Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / December 2008

Tell him to go to his local field and get them to train the kid.

Barring that, buy something from someone who sells _all_ the spare parts
(it's been a long time since I looked, too, but I believe that Hobby
Lobby has a couple of trainers that you can just about build from
available spares).

One of the multiples trainers- all foam. when it breaks ( and it will) it's
a simple matter to glue back together with cyano and a kicker.Not pretty,
but fast and practical.

On Dec 16, 11:47 am, "MJKolodziej"
<mjmwcsREMOVEKILLERCH...@htcomp.net> wrote:

IMO, easiest plane to fly is the Parkzone Micro Citabria.  It’s a
micro, as the name suggests, not sure if that’d be a deal breaker or
not.  Weighs under 1oz, so it doesn’t really carry enough momentum to
do damage when you crash it.  It’s still fun, and can do small stuff.
It’ll loop no problem, fly inverted for a bit, and generally kick
around enough to keep you entertained for a bit.  I know of 4 people,
myself included, who learned to fly on one of these things with no
training and no experience flying anything.  2 of the 4 managed to
break props by not cutting throttle on nose-ins.  ~$2 for a new prop,
2 minute fix with only a small set of needle nose, and you’re back in
the air.  I flew mine without a single repair until I got too cocky on
a windy day and lost it.  Speaking of, whatever they get make sure
they write their name & # on the plane.  These go for $120 new, and
can usually be had for around $80 in good condition on RCG, or a bit
more if they come with some extra batteries (not a bad idea!).  IMO
the biggest downfall to this plane is it’s lack of wind resistance –
being under 1 oz AUW it’s very susceptible to being tossed around by
the wind.  OTOH, if you learn when it’s calm and work your way up it’s
a good way to learn to deal with the wind, and teaches you things that
will translate to handling bigger 3 channel planes in higher winds
when you move up.

Another commonly recommended first plane is the Multiplex Easystar.
People like these because they’re fairly resistant and they’re
pushers.  To me, a big downside is if/when you do break one, they’re
not cheap to fix.  Expect to pay around $200 for a RTF.

My personal favorite is the Slow Stick.  It’s not ARF, but the build
is quick – 2 hours if you really take your time.  I can build one in
under an hour.  One of the best things about this plane for a beginner
is the entire slope glider kit is only $20, so it’s almost impossible
to do more than $20 in damage, and you can have a spare everything on
hand for an extra $20.  Also, all electronics can be moved over to the
next plane if/when you outgrow it.  Personally, I like mine enough
that when I build another plane I buy more electronics, and keep the
SS for lazy flying and AP.  They can be built for anywhere from $100-
$300, depending on the radio choice.  Mine’s probably about $300 all
told, but $180 of that is a DX6i Tx/Rx, which is Spektrum 2.4G and has
a 10 model memory – it’s all the Tx I’ll need for years to come.

IMO the easystar or the slow stick is going to suffer some damage
learning with no training.  It’s a shame you can’t get them to ride
the 50 miles and buddy boxy with you.  The slow stick will suffer more
broken props, even with a prop saver (highly recommended!), but it’s a
lot less expensive to fix when you do break it.  I can’t think of
anything offhand besides aero-ace style toys and the PZ Micro Citabria
that’s going to lend itself to out-of-the-box flying with no
experience without some breaking of things during the learning
curve.

Unless starting with the PZ Citabria, I’d suggest a bit of time with
RC cars or on a sim (normal game controller with 2 joysticks/keypads
and a freebie sim like FMS is fine) to get the hang of orientation
before flying for real.  Some people have trouble with the reversing
of controls when the plane is coming toward them.  I raced RC trucks
long before I got into planes so it was natural for me, and should be
for anyone with RC car/truck experience.

Good luck!

Dan

Ted shuffled out of his cave and grunted these great (and sometimes not
so great) words of knowledge:

I STRONGLY recommend having an instructor at a local flying field teach
the person.

If that is not possible, take a look at the Easy Star

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFXV0&P=ML

These are large enough to handle LIGHT winds, easier to see and see what
they are doing and will actually fly with the stock configuration
(UNLIKE MANY RTF - insuffiencient power).  There are spare parts for it
also.

They fly slow enough so they will not get ahead of newbie.