[steveanderson]

Can someone recommend an electric RTF. I have flown nitro planes. A Falcon 56 and a Nexstar. I think am ready for something a little more advanced and I would like to try electric.
I know very little about the newer radio systems, batteries and chargers.
I was hoping to pick up something with a decent radio that can be used for the next plane.
The radio I have now is only 4 years old but I have been told it is obsolete.
I fly at the farm and the beans and corn can be rough on landing gear. I was hoping something with a skid plate rather than wheels would be easier to land.

[uberjay]

I saw a guy at our club flying a Parkzone T-28 Trojan as his 2nd / 3rd plane. It has enough dihedral even though it's a low wing to make it very managable yet it is aerobatic enough to have some fun with. On the plus side he was getting ~ 8 to 10 minute flights!

It is foam though... it'll be durable, but it'll have a different 'feel' than your balsa planes.

Here's the link on Horizon's site:

http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...an-bnf-PKZ4480

Alternately, these "EPP" wings are supposed to be incredibly durable and relatively easy to fly:

http://www.nitroplanes.com/02a-020-m...green-arf.html

All you'd need to do is strap on a receiver and go.

BOTH of the above would require you to buy a transmitter, but you can grab DX6i's pretty cheap on RCC or even new.... or go to something like the DX7s or DX8 if you have the cash.

Hope this helps,
J

[rbwater]

I say, "Get a Stik." The e-flite 25e version is excellent. They are quite forgiving but you can do aerobatics too. I fly the IMAC Basic & Sportsman routines with mine. Three of us in our flying group have them & we fly them in all weathers - windy conditions - winter conditions with skis. We call them our "all weather interceptors." They're pretty tough as well & fairly easy to repair if you really get it wrong!

RB

[gi1mo2]

I have two Parkzone planes. The F4U Corsair and the Extra 300. The Extra 300 is faster, more powerful, and flys good acrobatics such as loops, rolls, fly upside down. It has to land faster than the Corsair, tends to flip forward on grass. I bent the wheel arms forward and it helps. The Corsair is is slower, flies scale like, does slower rolls and does fly upside down if you push it. I even strapped a GoPro on top once or twice.

I also have the Radian Pro glider by Parkzone. Love it, but you really need to fly during the day to get the updrafts (in my area at least). Calm or windy day flying is still 10 minutes for all models I have mentioned.

It really depends what you are looking for. Get at least a Spektrum Dx6i, and I have bought the BNF models to get the battery, charger and receiver on two of them. Chargers are car battery hack chargers and get the job done fast. I can keep flying with two or three batteries.

[Tyler P]

If you want something more advanced, try the E-Flite Carbon-Z Yak 54. Tonnes of power and is a much higher performance airframe than you're presently flying. Foamy...yes, but it has ribbed wings with carbon reinforcements, so it's very stiff.

Another one I've loved to fly over the years is the Multiplex Acromaster. A bit smaller than the Carbon Yak, and not an RTF, but the build is easy and foam is repairable with regular CA glue. Excellent for quick repairs at the field, if need be. Best flying foam plane I've ever flown.

[Madman]

What 4 year old radio is out of date?

Stephen

[CF105]

If you want a belly-lander foamy, I suggest the ParkZone Wildcat.Tough and maneuverable, and fast enough.

[steveanderson]

I bought 2 JR sport s400 radio's 4 or 5 years ago. They work well enough. I am not very good with computers and the PNP, DS and BNF acronyms confuse me. I don't think any electric planes are compatible with the radios I have.
With a 2 year old son, a 4 year old daughter and a sick wife I may have to give up on electrics and find myself a more durable nitro plane that I can fly without replacing my radios. After I crash the nexstar maybe I should buy a cheap airframe and reuse the servos, receivers and transmitters I have now.
I was all excited after I attended a few funflys but the reality of limited funds and time has taken its toll.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. Keep it coming and I will watch the buy and sell forum on this site. I did contact someone re a wildcat but it was sold pretty quickly.

[uberjay]

If you have a receiver for your existing radio you should be able to just pick up a PNP (Plug-n-play) from Parkzone/E-Flight and shove it in there. The only proviso is that the receiver you have works with standard JR/Futaba style servos/plugs.... which I suspect it would.

On the flip side, if you're on a tight budget you could make something fun to fly and cheap to replace if you turf it. Here's a couple links to make your head spin :

http://www.rcfoamieplans.com/ Foam scratchbuilt and free plans.

http://www.spadtothebone.net/freeplans.htm SPAD (simple plastic airplane design) - ie. Coroplast or corogated plastic - planes ... again, free plans.

Some of the SPAD designs can handle nitro engines - frequently used in combat. The foamies typically run electric. BOTH you can strap on whatever hardware you have and/or want - including using your existing radio.

If you do pick a free plan watch out / avoid the 'elevon' or flying wing style that require mixing to work. The traditional style plane designs should work fine though. (If you really want something that needs elevons you can get hardware mixers like this one, but I have no experience with them to tell you which is good/bad/etc.: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...idProduct=4072 ).

Anyway... all hope is not lost. If you have the time, you can build some pretty amazing planes for pretty low cost - heck, I just built a couple foamies for my kids out of $1.25 /sheet foam at the Dollar Store! My total cost was probably about $35 to $40 including knock-off receiver and a lipo. They aren't Wildcats or Pogos, but they are fun to fly and the kids even got to 'colour' them

Good luck.... and don't give up!
J