Solved What plane next?

OlliePackman

Active member
I have been playing around with the Apprentice S for a short while but I'm pretty confident and have picked up learning to fly quickly. I can now fairly confidently: loop the loop, outward loop, barrel roll, do low passes and relatively long inverted flight. However, the Apprentice S is limited with aerobatics for example the rudder is not sufficient enough to knife edge and I would like to know what people recommend as a second plane for more aerobatics. Preferably, it would be electric, fairly cheap and not ridiculously hard to fly. I am not too sure whether to go with a war bird, 3D etc. Any ideas?
 
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Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
If you can fly the Apprentice inverted the whole pass across the field, you are ready to move on. You should be able to fly just about anything you want. There are some extremely fast planes you may not be ready for. The question is what do you want to fly, sport, war bird, 3D? Do you want to build or go store bought?

You should be able to fly the majority of the planes in the FT lineup.
 

FDS

Elite member
The Timber is a lot of fun if you want to stay in the Horizon Hobby ecosystem.
Any of the mid wing FT designs will be fun to fly, the larger Spitfire is pretty good, the P40, Sportster or if you want something faster the Nerdnic Chipmunk is a blast, it’s on my winter build list. Use genuine FT foamboard or UK 3mm for minis, UK 5mm is too heavy.
This Mini Vampire is good in UK 5mm and reputedly fast too.
 

Arcfyre

Elite member
Really the only person that can answer that question is you. There are too many variables that we don't know:

What's your budget?
What type of flying do you want to do?
What kind of space do you have available?
How large is your vehicle?
How much time do you have available to dedicate to building airplanes?

The list of questions goes on. FT has a wide range of excellent flying airplanes which you can build or buy kits for for very cheap. That was the primary lure for me as a beginner.

For acrobatics they have the FT3D and the Edge
For scale flight I like the cruiser, scout, and Storch.
For more speed an arrow or a pusher versa are fun

It really depends on you. Watch some of the model review videos and see what piques your interest.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
If you can fly the Apprentice inverted the whole pass across the field, you are ready to move on. You should be able to fly just about anything you want. There are some extremely fast planes you may not be ready for. The question is what do you want to fly, sport, war bird, 3D? Do you want to build or go store bought?

You should be able to fly the majority of the planes in the FT lineup.
I have no idea. I really don't know much about the sport and am fairly new to the sport, but I have progressed rapidly. What style of plane would you recommend and also, how hard Is it to build your own plane.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
The Timber is a lot of fun if you want to stay in the Horizon Hobby ecosystem.
Any of the mid wing FT designs will be fun to fly, the larger Spitfire is pretty good, the P40, Sportster or if you want something faster the Nerdnic Chipmunk is a blast, it’s on my winter build list. Use genuine FT foamboard or UK 3mm for minis, UK 5mm is too heavy.
This Mini Vampire is good in UK 5mm and reputedly fast too.
I have
The Timber is a lot of fun if you want to stay in the Horizon Hobby ecosystem.
Any of the mid wing FT designs will be fun to fly, the larger Spitfire is pretty good, the P40, Sportster or if you want something faster the Nerdnic Chipmunk is a blast, it’s on my winter build list. Use genuine FT foamboard or UK 3mm for minis, UK 5mm is too heavy.
This Mini Vampire is good in UK 5mm and reputedly fast too.
The spitfire or chipmunk looks like an option. I have an old P51 Mustang that I think I could get going with new electrics. Would that be a sensible option?
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I’d recommend any of the ft warbirds. They are fast, agile, but not too duifficult like the edge. A ton of fun too!
 

OlliePackman

Active member
Really the only person that can answer that question is you. There are too many variables that we don't know:

What's your budget?
What type of flying do you want to do?
What kind of space do you have available?
How large is your vehicle?
How much time do you have available to dedicate to building airplanes?

The list of questions goes on. FT has a wide range of excellent flying airplanes which you can build or buy kits for for very cheap. That was the primary lure for me as a beginner.

For acrobatics they have the FT3D and the Edge
For scale flight I like the cruiser, scout, and Storch.
For more speed an arrow or a pusher versa are fun

