New young pilot / small field

[jpreou]

Just checking in. Have flown RC planes and helis on and off for 25+ years. My 11 yr is now interested in the FT-22
Our local park (here in NZ) is about 400ft square bounded by trees.
Little fella does 'ok' of the Phoenix simulator, though he could be better.
Looking for a first plane for him that is slow and easy 4ch ... my gut tells me the FT-22 might be a little much for a first plane, despite being shown as 'easy'.
What do you all think: Tutor? Explorer? Mighty Mini Trainer?
I still have a Spektrum DX6i but I won't be able to 'buddy' him as I long since sold my DX8. The DX6 only gets used for the sim really.
Unfortunately, getting any of these to NZ is likely to expensive in shipping, and I'm not sure where to get the foam board over here either.
Any thoughts gratefully received.

 

[Foamforce]

The Mini Scout is pretty good for a small field. It goes very slow. Another one that works well in a small area is the Nutball. It’s a funny little thing, but it turns on a dime but stays in the air long enough to recover. It’s also super easy to build and repair. You’re likely to lose your plane in a tree, so you may as well reduce the hurt. 🙂

 

[Merv]

...My 11 yr is now interested in the FT-22...

The FT F-22 makes a decent first plane.
It also a lot of fun whenhe get a bit more experience.

... I'm not sure where to get the foam board over here...

I've seen some use depron for planes.

Plan old corrugated cardboard, the boxes your Amazon stuff comes in makes a great flying plane. They may not be as pretty as a fb plane but they will fly just as well. If tomorrow the US ran out of fb, I would use an old cardboard box.

 

[L Edge]

Having a 400 sq ft(especially if it is windy) area with trees around it and a son who does "OK" on a sim, suggest a trainer with dihedral in it(like a Nutball). The F-22 can come later.

For material being expensive, since you are a pilot, go to Home Depot or Lowe's type stores and see if you can find foam insulation, poster board or cardboard that is reasonable in cost and light enough to make your planes. Also, a simple designed plane has less parts and perhaps you can get your son to build/rebuild along the way in learning how to fly.

Wish you success.

 

[tomlogan1]

The Tiny Trainer with the polyhedral wing is great for small areas, easy to build and requires fewer servos. Once he gets the experience, you can add the aileron wing giving him more capability. If you build it light and avoid moisture, it is a pretty solid plane and can withstand quite a few unplanned landings. Good luck.

 

[Shurik-1960]

My neighbor bought this model for his son, 8 years old, for the New Year.The boy flew almost immediately to the stadium near the school.The model is lightweight and has a gyroscope (stabilization system). Practically unkillable.

https://aliexpress.ru/item/32900801581.html?spm=a2g2w.orderlist.rcmdprod.2.26b14aa6arR5m7&mixer_rcmd_bucket_id=aerabtestalgoRecommendAbV16_testRankingRelevanceFatFullDataAll&ru_algo_pv_id=6b50cb-2a6053-6b4fee-08c94e-1707109200&scenario=appOrderListRecommend&sku_id=12000026294091836&traffic_source=recommendation&type_rcmd=core

 

[jpreou]

Great replies, thank you all. I will check out all the suggestions. Heck, maybe I'll get back into R/C myself (again); that will make the wife roll here eyes! Cheers all. Happy flying.

 

[jpreou]

Well. I tried! I decided to look at the MM Trainer, FT-22, and the MM Scout ... without power packs as I have a whole bunch of servos, motors, etc. Total cost of [3] kits USD $82.97. That's ok. Shipping to NZ a whopping $97.50 (USD) ... total order likely in the region NZ$300 PLUS very likely to get hit with +15% on the way in through customs. Ouch. Bit outside of what I was hoping. I guess I'll look for something cheaper closer to home. Maybe used. Especially given he is likely to wreck 'em. Cheers all.

 

[MacClarkNC]

Why go the kit route? is scratch build not an option or desire? Much cheaper and was the original intent of flitetest as a diy, get into the hobby and quickly repair your mistakes rather than despair over the cost of crashing.. my wife is a middle school teacher and sees the trend of kids not being able to use their hands to construct projects, it really is sad watching kids grow up never building anything from scratch. Looking at simple tools and not understanding how to use them. I say have him build it with you.

 

[Piotrsko]

If you have the electronics, myself, I would build something. TLAR design will do good enough particularly with large rudder and horizontal stabilizer with small control surfaces.

I also favor KFM flying wing designs as they seem to be almost indestructible and easy to build.

 

[Shurik-1960]

2 sheets of ceiling tiles without a pattern + Titanium glue + a stationery knife . This glider was made by children from 6 to 10 years old in 2-3 evenings . My parents helped me cut out the blanks.

 

[jpreou]

Why go the kit route? is scratch build not an option or desire? Much cheaper and was the original intent of flitetest as a diy, get into the hobby and quickly repair your mistakes rather than despair over the cost of crashing.. my wife is a middle school teacher and sees the trend of kids not being able to use their hands to construct projects, it really is sad watching kids grow up never building anything from scratch. Looking at simple tools and not understanding how to use them. I say have him build it with you.

I need to look around and see if I can find some foam board over here. Otherwise I think I can get that corrugated plastic. I could also build in balsa & play, I guess, like the old days!

 

[jpreou]

If you have the electronics, myself, I would build something. TLAR design will do good enough particularly with large rudder and horizontal stabilizer with small control surfaces.

I also favor KFM flying wing designs as they seem to be almost indestructible and easy to build.

Yeah, I should really dig out all my old bits and see what I have that can still work together; that way I'll also know what size plane I could build based on the motor/prop combination and servo sizes I still have.