Simprop Spad: any good?

[Blackhawk]

The SPAD is a great flyer--recommend that you use carbon sheet to strenthen the gear and cabanes. Also the wings could use a strip of carbon on the under sides. I use balsa leading edges (white glued) on the wings and tail pieces for additional strength. The Pfalz is also a superb flyer. See some photos at the rc microflyer section of the DC Maxecuters homepage at www.his.com/~tschmitt/index.html (http://www.his.com/~tschmitt/index.html)

Pat Daily

[gjohnson]

I can't tell from your question if this is your first RC plane ever, or your first electric, and you have plenty of experience flying RC's. I'll assume this is your first RC plane ever, and hope my perspective helps you. I'm what John Worth described in his column recently as someone drawn back into the sport after many years of no modeling (about 20 years in my case!). Almost of my modeling had been free flight, control-line, and a very small amount of RC. Despite having spent many years in the sport, I knew I'd have to learn how to fly an RC, and would probably crash a lot. In the year since I got back into modeling, I've crashed a lot. I was pointed at Diversity's "Dragonfly" (available from NE Sailplane) for my first plane. It is big, doesn't look like a real plane, flies slowly, but breaks easily. If I had it to do over again, I'd get something a lot sturdier, or cheaper. Look at the web sites for nesail.com and hobby-lobby.com and go for a plane that will be very easy to learn on and can take hard landings. I'm not sure a styrofoam biplane is your best choice for a beginner. Hobby Lobby shipped me a Robbe Stearman bipe, which I built rather than go to the trouble of returning. the landing gear, wing struts, etc are very rigid and unforgiving in crashes. I'd suggest getting a plane you won't be attached to for your first one, crash it a lot, then buy the WWI plane of your dreams(I have a weakness for those too), and transfer your radio gear etc to it. Are you planning to fly indoors, or outdoors? You also might consider the Lite Stik or the J3 Cub from GWS (see my note on increasing the dihedral for the J3 in the park flier bulletin board). At $35 a pop they are cheap, repairable, and replaceable if crashed really hard. Plus, they can be flown indoors and in very calm weather. If you are plannning to specialize in the small planes, get a Hitec "feather" radio since it has the almost the lightest receiver and servos available, that way you won't feel you need to buy lighter equipment down the road. Or, Hobby Lobby sells a version for only $20 or so more that has a two stick four-channel transmitter and the same four-channel feather receiver and two HS55 servos. Add a Y-harness and another servo to it and you can put it in NE Sail's aileron-equiped Husky or J3 Cub planes and fly four-channel. Hope this helps.
--Gordon

[Space Frog]

I'm looking for a potential first plane and I have a soft spot for warbirds and pioneer era aircraft. Is the Spad a good choice?

I've read the availible reviews, but I'm still not sure.

Thanks.

------------------
Hope springs a turtle.

[Space Frog]

Gordon, thanks. This is gonna be my first of any variety.

So, what about the Nora? I bring that up only because its got a fiberglass fuselage. Is that sturdy enough for this?

Orrigingally, I was keen on a Bleriot3 becuase it was so slow, but I was hoping for something a bit more wind-tollerant than a stick w/wings. Or is that really the best route?

[gjohnson]

I also thought about the Nora for my first plane because of the durability of a fiberglass fuselage. I ordered one from Hobby-lobby, but they were out of stock. I was going to order one from Markey's Hobby, but he said the Dragonfly was a better plane for a beginner. So, I bought that instead. Unfortunately, beginners tend to overreact at the controls and have a habit of slamming into the ground. The landing gear on the Dragonfly is attached with the same laminated plywood that supports the motor. So, my first flight destroyed the motor mount on landing. The dragonfly flies very slow, and is a nice plane, but is not as durable as I would have liked.

The Nora (according to Markey) is supposed to be harder to fly. Check out the Miss Bohemia (reviewed in RCMicroflight)from Hobby Lobby (and its companion plane Bloody Mary). From Northeast Sailplane, check out their Pleaser line of planes. These seem (from the pictures) to be very simple and can probably be repaired quickly.

If you are new to this, consider paying up and getting AstroFlight's 110D charger. It is very adjustable and has a readout that tells you what the battery peaked at, how much you put in it, time, etc. This is a lot better than a charger that simply has a light that tells you the battery pack is charged. Sal at Northeast Sailplane got me started keeping a log for each battery pack so I have a history of its life. The 110D is what gives you the info needed to keep a log. Plus, it charges NiMhd batteries.

Talk to Sal, he has good advice. You might consider his Husky (also reviewed in RCMicroflight), and his fiberglass fuselage J3 Cub. But, I'd still recommend going with something uggly and durable for your first plane.

I'm only about a year ahead of you. Hope this helps.

Gordon

[jimwalker]

I'm yet another person with the "I'm back after 20 years because of parkflyer interest" story. To resurrect my R/C skills I bought a Hi-Tech feather radio and a Lite-Stik. I crashed it many times before I decided it was beyond repair. By that time I felt confident enough to fly something I cared about and that cost more than 25 bucks. I purchased a "Virus" from Northeast Sailplanes. It is very maneuverable and is very hard to stall which makes it quite forgiving. I plan to build a Tiny soon using the motor salvaged from my Lite-Stik. I couldn't fly aerobatic planes 20 years ago, so I feel that the planes I just mentioned have really brought my pilot skills a long way. Hope this helps..........