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Learning to fly RC model aircraft is easy or hard, depending on the person or people involved. Everyone is different; therefore every story about learning to fly an RC model is unique. The goal of Model Aviation’s Sport Aviator magazine is to help make each new pilot’s learning experience a success.

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Lucky for us, there are a lot of different trainer aircraft available that suit the needs of the RC student pilot. Up until now, those trainer aircraft resembled the famed full-size basic trainers like those from Cessna and Piper. Ask full-size airplane pilots the question “what’s the best trainer?” and you’ll likely get a lot of different answers, all with good reasons behind them. Typically, the answers are based on their experiences with two very different looking aircraft; the Piper Cherokee 140, and the Cessna 150/152 series.

  
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Here, I’ve shown you the Top Flite Piper Arrow II (a higher powered version of the Cherokee), which is a kit, and the Hangar 9 Cessna 182 which is an ARF. These models are considered scale; definitely not trainer models. Why? Because of many things, but two main factors stand out. First, to make them scale, they need to have an outline true to the full size aircraft. Modeling the full size aircraft means reducing the size which dramatically changes its ability to fly, and not for the better. Secondly, scale models have a great deal of detail to make them look like the full size aircraft. Such items as rivet detail, cockpit interior, and hatch openings make the model a masterpiece. But they do so at the expense of adding weight. Heavy airplanes take a lot of skill to fly.

In the model aircraft industry, the practice has been to offer trainer aircraft that look as close to the full-size trainers as possible, but to make the necessary changes so that they’re light enough to not only fly well, but are practical to purchase and durable enough to withstand the bumps and bruises that come with the sport.

 
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The results are closely related to the aircraft in these photos here. On the left is the Hangar 9 Value Series Cherokee 40, and on the right is the Hangar 9 Value Series Cessna 40 (Cessna 152 look alike). Both of these models fly very well and are considered advanced trainers because of their semi-symmetrical airfoils. Judging them from their looks, their flat fuselage sides and rough engine openings separate them from being scale models; they are instead referred to as boxy or blocky.

Sounds like a bad thing doesn’t it? Well let me tell you that models have been built like this for years and have trained a lot of people to fly. The basic trainer concept has been explored enough that not only are there a variety of sizes from which to choose, but you can also fine-tune your trainer selection so that its qualities suit your goals and aptitude as an RC pilot.

It’s important to evaluate a student RC pilot before a recommendation is made to what basic trainer model aircraft is best for them. If a RC student pilot is totally fresh, then they might take longer to teach. In that case I would recommend a model that has great slow-flight handling characteristics.

Every student pilot is different. Their abilities and experiences define their best learning process. For instance, someone with experience flying a full-size aircraft might learn to fly an RC model faster than a person with no piloting experience because they know the limits and language. If another person has video game experience, then their eye-hand coordination skills would give them an edge and therefore they would advance more quickly. Experience flying an RC Simulator gives most student pilots a good head start. In any case, I would recommend a trainer that has more advanced handling characteristics. Such an airplane would teach them to respect the capabilities and limitations of each aircraft, while at the same time offer versatility to teach more than just the basics.

The “Advanced” Basic Trainer

Don’t let the word “advanced” in this context scare you. Its meaning here doesn’t have anything to do with the pilot’s abilities. Advancements in technology from within the sport have brought us better products that are precision manufactured and engineered to a higher standard. The results are airplanes that fly better, engines that are easier to start, and radio equipment that is versatile and reliable.

Horizon Hobby combined all of their knowledge and then did some more homework on how to create a “next level” trainer – an RC basic trainer that satisfies not just the needs of the student pilot, but the needs of intermediate and advanced pilot as well. In other words, you buy one model that can fly like a basic trainer, then easily upgrades to fly at higher performance levels as its pilot’s skill progresses.

Horizon coined the acronym “PTS” for Progressive Trainer System; which simply put means that they’ve developed an RC aircraft package that’s not only an all-in-one; it’s an aircraft that will grow with the pilot as skills progress.

The idea of a progressive trainer isn’t a new one, that’s why Horizon did it one better. Most basic trainers are high wing aircraft with tri-cycle landing gear; meaning that they sit level on the ground and use a nose wheel. They usually look like low-performance, some say “boring,” aircraft meant for doing putt-putt style flying. They are great at making low, slow circles.

