Hey, just starting in the hobby. which speedbuild kit should I choose?

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Welcome to the forums ant this awesome hobby! I personally would recommend the ft old speedster. I know there will be people here that will suggest other planes but the old speedster is the best starter plane IMHO. It flies super slow, is simple to build, and is super easy and forgiving to fly. It was the first plane I was able to fly successfully by myself. Here’s a link:
https://store.flitetest.com/flite-t...-electric-airplane-kit-959mm-flt-1012/p673676
 

messyhead

Well-known member
Hey, welcome.

People will give you a lot of opinions based on their experience. So here's mine :D

I started in this hobby last year, and built a modified Tiny Trainer, from plans, using heavier foam board. It wasn't easy to fly, and I crashed a lot. But...

I've just built the quick build TT kit, with the 3ch wing, and it was so easy to fly in comparison to what I built before. My 9yr old son flew it too. I've just built the 4ch wing for it, but haven't been able to get out and fly it yet.

One thing that's useful about the design, is that the fuselage is modular, in that the nose and power pod are separate. So if you crash, you only have to rebuild those parts if they're damaged.
 

Ryan O.

Out of Foam Board!
Welcome to the Forums! If you are going for low price I would go with the FT Tiny Trainer. If you are going for best flying and portable I would go with the simple cub or simple Scout. If you are going with the best flying I would go with the FT Simple Storch. The Storch will cost the most, but since it is larger it will fly better. For all of these I would go for 4 channel since they fly a little better with ailerons, plus it flies more like a real plane.
Tiny Trainer: https://store.flitetest.com/flite-t...electric-airplane-kit-940mm-flt-1071/p1175441
Simple Scout: https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-simple-scout-electric-airplane-952mm-flt-1073/p1194445
Simple Cub: https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-simple-cub-electric-airplane-kit-956mm-flt-1072/p1194444
Simple Storch: https://store.flitetest.com/flite-t...electric-airplane-kit-1460mm-flt-1016/p673680
Power pack A (tiny trainer): https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-power-pack-a-radial-edition-flt-3057/p983483
Power pack B (simple cub and scout): https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-power-pack-b-radial-edition-flt-3059/p983485
Power pack C (Simple Storch): https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-power-pack-c-radial-edition-flt-3061/p983487
DX6E: https://www.horizonhobby.com/dx6e-6ch-system-with-ar620-p-spm6655
AR620 (my favorite receiver): https://www.horizonhobby.com/ar620-6-channel-sport-receiver-spmar620
Admiral receiver (cheaper but still is great): https://www.motionrc.com/collection...mx-compatible-receiver-with-diversity-antenna

Also, what radio do you have/plan on getting? I would get a DX6E since it is very user friendly. I found that the DXE was difficult to use, and that the DX6E is the best for the price.
1586110794658.png
Tiny Trainer
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simple scout
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simple cub
1586110887754.png
Simple Storch
 

Figure9

Elite member
Welcome to the forum. What plane you build usually depends on your RC flying experience, that if you’re at entry level like I was, it’s hard to go wrong with the Flite Test recommendations. Forum flyers have great (but varied) advice & I see good sense in it despite the variety of their experiences.
Or, you can do what I did & build an airplane way outside of your flying skillset & get someone to buddy box for you. Whatever you do, I bet it’ll be fun, it was, & still is for me.
 

Ryan O.

Out of Foam Board!
thanks for your advice I really appreciate your help. And for radios, I have currently set my eyes on the
Futaba 6J 2.4GHZ S FHSS Radio System (Heli)w/R2006GS Receiver
do you recommend this?
seems good as long as you get it in the right mode.
 

Apple Pie

Elite member
Here is my $0.02

Build something that flies slow to start with (there have been many many good suggestions in the above posts). Things happen quickly during your first several slights so the slower the plane flies the longer you have to react. And second, look into a flight simulator. I use Real Flight on my PC through Steam and connect to my Spektrum DX6 receiver with the Spektrum dongle. That's without question the single largest positive contributor to learning to fly for me and a half dozen of my friends and family.

And definitely enjoy the building process. It becomes quite addictive, like that Lays potato chip commercial. Bet ya can't build just one!
 

Ryan O.

Out of Foam Board!
And one more question, In your Opinion, do you think that the Transmitter and receiver that come in all the starter packs will last you a while?
I personally don't like the DXE radio, and it is worth to upgrade. I also recommend the Protek Prodigy charger since it is so much more accurate, and won't damage lipos. I still use mine, and the batteries I used to charge on a charger similar to the one in the pack are all dead, except for one which I rarely charged. The charger charged the small ones too quickly, and often inaccurately. I would have saved money if I got a Prodigy, so I recommend getting it.
Protek Prodigy:https://store.flitetest.com/protek-...lipo-balance-battery-charger-ptk-8522/p696353
another good charger by Flite Test (can charge up to 8s):https://store.flitetest.com/flite-test-m8-dc-charger-8s-15a-300w-flt-3068/p1013062
 

mrjdstewart

Legendary member
1- the full sized scout is what you should build. simple to build, easy to reproduce, tough, and easy to fly.
2- not many people use futaba, at least not where i fly, so you may have some learning to do and maybe without any direct support. i also don't know how much futaba receivers cost but if you plan on having a few planes this can make a world of diff in cost. i have over 100 planes, that cost alone would not allow me to have that many if i wasn't using spektrum.
3- don't go for the DXe, spend the money and at least go for the Dx6e if possible.
4- have fun!

