Hi! And questions

mark95171

Member
Hi all!

After literally years of watching FliteTest content and lurking on the forums I’ve decided to actually join and build a plane!

I’m sure these have all been asked many times, but I hope some of you lovely people will ignore that and still give a newbie some advice.

What would be the absolute best plane for a complete beginner to build and fly? I’m leaning towards the simple cub, but I’m pretty open to building anything as a first plane. I think I’ll get a speedbuild kit, just to make things a little easier. My wife is about 80% sure she wants to build her own as well, meaning we can get two different kits and cover more ground.

What did you wish you knew before your first build? I’m sure I’m going to make tons of mistakes, but I’d like to avoid as many as I can.

What’s the deal with registering with the FAA? Do I just fill out the forms on their site, pay them $5, and slap their number on my planes?

Thanks!
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
.....What would be the absolute best plane for a complete beginner to build and fly? I’m leaning towards the simple cub....
The cub makes an excellent trainer, so do the scorch, bushwhacker, explorer and tiny trainer.

.....What did you wish you knew before your first build? ....
Its much easier to learn to fly with someone teaching you. If you can, find and join a flying club. They would love to have you.

.....What’s the deal with registering with the FAA? Do I just fill out the forms on their site, pay them $5, and slap their number on my planes?
For now, yes, pay the $5, put the number on your plane and carry the pocket card. It’s not a requirement but I would recommend joining the AMA,

There are new requirements in the works.
 

mark95171

Member
The cub makes an excellent trainer, so do the scorch, bushwhacker, explorer and tiny trainer.

Its much easier to learn to fly with someone teaching you. If you can, find and join a flying club. They would love to have you.

For now, yes, pay the $5, put the number on your plane and carry the pocket card. It’s not a requirement but I would recommend joining the AMA,

There are new requirements in the works.
Thank you! How does one go about finding a club?
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Welcome to the forums! I'd go for the old speedster. It was the first plane I was able to successfully fly, and despite it's name, It's one of the slowest, if not the slowest plane FT offers. I was able to fly it on a b pack with a 2s battery, which is pretty impressive. It's stalls are very gentle, and you only lose a couple feet if you do stall. It flies very gentle and will just float off the ground. Here's a video of me flying mine - I could have slowed it down even more if I had tried.
If your wife wants to build one too, you could get the old fogey as well. I haven't built one myself, but is has the same wing as the speedster and similar weight, so it should fly very similarly to the speedster.
Have fun! :)
 

FL_Engineer

Elite member
The scout is a popular suggestion for beginners; I'm still learning to fly myself but I was told by a half dozen members to go with it. My motor combo may have made it a little fast for a beginner so I'm still working on it 🙂
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
The scout is a popular suggestion for beginners; I'm still learning to fly myself but I was told by a half dozen members to go with it. My motor combo may have made it a little fast for a beginner so I'm still working on it 🙂
The scout is a great starting point, I’m actually training someone on it right now! I personally think the old speedster is a better starting point, but if you feel like the scout, then go for it!
 

herbertjalarcon

Elite member
Hi all!

After literally years of watching FliteTest content and lurking on the forums I’ve decided to actually join and build a plane!

I’m sure these have all been asked many times, but I hope some of you lovely people will ignore that and still give a newbie some advice.

What would be the absolute best plane for a complete beginner to build and fly? I’m leaning towards the simple cub, but I’m pretty open to building anything as a first plane. I think I’ll get a speedbuild kit, just to make things a little easier. My wife is about 80% sure she wants to build her own as well, meaning we can get two different kits and cover more ground.

What did you wish you knew before your first build? I’m sure I’m going to make tons of mistakes, but I’d like to avoid as many as I can.

What’s the deal with registering with the FAA? Do I just fill out the forms on their site, pay them $5, and slap their number on my planes?

