I know there are a million "what is the best plane for me" threads, so apologies in advance for any redundancy. I have not been able to find quite the thread Im looking for

I started RC back in May of 2010, and am ready to move to the "next level" what ever that means. Im looking for recommendations for planes to consider next - Ill do the homework from whatever I can get here to choose the next one. Im thinking the basic requirements are:

• Electic
• Flyable in a incomplete subdiivision (no houses, fairly large but not unlimited space). I do have paved "runways" with no curbs.
• Buildable by a novice builder (some experience with balsa control line 35 years ago).
• Aerobatically capable - something a little better than the T-28. More vertical, a bit more neutral.
• Fixed gear, or retracts. Dont really have a good spot for belly landings.

A little background - I started in May of 2010 with a HZ Supercub, and put floats on it over the summer. Since then Ive added a Parkzone T-28D, A PZ Stinson Reliant SR-10, a Night Vapor, a UM T-28 and most recently an MCX2 coax heli.

I think Ive evolved to a reasonably proficient pilot, but by no means an expert. Ive got about 400 flights under the belt, with a total flight time of abotu 3180 minutes. So far, Ive tried to choose planes by adding a "different" kind of flying to the hangar. So far, my favorite plane is probably the T-28, followed closely by the Stinson. I tend to fly fairly aggressively, and love to do aerobatics (yes, even with the Stinson which kinda looks goofy).

I think I would like to do something that is a little higher performance, probably an ARF or kit (vs another PZ foam warbird for example). I would like it to be a little more aerobatically capable than say the T-28, without becoming a bear to fly.

Im struggling to narrow the field... saw a e-flight Brio 10 in the LHS today that looked kind of cool, but Im betting there are newer planes that might be a better choice. Ive looked a LITTLE at the Edge planes, but I suspect they might still be a handful with my skill level (but who knows?). Ive heard good things about Mountain Models kits, but suspect that might be a pretty long leap for a new builder.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks in advance.


jc

Wow, a Brio .10? They went out of production a while ago. And TP16, it wasn't a 3DHS class airplane by any means. Still sorry about that.

I like the Pulse .25e with the Power 32 motor, 13x8 & 4S 3200mah Turnigy. Take off in 10 feet, pull vertical, then climb to 1000' in say 15 seconds. Very strong wing - pull vertical at 70, with no snap.. It is a sport plane, but can carve large lines all over the sky.

http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/De...ProdID=EFL4100

Dave

Edit:
It also slows down to T-28 speeds for landing, with no adverse stalling characteristics. You can (sort of) fly it like a T-28.

A mini Pulse might be an option too:
http://www.e-fliterc.com/Products/De...ProdID=EFL2375

I have about 70 hours combined on both the mini and .25 airframes

Originally Posted by eagle777

I like the Pulse .25e with the Power 32 motor, 13x8 & 4S 3200mah Turnigy. Take off in 10 feet, pull vertical, then climb to 1000' in say 15 seconds. Very strong wing - pull vertical at 70, with no snap.. It is a sport plane, but can carve large lines all over the sky.

Ive been looking into this plane for awhile now wondering what kind of electronics to put into it, i think you just sold me on it

Good I think you will really like it. I put a small carbon fiber rod in the horizontal stabilizer to eliminate flutter in power on descents with the 13x8. Let me know if you want a picture.

Also, I wanted to clear up the 'snap' statement if anyone was wondering:
The plane will pull vertical from level at high speed with a heavy battery like the 3200 with no accelerated stall (snap).

Dave

milehighjc,

It sounds to me like you are ready for a 3D Hobbyshop 47" Extra 300 SHP. This was my 3rd plane after a GWS Slowstick and a GWS E-Starter. This plane flys so nice and it will do virtually any aerobatic maneuver. The limiting factor on this plane is the pilot. I have found that if you can handle ailerons, you can handle this plane. It is easy to fly. What is hard is doing the aerobatic stuff.Tthat just takes lots of practice. And 3D Hobbyshop has the best customer service going.

Here is the thread on version 3 of this plane. My SHP is version 2 in yellow (see my avatar).
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1287812

Freddy

Thanks guys!

Sounds like two pretty good options there... Spent some time looking at the Pulse last night, will have to research a little more on the 3DHS Extra 300 tonight after I get through the work day.

