Wha tis the best first plane for a 12 year old? I can teach him. Needs good duration, and crash-ability. Probaably not a Flying wing. Maybe Firebird or???
Thanks

I don't recommend any R/C plane for the average 12 year old unless you have help and advice from a parent or older person with some mechanical and electrical knowledge. If you have people flying R/C electrics in your area, you can probably get advice and assistance from them. I would recommend the GWS Tiger Moth biplane available from Aeromicro.com. It flies slow and easy tontol, lands light with little damage, and is fairly easy to fix with 5 minute epoxy. It comes with motor-geardrive and prop for about $70. You will need a sub-micro R/C flight pack, a charger , a transmiiter and one or two flight battery packs. I recommend the $40 GWS transmitter and $40 charger , the $60 Hitec 555 receiver, two $25 7-cell 270 mah NiMh battery packs, two $25 HS-55 servos and a $30 Castle Creations Pixie 14 or GWS 5 amp speed control. The complete package will cost around $270-300 dollars. Don't buy a cheapy all-in-one package for $100, you will be disappointed. You will be able to use the R/C stuff in future planes.

Good luck!!!

I agree that unless a parent can provide a lot of training and money for repair and replacement a plane is not a good idea for a 12yo.

I'm a beginner myself and I think that makes me more in tune with the needs of another beginner. I've flown a TM and a Firebird2 and a Fighterbird and I don't like the TM for beginners. True it is a good plane and you can reuse equipment but it flys really slow (which is kinda cool) and is underpowered. I think a nubee should start with a medium speed plane. A fast plane is going to crash and be kindling in no time. A slow plane would be ideal if a nubee had the sence to wait for a day with NO wind. The faster a plane flys the better it can handle wind. A TM flys about 5mph, so in a breeze any where near 5mph the plane is getting tossed around like a buterfly in a tornado. Not too many 12 year olds are going to be able to wait weeks for a calm day. Also a TM does not climb all that well. If you try to climb too fast it will stall and crash.

I like the FB2 for beginners. It is fully assembled and goes right back in the box at the end of the day. It comes with everything except transmitter batts, it even has a spare wing. The rear pusher prop saves lots of trouble in crashes and when you don't land perfect. It comes with a very helpful training video and is cheap. The v tail protects the control surfaces from damage as the main wing (spare included) will strike the ground before the tail fins. The 280 speed motor pushes it at a nice medium speed for a good long while and it climbs pretty quick as well. The 2 channel radio is super easy to learn but will get boring after a while. I say it is better to get board from flying then frustrated from crashing a plane above your skill level.

Flying a 2 channel plane is about as difficult as driving a car. Would you let your 12yo drive the family car? Normally kids don't drive until they are 15 or 16 and that age is a better age to start flying as well.

If you decide that your 12yo is up to the challenge please do all of the following:

Be prepared to spend some cash on replacement and repairs.

Download and practice on a sim.

Learn to toss the plane straight and level.

Pick a windless day to fly.

Go to a field twice as big as you think you need (it still won't be big enough).

Get some help with the first flight.

The last step may be the most important. A first flight is the most dangerous because the pilot does not know what to do and because the plane is not "trimed" (adjusted) for proper flight. Those two things together are a disaster ready to happen. Let a old salty pilot fly the plane the first time and get the bugs out. Airplane clubs are everywhere and most are very friendly and glad to help.

If you insist on getting a more advanced plane get a radio that can be "linked" to an instructor's and get an instructor.

I guess I should have given a little background. I fly all the time, and have done glow and electric and have done gliders, larger .40 size glow, speed 400 and cobalt motors. My son has done some flying with me helping ie I stand behind him ready to get my thumbs on the stick if need be. He's flown my Zagi a couple of times and done well. What he has not done is land or takeoff. So far I've done that for him. I wanted to avoid the type of plane that uses the throttle for the elevator. I'm thinking maybe a Push-e-cat?

Push-E Cat
T-52
Zagi
But none have wheels.
You can add wheels to the T-52 - BEC showed how (somewhere here on Ezone).

For a larger electric trainer plane with wheels, try the JK Big-T.
http://www.jkaerotech.com/ (click on kits and scroll down)
Big-T is TOUGH (I did build the second wing with CF spars because I fly him more like a sport plane than a trainer since he got his brushless set up - WHOA!).
My 10yr flies him (on buddy box) and always wants to land him.
He is doing ok.
Built it with ailerons. Search here for Big-T threads - there are pics on the aileron mod, etc.

