This is my first plane ever and I have never even flown someone elses plane, but Tower Hobbies had this plane for $100.00 and they say that is a $60.00 off inventory reduction sale price.
The plane is a Hobbico Flyzone Park Pilot EP RTF
Like all things, there are better choices available if you can spend more money. A 3-channel plane for $99 is a good deal and Hobbico generally makes good planes. This looks like a good possibility for getting your feet wet. My advice is to go ahead and order an extra wing, an extra tail set, and a couple of extra propellers when you order the plane.
Follow the instructions closely and, REMEMBER, this plane will require nearly dead-calm wind conditions to fly outdoors. What seems like a moderate breeze can either blow your plane out of sight or put it 40' up in a tree.
That advice makes me want that Aerobird Xtreme ;p, LHS guys said that one is big enough and heavy enough to fly in windier conditions.
Hehe, that's why the first thing I mentioned was there are always better choices for more money! :)
The radio gear is completely re-usable for electric or nitro (glow) powered aircraft. The SuperStar's balsa and monokote body is much larger than the Aerobird Extreme's and much easier to see from a distance. The SuperStar EP would be able to fly in windy conditions same as a nitro powered trainer.
This is the complete package. 4-channel Futaba radio and servos, balsa-and-monokote ARF, engine, gearbox, esc, and batteries. You'd need only a charger for the included battery for the motor. Everything is pre-built and ready for final assembly.
You'd get a the simplicity of a clean, quiet electric powered plane, but with the size, stability, and 4-channel control of a glow powered trainer. If you can afford $189 for the Aerobird Extreme, saving up a little extra cash for a SuperStar EP Select RTF with Ailerons and a battery charger would be well worth the extra money. The extra size, power, stability in windy conditions, and control would all add up to money well spent.
That is a little more than I was hoping to spend on my first plane. I may get it though will just take me longer to save up the money.
At the moment I was thinking of getting the Aerobird Xtreme to learn and then moving up to the F-27 Stryker, and after that this P-51D Mustang by Parkzone.
Here are the links to the planes:
Aerobird Xtreme $189.99
I own an Aerobird Challenger, and I've seen the Aerobird Extreme, the F-27 Stryker, and the P-51D Mustang all flown at local fields around town. Hobbyzone/Parkzone makes great inexpensive planes that are fun to fly, no doubt about it.
Buying an Aerobird Extreme isn't a bad option for you. The Hobbico Superstar EP would simply be a better first airplane for you to learn to fly, it would likely last you longer than any of the Hobbyzone/Parkzone models, and would give you a better overall introduction to mainstream R/C flight because of the standardized radio and electronics equipment.
The bottome line, however, is there is no "wrong" choice. You should buy whichever plane strikes your fancy. I'd hate for you to simply take my word for it that the Superstar EP is the way to go and then have you wondering if the Aerobird Extreme wouldn't have been more fun to fly. If the idea of flying an Aerobird Extreme makes your pulse quicken, that is the plane you should buy! It's not a matter of which plane would be the most "pratical choice" for a first aircraft, it's about which airplane gets you the most excited about learning to fly.
| Buying an Aerobird Extreme isn't a bad option for you.
In fact, it's probably one of the best options. It flies well (and can do some pretty good aerobatics), but is still easy to fly.
| The Hobbico | Superstar EP would simply be a better first airplane for you to learn to | fly, it would likely last you longer than any of the Hobbyzone/Parkzone | models, and would give you a better overall introduction to mainstream R/C | flight because of the standardized radio and electronics equipment.
If you have an instructor, and you have a formal flying field to fly at, I agree -- the Superstar would be better. However, if you're flying by yourself, I'd say it's a bad idea, as the plane will not survive any serious crashes, and your first crash will probably occur within 60 seconds of your first takeoff.
Yes, most of the damage will be fixable, but it'll be time consuming and require skills that you may not have yet. The Aerobirds and similar planes will all survive most minor crashes with no damage, and you can buy relatively cheap replacement parts for the more serious crashes.
| The bottome line, however, is there is no "wrong" choice. You | should buy whichever plane strikes your fancy.
I'll have to completely disagree with you there.
The two planes we're talking about would be OK choices, but there are lots of other planes that would be awful choices. Any plane designed for 3D, for example, especially if made from balsa rather than foam would be a very poor choice, as would a highly detailed scale model.
Lots of people go out and buy the plane that `strikes their fancy' (often a scale model of some fighter, or of a plane that they've flown themselves (full scale pilots do this sort of thing all the time), assemble it as well as they know how (but make serious mistakes like not getting the CoG even close to right), then take it out to the park and turn it back into a pile of sticks within 60 seconds, and then get frustrated and give up.
If you're doing it by yourself, you want to get something made of foam, preferably a glider or something with the motor in the back, something that comes mostly assembled already and includes good instructions. Ideally you'd still get some help, but it can be done by yourself.
I guess I could have been more clear, I didn't intend that as a blanket statement. Scotty had listed the Aerobird Extreme, the Parkzone F-27 Stryker, and the Parkzone P-51D Mustang all as RTF kits that he wanted to fly.
Had he listed the Hangar 9 Twist 40 as an option, I'd have tried to talk him out of it. What I meant was there wasn't really a "wrong choice" among the planes he was considering. The order in which he wanted to purchase the Parkzone/Hobbyzone RTF packages was perfectly fine.
What I didn't want to do was strongly recommend a boring plane that he doesn't want to buy, and then insist that he HAS to join a club and learn to fly during club training night. If Scotty finds it more appealing to simply buy an Aerobird Extreme and throw it around a park when weather permits, then that's what he probably ought to do.
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.