RC Airplane for beginner?

Mike Smith

Mike Smith

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Last minute gift idea for my 13yo son, what is a good beginner RC? Or what should look/look out for?
 
Something easy to build. ARF (almost ready to fly.) You can get little cheapie foam trainer electrics these days but there is just something about having a real motor that makes it cooler.

And a RC trainer program that interfaces with the radio controller would be a good idea too, for some initial practice.
 
I am a long time RC guy, consider myself to be a very experienced flyer in fixed wing and multirotor. I fly helis every once in a while. I am on the board of our RC field as well so I am quite involved with RC in general.

My suggestion is the following:

1. Buy RealFlight 8 - it is $180 and comes with a USB transmitter. You will save a lot of money and a lot of grief in the long run if you can fly the simulator well. It is amazing how quickly you can pick up the basics with 10-20 minutes a day on the simulator

2. E-Flite Apprentice: https://www.horizonhobby.com/apprentice-s-15e--rtf-w-dxe-efl3100e
This is bar none the best trainer available. You can buy this and fly it in parallel with the simulator or get some experience on the simulator and then fly this. Either way is likely fine. It is stupid simple to fly and has multiple flight modes (beginner, intermediate, and expert). It has a panic button that allows you to level the airplane at any time. It has a 60" wing span and has an AS3X gyro so it is very stable in winds. The bigger the plane the easier it is to fly. DO NOT buy a small trainer. Small planes are more difficult to fly. Period. It comes with a Spektrum DXe transmitter, which is actually a decent transmitter that could be used for future airplanes. It comes with everything you need to fly including a charger (a slow charger at that, but it does work). Buy a few extra batteries. $270 might seem steep, but you will save money in the long run by buying a quality trainer with a decent transmitter like the Apprentice. (being in the RC hobby for long, $279 is cheap haha!). Oh and vritually no building needed. Goes together in 30 minutes.

Seriously...even if you don't buy the simulator (which I highly recommend), buy this plane.

Here are the batteries I would recommend as well as an adapter you will need to plug it in:
Batteries: http://www.buddyrc.com/glacier-30c-3300mah-3s1p.html
Adapter: http://www.buddyrc.com/male-t-plug-to-female-ec3-adapter.html

PM me if you would like. You are more than welcome to call me or email me to discuss further. RC is an endless pit, but trust me when I say that my above suggestion is really your best bet. No it is not the cheapest, but it will allow your son to truly enjoy the hobby and decrease the learning curve as much as possible. Many folks go out and buy a cheap trainer with a sub 40" wing span. It flies like crap and causes nothing but frustration. Let your son start the hobby out on the right foot and get as much enjoyment as he can. I can't stress this enough.
 
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Sac Arrow said:
Something easy to build. ARF (almost ready to fly.) You can get little cheapie foam trainer electrics these days but there is just something about having a real motor that makes it cooler.

And a RC trainer program that interfaces with the radio controller would be a good idea too, for some initial practice.
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Agree with the RC trainer program, but please don't buy a nitro plane. Nitro is DEAD. Seriously it is a dying breed. It is finicky. It is messy. It is a pain in the butt. Gas engines (NOT nitro) are excellent and very reliable, but are only used in the larger airplanes. Desert Aircraft makes the best gas engines. That is way beyond what he needs.

Electric is slowly sweeping through the RC hobby and is stupid reliable and simple.

Off topic, but my good friend owns this 104" MXS and I fly it quite frequently. Awesome plane. Cost? $5000.

Me flying my buddies MXS with smoke :p

IMG_2523.jpg
 
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I taught myself how to fly RC fixed wing and rotary wing via Real Flite (pc game/trainer) it was so much fun.

I never really enjoyed rotary wing as much as fixed wing as I was always afraid of breaking the helicopter. I had a glow fuel powered Hirobo Shuttle which I crashed few times. Eventually rebuilt it and sold it.

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The other I had was a Helimax, I think I went through three of them.

