First 4 Channel Suggestions

[randelora]

I personally have not flown the Archer but I have around 5 hrs in a full size Archer. It was stable but really liked to float on landings. I don't know if the model flies like the real thing. I can tell you that the heavier the model the better it handles in the wind. You can buy park flier skis for winter flying.

 

[quorneng]

Do be careful of flying "in an area enclosed by buildings or trees"!
The wind does not stop when it meets an obstacle but goes round or over it. Unfortunately once past the obstacle the air does not smoothly return to its previous path but twist and turns in an erratic manner for a distance of about 5 times the height of the obstacle.
Flying a small light plane in this area can be very difficult unless the wind is very light, in which case you don't need the shelter in the first place!

 

[Wade's RC Hangar]

I personally have not flown the Archer but I have around 5 hrs in a full size Archer. It was stable but really liked to float on landings. I don't know if the model flies like the real thing. I can tell you that the heavier the model the better it handles in the wind. You can buy park flier skis for winter flying.

I haven't either but there are some reviews on youtube by a guy named ChuckTSeeker and he does a good job showing how it flies. I would check it out here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e-8FKRQx64

 

[randelora]

Quorneg makes an excellent point. In fact wind will be amplified squeezing between two buildings. Its kind of like a wind tunnel effect.

 

[WombatControl]

There's no question: the PZ T-28. It is absolutely the best 4ch trainer there is. Yes, it's low wing, but it flies very well, has great characteristics and parts are very easy to come by. There is a reason why it seems like every electric pilot owns one at one point or another!

The wings do come off with a single screw, so dorm-room storage shouldn't be that big a problem.

The UM version is very fun, very durable, but is harder to fly and does not handle wind all that well due to the undercambered wing. I wish they'd make an AS3X version of it sometime....

The T-28 is the best second plane you can get, hands down. And it's the sort of plane that you will love to fly ever once you're totally comfortable with other 4ch planes. There's nothing I love more than shooting touch and goes with my T-28 time and time again...

 

[themajik1]

While I do understand everyone's warnings with the PZ T-28, I will again chime in on this as I have had mine for almost 2 years and was my first larger plane. This thing is tough as boot leather. I have crashed it numerous times 5 min and 30 min epoxy are great tools to have with it, but you stick it back together after a crash, (wait the 5 min, or 30 depending) and fly again! Here is a pic of mine as I have broken the nose all the way off of it and seems to fly better after the crash. (My own fault on the crash, was flying inverted and pulled up instead of down!) 30 minutes after fix was back in the air!
This has to be my go to plane when I just want to have fun and no worries about crashing.

 

[sowhatifimnerdy]

Well, I think you guys have me sold on the trojan, but I still might just try putting ailerons on my cub. But will the cub perform like a trojan? I'm kinda bored with it and find it hard to believe it would be as fun as a trojan.

 

[robschonk]

Well, I think you guys have me sold on the trojan, but I still might just try putting ailerons on my cub. But will the cub perform like a trojan? I'm kinda bored with it and find it hard to believe it would be as fun as a trojan.

The Cub will need a motor upgrade for vertical climbs, etc.

Get a motor mount here, and one of the motors and ESCs he reccomends:

http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the-MOTOR-MOUNTS-cln-Super-Cub-Mount/Categories

You can also get fun things like floats.

http://flitetest.com/articles/Super_Cub_Mods?q=Cub

http://flitetest.com/articles/flying_on_water

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?1074-Show-off-your-HZ-Super-Cub

The Super Cub is one of the most versatile planes you can have.

 

[randelora]

Put a brushless and ailerons on your cub. You will not be disappointed. My cub will damn near hover with the brushless upgrade. Roll rate leaves a little to be desired, but it will make a great 4 channel trainer. I would've saved at least $200 if I converted my cheap old reliable cub instead of buying a new more expensive model. Btw my cub will take off in its own length with the brushless motor.

 

[themajik1]

I would say go for the ailerons on the cub... Upgrade the motor to a brushless and give it all you got. If you decide to buy a second, T-28 all the way!

You can have a great deal of fun with the cub as well once the mods are made. Everything from floats to ski's big tires all kinds of mods. I understand the costs of this hobby, and its a very tough decision to decide what to do. If you are afraid of crashing though, you are not having a lot of fun flying, I try all kinds of different things and if I crash I crash. It sucks, but the rebuild is almost as much fun as the flying.

Whatever you do, we would always like to see the video and hear about what happened!!!

Have fun and great flying!!!

 

[robschonk]

Roll rate leaves a little to be desired, but it will make a great 4 channel trainer. I would've saved at least $200 if I converted my cheap old reliable cub instead of buying a new more expensive model.

Have you flattened the wings? The dihedral in the stock wings tends to work against the ailerons.

 

[randelora]

No, I read about flattening the wing after I was done. You are absolutely right. The dihedral does work against the ailerons. You can roll it but its not pretty. I'm on vacation right now and plan on flattening the wing in the next few days. I'll try to post a video if I get a chance.

 

[sowhatifimnerdy]

I have the floats. They're great for snow. So if I was to go brushless, what motor should I get? Will 9gram servoes do the trick? Would I have to upgrade ESC/RECEIVER? How do I go about flatenning the wing? Now, after writing this, I realize there's probably a thread for all this junk. Oops.

 

[bicyclemonkey]

9g servos will be fine. Just do the ailerons first and fly it without flattening the wing. The ailerons will still work with the dihedral. Get comfortable flying then straighten out the wings. If you go brushless you'll have to install a brushless ESC. That stuff is all cheap from hobbyking or HobbyPartz.

 

[randelora]

I used a Turnigy park 450 and a plush 40 amp esc. Get an orange rx and 4 hxt 9 gram servos. The stock servos have a 5 pin connector and will not work. I bought the motor mount from ebay. Also I'm flying a 9x7 prop from parkzone.