3d vs foam

[Gambit9m]

I am wanting to make a rc plane and I am wondering what is the cheapest and best type of plane. Please include reasons and actual planes or brands if you know.

 

[JasonK]

I am wanting to make a rc plane and I am wondering what is the cheapest and best type of plane. Please include reasons and actual planes or brands if you know.

best for __what__?

best trainer != best 3D flying != best FPV race wing != best scale model....

 

[Foamforce]

You’re on the FliteTest forums and most of us build foam planes, so your answer will be skewed.

I got into foam planes because I enjoy building and I can’t stand the thought of wrecking an expensive store bought plane. Wrecking and rebuilding a foam board plane only costs a few bucks. As a result I don’t feel awful when I crash. Also, I can take much bigger risks. The other day I was doing a 6 foot inverted run down the runway and at the end I pulled the wrong way and smashed my plane. I didn’t care though because it was an old model that I halfway intended to wreck anyways. Now I have a pile of electronics to build a new plane.

I see the advantages of other styles too. Pre-build planes have fewer issues and frequently fly better because everything tends to be better aligned. 3d printed planes look very good but don’t survive crashes well. They’re all fun.

 

[Merv]

To learn 3D, the FT3D is a great place to start. It's easy to build & repair. It will do everything your skills will allow. When your skills advance, the Edge is the next step. The Edge looks a bit better, but is more difficult to build & repair.

 

[Gambit9m]

best for __what__?

best trainer != best 3D flying != best FPV race wing != best scale model....

Best trainer.

 

[JasonK]

Best trainer.

I would say either the Tiny Trainer or <https://store.flitetest.com/ft-tenet-v-2-duo/>
or, if you can find one, a good EPP trainer kit (basically you can throw it hard at the ground and it bounces right back) could be even better as they can take a lot of abuse and go right back to flying.

the 2 things your looking for in a trainer are: easy to repair/hard to break (your going to crash), tame flying style (IE big wing/low wing loading/etc)

• 3d prints break messy
• balsa breaks messy and is more work to put together then 3d prints
• RTF/ARF - depends on the make of them (IE materials made out of)
• foam - depends on the foam - but generally is going to be the most easily repair from a rough crash.