Looks like the Extra 300 is a pretty new bird... and the Pulse looks to have been around for a few years. As Ive been known to arrange occasional unscheduled meetings between airframes and mother earth, ease of repair and parts availability is fairly important to me. Fortunately, that hasnt been an issue recently (aww, now I've gone and jinxed it), but Im pretty sure either of these planes would be a pretty significant step up from the PZ T-28D.

Im pretty sure both of these are the class of airplane Im looking for - the 300 sounds like it might be on the outer edge of my skills (just based upon browsing around the RCG thread you supplied), but Im not above stretching a little bit.

Thanks... any other thoughts appreciated. Hope to be ready to pull the trigger within a week or so.

jc

Where do you fly? I live in Nederland CO, and when I need a runway I go to the field that's on the edge of Boulder Res., do you fly there or are part of the club?

You could always buy the new E-Flite Yak-54 (I would say the PZ Extra 300, but I don't think that's quite what you want). Then you get 3D performance yet it's a foamy so it can take a beating, or just buy new parts with no hassle.

GWS Formosa I, the original version... not the version II.

Unreal flying plane, will slow to a crawl, or rocket to the moon, your choice. My favorite.

Chuck

Originally Posted by milehighjc

Thanks guys!

Sounds like two pretty good options there... Spent some time looking at the Pulse last night, will have to research a little more on the 3DHS Extra 300 tonight after I get through the work day.

Looks like the Extra 300 is a pretty new bird... and the Pulse looks to have been around for a few years. As Ive been known to arrange occasional unscheduled meetings between airframes and mother earth, ease of repair and parts availability is fairly important to me. Fortunately, that hasnt been an issue recently (aww, now I've gone and jinxed it), but Im pretty sure either of these planes would be a pretty significant step up from the PZ T-28D.

Im pretty sure both of these are the class of airplane Im looking for - the 300 sounds like it might be on the outer edge of my skills (just based upon browsing around the RCG thread you supplied), but Im not above stretching a little bit.

Thanks... any other thoughts appreciated. Hope to be ready to pull the trigger within a week or so.

jc

The 3DH Extra 300 SHP Version 3 is pretty new but the modifications are pretty minor but great. This plane was released in the original version in Feb. 2007. Here is the original forum here at RC Groups.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=646632

After 1 year and 8,727 posts RC Groups made the decision to close that thread and have a new thread started - part 2 which is here.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=826396

That thread now has 11,361 posts. So, the plane has been around for a good while. I was looking at the E-Flite Mini Pulse XT and the E-Flite Mini Ultra Stick when a few here at RC Groups suggested the 3DH Extra 300 SHP. I decided to go with the SHP and am so glad I did. The thing flys like a dream. Like I said, it is very easy to fly. What is hard is learning to do the extreme stunts that the SHP can do. The plane does not do those stunts by itself. It wants to fly straight and true. On low rates doing scale flying the SHP flys like it is on rails. It is the smoothest flying plane in my fleet. But turn the rates up and jam the sticks and this bird will tumble and spin and, like I said, do any aerobatic maneuver in the book. And speaking of books, here is the book for RC flight. It is written by the same guy that designed the 3DH Extra 300 SHP - Scott Stoops (sukhoi26mx here at RC Groups). Along with being a RC pilot, full scale stunt plane pilot, and a professional pilot for United Airlines, Scott is an author.

It looks like you are doing some good research and comparing different models. There are many nice planes out there and I am sure that whatever you get, you will enjoy it.

Freddy

Originally Posted by snivilous

Where do you fly? I live in Nederland CO, and when I need a runway I go to the field that's on the edge of Boulder Res., do you fly there or are part of the club?

You could always buy the new E-Flite Yak-54 (I would say the PZ Extra 300, but I don't think that's quite what you want). Then you get 3D performance yet it's a foamy so it can take a beating, or just buy new parts with no hassle.

I fly at an incomplete subdivision on the northwest corner of Longmont. No houses (yet), no curbs. It has E/W and N/S roads, and a few that are slightly diagonal, so I can almost always have a runway nearly directly into the wind. We have a group of 4-5 guys that fly there together when we can... its a lot of fun.

Ive not been down to the res, but have heard about it. Ive also considered going out the LEAF field just to meet some of the guys there.

