Researching RC Trainer Planes

The quest for the perfect trainer...

You've searched through tons of RC trainer planes and you just can't decide which one to get. Should you get a kit? Should you get an ARF? What about an RTF? You want to know which one is the best RC trainer!

There are so many good RC trainers out there that it would be tuff to designate any one of them as the best trainer. But that dones't mean we can't try!

Which trainer do YOU think is best to learn with?

There are a few key characteristics that all good RC trainer planes have in common. If the airplane has those traits, you can be confident that it is a good trainer plane.

Popular Trainers by Manufacturer

Here are the most common RC trainers of each major RC airplane manufacturer. If I missed one, please feel free to add it! A table at the top of each section shows what kit, ARF, or RTF trainer is available for each manufacturer.

The table also shows the wingspan and airfoil type. Keep in mind that RC trainer planes with flat-bottomed airfoils are easier to fly and less aerobatic. Trainers with a semi-symmetrical airfoil are more difficult to fly and more aerobatic.

Hobbico Trainers - ARF's, RTF's, no Kits
Sig Trainers - Kits, ARF's, no RTF's
Carl Goldberg Trainers - Kits, ARF's, no RTF's
Thunder Tiger Trainers - ARF's only
Hanger 9 Trainers - ARF's, RTF's, no Kits
Great Planes Trainers - Kits only
Trainers Recommended by other Visitors

KIT, ARF, or RTF?

Do you want to spend the time to build a kit, or if you want to get a plane in the air quickly by getting an ARF or RTF RC trainer plane.

By building a kit, you will have a much better idea how to repair the airplane after minor crashes. However, it's emotionally draining when a plane that you've spent countless hours building bites the dust!

If you want to minimize the emotional attachment and get a bird in the air quickly, choose an ARF or RTF. But don't base your decision on the price difference between a kit and an ARF. A kit may initially appear to be cheaper than an ARF. By the time you factor in the cost for the covering, glue, knives, tools etc., a kit will end up costing you just as much if not more than the ARF!

Hobbico RC Trainer Planes

Hobbico offers a variety of RC trainer planes. The table below shows the availability of each as an ARF, EP ARF, RTF Electric, or RTF Glow. The EP ARF has an electric motor and ESC, but does not include a radio system.

	AviStar 40	ElectriStar	HobbiStar 60	NexStar	SuperStar 40
ARF	ARF	w/MonoKote	MkIII	ARF	w/Monokote
EP ARF	----	----	----	----	EP ARF
RTF Electric	EP Select	----	----	EP RTF	EP Select
RTF Glow	Select	Select	Select	Select	Select MkII
Airfoil	SS	FB	SS	FB	FB
Wingspan	59"	63"	71"	69"	60"

Hobbico's NexStar

Hobbico's NexStar is well known for its on board Automatic Flight Stabilization (AFS) system. The AFS system monitors the planes orientation and sends feedback to adjust the roll and pitch to keep the plane flying level.

Other features unique to the NexStar are wing airfoil extensions and removable training flaps. The airfoil extensions are special wing tips that help keep the wings level when the plane begins to stall due to slow airspeeds. The removable trainer flaps provide extra lift to allow the RC trainer plane to fly at much slower speeds without stalling. Once removed, the trainer is capable of flying much faster.

This RC trainer plane also comes with RealFlight NexSTAR Edition's flight simulator. This edition of RealFlight contains only the NexStar with no other aircraft.

Some people really like these extra features while others actually complain about them getting in the way. If want the cream-of-the-crop state-of-the-art RC trainer plane with all the extras, then the NexStar is your bird!

The NexStar is available as an ARF, RTF Glow, and RTF Electric. Each available in either a blue or red color scheme.

Hobbico's SuperStar 60

Hobbico's SuperStar is your classic flat-bottomed airfoil high winged trainer. The flat-bottomed wing provides extra lift at low speeds which makes for a very stable and easy to fly airplane.

The basic airframe of the SuperStar is very similar to that of the NexStar. If you like the NexStar but don't want to spend money on all the extras that you'll quickly outgrow, you should consider the SuperStar.

The RTF Glow comes with an O.S. 40 LA Engine and 4 channel Futaba F4V radio system.

The O.S. 40 LA is a good engine, just keep in mind that the LA series engines have bushings and not bearings. In other words, this engine will not be quite as powerful as other 40 size engines that have bearings.

Hobbico's AviStar 40

The AviStar's semi-symmetrical airfoil makes this trainer more aerobatic than the typical flat-bottomed airfoil of many trainers.

The AviStar is available as an ARF as well as a RTF Glow. The RTF comes with the same O.S. 40 LA Engine and 4 channel Futaba F4V radio system as the above SuperStar.

