Choosing your first glow powered plane
Many first-time plane buyers try to start with an advanced
plane. Let's face it, a Mustang P-51D or an Ultimate biplane looks
really cool, but your first plane should be intended for a first-time
pilot. One excellent trainer that Hobby People offers is the
Hobbico NexStar .46 RTF Trainer. It has AFS (Active Flight
Stabilization™) which can automatically correct roll and pitch to return the
NexSTAR to true horizontal once you let go of the sticks.
Stall Speed
Every plane has a lower limit of speed where the wing simply
stops flying. This is known as the stall speed. Trainers have very slow
stall speeds. The low stall speed is due to the flat bottom airfoil shape.
When a trainer does stall, it recovers quickly and with little control input
from the pilot.
Recover Altitude
Many mistakes a beginner makes causes the plane to change
altitude (height above ground) before the plane can recover to level
flight. A trainer takes very little altitude to recover because they are stable
and tend to right themselves. This stability makes the trainer easier to fly and
smoothes out mistakes.
Performance
Because trainers are slower than other aircraft the
student pilot has more time to think and react. Trainers are also not very
aerobatic; they simply will not do some of the more complicated maneuvers. This
keeps a student's mistakes from turning into out-of-control disasters.
Learn more about picking your first plane here.
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