As the title says I have been flying a Heli for about a year now and am thinking about a plane for a bit of cross training and for something that does not fall from the sky the moment you get somthing wrong

I have a fair amount of spare kit lying about which includes, a 35A scorpion brushless esc, 3xSG90 servos, a 2x 11.1v 1345mAh lipos (+ the two 2500mAh ones my 450 uses) a AR6100e reciever and a gyro ( not sure what you would use it for on a plane)

 Idealy something that uses these bits would be good as it would save me money. So far I have seen 3 planes that seem to be feasable, in order of cost they are

Multiplex MiniMag

Multiplex Gemini

Multiplex Acromaster

I have Phoenix and have been trying out the Acromaster and can do circuits in wind ect but as with the heli's its only a simulation ( oddly I find a real heli far easier to fly).

 What do you guys think of these and do you have any other sugestions ?

Hi, I can't really comment on those models, as I'm mostly a glider pilot, nowadays.

A typical trainer is a high-wing, boxy thing, not very pretty to look at, but simple to repair!!!

Wether you go for one with ailerons, (better roll control and turning) or a rudder/elevator one (more stable, less critical, but less responsive) is up to you, really.

Flying a sim has one drawback, you cannot see the ground while you are high up, (apart from in tail-chase mode!), so you tend to get disoriented very easily, whilst in real flight, there are subliminal clues as to which way is up, even though you are staring up into the sky, and you can tell which way around you are by the breeze, and the skyline, the sun, etc.

Have a read though the forums, including the one titled Beginners start here, and as you want to fly electric, the electric one! There you will find what other people think about various models, and the problems they have had/solved.

If you put where you are in the world - into your profile, and look on the BMFA website, you might find a club or individual near you, who can give you hands-on guidance.

Thank's for the advice. I like the idea of the mentor but it would involve buying a whole power train, for the models listed above I only need to buy a motor and a "budget" one would only cost me about £20.

It would be nice if they built the Easy Cub with ailerons. What would be ideal is a trainer with ailerons in the 250-300w power range made out of something that will bounce.The wind abilities of the Minimag put me off that a little.

I have been blasting around in Pheonix ( can't do much else a the moment) and what ever I get I want it to have ailerons. I am just so used to flying like that rudder, on it's own feels wierd. The model I am most comfortable flying in that is the Acromaster. I know those are "aerobatic" but with say 25-50% expo on the controls would it not be ok for learning on ? remember I am used to the heli which will do its own thing if you let your guard down for more than a nano second.

Ailerons add nothing to the EasyCubs flying abilities but what about a scruntchie model (balsa!) perhaps one of the Seagull EP trainers - Innovator or E-Pioneer?

It's a tricky one - you may be fine with a sport model but then again....., many have made the mistake of jumping in - remember, simulators are fine but it's different when you get down the patch.  

Hi, I`ve also flew heli`s before fixed wing. have been flying now for 4 months, i use an Seagull EP trainer - Innovator, & GWS t6 (well try). The Innovator is fantastic for trainning, very forgiving, made well & fits in car boot. Goodd luck with fixed wing, I love it,

Cheer Chris.

I learnt to fly on a MPX Easy Glider E, they do a Pro one now that might take your kit (just go down the model shop with your bits and ask them to get it out of the box), the Pro bit is a bit misleading as the only difference is it will take a brushless outrunner instead of an inrunner.

The Easy Glider is pretty ding proof (Elapor Foam) although not indestructable (try full power inverted dive into a factory roof - don't ask me how I know ) its large, slow and self correcting and mildly aerobatic (loops, inverted flight, can just about manage a large barrel roll, stall turns) and yes it has ailerons. Easy to hand launch and land (does float on a bit but spoilerons helps a lot). Will fly for 30 - 40 minutes mixture of power on and gliding.

Doesn't penetrate well into wind, although you can ballast her up with a metre length of M8 studding in the wing tube, which makes it a bit more exciting.

Cheers

Tom

I went for the Minimag in the end and have installed a budget BRC motor with a 7x5 prop for 170W. I am getting along very well with it and have been doing all sorts with it lol, I have been doing inverted circuits loops, rolls, stall turns (needs carefull aileron input or it snap rolls) and things I don't even know the names of lol.

It now has a purple power motor in it with a 8x6 prop which gives 220W and nearly 1:1 thrust, should make it a little more fun ! I am getting about 20mins flight cruising round at 50-60% throttle and about 10-15mins with lots of power and aerobatics.

Hrere is a video of my third outing lots of wind !!

Hi Madhatter, I to started out with heli's as well but went over to fixed wing, i find them much easier to fly and have a lot less crashes. I started with a high wing i/c trainer with ailerons good fun but a little bit noisy for flying down the park.............so went electric with a midget mustang....smashed that to bits......then onto a cheap spree sports low wing upgraded to brushless which goes like the clappers......then i won the brushless motor combo on here so i put it into a extra 330.......not flown it yet waiting 4 the right time and a bit more practice with the other planes before i commit it to the sky......

Happy Flyin.............................

I just put in the link url in ie " http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0CW-XS4egQ "

 and then put it in under utube video in the "insert image movie" button

I've been flying helis for about 6 months, then brought my first fixed wing  foamie 4 channel Wilga 2000 high Wing trainer, I used Phoenix RC flight Sim, and could fly most fixed wing models on there, and took to the skies with the Wilga easily! Go straight for a 4 channel, and practice on a sim, you'll find it a lot eaier then helis !

Good Luck !

It will never stop raining lol, first day in 2 weeks with out 30mph + winds on a day I can fly and its bloody raining again !! lol

 As to it being easier, I had some practice on Pheonix and then just went for it with out any help !! First landing was a little scrappy but I find this much eaiser. When I am flying I am thinking what should I do next rather than how do I make the plane do this, if that makes sense. I have now used rudder to aileron mix to make it behave like a plane with much less dihedral so that stall turns ect are more predictable I flew it on the ailerons from the start, that probalby comes from flying the heli. The thing I have to remeber going back to the heli is that as I have a HH gyro I have to use the tail in turns !!