maiden flight of my slow stick. Keep your fingers crossed.

[FiveO]

The Aerobird/Firebirds aren't often recommended by folks who've been around a while. I think that's because in that genre, the T-Hawk is far superior. The Easy Star is an excellent alternative (light and slower), and the Slow Stick is great in low wind -- as has been said before.

Though the [various]birds are passable, they don't represent good value by comparison, nor do they perform as well.


Dave North

I don't know. I took my Aerobird Challenger to the club field and met the guys for the first time. There was an experienced glow guy there who had a T-Hawk and he liked the ABC better as did most of the guys there. It flew as well as the T-Hawk and twice as long. The models are extremely similar in charateristics and design. The easy availability of ABS parts is a winner as well.

I loved mine but have grown out of it.

[timocharis]

FiveO:

Cool! It's interesting to hear from someone who liked a *bird better after flying both it and the T-Hawk.


Dave

[FiveO]

FiveO:

Cool! It's interesting to hear from someone who liked a *bird better after flying both it and the T-Hawk.


Dave

They just seem VERY similar but the flight time on the ABC was much, much better than with the T-Hawk (or that particular one at least).

I actually prefer the standard tail on the Hawk over the ABCs V Tail...