My wife told me she will get me a new plane for Christmas, but I don't know what I should get. I haven't been flying too long. I have a Slow Stick right now. I've upgraded it and put on a Himax HG2812-0850 with a 3 cell 1320mAh battery. I can get it to just about anything I want. I have no problems with landings, I can do loops, outside loops, fly inverted (only for about 15 seconds), etc. I want to be able to use my motor, battery, and all that stuff on the new plane. I want to keep it semi-cheap, like below $60, or at least close to. And, it needs to have ailerons.

I had a couple people recommend a GWS Formosa, but a few people told me it was too fast. I had a couple other people suggest a little Cesna that has a little bit of a dihedral so it's a nice trainer.

So, with that... any suggestions?

I am getting the multiplex easyglider electric for christmas. It is a good trainer, and can teach you how to thermal etc. There are 2 threads on it in the foamies forum, so there is lots of info on motor batt etc.

Anything GWS I guess.

What kind of flying are you looking to do? If you want to get into 3-D or aerobatics, why not get a profile foamy? Hobby Lobby's got a good sale going on right now for foamies.
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/ezonegene...rce=bar&kw=gen

I second the cessna idea. Either the GWS Estarter or the Ultrafly Cessna. (I had the Ultrafly Cessna, so I am a little biased towards it.) GWS warbirds, formosa's and profiles, are quite a step from the slow stick.

Or if you want to try your hand at balsa building (fun in itself) , there is a couple of nice aileron trainers from Mountain Models . The Dandy Sport or Switchback Sport. Once you feel comfortable with them, you can upgrade the plane with the GT wing and really have a ball .

Get a TP2100mAh for the SS
Fly so long you'd have to pack a lunch!
What prop do you use on the SS?

how about a bundle of foam and about 20-25 planes? look up mini-sabre. fun 3-d plane. that motor you got will be good for it as well, or if you dont wanna cut foam up, get a shocky or such? these 3ders can be flown like most planes and when your ready, just incread the rates and go for it

delbuort,
Welcome to the forum. I second rclark's suggestion. Mountain Models Dandy Sport or Switchback Sport. Fun and quick to build, and a logical step up from the SS. All your equipment will work perfectly, and you'll be able to make a pleasant transition to ailerons. Both will teach you alot about aerobatics, and building. Also get Scott Stoop's book "The Pilot's Guide to Mastering Radio Controlled Flight". My Dandy Sport is shown below.
T.B.

Go with Multiplex, and spend a few extra $$ if you have to.

The quality will absolutely rock your world. I just finished a Corsair and am about 2/3 of the way through building a TwinStar II. It is night & day difference. The illustrations are better, the instructions are better, the parts fit better, the parts are of higher quality, etc. etc.

The Elapor foam is SOOOO nice. No gaps, very flexible.

I think you should keep the Slow Stick, rather than rob it for parts. You will miss the slow & easy flying of it, I think. Even the pros keep their slow flyers.

Get a Magister or TwinStar II. The Magister is .40 size, with a 64" wingspan, but is said to fly great, and can even handle the wind very well. The TwinStar II is faster. They both have ailerons. The Magister will be cheaper to upgrade, as you will only need one brushless motor and speed control.

Check out what Patrick Plawner has to say about both planes:

Magister

TwinStar II

I don't agree with his using epoxy instead of CA. Multiplex makes a good point about it not soaking in as well as CA. Otherwise, he's right on the money.

I'm going to snap up a Mini Mag as soon as possible. (Feb 2006)

We got an Ultrafly Cessna 182 for my dad, and it is quite nice. Good reviews. I crashed it, nose-first at full throttle on the maiden, and only broke the prop and slightly cracked the cowl. But the Mini Mag with Elapor is going to trump it for sure.

Good luck!

Jeremy

Any high wing aileron plane with a little dihedral. Can't go wrong with an esterter. Once you can fly it on high rates you will be ready for a formosa .

Skrogg, right now I'm using a GWS 11x8 prop on my SS right now. I think I'm going to cut it down to a 10x8 and see how it works out. With the larger prop I can pretty much go vertical forever... or at least until my ESC cuts off from low battery supply!

I am going to keep my SS but I'm going to put the stock motor back on it for a little while and let my kid fly it. I'm working on a motor from Gobrushless.com right now. I just made a bonehead mistake that ended up in me melting my stator. I'm going to throw that on there as soon as I get it working again.

I never expected the such a diversity in the suggested planes. After checking out the websites I'm really thinking about the balsa route. We'll see.

There are a couple Cessna's at one of my local hobby shops that are pretty nice. One foam and one balsa, both pretty cheap.

And, the planes on Mountain Models are pretty nice too.

Big decisions in my future.

Thanks for the input,

Jason

I think the biggest limitation is probably your motor - I'm not familiar with it but I'd guess it won't be 'hot' enough for many of the planes suggested. It'll feel like a car that's stuck in first gear. Any power system that worked well on a slowstick will be high thrust and low speed, which is ideal for 3D

I'd recommend an EPP 3D plane (e.g. the zoom zoom) because it's easy to fly but has such a large range of things it can do that you'll still be learning things for years.

However, if you really want a warbird, then you are probably ready for one. The GWS ones are a good place to start, but you can spend more for a better plane.

The high wing aileron trainer is the safe option, for those that really don't like crashing. However an EPP 3D plane will be slow enough that it's not that much harder to fly, and it'll handle minor crashes.

Another option is an EPP flying wing or delta - I bought a superflea as my second plane and nose dived at full speed several times in the first minute, but it just bounced and I got the hang of it very quickly.

Welp, looks like my search is over. I was snooping around the other day and I found a receipt from my local hobby shop. I think my wife got me a new plane, but I just don't know what. So, I guess I'll just be thankful, open it up, and look surprised!

Later

I know people will say that going from a SS to a low wing is a bad idea, but I did it with not much problem at all. I flew a SS for about a year with about the same config as you, then I bought a GWS Formosa and switched over the electronics. You'd have to get another servo for the ailerons, but it can do "a Lot" more than the SS and is faster. Many people may argue that going from a 3 channel to a 4 channel is a big jump, but you can start out using the "bank and yank" method. Whereas your SS has dehidral to turn when applying rudder, a low wing requires you to bank with the Ailerons (bank), then apply elevator (yank). After awhile you can use rudder for more coordinated turns. Fly it like a trainer for a couple of weeks, then try some stunts with the "3 mistakes high" concept.

Balancing the Formosa is actually easier than the SS. The SS is a good first plane for many reasons including the need to really balance and trim it to fly right.

Good luck on making your decision!!!