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I had a whole pile of airplanes which I was much more comfortable flying and enjoyed a whole lot more than the helicopters. All my planes were glow fuel powered. Built my Dad a really nice 60 size J3 cub which never flew, just hangs proudly hangs in his living room lol.

Glow fuel/nitro is messy, I think it ate the upholstery in my car.
 

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CC mentioned some good ones. I'm a MotionRC fan myself so I buy pretty much all my jets from them. Here's a good list of their beginner aircraft. Get a ready to fly (RTF) version to simplify the process. Most of these foam aircraft can easily be repaired in the inevitable crash.

https://www.motionrc.com/collections/beginner-and-trainer-airplanes
 
Bunch of really good gyrostabilized RC helicopters that can be had for cheap. Definitely the way to go. Airplanes have to be flown outside and are very easily crashed. The smaller helicopters can be flown indoors and are pretty tough. They're fun too. I bought a set awhile back that can shoot each other down.
 
So...you guys are saying that CG's Eaglet and Eagle 50 are no longer the "in things" for trainers?

;)
 
I agree with CC268 on most of his comments. Get a larger airplane that can handle rougher grass and is easier to see and less influenced in winds. I personally hate electric airplanes but he is correct in that nitro is a lost art. I love the smell, the sound, the tweaking, and the fact that I can fly back to back to back almost as much as I want without charging batteries.
 
Bill Jennings said:
How much runway, on grass, does something like this take? I live on a park, and have often thought of buying something to fly off the grass in the park.

I'd also be interested in a powered glider, are there any that are suitable for newbies?
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I have an e-flite apprentice to teach people. It's almost too easy to fly and they don't learn anything. j/k

It's easy to fly, but it still takes a bit of space to land. The more skilled you are the less space you need. As a beginner you need more than a baseball field for sure.
 
Bill Jennings said:
How much runway, on grass, does something like this take? I live on a park, and have often thought of buying something to fly off the grass in the park.

I'd also be interested in a powered glider, are there any that are suitable for newbies?
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Back when I had one I would teach at a local park...we had quite a bit of room and I never had any issues...you can take off and land with very little room (if your good!), but for a newbie it is better to be safe than sorry. A soccer field is a good length I would say. You know gliders is one thing I have never done, so I can't comment on that.
 
steingar said:
Bunch of really good gyrostabilized RC helicopters that can be had for cheap. Definitely the way to go. Airplanes have to be flown outside and are very easily crashed. The smaller helicopters can be flown indoors and are pretty tough. They're fun too. I bought a set awhile back that can shoot each other down.
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Ehh...trainers now a days like the Apprentice are almost fool proof. Really simple to fly and it has a great gyro.

Gyrostabilized helicopters are fun if you just want a toy to play with in the house. If you get into "real" helicopters (450 size and up)...that is a whole nother ball game and much harder to fly than an airplane. Much harder. And expensive when they crash.
 
Bill Jennings said:
How much runway, on grass, does something like this take? I live on a park, and have often thought of buying something to fly off the grass in the park.

I'd also be interested in a powered glider, are there any that are suitable for newbies?
Click to expand...

It looks like they have a mini Apprentice too...I suppose you could try something like that, although I really encourage the bigger size. The Delta Ray is another plane that is actually quite good for beginners and it is smaller than the Apprentice.
 
CC268 said:
It looks like they have a mini Apprentice too...I suppose you could try something like that, although I really encourage the bigger size. The Delta Ray is another plane that is actually quite good for beginners and it is smaller than the Apprentice.
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the bigger they are the easier it is to fly them for sure
 
Grum.Man said:
I agree with CC268 on most of his comments. Get a larger airplane that can handle rougher grass and is easier to see and less influenced in winds. I personally hate electric airplanes but he is correct in that nitro is a lost art. I love the smell, the sound, the tweaking, and the fact that I can fly back to back to back almost as much as I want without charging batteries.
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You can do that with electrics, too. Just swap out the battery pack for a fresh one. Quicker than fueling up with nitro or gas, and no mess.
 