Hobbico's HobbiStar 60

The HobbiStar is a very large trainer with a wing span of nearly 6 feet! Larger Airplanes tend to fly more smoothly than smaller planes. And they're also much easier to see!

The HobbiStar also has a semi-symmetrical airfoil allowing the airplane more aerobatic capabilities than a flat-bottomed airfoil.

The HobbiStar is also available as an ARF as well as a RTF Glow. The RTF comes with an O.S. 60 LA Engine and a six channel Futaba 6YG radio system.

The same is true with this O.S. 60 LA as is with the O.S. 40 LA engine that comes with the AviStar RTF. It's a good engine, but it has bushings and not bearings which causes it to have less power than 60 size engines with bearings.

Hobbico's ElectriStar

As the name indicates, the ElectriStar is purely an electric RC trainer. Because the airframe doesn't have to support the weight of a glow engine, the designers were able to decrease the airframe weight considerably.

It is available only as an EP(electric powered) RTF trainer. It comes with a powerful ElectriStar C-42 Brushless Motor and Great Planes SS-45D Brushless ESC already installed. This EP RTF comes with the Futaba 4EXA 4-channel FM computer radio system.

This is one of the few 40 size electric RC trainers that flies with as much power and zing as its same size glow powered counterpart, but without a noisy messy engine to contend with! If you're looking for an electric trainer, you should consider the ElectriStar.

See Hobbico Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Sig Trainers

Sig Manufacturing offers six different models of trainer RC planes. They all are very similar and are great trainer planes. The table below summarizes the available of each as an ARF or kit, or both.

	Senior	Seniorita	LT-25	LT-40	EP-42B	Mark II
Kit	Kit	Kit	Kit	Kit	-----	Kit
ARF	ARF	-----	-----	ARF	-----	-----
EP ARF	-----	EP ARF	-----	-----	EP ARF	-----
Airfoil	FB	FB	Clark Y	Clark Y	FB	FB
Wingspan	78"	63"	63"	70"	42"	57.25"

Sig Senior - Seniorita

This classic RC trainer plane has been introducing RC pilots to this hobby for many years. The Kadet Senior's high wing and flat-bottomed airfoil make for a very stable and self-correcting aircraft.

This RC trainer is well known for its giant 78" wing span and its ability to float at very low speeds due to its extremely light construction. While it used to be available in kit form only, this bird is now available as an ARF. The Sig Kadet Seniorita is as a smaller version of the Sig Kadet Senior with a 63" wing span.

The Seniorita is available as a kit version, or an Electric Powered ARF version. The EP ARF is built extremely light because it doesn't have to support the weight of a glow engine. The motor and ESC must be purchased separately.

Sig Kadet LT

The Sig LT-40 is another very popular RC trainer plane. Its 70" wingspan makes it a bit larger than the average RC trainer plane, although it's not as large as the Kadet Senior.

The wings have a unique airfoil called a Clark Y airfoil. This is very similar to a flat-bottomed airfoil, except leading edge is more rounded. This larger leading edge radius helps dampen the stall characteristics.

I can tell you from personal experience that this bird flies very nicely! I liked it because it was so big for a 40 size plane, it was easy to see! Unfortunately, she met her demise when I tried to pull out of a dive at full throttle... The wings folded. It was a sad day indeed... OH well, lesson learned!

The smaller Sig LT-25 version has a wingspan of 63" and is available in Kit form only.

Sig Mark II

The Mark II is a very small 40 size trainer with a wingspan of 57 1/4". It is a high winged trainer with a standard flat-bottomed airfoil.

This RC trainer is available in Kit form only. If you're looking for a very stable flying, relatively small, 40 size trainer to build, this may be the bird for you.

Sig Kadet EP-42B Brushless Trainer

Kadet EP-42B Brushless ARF RC Trainer Plane

Looking for electric RC trainer? The Sig Kadet EP-42B Brushless ARF is an excellent choice! The powerful outrunner brushless motor with matched speed controller pulls this RC trainer nicely!

Once you've mastered the trainer, you can save money by transferring the motor and speed controller to your next plane up to 35oz!

See Sig Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Carl Goldberg Trainers

Carl Goldberg Models Inc. has had a reputation of productiong top quality RC airplane kits and ARF's since the late 1950's. Although currently owned by Great Planes, Carl Goldberg continues to produce the same high quality RC trainer planes.

	Eagle 2	Falcon
Kit	Kit	Falcon III 40
ARF	ARF	Falcon 56 MKII
Airfoil	FB	SS
Wingspan	63"	56"

Goldberg Eagle 2

The Eagle 2 is a 40 size RC trainer plane with a wing span of 63". It's another flat-bottomed high-wing trainer with very stable flying characteristics.

