Your First RC Plane
This thread contains the Best RC Plane Beginner Advice I can offer someone looking to get into flying RC Planes safely and with the highest probably of success. While there are many different schools of thought on how to approach this, listed below are the planes and tips I offer folks asking questions in the comments sections of my YouTube videos, which have helped 100’s of people worldwide achieve success in this hobby.
Before you can rip at 100MPH with that cool looking EDF Jet that flies with a 6S brick for a battery, you need to develop the muscle memory to handle split second decision making. That often will make a difference between a pile of foam on the ground or getting your plane safely back on the ground in one piece.
I have found that the best way to get there is select what is best described as an RC Trainer Plane as your first plane. This is generally one that has a high wing placement on the body of the plane and some up angle called dihedral. What that does it is make the plane more stable and easier to fly. They also tend to be less frill oriented meaning they do not have flaps or retracts. For the beginner, those are just an added layer of scale complication that is not needed at the beginning of your RC Journey.
A very common type of Beginner RC Plane are known as a Ready To Fly (RTF) RC Planes. I show and describe a few common offerings below:
Arrows Pioneer - This is currently the best trainer plane for less than $160 IMHO
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
WL Toys Cessna 182 - Price and durability are its biggest selling points, but you should be in high rates for success.
Unboxing & Maiden Flights:
FMS Ranger with GPS - This is more complicated than most trainer planes, but it flies great.
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Apprentice STS 1.5M RTF - This is the Gold Standard for RC Trainer Planes, but it is a lot of money for most beginners to invest before they are ready to fully commit to the hobby.
Possible Second Planes
These are often High-Wing RC Planes, RC Gliders, and some other slow flyers like the UMX Night Vapor shown:
E-flite UMX Night Vapor
Unboxing:
Shop Flight:
E-flite UMX Timber
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Durafly Ugly Stick
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX Radian
Unboxing:
Flight Video With Bugs:
Arrows SZD-54 Glider
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite Night Radian
Bill's Maiden Flight:
Night Flight:
Possible Third Planes
Once you master flying the 4-channel planes in the second plane list, you may be able to consider the planes listed below as a third plane.
E-flite Turbo Timber Evolution
Maiden Flight:
Durafly Tundra
E-flite T-28 Trojan - A great beginner warbird
Unboxing:
Second Flight:
E-flite Carbon-Z Cessna
Second Flight:
Maiden Float Flight:
Possible Fourth Planes
RC Warbirds
The best first RC Warbird is a mid-winged plane like a T-28. It generally does not matter which brand, though some come with some excellent features such as gyros.
Arrows T-28 Trojan - Tim modified this for way more speed than stock.
Demo Flight After Upgrades:
H-King Moonbeam McSwine
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
H-King A-1 Skyraider
Maiden Flight:
E-flite P-51 Mustang - This is the most advanced option on this list and the most expensive.
Flight Demo:
RC Twins
E-flite Twin Otter
Bill’s Maiden Flight:
Avios King Twin
Maiden Flight:
Avios Albatross HU-16 V2
Maiden Flight:
FMS Tigercat
Tigercat Demo:
RC Biplanes
E-flite Ultimate 3D
Bill’s Maiden Flight:
E-flite Pitts 850
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
FMS 1400mm V2 - This requires 6S batteries, so this is not for beginners to bipes
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Best First EDF Jets
Arrows Viper
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX Citation
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite F-15 64mm EDF
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX A-10 - The CG can be tricky to dial in, but once it is, what a great RC Jet!
Complete Unboxing & Maiden Flights:
Fun Flight:
Freewing Lippisch P.15 64mm - A launch switch and fabric grip tap help with launch success
Unboxing:
Fun Flight:
Please ask any reasonable question below and I will do my best to answer them. For those of you with your own strong opinions regarding a recommended path to success with RC Flight, please be civil as we help those that need our guidance to enjoy this wonderful hobby
This thread contains the Best RC Plane Beginner Advice I can offer someone looking to get into flying RC Planes safely and with the highest probably of success. While there are many different schools of thought on how to approach this, listed below are the planes and tips I offer folks asking questions in the comments sections of my YouTube videos, which have helped 100’s of people worldwide achieve success in this hobby.