Brushless setup came from Tom Hunt at Model Air-Tech:
http://www.modelairtech.com/combos.html
Pic attached. (this is my 8ft wingspan version, standard is 6 ft)

Bernard "Crash" Siegel

Would you believe I forgot there is a current review of Big-T on Ezone?
http://www.ezonemag.com/articles/200...igt/bigt.shtml

Ok so you know the deal, sorry for the misunderstanding. I think the Aerobird is going to be a sweet deal. The Aerobird is gonna be basically a 3-channel Fighterbird without the fighting module. Do NOT get a Megatech!!!! The Aerobird is going to have all the advantages of a Firebird/Fighterbird plus be 3 channel. No building, tuff, has landing gear, comes with everything, fits back in the box (this is a big deal for me cause I tear up as many plane bouncing around in the trunk as I do flying), no prop out front...in fact nothing out front to get damaged.

SEE: http://www.hobby-warehouse.com/hobzonaer3ch.html

You're not going to believe this, but I was just thinking "why don't they build a fighterbird type, but with three channels, I'd get that"! What a huge coinsidence! Thanks! I'll check that link out!

This idea that a 12 year old is too young to learn to fly is just plain wrong. My 11 year old learnt on a firebird and mastered it very quickly. He then went on to a Sky Scooter, Soarstar and now a Combat Wing. He can fly inverted 12 inches off the ground. He also flies our gas trainer like a pro.

Kids are very fast learners, and those who have spent some time playing computer games are very fast to pick up flying.

cheers

Peter

I agree with Peter, my 7 year old son can fly my TwinStar fine, but I reckon he's also played with FMS on the computer for hours. When he first flew it, he actually commented that it was slower than the computer version

There was a young lad of about 10 who was flying a proper glo acrobatic plane when I was flying a few weekends ago, he was very good indeed, and was also very aware of others around him - something that my 7 year son would not be yet IMO.

Adam

Peter, I'm sure your 11 yo can fly circles around me and I'm sure there are plenty of good young pilots. What I/we are trying to avoid is a young person who is the only one in the family that is trying to fly spending their life savings in paper route money on a plane that is likely to die and reduce their entire life savings to scrap in 5 minutes flat. Income is a huge factor. If a $100 for a plane sounds cheap to you then by all means give it a whirl. If $100 is a lifetime of savings then another hobby might be a good idea.

If the parent is a flyer then the story is completely different. The parent knows the deal and can provide loads of support. A parent in that situation is likely not going to be asking for my advice as they likey know more then me anyway.

We have an 8-year old at our club. He just started flying in June (on an electric Avistar of all things), soloed in less than two weeks, and is now out-flying at least 3/4 of our "advanced" flyers at the club. So much for age.

Think I'll dust off my old Avistar and electrify it (after getting all that soaked-in glo juice out of the balsa)!!!

VP

Aerobird, T-hawk, and sky scooter pro II are my choice!

For my money the Slow Stick is great. Super easy to fly, easy to build, fairly tough, and cheeeeap! I taught myself to fly on one, if I can learn on one anyone can....

I asked the same question back in August for my 11 year old daughter. And I/we/(and the good folks on ezone) thought that the Push-e-cat (PEC) would be the best.

I have two Sky Scooters (SS)and she has flown them, but I decided on the Push e-Cat (PEC) for her for the following reasons:

1) SS has ailerons, which are harder to learn on.
2) The PEC has no ailerons; it is rudder and elevator, which are easier to learn on.
3) The PEC has a greater wingspan and greater dihedral than the SS, so it is more stable and rights itsself better when you let go of the stick.
4) The greater wingspan of the PEC also makes it more visible.
5) The SS is a tracktor prop, so the prop gets landed on and broken more often, also the gearbox shaft gets bent with nose-in landings. Since the PEC is a Pusher, with the prop above and behind the wing it is less prone to damage.
6) Also, the foam of the SS Pro II is Hancelan (?spelling?) foam. It is not EPP despite what the Hitec Ads say! Although it is tougher than EPS, it is not as tough as the EPP that the PEC is made of. So, crashes often result in less need for repair with EPP.
7) The tail feathers of the PEC are correx, which is a bit tougher than the depron on the SS tail feathers.
8) Because it is a pusher it will be better to use (with a BL motor)for an aerial video plane when my daughter tires of it/grows out of it.

Now, for some reasons why you may want to get the SS instead:
(The SS was my first plane, 1.5 years ago.)
1) It is a great all in one package at a good price ($169). You get everything your son will need-RX, TX, battery pack, motor gearbox, prop. (I already had a second Tx, extra Rx, motors, props, servos, etc. for the PEC. You probably do, too.) {Also the Tx & Rx & servos can be moved to another plane-Although they are AM not FM-and prone to more glitching.}
2) It is more fun to fly and more aerobatic once he learns to fly.
3) You can have the SS in the air literally in 30 minutes.
It is truly A lmost R eady to F ly! The PEC will take 12 hours to build. (But building with your son is good family time and he will feel more vested and less likely to goof off and crash.

Caveates: With the SS use a different charger than the one it comes with to peak the battery pack. Get 1650 MaH NiMH packs.

And what ever you decide to do, you are bound to have Fun with your son!