good luck,

me :cool:
 

chris398mx

Master member
Everyone above gives great advice. I thought I would start with a small plane and work my way up. Not my recommendation after starting small. the small planes are less forgiving in the wind and are generally harder to fly. I also think they are harder to get the CG right and tough to balance. If starting over, I would by a Cpack and build one of the larger planes. they handle the wind better and are more forgiving in my opinion. I am getting ready to build a Cpack trainer for my son and daughter to learn on.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I'll throw my annoying voice in on this too LOL:

Starting out, bigger is better. Here's my reasoning:

- Easier to see when you get it up in the air vs. a smaller plane.
- More stable in the wind

The disadvantages are that some of the bigger planes are harder to transport, and require more space to fly than your smaller planes; but I think that as you're starting out, it makes it a little easier to work with. I learned to fly on a Horizon Hobbies Apprentice (our club trainers), and then my first build was the Sea Duck, a great flying plane even with the twin engines that everyone thought would give me problems (and oddly enough, it didn't!)

I'd steer away from the Simple Storch as a first time plane, if only because the wing is a little weak - it's not well supported, and if you push it too hard (something beginners are apt to do) the wing can fold up, causing it to make what I refer to as a "required landing".

As for the radio...Well...Futaba's used out there, but it's not a well used brand like the Spektrum or FrSky. I know that someone is going to chime in with "Just use FlySky because it's cheap", but at the same time, I'm of the mindset that cheapest isn't always the best. I've seen issues with the absolute cheapest receivers you can buy (had a few OrangeRX receivers I bought from HobbyKing on a sale for $5 each, that kept dropping signal when I was about 150-200 ft out), and I've seen people fight with programming transmitters that they bought that had no instruction manual, or the manual was translated poorly from programmer to Chinese to English, and so you're stuck trying to find videos online to teach you how to set it up since there's nobody at the flying field who knows your radio that you can ask for help.

Each brand has its ups and downs, and I liken it all to the Ford Vs. Chevy, Apple vs. Android arguments - which one will best solve YOUR wants and needs?

I personally like the Spektrum brand (and the DX6e is fairly nice, although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the DX6 does - but that's part of what you pay extra for in the DX6), but I'm sure others will tell you their favorites.
 

ScottSteward

Active member
I'll throw my annoying voice in on this too LOL:

Starting out, bigger is better. Here's my reasoning:

- Easier to see when you get it up in the air vs. a smaller plane.
- More stable in the wind

The disadvantages are that some of the bigger planes are harder to transport, and require more space to fly than your smaller planes; but I think that as you're starting out, it makes it a little easier to work with. I learned to fly on a Horizon Hobbies Apprentice (our club trainers), and then my first build was the Sea Duck, a great flying plane even with the twin engines that everyone thought would give me problems (and oddly enough, it didn't!)

I'd steer away from the Simple Storch as a first time plane, if only because the wing is a little weak - it's not well supported, and if you push it too hard (something beginners are apt to do) the wing can fold up, causing it to make what I refer to as a "required landing".

As for the radio...Well...Futaba's used out there, but it's not a well used brand like the Spektrum or FrSky. I know that someone is going to chime in with "Just use FlySky because it's cheap", but at the same time, I'm of the mindset that cheapest isn't always the best. I've seen issues with the absolute cheapest receivers you can buy (had a few OrangeRX receivers I bought from HobbyKing on a sale for $5 each, that kept dropping signal when I was about 150-200 ft out), and I've seen people fight with programming transmitters that they bought that had no instruction manual, or the manual was translated poorly from programmer to Chinese to English, and so you're stuck trying to find videos online to teach you how to set it up since there's nobody at the flying field who knows your radio that you can ask for help.

Each brand has its ups and downs, and I liken it all to the Ford Vs. Chevy, Apple vs. Android arguments - which one will best solve YOUR wants and needs?

I personally like the Spektrum brand (and the DX6e is fairly nice, although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the DX6 does - but that's part of what you pay extra for in the DX6), but I'm sure others will tell you their favorites.

I think the FT Tiny trainer is big enough. It's really not "tiny". Almost a 40 inch wingspan. And it can handle wind because it's a sailplane airframe. In fact, it's my favorite for windy days for that very reason. Put the polyhedral wing on and you can just about fall asleep with it gliding 400 feet in the air.

My opinion.🤷‍♂️
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
My list includes the simple cub, tiny trainer, ft explorer, storch & bushwhacker
Larger planes are easier to fly & handle the wind much better.