First Plane (Four options)

[Hai-Lee]

Just a note of caution! Many a newbie has come and gone having been thoroughly discouraged by their efforts to fly something aesthetically pleasing as a trainer. Often such builds can be more difficult and expensive that a proper trainer and not handle the clumsy handling that the majority of newbies suffer from.

When a crashed something that took a great deal of effort to build may very well take a great deal of effort to repair. In addition the non-foam components can also suffer from damage especially motors and batteries.

Should you have sufficient financial and time resources to maintain or replace your chosen aircraft quite often then you can use any aircraft to learn on and eventually you will be able to fly quite successfully.

Flying a model in a simulator is a beginning step but it provides NO real world responses that are attributable to models at the edge of the flight envelope in less than perfect flying conditions. This reason alone is why most insured club instructors will require buddy box instruction on established trainer aircraft for newbies as part of formal instruction. For those self taught a stable trainer design is hard enough to master even with its inbuilt and inherent stability.

This is post is not to change your mind about how you start your flying but as a little advice as to what you MIGHT experience in the weeks and months to come!

Have fun!

 

[Dante]

Thanks @Mortis! Will an Explorer with a flat wing be a good beginner airplane?

Also, would the Mighty Mini Guinea be a good beginner airplane as well?

I think any first plane should have dihedral- so the mini guinea is not good. If is more acrobatic. You should choose a single motor plane (for simplicity), and with dihedral or polyhedral for stability when learning.

 

[Merv]

Flying a model in a simulator is a beginning step but it provides NO real world responses
This reason alone is why most insured club instructors will require buddy box instruction

I agree with @Hai-Lee, a simulator is a great first step and has tremendous value. However they are no substitute for experience. An instructor on a buddy box is the best way to learn. Local club instructors are free, and want nothing more than to help you succeed. Don’t be shy about asked for help..

 

[d8veh]

If you're totally on your own and you have no previous flying experience, something like the FT Flyer would be the best starter plane as long as you don't have too much wind to contend with. It has really good crash resistance, it's very easy to build and get right, and it's cheap. You can learn all the basics of flying on it, then move up to a trainer plane with ailerons.

 

[Paladin.oa]

Thanks again all! So it looks like the Simple Storch would be a good starter plane, if not the Simple Cub.

@d8veh I need roll control, I tried a simulator with no aileron controls and I kept crashing it, but did not do so with a plane with ailerons. I've played too much Ace Combat and the like to fly with just a rudder.

 

[Mortis]

Thanks @Mortis! Will an Explorer with a flat wing be a good beginner airplane?

Also, would the Mighty Mini Guinea be a good beginner airplane as well?

The Explorer was my first plane and I built it to FT specs. The dihedral wing was really nice because it took a lot of the pressure off knowing I could just let go of the stick and it would mostly level itself out. The wing folded on my 2nd flight which is why I started building them with flat wings. The only real difference I find with using a flat wing is that it won't level itself out, you have to correct in the other direction with the stick. Even though I'm a new pilot I've played a lot of flight simulators, so switching to the flat wing wasn't a big deal for me.

For some reason I really love pusher style planes. The Explorer was the first FT plane I built so I have a special place for it. Is it a good beginner plane with a flat wing? Probably not, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't build it and crash it!

 

[Paladin.oa]

@Mortis Screw it, I'm going to go with an Explorer then and make it with the wooden dowel, and if I crash it I can just build a new nose or three!

 

[PoorManRC]

BEST of luck on your new journey!!! I'm thinking of doing an Explorer.... along with a quite Modified Storch, and a Sportster.

I've never been the biggest fan of pushers, but they have one great advantage for new flyers.....
When you nose plant her - your Motor, Prop, and most of your Electronics will be SAFE!!

Granted, Props aren't THAT much, but it would be nice not to break them all the time, learning to LAND.
I've got to tell you - as a Pilot of the 1:1 Scale Aircraft.... LANDING is the hardest part of flying!

I'm actually converting a number of my Planes to Tricycle Landing Gear. Besides the fact that it's the type I flew in real life, they have much better Ground Manners than Tail Draggers!