It really depends on you. Watch some of the model review videos and see what piques your interest.
My budget is flexible but around 300 pounds all in. I have a huge open field to fly in but a thin and long runway, my runway is withing walking distance and transport is not really an issue. I have no idea what style of flying to go down or what kind of plane to get and I also don't know how hard building is but I would have a considerable amount of time for building if it is not too hard.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
Yeah, p-51 would be great! I have a spitfire with the low wing and it is pretty easy to fly.
I have one which is kinda old and doesn't run with the oldest electronics I have ever seen but I'm pretty sure I could get it running. Would you have any rough idea as to what ball park figure I would be looking out to kit the whole thing out with electrics from Servos to motors? I know it's difficult because of the variations but any rough idea?
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I have one which is kinda old and doesn't run with the oldest electronics I have ever seen but I'm pretty sure I could get it running. Would you have any rough idea as to what ball park figure I would be looking out to kit the whole thing out with electrics from Servos to motors? I know it's difficult because of the variations but any rough idea?
Well a power pack c off the ft store costs 65 pounds. A receiver would be 25 pounds. Do you have the dxe transmitter? A battery would be about 15 pounds. The power pack includes the motor, esc, servos. That all adds up to a little over 100 pounds.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
Well a power pack c off the ft store costs 65 pounds. A receiver would be 25 pounds. Do you have the dxe transmitter? A battery would be about 15 pounds. The power pack includes the motor, esc, servos. That all adds up to a little over 100 pounds.
I have the DXe transmitter but I would have no idea on how to re program it to a different plane. 100 pounds is cheaper than I thought but still pricey if I can't get it going though. I'll give it a go anyway.
 

The Hangar

Fly harder!
Mentor
I have the DXe transmitter but I would have no idea on how to re program it to a different plane. 100 pounds is cheaper than I thought but still pricey if I can't get it going though. I'll give it a go anyway.
There are many YouTube videos on programming the dxe, but you will need a programming cable which costs something like 10 pounds. That being said, if for some reason you can’t get your p-51 working, you will have the electronic pack that will fly just about all the standard sized Flitetest models.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
There are many YouTube videos on programming the dxe, but you will need a programming cable which costs something like 10 pounds. That being said, if for some reason you can’t get your p-51 working, you will have the electronic pack that will fly just about all the standard sized Flitetest models.
True. Well.. If I don't smash it to pieces first flight if I do get it working😂
 

Vimana89

Legendary member
How about a P51 mustang. The low wing profile makes it kind of unstable but would I get the hang of it?
Since you can fly a trainer well and do all the basic aerobatics proficiently, it should be just fine. You have a lot of options, and a warbird is a good choice. Your second plane doesn't necessarily have to do more tricks than your trainer or something new to make it interesting, although you certainly could go that route and get a 3d flyer or something along those lines. Another plane may do all the same stuff(loops, rolls, low passes) as your trainer, but differently. Some planes have a flexible speed envelope, while some are dedicated slow flyers or only handle well at high speeds. Some planes do slow, lazy backflips, while others do a big wide loop. Some roll very gently and gracefully, even slow roll, while others can roll rapidly like a drill bit. Every style and every individual design will vary.

So what will it be? A war bird? A delta? A biplane, triplane, 3d flyer, high alpha flyer, you name it, the choice is yours, and you've come to the right place for information, suggestions, and resources as far as designs and plans and such, as well as the best guidance possible for designing your own custom planes.

If I had narrow your options down to what I think are the three best routes for your skill that will give you the most fun and diversity, it would be a warbird(such as you are already considering), a delta, or a multi-wing plane(a biplane or triplane). Your options when it comes to deltas are enormous, and a solid performer will knife edge, as well as roll much more rapidly than your trainer. Deltas generally have very good speed envelopes, and can fly well at both extremely low and high speeds. Most deltas are also very easy and gentle to land, and capable of high alpha flying, which is a step towards learning 3d. Biplanes and triplanes are very slow and floaty, as well as stable, but have extreme maneuverability and aerobatics.
 

FDS

Elite member
You can make any FT plane including electrics for about £80. Download the plans and get some foamboard. Many of the larger designs will work with EU 5mm foamboard, they just need slightly bigger motors and sometimes a tweak to the weight distribution.
Read the manual for the DXE, you need an app to access the set up features. It can bind to multiple receivers and hold other models it’s just not got a screen or on the fly programming without a phone.
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
What style of plane would you recommend and also, how hard Is it to build your own plane.
It’s not hard to build most of the FT plane. The new advanced series of planes are more difficult. I’d recommend starting will any of the basic designs. As you progress in building and flying skills you can try one of the advanced planes.

As far as what flying stile, I would encourage you to try them all. I consider myself to be a “sport pilot”, that is I just want to have fun and enjoy myself. When I want to go fast, I’ll reach for my Versa wing. When I want to do tricks, I’ll take up my FT3D. War birds always look good, hard to beat the mustangs and spitfire.

Finally, flying with friends is always more fun. Even a crash is better with a friend.
 

OlliePackman

Active member
It’s not hard to build most of the FT plane. The new advanced series of planes are more difficult. I’d recommend starting will any of the basic designs. As you progress in building and flying skills you can try one of the advanced planes.

As far as what flying stile, I would encourage you to try them all. I consider myself to be a “sport pilot”, that is I just want to have fun and enjoy myself. When I want to go fast, I’ll reach for my Versa wing. When I want to do tricks, I’ll take up my FT3D. War birds always look good, hard to beat the mustangs and spitfire.

Finally, flying with friends is always more fun. Even a crash is better with a friend.
Would the basic building designs be basic to fly? I'm looking for something a little harder to fly.