Looking for 3 (all the same) good electric RTF's

[Y2KGTP]

I'm looking for 3 good RTF's for me, and my 2 boys....new to planes (well, last plane was a Kyosho Zero Fighter....that went threw a tree 20 years ago...) but been around for years in electric\nitro RC...

I was thinking of 3 Firebird Scout's to start with, as there is only 4-8 weeks left of diecent weather here until winter sets in, and if they take to it, upgrade to a better model in the spring.......

[Y2KGTP]

I'm thinking of getting 3 Firebird Commander 2 RTF's now, as looks like a good starter.....unless someone can think of a better one..... :D

[hobbico99]

might want to look at the slo-v

[Y2KGTP]

might want to look at the slo-v


Slo-V looks pretty nice, but does not appear as "durable" as the Firebird series.....I think the extra throttle control might be a bit too much for a first plane, but nice to keep the speeds slower.......I'll have to ask my shop what they think......or have in stock..

[Y2KGTP]

Well, I ordered:

3-Firebird Commander 2 RTF's
3-spare battery packs
1-GP-Triton charger
2 spare wings
2 spare tail pieces
2 spare props

I figured this should get me (and my boys) off to a good start......If they take to it, I'll get some better planes in the spring.....

[Leo L]

There is a very good article for beginner flyers on the horizonhobby.com website. The article is titled: The Runway: Getting started in RC Flight Blog. The writer uses Horizon Hobby's products (HobbyZone), but the information is very good and should be applicable to all beginners. His experience is very similar to mine. I started flying this past April using a 2-channel RTF (Firebird Commander). After numerous crashes and encounters with trees, I finally got pretty good with it, so I decided to move up to 3-channel. I bought a ParkZone Cub, but that didn't last too long. On the maiden flight, an experienced flyer was helping to adjust the trim, but by the time that he was finished playing with the controls over my shoulder, the plane was more than a 1/2 mile away and ended up crashing. We searched, but never found it. I then bought the Megatech Airstrike and decided to do all of the trimming myself. The first two flights resulted in nose first crashes, so I set that plane aside, figuring that I will return to it when I get a lot better at flying. I then bought an Aerobird Challenger, and have had a blast with it. It is a very natural progression from the 2-channel Firebird, and is very forgiving. I recently bought a used Cub and have had a ball flying it, although my landings are still a little rough.

The biggest lessons that I learned: 1) You cann't beat the wind with a beginner's plane. I prefer flying early in the morning, just after sunrise when the wind is at a minimum and there are no people around. 2) In a contest between your plane and a tree, the tree will win every time! Stay away from them, or stay well above them.

Have fun. Flying is a great time.

[aeajr]

How are you doing with the Commanders?

[Y2KGTP]

How are you doing with the Commanders?

Well, the last time we went out, both boys seemed to find the ground in about 20-30 seconds......the youngest did not comprehend that you should let off the throttle, if the plane is pointing toward the earth.

The older 1 did a bit better, but managed to get cought in a bit of wind....(10-12mph day) and hit the side of some house......the owner came out bitching, but what can you do......he lives next door to a baseball field, prob gets it all the time.

My plane I managed to keep up in the air for quite some time. but on the 2nd flight, I had the battery give out on me, and it did not have the power to come back into the wind.........last we saw it was headed West, and likely ended up in a corn field. Looked for a couple hours, but never found it....

I already ordered a replacement plane, that is in the basement now.....hopefully will get out this weekend to try again.....in a much bigger field :D

[Leo L]

The wind will kill you, particularly with the 2-channel planes: you try to increase power to overcome the wind and the plane noses up, allowing the wind to catch it and causing it to stall, which then slows the plane down, defeating your original attempt to overcome the wind! DON'T FLY IF THE WIND IS MORE THAN 5 MPH! A little patience, waiting for a calm day, will reward you and your boys with good flights. When you fly, make sure that the plane is UPWIND of you. If the plane starts to get carried by the wind and reaches your position, bring it down immediately. Its much easier to replace a wing or a tail than to replace an entire plane (and a lot cheaper).

It takes a little time to get the Firebird trimmed out to fly straight and level. Take the time with each of the planes so that you and your boys will all have a fun time. Remember, if you are taking off from the ground, cut the power as soon as the plane leaves the ground. And don't make any turns until you have gained some altitude.

[aeajr]

The older 1 did a bit better, but managed to get cought in a bit of wind....(10-12mph day) and hit the side of some house......the owner came out bitching, but what can you do......he lives next door to a baseball field, prob gets it all the time.


If you read the manual, you will see that you should NOT be flying those planes in wind. As a matter of fact, as new flyers you should be flying in dead calm conditions to maybe 3 mph.

Those planes have no elevator control, therefore they have no way to fight the wind. The Aerobird has elevator control, so you can point the nose down and push back into the wind. The two channel commander can't do that.

I have flown my friend's Commander many times. I have hundreds of Aerobird flights and probably over a thousand total flighs across all my planes and my friends planes on sailplanes, slope gliders, discus launched gliders and a variety of 3, 2 and 4 channel electics. I would not fly the Commander in more than a 5 mph wind.

I don't recommend these two channel planes to new flyers specifically for this reason.

If you fly them in calm conditions, they can be a lot of fun. And, when you get REALLY GOOD with them you can handle winds of maybe 6-7 mph, but more than that and you are asking to lose the planes.

I urge you to restrict your early flights to calm conditions.