So I have this temptation to drop my plans to get the Corsair 650D and a water cooling system and pick up an R/C glider instead... perhaps something like a ParkZone Radian. A more custom project like a fiberglass scale model (DG-1000 for example) would be great and fulfill my need to customize and modify, but they're all too heavy (grams per wing area is significantly more than the radian's 21 g/dm2). Hmmmmmmmm.... Sorry to post this here... but this is about the only place I post on AVSIM and the R/C forum is more or less dead...

Do you have any experience in RC? Just wondering? I am assuming so. The radian will be better if you have zero to a little experience with rc. http://www.nitroplanes.com/gliders.html Here is a good site that sells planes at a lower cost and most are foam. Too bad they struggle to keep stuff in stock though.

I had a decent R/C electric car several years ago. Either way, I'm not too worried about being too beginner-ish. The radian is nice because the local hobby store stocks replacement wings and fuselages in case of an accident. It's also more than capable of accomplishing my primary task: carrying a digital camera. I have been using a kite for my aerial photography, but then I thought a glider might provide a stable enough platform while making it quicker and easier to do, not to mention it provides more freedom and more fun. Essentially I want something slow and stable with lots of lift and long flight time. So far the Radian seems to fill this gap in every way.BUT while the Radian provides instant gratification, I have this need to tinker...all that to say that IF I do this, it looks like I'll be going with the Radian.

Honestly having rc car experience won't help that much other than orientation.Even the radian you can modify. If you are good enough you could convert that plane from a 3 channel to a 4 channel. 3 channels are easier to fly but less control (go figure) The biggest problem I find with the fiberglass plane you are looking at is its size. Its hard to transport(unless you can take the wings off) and needs a big area to fly in. Although it might be more stable.Also with the fiber glass one is you'll need to go buy a radio, servos, battery, and a receiver (most radios will come with one). So a 90$ plane becomes much more than that.I think you should get the radian or something comparable (foam, electric) just because you have no experience flying rc. Get a 4 channel if you want to challenge yourself or a 3 channel to get you started. I have 3 planes and all of them are foam so I am probably a little bias heheheIf you really want the big fiber glass one and you think you can do it, then go for it but the radian will be a safe purchase as its ready to fly.

I fly R/C too. Does anybody else on here? Pride of my fleet is a 73" wingspan Cessna 182. Anyone want me to post pics of my fleet?

Yes, pics please!!!I'm pretty sure I'm going with the radian - it's a safe purchase... I'm going to investigate whether or not it's feasible to turn my 7ft kite into an R/C plane first... but if not, it's definitely the Radian. What do you have, Taylor?

This is my 73" Cessna 182. Has Rudder, Aileron, Elevator and working flaps controls.Weston UK Mini-Hype, a 3d funfly machine that will do just about anything possibleExtra 330L.The Cessna is a foamie designed for electric power, while the other 2 are IC Glow kits, that I have converted to electric. Got sick of getting covered in oil so went completely electric years ago. Got a fair few more, but can't find any more pics at the mo.

I have spent a lot of time around R/C airplanes and I totally know the oily mess you're talking about. I can see why the Cessna is the pride of your fleet!The best radian video I have found (it's the pro version, though):

Charlatan I have a cessna with that scheme too! The tail is different though because I broke it and they didn't have the old tail scheme replacement. Hehhe I also use a Spektrum DX6i for my radio. Pretty nice beginner radio if you are going to stay a while in the hobby.*Sorry for the terrible quality picturesHere are my planesHobbyzone Super Cup LP - Haven't flown in a while. When I get more money I am going to finish the brushless motor upgrade and make it 4 channelAirfield Skytrainer (Cessna)-Crashed this 2 times on first takeoff because I had the ailerons reversed, silly me. I got this one from nitroplanes.comAND... my latest bird that I love. The SR Trainer aka SR22. This beast has flaps and spoilerons (ailerons that also work as spoilers) Also got this from Nitroplanes.comI also have a E-Flight MSR (helicopter) Bind and fly

