A trainer plane should be a high wing design with a flat bottom airfoil. There are many trainers out there and most of them fly basically the same. But there are differences in the covering materials, instruction manuals and overall quality. One that is covered in Monokote or Ultrakote is much easier to repair than the ones covered with shelf paper. Stay away from the foam and plastic planes that are called crash proof. These planes are too heavy and land too fast to be a good trainer. (And there is no such thing as crash proof)

They also come in various engine sizes from .049 thru .60. The .40 size is the most popular. The smaller planes don't fly well in the wind are harder to see and have small tires that make them harder to take of and land. I would not recommend going below a .25 size under any conditions. The .60 planes fly great, but they are not much bigger than the .40 size planes. Mostly they cost more and burn more fuel.

The major two categories are a "kit" or what is known as an "ARF" (almost-ready-to-fly) which you only have to glue together the major assemblies. Either way is a good way to go, but the ARF will get you in the air much faster and you aren't as emotionally attached to it because you have months of time in building it.

Some of the designs that have been proven to work well are the Sig LT-40 , Goldberg Eagle (which are both kit and ARF) and the Hobbico Superstar 40 ARF.

Copyright 2002 Lorain County R/C Club