RC Airplane World Forum

Hello all,
I have already had experience in flying a trainer, plus quite extensive time on the simulator, and would now like to move up to my first warbird.

So far, the choices have been narrowed down to the following:
1) ParkZone Bf-109G
2) ParkZone Fw-190
3) Alfa Models Fw-190A-8

The PZ Fw-190 is the cheapest of the three, but after some research on online forums there seem to be complaints concerning the aircraft (riddled with flying problems, apparently)
How true is this?

Has anyone flown the Bf109? How does it compare to the Fw190? I don't have a transmitter/reciever lying around, so should I get PnP or BnF?

Or should I just go down the ARF route (more expensive?)

Any help is much appreciated, thanks!

Hey NV92 welcome,

PZ have some pretty good offers for plug and play planes, you get what you pay for really, the 190 is a good plane and you get all you need ready to fly within the hour of getting it home.

There are plenty of better products out there but as you say its more $$ and f you are willing to add all your own hardware then you get what you want. But these plug and play foamies are sweet i really enjoy them, i have had the corsair as well and now i'm getting a texan and a spitfire lol

Depending on who you want to buy from you can get some really good deals, depending on where your willing to buy from, there is a guy thats test flys all his products and you can buy the 2.4 plug and play warbirds from him they are well priced as well. Not sure if i can post his webby here but i'll ask Pete or maybe PM me if interested..

Good luck

Von

Welcome nitevision92!

From Von:

Post away Von, I'd be interested to see that too

As Von's already said, the PZ warbirds are excellent little fliers and very popular. I've just ordered the PNP Mustang BL and am very much looking forward to it. The Bf109 looks a very nice plane indeed, but is it available yet? And also I guess it comes down to your budget, it's quite a bit pricier than the others, no?

As for the radio issue, it really depends on how much you see yourself getting in to the hobby. If you can see yourself building up a collection of planes (almost inevitable!) then I would recommend investing in a 2.4 gig set with multi-model memory (something like the Spektrum DX6i) and then buying either the BNF or PNP version plane. That's what I do, it's so convenient and saves you building up a collection of trannies
Don't forget though that a PNP requires that you buy a suitable receiver for the plane so check out the prices of those also before you make the decision. Personally I use the Spektrum AR6200 but for a park flyer you could get away with a cheaper option.

I haven't had experience of Alpha Models so wouldn't like to comment on that FW190, but I do know that you won't get much better value for money than from a PZ plane, regardless of whether it's RTF, PNP or BNF.

ARF is a good option if you want to have a gentle introduction to model building, but ARFs usually work out more expensive because you need to buy all the components separately, and this is inevitably more pricey unless you can find a good combo deal.

Many thanks for the warm welcome
Right now, I'm leaning towards the PZ Fw190 due to cost, but am still a little wary of its purported "problems". Is there a particular pattern to this, i.e a batch of "lemons", or is it just a random draw? Hopefully these have been resolved...

On the Bf109, I could either:
1) PnP, then equip with a basic Tx/Rx combo (not sure what to get)
2) BnF, with a Spektrum DX-5e
3) PnP, with a Spektrum DX-5e and a compatible Rx.
Choices, choices

Pete: yes, the 109 does seem a tad pricier than the rest, Maybe it's a newer model?

What are the problems associated with the PZ FW190? I've only ever heard good things about the Mustang and Spitfire, but come to think about it I don't think I've ever read an FW190 review!

Yes, the Bf109 is ParkZone's newest release - my good friend Matt of Red Rocket Hobbies has it listed as being available late September, so it should be out soon enough. Maybe other PZ stockists will get it earlier but Matt is a big Horizon Hobby dealer so he should be one of the first.

I can see the attraction of the DX5e - the pricetag! And with a receiver it's still under $100. But if you can stretch to the DX6i then the 10 model memory is well worth it, especially given that the range of PNP/BNF planes is increasing all the time. It's a big difference in price though - it would be worth checking out eBay and maybe trying to pick up a second hand one.
But the DX5e is a nice little Tx for basic needs, no arguments there

Your budget is going to play a big part - a Bf109 PNP is the same as the FW190 RTF at 179.99, and you'll have to add the $99.99 on to that for the DX5e Tx/Rx combo bringing it to 279.98; the Bf109 BNF plus just the Tx would be 299.98 - over 100 bucks more than the FW190. (I'm going on Matt's prices there...)

My memory fails me, since I did my research a while back; but I *do* remember one guy on the RC Universe forums who had crashed his Fw into a tree. He blamed the electronics, saying the wiring was shoddy. The plane was dead-stick and uncontrollable by the way. Another's broke in half right behind the wing as a result of a cartwheel, and his replacement fuselage apparently was bent off-centre. Some complaints about balance too, but I suspect that's the result of improper assembly...

Anyway, I trust PZ to have ironed these out, since there has been a lot of praise for the 190. Still, the '109's sleek looks are a killer, especially from head-on. It's still the cost that's putting me off slightly, though. D'you think there'll be offers during Xmas? It's the shipping that really worries me though, I'm currently living in Malaysia and shipping costs will surely give a headache, especially since RC aircraft boxes are so big.

How difficult are these warbirds to handle, really? Are they like the "go where you point it" type?

Ah, Malaysia! Yes, that will push up the shipping a bit unfortunately. It´s impossible to know what the dealers are going to do around the Christmas period, especially given the recent economic downturn. The main risk with buying near Christmas is availability, especially with a newly released plane.

If you´ve mastered a trainer and have lots of sim time then you´ll be fine with a warbird. They do tend to go where you point them, and ailerons make for smooth flying. It´s generally the faster flying speed that catches out the beginner, rather than the flying characteristics, but being low wing they obviously don´t show the same stable traits as a high wing trainer.

Ah, yes, I thought about that too.

Main concern now is with shipping and replacement parts, since they're coming all the way across the ocean and are proprietary, maintenance *might* be a problem. That's why I was so concerned about the negative reports concerning the '190.

Looks like with shipping factored in, the Bf109 juuust about falls outside the budget. I'll have to wait and see.

To be honest I kinda gave up on the ARF idea, it's a jungle of parts out there...

Some comments for whatever they are worth.

A fellow I know very well here needed a battery pack 3S 2P rated at about 4,000 mAh. The local hobby dealer wanted $250.00

He browsed the internet and found an outfit in Hong Kong.

He placed an order via the internet for that same battery pack and added two more battery packs rated at 2,400 mAh and an ARF 40 size Citabria to make the minimum they were shipping free of transportation charges anywhere in North America.

His total cost $250.00 Canadian money and he received his order in two weeks.

Draw your own conclusion but a true story.

He put in the servos, battery and receiver and flew the Citabria just a few days ago. I have pictures.

KILOP

Edited to add pics.

I found a dealer in Singapore, but unfortunately they only list the Parkzone Vapor... I've fired off a question to them about the availability of the '109 and '190, fingers crossed...