I have the Hobbyzone super cub LP - I know it's probably not what you're looking for, but I love this thing! I had a massive crash first time I flew it because of a wind gust (15 mph is too much lol), and it survived.Plus you can easily get accessory parts at your local hobby store. Excellent for first time r/cers

Beautiful Cessna!!!!Glad I am not the only one frequenting Nitroplanes LMAO....Pretty funny, I will have to post some pics tomorrow, my collection includes:1 Custom Rock Crawler Fabricated into an RC tug for my planes with articulating tow bar and lights1 Rock Crawler with a couple of custom bodies (Unimog, 1970 Ford F100 and a couple of land crusiers)Planes (From Smallest to largest)18.5 inch Hobbico Ultra Micro Cessna (playmate)E-Flite Dual Engine Mosquito Ultra Micro800 mm P-51 w/ working rudder/tailwheel1100 mm F6 w/rudder1100mm Cessna 172 w working Flaps, Rudder, lights and front suspension1430mm P-51 w/ working Retracts and custom LED's1470mm Dual Engine B- 25 Bomber with working retracts and lightsEDF Jets...64mm F1870mm w/ working retractsChoppers...Blade MSRHelimax Novus CP (garbage!)Blade 120Walkera Flybarless with scale body and ledsBlade SR (dead)Blade 400 3DE-Sky Belt Cp-CX with Scale BodyNot to mention a display case full of diecast planes, a model plane for every RC plane I have, about 40 1/18 cars, a few model Aprilia models (b/c I own a real one :) ) and I think that is about it for the toy room!

Edited April 1, 201115 yr by psolk

I have the Hobbyzone super cub LP - I know it's probably not what you're looking for, but I love this thing! I had a massive crash first time I flew it because of a wind gust (15 mph is too much lol), and it survived.Plus you can easily get accessory parts at your local hobby store. Excellent for first time r/cers

LOL 15mph is WAY too much for a 3channel. 5 mph is pushing it lol

And the P 51...

You can search PSolk on youtube for my channel to see some of the motorcycle vids as well :)Almost all the RC gets acquired when I am housebound with my back or hip and need things to keep busy. Keeps you from thinking about the pain...

Alright, I picked up the Radian RTF today and an extra 2100mAh battery. I decided to keep it cheap since I'm new to this. I was a little nervous at first as it was my first RC plane, first flight, and somewhat gusty 10mph winds. I managed to get about 30 minutes out of the included 1300mAh battery and felt very comfortable by the end! I really enjoyed doing some low passes (about 10' off the ground) at some barking dogs only to motor back up to altitude. Eventually, the battery had no more juice and I managed to squeak a perfectly smooth landing! On to the 2100mAh battery...I spent about 30 minutes flying with the 2100mAh - practiced some landings, mostly smooth despite the wind gusts. One of the less smooth landings, however, caused the battery to slip forward and upon re-launching, the glider would not climb no matter how much elevator I gave it. I was forced by some trees to turn back downwind at which point the glider did a nose dive from about 10 ft in the air, snapping the fuselage in half. $30 later, a new fuselage, and I'm ready to go at it again! I will make sure to acquire a longer velcro strap to secure the battery before I fly with the 2100mAh again Overall, it was VERY enjoyable and despite the one crash, I would call it a great success. $30 isn't too bad for a one-off circumstantial crash I suppose.

Good thing you went with foam. hehehe. You will be surprised the tinkering you can do even on a basic plane. Later on you can go buy a 2.4ghz 6+channel radio i.e. Spektrum dx6i (what I have) or futaba, JR or any those and make it 4 channels (rudder, elevator, throttle and ailerons) and put on either flaps or Flaperons/spoilerons (with a glider you probably want spoilerons as gliders tend to float a lot)Also be careful with LIPO batteries because running them down all the way can damage them. I think most ESC's comes with auto shutoffs forcing no power to the engine but enough juice to control the surfaces to landing.Also, most foam is savable to fix. You should if you haven't keep that old fuse because it might be glueable Superglue(not hotglue) it together let it sit for a while and it should be very strong.