Before you can rip at 100MPH with that cool looking EDF Jet that flies with a 6S brick for a battery, you need to develop the muscle memory to handle split second decision making. That often will make a difference between a pile of foam on the ground or getting your plane safely back on the ground in one piece.
I have found that the best way to get there is select what is best described as an RC Trainer Plane as your first plane. This is generally one that has a high wing placement on the body of the plane and some up angle called dihedral. What that does it is make the plane more stable and easier to fly. They also tend to be less frill oriented meaning they do not have flaps or retracts. For the beginner, those are just an added layer of scale complication that is not needed at the beginning of your RC Journey.
A very common type of Beginner RC Plane are known as a Ready To Fly (RTF) RC Planes. I show and describe a few common offerings below:
Arrows Pioneer - This is currently the best trainer plane for less than $160 IMHO
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
WL Toys Cessna 182 - Price and durability are its biggest selling points, but you should be in high rates for success.
Unboxing & Maiden Flights:
FMS Ranger with GPS - This is more complicated than most trainer planes, but it flies great.
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Apprentice STS 1.5M RTF - This is the Gold Standard for RC Trainer Planes, but it is a lot of money for most beginners to invest before they are ready to fully commit to the hobby.
Possible Second Planes
These are often High-Wing RC Planes, RC Gliders, and some other slow flyers like the UMX Night Vapor shown:
E-flite UMX Night Vapor
Unboxing:
Shop Flight:
E-flite UMX Timber
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Durafly Ugly Stick
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX Radian
Unboxing:
Flight Video With Bugs:
Arrows SZD-54 Glider
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite Night Radian
Bill's Maiden Flight:
Night Flight:
Possible Third Planes
Once you master flying the 4-channel planes in the second plane list, you may be able to consider the planes listed below as a third plane.
E-flite Turbo Timber Evolution
Maiden Flight:
Durafly Tundra
E-flite T-28 Trojan - A great beginner warbird
Unboxing:
Second Flight:
E-flite Carbon-Z Cessna
Second Flight:
Maiden Float Flight:
Possible Fourth Planes
RC Warbirds
The best first RC Warbird is a mid-winged plane like a T-28. It generally does not matter which brand, though some come with some excellent features such as gyros.
Arrows T-28 Trojan - Tim modified this for way more speed than stock.
Demo Flight After Upgrades:
H-King Moonbeam McSwine
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
H-King A-1 Skyraider
Maiden Flight:
E-flite P-51 Mustang - This is the most advanced option on this list and the most expensive.
Flight Demo:
RC Twins
E-flite Twin Otter
Bill’s Maiden Flight:
Avios King Twin
Maiden Flight:
Avios Albatross HU-16 V2
Maiden Flight:
FMS Tigercat
Tigercat Demo:
RC Biplanes
E-flite Ultimate 3D
Bill’s Maiden Flight:
E-flite Pitts 850
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
FMS 1400mm V2 - This requires 6S batteries, so this is not for beginners to bipes
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
Best First EDF Jets
Arrows Viper
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX Citation
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite F-15 64mm EDF
Unboxing:
Maiden Flight:
E-flite UMX A-10 - The CG can be tricky to dial in, but once it is, what a great RC Jet!
Complete Unboxing & Maiden Flights:
Fun Flight:
Freewing Lippisch P.15 64mm - A launch switch and fabric grip tap help with launch success
Unboxing:
Fun Flight:
Please ask any reasonable question below and I will do my best to answer them. For those of you with your own strong opinions regarding a recommended path to success with RC Flight, please be civil as we help those that need our guidance to enjoy this wonderful hobby