Hi Phil;
There are really more than a dozen airplanes that will fit your requirements. I would even suggest the 1/2A Skyray, since you have and fly 1/2A stuff, and use it to learn the basic manuevers. Won't do the whole pattern on one tank but the little booger is capable of at least the entire beginner pattern, and I have done the rest with it a few at a time. That is all you want the model to do, is be a teaching tool. Cheap, easy to fly and repairable. If you can do ANY of the manuevers with a 1/2A Skyray, you can do them with ANY airplane that you may build and it will be easier. Once you are confident with the small model, move up. No stress from crashing expensive airplanes, because you ARE gonna crash some. That is what I did with my son Sean, and it can work for any body.
If that doesn't trip your trigger, pick one of the suggested models, and let cost and eye appeal be your guide. Do what pleases you, because that is what the hobby is all about. But keep in mind the advice about multiple models once you get to a point where things are looking consistant and your confidence increases. Multiple models of the same design helps with consistancy, and you want to strive for that all along the way. There is a guy here in St. Louis that used a single SIG Twister to go all the way from beginner to expert, and I'm talking about putting a hurt on guys at contests that were flying piped airplanes! He just practiced a lot, and wore out three engines along the way, and knew the trim of the airplane inside and out. You could do the same with any of the designs and kits mentioned.
You will develope a set of likes and dislikes to certain things along the way, and develope a sense of how you like an airplane to perform. Keep an open mind about everything. Once you get to that level and you understand how you got there, you can pick a design and make it fly like you like. Most of my airplanes are all different sizes and such, but the controls in them are all pretty similar, so there isn't a big change in going from one to another at a contest.
Once you get to a level of proficientcy that you feel confident in trying contests, I whole heartedly recommend that you compete. That is where you really learn. If you don't feel like competing, at least go and watch and ask questions. You can observe a lot just by watching, as Yogi Berra says!
When you have the whole pattern down, and understand the ins and outs of trimming an airplane, come back to that lowly Ringmaster, and try it again. It can be made to fly quite well, and I have seen guys get pretty good scores in classic contests with them, and even in intermediate level contests. You just don't want to have to try and get one to fly that good at the beginning of the learning process! It has it's limitations and you just have to work with them and around them.
All of this won't happen in one summer either, depending on your own natural ability, and there are some guys out there that are born with it. Another friend here took only three years to go from learing how to start and set the needle valve on a Fox .35, to flying in the Expert class and placing second or third at The Vintage Stunt Championships in Tucson against some of the top guys in the country. Flying stunt is one event where what you get out of it is in direct proportion to what you put into it.
Good luck, have fun and enjoy the trip.
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
Topic: So what can a model do? Looking for a stunt ship for learning pattern. (Read 21199 times)