First RC plane. What should I get?

[Lplate]

Hi hope to get some advice from the good people here.
I'm considering to buy an electric plane. I have no experience and also can't afford to crash and break stuff too often. Should I be gettin a foam plane?
A foam 3D plane is affordable right? Is it ok for beginner?

I intend to play at an open field not far from my home. I'm hoping the plane can be small enough for me to travel by foot or bus. Are such planes usually collapsible for convenient transport? At the same time I'm hoping it can still be controllable in light winds. Does size matter?

Budget is around S$200 for everything/RTF including plane, transmitter, servos, lipo (hopefully at least x2) and brushless motor system.

[mave]

Hi,
welcome to the hobby.
It is easy to get your hands on all types of RC plane. But it is more important to take the right approach to starting the hobby.

The most valuable part of this hobby is making new friends.
Iand it is not definitely not a good idea to engage the hobby on your own(alone) especially if you are very new to RC or RC plane.

Go to places where groups fly RC plane. Approach them and get a feel of what flying RC plane is all about. Make some friends, as they can save you some good money.


Enjoy

Hi hope to get some advice from the good people here.
I'm considering to buy an electric plane. I have no experience and also can't afford to crash and break stuff too often. Should I be gettin a foam plane?
A foam 3D plane is affordable right? Is it ok for beginner?

I intend to play at an open field not far from my home. I'm hoping the plane can be small enough for me to travel by foot or bus. Are such planes usually collapsible for convenient transport? At the same time I'm hoping it can still be controllable in light winds. Does size matter?

Budget is around S$200 for everything/RTF including plane, transmitter, servos, lipo (hopefully at least x2) and brushless motor system.

[Creepy]

Estarter will be a good first choice. It floats well with a light setup and is aileron capable so no need find an aileron trainer next time you want to progress further. 3D plane such as Extra330 should not be your first plane if you have never flown a plane before.

[nightshade]

I would suggest a GWS Slowstick or a GWS Beaver.

As for TX you may want to spent a bit more and get a Futaba 4EX or a 6EX than a cheap non processor control TX as you could use it for your future planes and it support multiple planes profiles. It have extra features to help you fly like exponential control making it easier to control for a beginner.

As said by Mave, most of the Bros on the fields are friendly and would help you trim your plane.

My 13 year old son start flying using both Slowstick and Beaver.

[Sunstorm]

There is a good combo at the s-k-y hobbies website for beginners, you can try that.

[SniperWj]

you wont go wrong for GWS slowstick~

[romihensem]

agree

Hi,
welcome to the hobby.
It is easy to get your hands on all types of RC plane. But it is more important to take the right approach to starting the hobby.

The most valuable part of this hobby is making new friends.
Iand it is not definitely not a good idea to engage the hobby on your own(alone) especially if you are very new to RC or RC plane.

Go to places where groups fly RC plane. Approach them and get a feel of what flying RC plane is all about. Make some friends, as they can save you some good money.


Enjoy

i totally agree. dont get a plane and fly on yr own if u r totally new to this hobby. in the end u might blame the plane if something goes wrong just like wat happen to me and thus wasting more cash. join yr friendly flying guys at any convenience flying field and who knows they might just hand over some of their trainer planes for u to get the field of it. it will seriously save u a lot of money. and as in this hobby case, u definitely will need to save as much as possible...

[Lplate]

Thanks so much guys for the warm welcome, advice and encouragement.

Mave, I believe you make a very good point. Playing alone will never be as fun nor as educational as playing with others. So, I will make sure I get to know other flyers before I make any major decision.

I live near Bishan Park, near Upper Thomson Rd. Is there a group of flyers with beginners in that area? Can I join you guys to watch and learn some?

[Lplate]

Please continue to share with me (and probably other interested beginners) what to consider when buying a first plane. I really hope I can get a plane and the relevant equipment that i can start off and progress to the next stages with. Just in case, by some miracle, I turn out to be a fast learner.

So far, the recommended planes are the GWS Slowstick, GWS E-Starter and GWS Beaver.

Can anyone list the benefits/weaknesses of each?

Slowstick-

E-Starter-

Beaver-

[simonwoo]

Welcome to the club! You might wanna browse through some of the old threads here, a lot of information about starting out and which plane/gear to choose from etc...

http://www.daddyhobby.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30263

[Nazar78]

start up

bro pardon my comments but in my humble opinion, for a start in this hobby, i suggest investing in a cheap, good and reliable digital transmitter. plane wise, not a problem and usually cost less for beginners. if u r lucky u can even get it for free. (at least u dont have to waste some money if it get thrashed). nowadays theres lots of good begginer planes like the one u mentioned but as i say, as a start, u may need to invest more cash and as yr progress goes u will have all the necessary things needed if u need to upgrade. different ppl will have different views bout beginner planes but it boils down to yr own preference. my club guys would probably recommend wing dragon for starter plane but as i say each of us have different views on this. basically its how fast u learn and how committed r u into this rc hobby. cheers

just my opinion, hopes no one gets offended... hehehe

[Jack_Chen]

if you are really new, visit a nearby flying field, look around and ask. Try out a simulator before putting the real dollar down. Simulators may not be totally real BUT really give you a feel of things.

JetHobby has the Cessna combo for beginners, which is more expensive, but is all setup and ready to fly. Minimal assembly.

Rotor has a beginner combo. The plane plus all the electronics required for the plane including transmitter/receiver/servos/esc/batteries. Quite affordable but I think it's higher than $200. Plus you still need some very basic hobby tools like adhesives, hobby knife, soldering iron, etc.

Skyhobbies as the brother above mentioned, has a full package too.

If not, you can also get a plane KIT or ARF then cobbled together your parts either through different shops local/overseas or Secondary market AKA Second hand. For beginners, most websites will list suitable planes under beginner or trainer.

What I did when I just began was start surfing the local hobby sites. Use a good spider bot or crawler to rip pricing data, do a proper spreadsheet and if you can a pivot table/chart so you can pin-point the best part for your needs.

The GWS Slowstick/E-starter/Beaver recommended by the brothers belong to DIYs. This means you have to build the plane from ground up. Preferably ask tips from people on building and visiting 'Build' threads. You can google things like 'GWS Beaver Build' and you can follow how other people make their planes. Rotor, introduced above, is where you can get the GWS products above. You can go to their website and check the pricing.

For me, GWS products are for super light setups. Even their CEO say, build it as light as possible. Some will say the plane is flimsy. Well, the plane is not meant to be flown fast in the first place considering their stock components. My Beaver was trashed because I built it badly and I was putting things that are too heavy.

[Sunstorm]

What I did when I just began was start surfing the local hobby sites. Use a good spider bot or crawler to rip pricing data, do a proper spreadsheet and if you can a pivot table/chart so you can pin-point the best part for your needs.

.

Wow. Man, you get some l33t skillz. First time I heard of pivot tables and bots!

[Lplate]

Will do more research but just asking...
What do you think of this offer?

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6331

If this is a good deal, then all i have to do get is a transmitter and maybe extra lipos(cheap ones).

[Lplate]

Also I have a gal friend who might be going to Hong Kong. May ask her to help me buy.
Any good and cheap place in HK to buy rc planes and accessories from?