The Apprentice really is the way to go...it’s what I recommend to everyone starting out. Spare parts are available (easily obtained), easy to fly, fun to fly, long flights compared to all my 3D aerobatic planes...DXe transmitter...not much to not like
 
RC airplane for a 13yo?...that is like making the poor kid waterski on doubles in a neon ski vest behind the boat!...get him a FPV Quad Copter!
 
Shawn said:
RC airplane for a 13yo?...that is like making the poor kid waterski on doubles behind the boat!...get him a FPV Quad Copter!
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Lol...NO! I fly FPV racers...it is by far the most technical of the RC “categories”. And it gets expensive very very quickly. It’s great for engineers like me who enjoy soldering, pwb design, betaflight programming, etc. it is not newbie friendly though
 
Wow, lots of good info here. Thank you so much everyone for all the tips. I don't have any idea where I will go with this, this all started with an offhand comment he made months ago about getting an RC airplane and then recently he said he thought a drone (quadcopter) would be fun. I think perhaps I have waited too late to do this for Christmas, but I will do my due diligence and see what happens. I really appreciate all the help.
 
Years ago, I bought an RC Cessna 172 from a local hobby store. I don’t recall the scale, but it was about 2.5ftx2.5ft or thereabouts. Fairly decent size. The place I bought it from had a policy that said, once you take it out of the store, you couldn’t bring it back for any reason. I should’ve known this was a red flag, but being the young, naive kid I was, I bought it and dropped about $150 on the piece of chit. Long story short, I was never able to get the thing airborne. I went through about 4 or 5 props and some various fuselage repairs before I finally set it out for the trash collector to take.

Never figured out what the problem was, but I imagine it was extremely defective. Surprisingly the hobby shop is still in business today.
 
kyleb said:
My opinion? Hobby zone Champ for about $90. You can fly one in a small outdoor space, and they are tough and easy to fly.
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I’m not trying to come off rude...but I don’t recommend this for the reasons I stated in my original post. Seen a lot of folks go down this road. They fly like crap in any wind. And they are not easy to fly for a beginner. Again...don’t buy a micro. You’ll be wasting money in the long run. A friend of mine bought one and left the hobby as quick as he got into it.
 
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Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Yup.


And Congress came along and changed the law for the FAA.

https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/aircraft_certification/aircraft_registry/UA/
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Hmm...interesting...I’m really shocked this hasn’t been brought up by the board if that’s true. We did talk about it when it was redacted.

I don’t have any of my RC planes registered and I won’t be registering them now. It’s absurd. I fly at an AMA field in the middle of the desert. Not worried about flying into someone’s backyard or flying into a full scale airplane. I am not going to register my little foamy that I fly 10 feet off the ground most the time lol.

Now...I do understand for the larger camera drones (Phantom, maybe even the Mavic, etc) that it might be a good idea to have those registered since folks do fly them relatively high and do stupid things with them.

Unfortunately common sense isn’t so common anymore.
 
CC268 said:
I’m not trying to come off rude...but I don’t recommend this for the reasons I stated in my original post. Seen a lot of folks go down this road. They fly like crap in any wind. And they are not easy to fly for a beginner. Again...don’t buy a micro. You’ll be wasting money in the long run. A friend of mine bought one and left the hobby as quick as he got into it.
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A 13 YO needs something s/he can carry out to the yard and fly after school. Not something that requires going to the local R/C field. The great thing is, the baby Champ flies like a freeflight model. It'll fly itself, but you can intercede with the controller. On windy days, just leave it inside.

My recommendation would be different if we were talking about someone who could provide his/her own transportation.
 
kyleb said:
A 13 YO needs something s/he can carry out to the yard and fly after school. Not something that requires going to the local R/C field. The great thing is, the baby Champ flies like a freeflight model. It'll fly itself, but you can intercede with the controller. On windy days, just leave it inside.

My recommendation would be different if we were talking about someone who could provide his/her own transportation.
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I see your point. Heck get him both the cub and Apprentice. We have lots of young members at my field and they learn very quickly if equipped with the right stuff.
 
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