Goldberg Eaglet

I think it is advertised as a 3 or 4 channel plane, with or without ailerons. On any plane this size, I think throttle is a necessity. Two channel would be elevator and rudder (or ailerons) but not a good idea. I am in favor of 3 channel trainers - simplicity and for training they seem to be easier to handle than ailerons. Eaglet is a great little plane - highly recommended. Earle AMA42924

The Goldberg Eaglet is a three channel - Engine Throttle (Speed), Elevator (up-down) & Rudder (Left-Right) .09 to .25 engine trainer. The Goldberg Eagle is the Eaglet's .25 to 45 engine big brother with 4 channels required because it does have ailerons. Both airplanes are excellent and have helped many a new R/C pilot solo. As long as you have a qualfied instructor to assist you an aileron trainer is just fine, however if you are taking the lone wolf route the 3 channel trainer is the better one to start off with. If you go with the 3 channel Eaglet still get a 4 channel radio. That way you will have that fourth channel when you move on to a aileron trainer. Unless you are one of the few that are "Born to Fly" you will spend some time with your 3 channel trainer, aileron trainer and your aerobatic trainer before reaching the point you will need more than 4 channels for retractable landing gears etc. At that point you will be able to make an informed decision on which new radio you will want to go to the next level with. My advice to any new pilot is to keep the investment to a reasonable minimum and select the radio and engine that can be moved to each plane as you progress. Buy new equipment to start to avoid the extra stress of dealing with someone elses problems. Build at least one airplane, even if the other 99.9% to follow will be prebuilt ARF's. By building the one trainer, you will get a good idea of what is under the covering and what needs to get fixed when those ARF's have a rough landing or two. If you stick with the hobby great and by being conserative with your choices you can always add equipment as your knowlege and experiance expands or just keep transfering the radio & engine to the new airplane as you progress. If you decide not to stay in the hobby, I wish you well, but this does happen, your investment is not over the top. Remember that you are not going to recover your investment if you sell your rig to someone else. I have yet to see a novice pilot with a couple of grand invested in high end equipment do any better than the novice that has spent a few hundred dollars on a good basic rig to learn to fly.

Of course this is all IMHO and milage does very :-)

Bob Ruth AMA 720565

The Eaglet is a three cvhannel trainer. I built one with half the recommended dihedral and ailerons. Converted it to a taildragger, too. It was a great flying little plane! Still made a good trainer, too. Throttle is necessary on most planes with engines over .09 displacement (some types excepted). Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

The C.G. Eagle was my first RC plane. I flew it as a 4 channel, with an O.S. 25 FSR. It was a bit over powered, but was a great trainer- easy to fly and easy to repair.

Both of these planes can be built either with ailerons or without. The supplied parts and instructions allow for either option in both kits.

Whoops!

My recollection, many years old, is that the Eaglet is a 3 channel bird and I just checked Goldberg's web page and they still list it as a 3 channel, but I do see ailerons listed in the replacement parts. Therefore I assume you are right it is an option. Strange that they do not mention it in their web page.

Bob Ruth AMA

I posted this question because the Tower Hobbies website lists the Eaglet as a 2-4 channel trainer. I was just wondering how it flies on

I'm sure it's with elevator and rudder. If you are planning on doing this because you have a 2 channel radio you want to adapt, it can be done. It would be better to go with at least 3 channels, especially for a beginner that's trying to teach himself. You will only get one shot at landing without a throttle. It sure will make a man out of you. I learned on a Q Tee with an .049. The Eaglet uses a much larger motor. If you want to do it without a throttle, go for an engine near the bottom of the power specs, and use a low pitch prop.

Anyway, if this is indeed your plan, post back here. There are better planes to learn 2 channel on, and there are ways of getting throttle control off the elevator channel. Let us know.

I am not interested in a 2 channel trainer. I was just curious if the Eaglet really is designed for flying on just 2 channels.

It's designed to be versatile. According to the instructions and plans, you can build it to fly with anything from a .09 to .25 engine and 2, 3 or 4 channels. Ideally, you would put a 20 FP or similar engine on it, a lightweight 4 channel rig with ailerons and moderate dihedral, and keep it light. It's a great airplane. But throw away the plastic wing tips and put on triangular balsa blocks, and sand them to the same shape as the plastic.