Reading this tonight I feel like a kid in a candy store. Im still a little concerned about whether my skills can stand up to planes at this performance level, but I guess if you dont try you never will know. Maybe I can get some buddy box time. Seems like an investment in a real sim might help save me from an early rekitting experience.

For what its worth, I've though of myself more in the sport than 3D category, but it does sound like all of these can be set up to fly more tamely to start with.

jc

Originally Posted by NoFlyZone

GWS Formosa I, the original version... not the version II.

Unreal flying plane, will slow to a crawl, or rocket to the moon, your choice. My favorite.

Chuck

Chuck, I checked out the Formosa this fall, but I think I was looking at the II, not the I. I had been planning a "winter build", and that dang work thing keeps getting in the way. Ill have to go take another look at the I.

Now I've got some budget set aside, and decided that If Im going to get this done before the spring thaw, I best get moving.

All, I know its a silly question, probably with no way to really answer, but how big is the leap for flying skills from the PZ foamies to these higher performance airframes? Is it advisable to get someone to buddy box me for the first few flights or is it reasonable to think I can make the leap without manufacturing toothpicks?

jc

I have a 42" E-Flite Su-26m. It's had it's structure heavily modded due to the high G's I put on it, it's control throws are maxed (as in the bevel doesn't allow any more movement). You could buddy box it if you wanted. It gets rebuild every couple months due to the abuse I put on it, so if you crash I don't care that much.

So ive been puting together a Greatplanes yak 55 3d flightflex to train for aerobatics, its kinda cool you can bend the plane in half and it pops back into shape. Im just wondering if anyone has any experience with this plane and how stable it is.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKVY7&P=ML

Originally Posted by milehighjc

Chuck, I checked out the Formosa this fall, but I think I was looking at the II, not the I. I had been planning a "winter build", and that dang work thing keeps getting in the way. Ill have to go take another look at the I.

Now I've got some budget set aside, and decided that If Im going to get this done before the spring thaw, I best get moving.

All, I know its a silly question, probably with no way to really answer, but how big is the leap for flying skills from the PZ foamies to these higher performance airframes? Is it advisable to get someone to buddy box me for the first few flights or is it reasonable to think I can make the leap without manufacturing toothpicks?

jc

Hi jc,

I'm not one to oversimplify the skill sets required to fly next step planes. My honest, real world assessment is that if you can fly successfully the ParkZone T-28 full size (not the UltraMicro version), then the logical and skill set-wise next step is a GWS Formosa I.

Why? Because the Formosa, being only half the weight of the T-28 will have a stall speed of around 10-12 mph.... MUCH lower than the T-28, which will give you more reaction time to get used to the planes flight characteristics.

At the same time, being that the T-28 is really not a self correcting plane (in spite of what many say), the Formosa I will fly similarly, in that it is truly a point and shoot plane. By that I mean that wherever it is pointed, it will stay in that configuration until such time as a stick movement is made.

These planes require a little more skills than the T-28.... but honestly, the change is minimal.

One of the saving graces of the GWS Formosa is that it is dirt cheap!!! So if you pile it into the ground; some crazy glue, or epoxy, will have you back in the air in no time. This is loads better than the pucker factor experienced when you are trying to fly a multi hundred dollar balsa job.

Chuck

milehighjc,

To me the step from basic, foam 4 channel planes to the SHP was a non-event. The biggest concern is being able to keep the plane level - knowing how to use ailerons. But you have been using ailerons on your planes (Parkzone T-28D, PZ Stinson Reliant SR-10, UM T-28). I started flying a 3-channel GWS Slowstick. From there I went to a GWS E-Starter 4-channel trainer. Then I went to the SHP. Other then the fact that the SHP is not self-righting, the SHP flys the best and easiest of all my planes. When a mid-wing, aerobatic plane is level, it flys perfect. With the large control surfaces, high rates can require some getting used to but on low rates the controls can be very gentle (think straight lines, straight, controlled rolls, large, perfect loops). You do not start by trying high alpha rolling circles 6" off the deck or knife edge trying to touch a wing on the runway. You practice that stuff 2 or 3 mistakes high where you have room for recovery until you get the maneuver down.

But, back to your question, if you can use ailerons and elevator to keep the plane level, it will fly great. If you have trouble getting a 4-channel plane level and have to rely on the plane to get itself level, it will be a problem.

Freddy