Jump to content

Best slope model for a kid


Brett82

Recommended Posts

Just trying to get some advise and maybe put the feelers out. Been teaching my 6 year old son to fly and he is spending a lot of time on picasim.

He is practicing with my radio and an old 35mhz Futaba I had and he is doing really well. 

I'm thinking of getting him a 2nd hand model for x-mass, something like a SAS wildthing or mamba. I've never owned that type of model so just wondering which would be better.

I know how they differ physically, but which design would be better for him to learn on (if there is a difference)? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a good condition Weasel Trek. They are easy to fly and no rudder. For sale if you're interested. Not as bouncy as a Wildthing mind, but safer as less mass

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if foam is the right option. 
Build a simple rudder elevator balsa model. There is a joy of flying something that will break.

There is also a joy in building/repairing. 
 

Foam is perhaps too easy an introduction to the wonder of flight. 
 

That  said foam is great fun once you can fly and and want to push the boundaries. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks buddy, I will keep that in mind. 

Right now I think I want to get him something that will bounce from a great hight... he is doing well, just not that well...lol 

It's just because I have never owned a wing like them I dont know how they fly or if there is any benefit to either of the two different design.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No need to bounce. I stood behind my kids when they were learning and simply lifted the transmitter out of their hands when the model was in a spiral dive 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, isoaritfirst said:

I wonder if foam is the right option. 
Build a simple rudder elevator balsa model. There is a joy of flying something that will break.

There is also a joy in building/repairing. 
 

Foam is perhaps too easy an introduction to the wonder of flight. 
 

That  said foam is great fun once you can fly and and want to push the boundaries. 

If I had plenty space to do repairs I wouldn't mind doing that. In fact I have two or three balsa models he could fly already. One he flew at the Mynd a few weeks ago.

After cracking the fuzz I thought I want to go the foam route. Also, as he gets older we can start moving on from foam and he can get involved in the repairs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the Wildthing would be good, a bit more stable than the Mamba.  You CAN NOT BEAT STICK TIME when teaching someone to fly, and a broken model = less stick time.

However, encourage proper landings, and discourage deliberately smacking it in for a landing, else he is in for a shock when he gets something more fragile    🙂

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, f3fman said:

I think the Wildthing would be good, a bit more stable than the Mamba.  You CAN NOT BEAT STICK TIME when teaching someone to fly, and a broken model = less stick time.

However, encourage proper landings, and discourage deliberately smacking it in for a landing, else he is in for a shock when he gets something more fragile    🙂

Totally agree mate, more bounce equals more stick time but I will make sure he learns to land properly.

Thanks for the answer, so a wildthing is a bit more stable. That's what I was hoping to find out.

Wasn't sure if there was much difference so I thought it best to ask.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wildthings fly well.  

But like any plank or wing does require a certain amount of setup before they fly well. Down the years I've flown a few beginner's wts and usually they require a bit of fettling to fly well. 

The flight characteristics aren't all that great for an absolute beginner as they require correction on the stick quite often and they quickly roll past horizontal.

What you usually see with beginners with wings is thay they roll the model too far over and can't get it back and end up spiralling it in by hanging on the elevator. Mike's right that r/ e is better for beginners to fly I.e a poly floater. But they don't bounce.  Nearly all beginners suffer from over control with sprightly models in my experience. Something relatively unresponsive like a floater is actually better. 

But if he does ok on picasim he might be alright on it.  It needs setting up well first with low rates, expo and a conservative cg. 

They fly is like a turd if not set up properly. Like all flying wings. Also they require straight building. The model doesn't come with a lot of stiffening and can easily be built badly. I've seen a few and they can never be made to fly well.  As wings go they are relatively easy to build and setup though.  It's a better model than it looks like it is. 

I don't think wings are that great to start on. But fixing models all the time is a chore.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know this might sound crazy but a lidl glider with servos in it could be a good cheap bouncy model to learn on.  They are poly so could even be flown r/e to start with. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd go for an Easy Glider just as a glider probably pick one up cheap or probably one of the members has one for sale. Good to learn on and not too boring once mastered.

Tony

Obviously we posted at the same time!

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want to go R/E, and would always recommend that for learning, but want to go foam/EPP see if you can get hold of a Phoenix Model Products Fun Start or Eppisoar. The kits are not available anymore but Stan sold a fair few so there must be some out there, and you don't want to build one anyway. They both fly and soar well and are both basically indestructible. I tried. I failed.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the advice guys. I have two R/E planes that I will get him to fly at some point. One is built up balsa and film floatie (easily broken), the other is an Avoncraft Cub with foam veneer wings and a kind of glass/plastic fuselage. It it pretty tough but when he flew it last time he cracked the fuzz just before the tail section. It wasn't a bad crack so we put some tape on and he flew twice more. 

My whole line of thinking was exactly what f3fman stated, the best way to learn is stick time. Its a 2 hour drive to the nearest decent slope, if he damages it on the first flight then that's his day done. A model that will bounce will give him the chance to make a mistake but not stop him flying the rest of the day. Just until he can develop his hand eye co-ordination and start to understand how to keep a glider in the sky. Once he has learnt that part of it he can then move on to one of the planes I already have.

Its also about confidence, I know he is the type of kid that would get upset if he damaged a plane badly. I wouldn't want a badly damaged plane to put him off before he even has a chance to develop a love for the sport. Once he has the bug and I know it wont put him off, then he can crash all he wants, lol.

I appreciate the help and advice, really I do. I think I gave the thread the wrong heading, I should have put it as how does a wildthing design type compare to a mamba/zaggi design type in terms of flying characteristics. But thats too long... haha

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Kyri said:

I know this might sound crazy but a lidl glider with servos in it could be a good cheap bouncy model to learn on.  They are poly so could even be flown r/e to start with. 

Not crazy mate, I had thought of that and I am going to wait until they are back in the shops and get him one as soon as they are available. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both my son and I learnt on an Avoncraft Cub (he was nine at the time), it took quite a few knocks as you can imagine but it survived quite well. The best advice I can give is make sure he has some good warm clothes, if he gets cold he may lose his enthusiasm.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Keith_W said:

The best advice I can give is make sure he has some good warm clothes, if he gets cold he may lose his enthusiasm

Never a truer word has been spoken 😂

11 minutes ago, Keith_W said:

Both my son and I learnt on an Avoncraft Cub (he was nine at the time), it took quite a few knocks as you can imagine but it survived quite well.

It is a great little plane, Andy and Les both flew it while we were there and they even said it was extremely stable. If Bradley was nine it would probably be ok, but he is only six and I sometimes think he might be a little too young. But I dont want to hold off, I firmly believe when kids express an interest in something they need to be encouraged. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problem is though that they will over control a zagi and spiral it in over and over with flight lasting a few seconds. Gets boring fetching the model repeatedly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have you considered a buddy box setup, Brett?

I'm no instructor but I let my niece and nephew fly my electric models using my buddy box trainer. 

 

Tony 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, SilentPilot said:

Have you considered a buddy box setup, Brett?

I'm no instructor but I let my niece and nephew fly my electric models using my buddy box trainer. 

 

Tony 

Hi Tony

I dont have that option. My Tx is a Graupner and he will be using my old Futaba. I dont want to invest in another Graupner until he is properly into the hobby but once he is I think I will need to upgrade to the new MZ-16 and he can have my old MZ-24 Pro, haha.

Brett 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.