Thanks!
Greetings and welcome! I would say the Scout with a "B" pack...I've built and flown most of the flite test designs, and I found the scout the best all around, easy to fly but you can grow with plane...and I crashed mine a ton, and was able to fix most every time with minimal effort...Just my opinion
 

keepitup

Active member
I think you will be well served with the Scout. Biggest thing in my opinion is the design of the wing allows you to update it to 4 channels when you feel ready to. Don't get me wrong, any of the simple series will work, but upgrading to 4 channels makes more sense to me. Then again, I take the Old Speedster out a lot just to stare at it going by. Total riot that thing for sure.
 

BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
Welcome to the hobby and good for you and your wife for taking the step up to the plate. Actually your wife getting into the hobby, even at 80% is not that common and welcoming, there needs to be more ladies in the hobby.

As for the Trainer planes I would put my vote on the Scout, and if you get the Speed Build Kit, once you have the parts all separated and before you build, be sure to trace out all the parts on poster board or more DTFB so you have a template to make new parts to replace damaged ones or to build an entirely new plane. It's a buy once keep for life kinda thing, or you could download and print off the free plans.

The finding a club and getting someone to buddy box is a good idea, join the AMA to get into the club. The people at the club for the most part will be more then happy to help you out and get you flying. Being with other more experienced people really helps you a lot as opposed to trying to do it on your own.

As far as the FAA there are a couple of opinions as to which way to go with registration. Of course most will tell you to comply and pay the $5 and do the paperwork. Myself i am of the opinion that if people keep wanting to just roll over and comply this hobby is goin in the downward spiral that has just begun, so I fly under the radar, and if I was to go to a club I would be flying sub 250 gram airframes. Its not that the $5 is expensive, its the principle of the matter and the survival of the hobby. But that's another discussion on another thread.

Again welcome to the hobby and make sure if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, we are all here to help each other no matter what stage of the hobby we are in. Have fun!
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
Looks like all the votes are for the scout. :LOL: If you have an experienced pilot to help you, defiantly do a scout, but I still think the old speedster is better if it’s just you doing it. I say this since it fly slower than the scout because of it’s design and also, when you stall, you lose less altitude than be scout.
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I quite like the look and idea of the minis; the small size is very appealing. Are the larger planes more stable? Do the minis handle okay in wind?
They tend to be less stable need more airspeed to fly. That's not to say they aren't good starting platforms at all. The Commuter is a very very good trainer. I made a video on mine, and as you can see it flies really well:
I would say it performs very similarly to the scout as far as speed goes. It will actually be a little more stable than the scout since it has a high wing, and the scout has a mid wing. It will self-level well. I have flown both the scout and commuter 3 channel and I'd say overall the commuter does better as a 3 channel than the scout since it has the high wing which self-stabilizes the plane, and the rudder has a very good balance of turning and rolling the plane at the same time.
 
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The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
If you are wondering ( if you already know, sorry) the mini wings, the under cambered wings, produce the most lift for the most drag, kinda a win/win situation, if you ask me, which you didn't
Yes, that's what I like about the Old speedster and Old fogey - they have under cambered wings, and a very low wing loading which allows them to fly very slow.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
...Are the larger planes more stable?...
Yes, larger planes are more stable AND easier to see. All of my planes have a wing span of 40-50 inches, they love a 10-12 mph wind. A 18-20 mph wind is about the limit. For me this is the ideal size, larger planes are hard to fit in the car and smaller planes will not handle the wind.
 
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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
On the other side of the coin the minis being lighter will take more crashes with less damage, meaning you are back in the air quicker.

When it comes down to it every model has its pros and cons. If you are still going between the Cub or the Scout for your first plane i would say the Scout. The Cub can be particular until it is set up right. The Scout is a great flyer right off the bench and will grow with you. The mini scout is a great place to begin. Many people including myself found it to be the first ane a newbie can get a full pack through without crashing. Then because the materials are cheap you can upgrade your builds to more advanced models and move your electronics into them from the old beat up planes.