| I'm about to purchase a second rc rtf plane. I have a Firebird Outlaw, | and I'm trying to figure out what a good next step would be.
Firebird Outlaw? Is that one of those with two channels -- throttle and rudder? Oh, it's worse -- no rudder, just control over the two motors.
This is the sort of plane we'd normally suggest you skip entirely. :)
| I'm most interested in electric park fliers -- I might move up to bigger | stuff later, but just now I'm not interested in fuel motors or anything | so big I need to belong to a club to fly it. | | The first question I have is V-tail vs. elevator/rudder planes. | Is controlling a v-tail that has movable surfaces (elevons?) similar to | controlling a plane with an elevator and rudder?
Assuming that you're talking about a plane where you have three channels -- throttle, elevator and rudder (or throttle, and two channels that control your two halves of the V-tail) they will fly just about identically with a V-tail as with a traditional rudder and elevator.
(If you're talking about one of those two channel planes where you control throttle and then the other stick pulls up one one half of the V-tail, then no, these don't fly the same -- they fly similar to what you already have.)
| Similar enough that someone familier with the v-tail could fly the | other easily?
Absolutely. If set up properly, you won't even really notice the difference. | Next, am I doing a disservice to myself by not purchasing a plane | with 4 channels and ailerons as opposed to going with one with just | a v-tail or elevator and rudder?
Not too much, no. For an electric powered plane (as opposed to a glider) three channels is where things start becoming fun. One channel is throttle, but it doesn't really matter if those other two channels control an elevator and rudder, or two halfs of a V-tail, or two elevons ...
| That's something I want to learn, but right now I'm happy with just | flying, and everything I've read seems to indicate that if I go with | something with ailerons, I'll need an instructor for a while.
Not neccesarily, but planes without aileron controls are usually easier to fly, yes.
Whatever you get, a few minutes with an instructor is not a bad idea. It doesn't have to be anything fancy -- if you have a friend who knows how to fly (better than you), having him give it's first flight and then help you do it, that may save you many crashes.
| If it's not going to be giving me bad habits, I'm okay with | just tail controls.
No, it'll be fine. It's just somewhat different -- more self correcting. The skills you learn with a rudder/elevator plane will translate pretty well to a aileron/elevator plane.
| Lastly, I'm currently looking at the Aerobird Challenger or something | like the Easy Star (or the Easy Star itself). Any other suggestions, | in the $200 range for an entire package, for an electric park flyer?
Dunno, but make sure whatever you get has at least three channels. (A two channel glider is ok, but I don't think you want a glider.)
The Aerobird looks like one of the low end `toys', but it does have 3 channels, so obviously it's a bit better than most of them. No personal experience with it, however.
I'm fond of planes like the Tubby Cubby, Pico Moth or GWS Slow-Stick, but they could easily get outside of your price range, and they may be too fragile for you. An electric flying wing like a Zagi is a good choice too for many people -- harder to fly, but hard to break too -- but you'd almost certainly go out of your price range unless you got a glider (which are often the most fun of all, but you need a slope.)