Profile 3D planes- thoughts?

[Montiey]

I'm in need of something for this coming FliteFest … One of the kinds of models that i've never flown are the flat-form 3D planes, but immediately after checking Hobbyking, I realized that there are almost too many options to choose from.
I've got my eye on the HK FURY, but it won't ship to the US from Australia or EU. I also read a lot of opinion pieces, and saw that many people found better luck with off-brand craft than the stocking-stuffers on HK… From what I can tell it's worth it to look around as much as possible (hence why you're reading this!).

I'm hoping to find a plane at least 1 meter or so, but I think I want to value handling and tendencies over straight up maneuvering performance- I see a lot of the "delicate" looking models claim to be super responsive and twitchy, but I worry that these are just to light and wouldn't track well outdoors or even survive. After all, I'm not looking for a competition model- something in between the Horizon Sukoi and the AS3Xtra, if that makes any sense.

I also don't know how much of a factor raw weight is to how these planes fly. If one model is particularly heavy, it'd track better, but also wouldn't perform as well. If anyone knows enough about this style to point me at a specific series or brand, I would be grateful!

 

[rockyboy]

I don't have any experience flying 'flatties' myself, but last year wind was a challenge at FFE for most of the day - it calmed down in the AM and PM. If you get one of the heavier ones that might be better 'risk management'

There were a couple vendors on site selling RTF wings and flatties last year - all setup with LED's for night flying too - I absolutely love the night wing I bought and still bring it to the field almost every time.

 

[TazRC]

3D Profile Foamies

They're cheap enough, just buy whatever looks good. Chances are it wont last anyway.

 

[Montiey]

Personally, I'm fine with assembling the whole thing from pieces, and in fact, I'd prefer it.

Looking around:
From Hacker, I found the Edge 540 V3. But from TechOne, nearly 15 different planes, all of the same style with slightly different specifications. These are around ~900mm each, so still on the "indoor" side.

It's apparent that almost everything in this class from any manufacturer isn't going to handle the wind well, as they're all the same! I wonder if it's worth it to look back over the cheap hobbyking planes, because if I'm not looking for a specialized airframe, then the price of something from HK would be unbeatable. …And not to sound ridiculous, but a cheaper plane that's a touch on the heavy side would handle better outdoors, no?

 

[Bricks]

ValueHobby.com there EPP`s for $25 cannot be beat for the price, every where I go around the local clubs everybody has at least 1 or more. I have 3 and they all fly great for the price, Build it lite and use the 3S setup and have a blast.

 

[Montiey]

Bricks, thanks for bringing that to my attention! The 32" edge 540 from VH is looking right up my alley. Still seems like it wouldn't be suited for outdoors, but I've realized that finding a large enough EPP model that can handle some wind isn't going to happen, and I should probably just settle for something like this

 

[Bricks]

You can get into the Value Hobby Hummer which will handle wind which I have one and with reduced throws will fly like any other plane. Not as nimble as the 32 inch EPP it does well.

http://www.valuehobby.com/airplanes/almost-ready-to-fly/39in-epp-hummer-arf.html

 

[Montiey]

Value Hobbies has some nice planes. Right now I'm considering THIS one. All in with a battery and LemonRX, it's still under $100. That's better than most of Horizon's Micros!