Current Setup:
Esskay 400XT
Jeti 12amp ECO brushless ESC
Hitec Micro 555 rx
Mountain Models SmoothE Sport Wing
HS-55 (3x)
Commonsense RC 3s 1650 (8c)
APC 8x6E

My second plane was an EPP Hornych Cadet I bought from a friend for $1. And then of course pumped $80 of electronics into it to get it airborne. I liked this one because it looked more like a real plane than the Terry, and it had landing gear. I first tried a speed 400 and used the wrong prop for my gearing (I'm pretty sure it was a 3.46:1). The instructions were in Czech, so that probably had a little to do with it. Stock it was only three channels, R/E/T. At first I used a 7 cell 1100 mah nimh and an APC 9x4.7SF prop. On the first flight, it had just enough juice to get airborne, and make the first turn, but I lost it in a stall and, you guessed it, broke the nose off.

Luckily the EPP glued easier even than the Terry. I gave up on the geared motor (a little too quickly probably) and bought the 400XT and a brushless controller. I also learned about motor calculators, and checked up on the proper propeller for that motor/battery combination. So, armed with a 9x7.5 propeller and the 400XT, I returned to the field. Oh, what a difference it made... I took off in about 10 feet, and was doing rudder rolls and loops with very little effort. Just a fun plane to fly. And my first plane with wheels, so I got some practice at putting it down gently and where I wanted. I also tried a 10x4.7, but the extra thrust...Continue Reading

These posts will likely get long, so I will get the pertinent info out of the way up-front... then you can skip down for the pictures.

Stock Setup:
Speed400
6-cell, 1100mah nimh
12amp esc
HS-55 servo (x2)
Hitec Micro 555 rx

This one was my first plane. It got me through sorting out this whole RC thing... and has its share of scars to prove it. But, I learned several lessons with it, including:

Don't fly in too small of an area.
Don't fly near trees.
Don't fly near water.
Don't be afraid to fly high.
Don't make "improvements" that add weight and/or change wing incidence.
Don't fly in too much wind.
Don't underestimate the repair ability of a little gorilla glue and packing tape.

All good rules to live by for a new pilot. And all available elsewhere on the forum... but sometimes you just gotta figure it out for yourself. And that's just in the first four flights!

Flight 1: A surprisingly successful maiden flight! (read the thread...)
Flight 2: Less successful than the maiden (also in the thread...)

Flight 3: "Fixed" the damage, including adding velcro to the back end of the wing because the screw ripped out. Also bought a new canopy to replace the one at the bottom of the lake left from the previous flight. I took it to a different field - this one has 6 soccer fields next to each other, I figured that would be plenty of room. Had a fine launch, but I was having difficulty gaining altitude. For some reason, I decided to turn...Continue Reading

Just a list for the first post... I'll add some more detail as I post more on each one. I got my first RC plane, the Terry, for my birthday last January, so I have been flying for just a year now.

Graupner Terry
Hornych Cadet
Wing Dragon
Wally Wing (32")
E-flite Ultimate fx
SU-27 scratchbuilt profile (24" wingspan)
Hacker Reno Racer (El Bandito #3)
Wally Wing (18") - retired

Add 3 Aero Aces to that... those things are a blast.

Winter Projects:
F-15 Parkjet in 9mm EPP - covering now...
Terry Upgrade: Fiberglass, LS Parkjet motor - spackling and sanding now...
Wild Wing: waiting for UPS

I'm using a Hitech Eclipse 7 radio I bought used, and I still have the Laser 4 I got with the Terry. I'm finding it really difficult to get rid of anything... you never know when you might need the extra radio, servo, control horn, landing gear, packing peanuts, etc. You get the idea.