I jumped into ailerons the hard way- with a Parkzone Focke Wulf 190. I never crashed it but it was NOT enjoyable to fly at first and I narrowly escaped piling it into the ground about ten times.

My bud who has many Aerobird Challenger hours under his belt is looking for an aileron equipt RTF (or "Reciever Ready") plane and I don't want him to make the same mistake that I almost did with a war bird.

These are the models he has mentioned...

PZ Spitfire- too fast, too high wing loading for first aileron plain (IMO).

PZ Typhoon (or Typhoon 2)- I have heard about quality problems with the servos, probably too "lively" and overly responsive for a first aileron plane (?)

My suggestion- Multiplex Easy Glider Electric "RR"... he thinks its too big.

Any suggestions would be appreciated... the criteria are as follows:

no actual building required, at least somewhat forgiving flight characteristics/can land at reasonable speed without falling out of the air, can be flown in a park, will withstand a couple of hard landings.

Thanks!!

The E-Starter is a popular choice for a first aileron plane, and its ARF version requires more "assembly" than "building".

Here's the rcg review of it: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214126
In this review, the reviewer's 17-year-old daughter builds and flies the plane. Maybe you can use that fact to shame him into building a little bit?

I did a micor review of the aerobird swift...

Originally Posted by Smokescreen38

I jumped into ailerons the hard way- with a Parkzone Focke Wulf 190. I never crashed it but it was NOT enjoyable to fly at first and I narrowly escaped piling it into the ground about ten times.

My bud who has many Aerobird Challenger hours under his belt is looking for an aileron equipt RTF (or "Reciever Ready") plane and I don't want him to make the same mistake that I almost did with a war bird.

These are the models he has mentioned...

PZ Spitfire- too fast, too high wing loading for first aileron plain (IMO).

PZ Typhoon (or Typhoon 2)- I have heard about quality problems with the servos, probably too "lively" and overly responsive for a first aileron plane (?)

My suggestion- Multiplex Easy Glider Electric "RR"... he thinks its too big.

Any suggestions would be appreciated... the criteria are as follows:

no actual building required (), at least somewhat forgiving flight characteristics/can land at reasonable speed without falling out of the air, can be flown in a park, will withstand a couple of hard landings.

Thanks!!

How bout a brushed stryker?

Multiplex MiniMag - in kit, RTF or RR versions.

ParkFlyers Begin Air is RTF so is the Hobby-Lobby Wing Dragon 4. They are both essentially the same plane, with different electorincs.
http://www.parkflyers.com/html/begin-air.html
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/wingdragon4.htm (wing dragon 4 is on sale)

Awesome suggestions, guys. I can't thank you enough! I am forwarding this thread to him right now.

I sent him the review of the Formosa already... that looks perfect if not for the "assembly" which if its like my GWS Corsair, will be more than he wants to do.

Hmm... Is the BeginAir superior to the Wingdragon 4 in any way?

Smokescreen...

EStarter and PZ SPit videos..

www.myspace.com/rcihcc

just to give your friend an idea... but the Formosa is FASTER then the PZ Spit... I have both and the spit is more stable...

As far as something RR or easy to finish, maybe a Stryker that comes built for $69.00, just add radio and motor. With a small brushless and lipo, it will fly slow to medium and float in for landing.
But if he's even thinking about a Formosa, the Ultrafly PC-9 would be easier to fly and is built tuffer. I've had several Formosa's, but the wing and airfoil on the PC-9 is better suited for a beginner or parkflyer.
Heres a Thread with a video of a 10.5oz PC-9 in 20mph winds. You won't see any tip stalling, even at low speed, tight turns. Butch

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=641954

Originally Posted by Smokescreen38

Hmm... Is the BeginAir superior to the Wingdragon 4 in any way?

I have been told that the Begin Air is more powerful than the Wing Dragon 4. I used the stock ARF Begin Air for 2 months. It was great. Once you get familiar with it, you can modify it all you want. I have turned it brushless with flaperons. Numerous people have placed cameras on them.

Either plane will be a great choice. The large wings make landings nice and slow.

Originally Posted by ATIS

the Formosa is FASTER then the PZ Spit... I have both and the spit is more stable...

I agree. Also the PZ Spit is a heavy lump, needing 200 - 250 watts to motivate it with enthusiasm. The Formosa, on the other hand, can be built to 14 - 16 oz ready to fly without difficulty, and 150 W will fly it very nicely.

Honestly, I don't think either of them is a good choice for an aileron trainer. The Wing Dragon 4 is not a bad RTF option, and the plain old GWS E-Starter is a very nice aileron trainer if your friend doesn't mind building it.

As others have said, the Multiplex MiniMag is available RTF; but the supplied direct-drive Speed 400 powerplant is miserably weak for the rather porky airframe. IMHO this model needs a brushless upgrade to fly as it should.

-Flieslikeabeagle

Flieslikeabeagle....check out the spit video (tail camera) at my link... thats stock with only a 3s 2100 lipo and a ar6100 RX... she flys with authority... especially with a camera mounted the long way across the nose!! (which really hurts performance)

Atis, put it down to pilot preference...a buddy of mine built one of these (Parkzone Spit) starting with an empty airframe (replacement parts). He was not happy with the quality of the model, so he passed it on to me with (tongue in cheek) instructions to destroy it so he could get the good parts back from me. I flew it with about 150 W from a brushless motor, and was very unimpressed with the performance. Once I upped the power to 200+ watts, I liked it better, but I still feel it is a heavy and rather unresponsive airframe. I also really miss not having a rudder.

It does glide pretty well though - that elliptical wing really does work well!

-Flieslikeabeagle

I dont miss the rudder at all... but I dont do alot of 3d type flying either... I roll, loop, and split s and hard banking turns but thats about it... anything else and the Typhoon comes out to play.

Did you check out the video?? I would not consider her unresponsive... my ME 109 is unresponsive... still have to take her apart and figure out why... my EStarter is more responsive to aeliron inputs...but like you said it is pilot preference... did you run it on the stock radio or your own... stock radio she is not real responsive now that I think back... on the DX7 with the End poitns pushed out to max and DR's set she becomes very responsive.

I'm looking for something similar, and the Wing Dragon 4 has my attention. The site (http://www.hobby-lobby.com/wingdragon4.htm) doesn't seem to have very specific details about it, though. For instance engine size. Are you able to order spare parts for it? I only see a select few such as the wing, tail, and prop. Thanks