The windows in the cockpit area really bring this bird to life. If you didn't know any better, you'd think this was a scale version of a full scale plane!

The Eagle 2 trainer is available in both Kit and ARF form.

Goldberg's Falcon Trainer

Goldberg Falcon 56 MkII RC Trainer Plane

The Falcon is a 40 size RC traine plane. It has a 56" wing span with a semi-symmetrical airfoil allowing for a little more aerobatic capability.

This plane has a generous amount of dihedral to help the beginner RC pilot to keep the wings level.

The Falcon stands out with its unique appearance with the wings setting flat on the fuselage with really no "cock pit" area. This is known as a "stick" type airplane.

The Falcon 56 MKII is the ARF version and the Falcon III 40 is the Kit version of this trainer RC airplane. Don't let the numbers confuse you. The 56 of the ARF refers to the wingspan, the 40 of the Kit means it is a 40 size plane.

See Carl Goldberg Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Thunder Tiger Trainer Planes

If your looking for an ARF, you definitely want to check out Thunder Tiger's trainers. Both the Easy Trainer and Tiger Trainer are excellent trainers and are available only in ARF form.

	Easy Trainer 40H	Easy Trainer 40T	Tiger Trainer 40	Tiger Trainer 60
ARF	ARF	ARF	ARF	ARF
EP ARF	-----	-----	OBL	-----
Airfoil	SS	FB	FB	FB
Wingspan	61"	61"	61"	73"

Easy Trainer

The Easy Trainer is the only RC airplane that I am aware of that gives you the choice between two different airfoils.

The Easy Trainer 40H comes with a semi-symmetrical airfoil wing, while the Tiger Trainer 40T has a flat-bottomed airfoil wing.

The Easy Trainer is available in ARF form only.

Tiger Trainer

The Tiger Trainer is another classic high-winged flat-bottomed trainer. This RC trainer plane is available as both 40 size and 60 size ARF's

The Tiger Trainer OBL ARF is designed to be powered by either a glow engine or electric motor.

See Thunder Tiger Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Hanger 9 Trainer Planes

Hanger 9 is a very well respected manufacturer of quality RC Airplanes. The Hanger 9 Arrow and the Hanger 9 Alpha are two very popular RC trainer planes.

	Arrow 40	Alpha 40	Alpha 60
ARF	ARF	ARF	ARF
RTF Glow	RTF	DSM2	-----
Airfoil	SS	FB	FB
Wingspan	63"	63"	72"

Alpha

Hanger 9's Alpha is a high-winged, flat-bottomed wing trainer.

The 40 size Alpha comes in both ARF and RTF form. This is one of the few, if not the only, RTF glow powered trainer that comes with a Spread Spectrum Radio System.

Spektrum's 5 channel DX5e radio system provides plenty of growing room for future airplanes. In other words, you shouldn't have to buy another radio for quite some time!

The 60 size Alpha is available only as an ARF.

Arrow 40

Hanger 9's Arrow is a bit more agile due to its semi-symmetrical airfoil. If you think you'll be a fast learning, this may be a good choice.

This 40 size RC trainer plane is available as an ARF as well as an RTF. The Evolution Trainer Power System is the same engine that comes with the 40 size Alpha RTF. A JR Sport S400 radio system comes factory installed.

See Hanger 9 Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Great Planes "Perfect Trainer"

Great Planes is another top-of-the-line RC airplane manufacturer. They are a leader in the industry and respected for their high quality kits and ARF's. For some reason, their trainers are available in kit form only. They don't supply trainers in ARF form.

Great Planes boasts their "Perfect Trainer" kits. The PT's are available as 20, 40, and 60 size kits.

	PT Electric	PT-20 MKII	PT-40 MKII	PT-60 MKII
Kit	Kit	Kit	Kit	Kit
Airfoil	FB	FB	FB	FB
Wingspan	56"	52.75"	60"	71"

Great Planes boasts their "Perfect Trainer" kits. The PT's are available as 20, 40, and 60 size kits.

While these are excellent quality kits and great RC trainer planes, calling them "perfect" may be a bit much...

The flat-bottomed wing and generous dihedral makes this bird one of the most stable RC trainer planes out there. These same characteristics drastically limit the airplanes aerobatic capabilities. Keep this in mind when choosing your trainer.

See Great Planes Trainers Selling on Ebay!

Who has the BEST trainer?

A special bond exists between an RC Pilot and their first plane. After all, it was this plane that introduced them to the exiting world of RC Airplanes!

Tell us about your first trainer and why you think it would be the best choice for a beginner. Please provide much detail as your review may very likely influence one's decision!

See Trainers recommended by other visitors.

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