Tail-dragger aircraft, those that rest with the tail section on the ground and have a tail wheel, are often overlooked as basic trainers because ground and take-off handling of these aircraft require extra skills to manage. However, high-performance, propeller-driven aircraft rarely have tri-cycle landing gear. So if you were going to design a cool looking trainer aircraft, the last thing you’d want it to look like is a trainer, right?

The design team at Horizon took a long hard look at a lot of tail dragger aircraft. There was a lot to choose from; many of them though had the wing not on the top of the fuselage, but on the bottom. Low wing models are what most student pilots aspire to fly. Therefore a model progressive trainer would likely have to be a low-wing tail dragger aircraft. Therein lay the challenge. Make a low wing tail dragger model that flies like a basic trainer, but later on can be upgraded to a higher performance aircraft.

 
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The P-51 Mustang PTS from Hangar 9 is the conclusion of all the development study in PTS aircraft by Horizon Hobby. In the above photographs, on the left is the Mustang PTS and on the right is the 1.50 size Hangar 9 P-51 Mustang ARF. As you can see, little in the way of looks was given up to make the PTS model look like a scale version of the same aircraft.

Believe it or not, the Mustang PTS is a basic trainer, and is offered as a ready to fly (RTF) RC aircraft that can be assembled in 30 minutes and flown just as soon as the transmitter and receiver batteries are charged. Yes, it’s a basic trainer… and it looks really cool. Who wouldn’t want the most famous fighter aircraft from WWII as a first RC model airplane?

 
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Check out the nice little scale details. From the right angle, it really does look like there’s a 12-cylinder engine packed under the cowling. In reality, what does power this authentic looking Warbird is an engine well proven in performance and ease of handling. The Evolution Engines Alpha engine is made with the highest standards and high quality materials.

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Check out some earlier reviews in Sport Aviator on the Hangar 9 line of traditional trainer aircraft (Arrow and Alpha 40 trainers) and you’ll read just how good an engine this is. It’s designed with the novice pilot in mind so that it’s not only easy to start, but safer and easier to operate.

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The needle valves on the engine are preset at the factory, and then limited to a small range of movement so that small changes can be made without fear of harming the engine. The main needle valve is mounted at the back of the engine, away from the spinning propeller (photo 8). Photo 10 shows the idle mixture adjustment. The blue collar prevents excessively rich or lean mixtures insuring a reliable idle. Even the glow plug is canted aft so that hands are kept well clear when removing the igniter.

Building a Mustang and expecting it to fly as a trainer goes against all tradition in RC modeling. For that matter it goes against tradition in full-size pilot training as well. The trick is to design a model that looks like a Heavy Metal Warbird, but doesn’t fly like one. What did Horizon Hobby do to make this concept work?

Let’s start by looking at the landing gear; sort of from a “ground up” review of the airframe. One Achilles heal of the typical high wing trainer is that it has a high lateral center of gravity; meaning its top heavy. Steer them too sharply on the ground and they easily tip over. Low wing aircraft don’t have much of a problem in this regard.

 
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Tail dragger aircraft are typically a challenge to handle on the ground because they can nose over during taxi, take off and landing. This obviously puts a strain on the airframe, so the pilot carefully manages power and elevator deflection to keep the tail and the nose where they are needed. The Mustang PTS handles this problem in a simple manner by placing heavy-duty wire landing gear as far out on the wing as possible to minimize side-to-side tipping while canting the gear as far forward as possible so that nose-overs are next to impossible. The wheels are large for a model of this size to enhance ground handling.

That pretty much takes care of handling the aircraft on, to, and from the ground. But how can anyone make a P-51 FLY like a basic trainer? Well, the first thing that needs to be done is that it must be built as light as possible. This keeps the wing’s workload down (producing a lower “Wing Loading”) while making the aircraft more responsive and controllable.

Examining the Mustang PTS as closely as possible without tearing away the expertly applied covering was somewhat difficult. Peaking down the fuselage, inside the wing roots, under the servo hatches and feeling under the film covering told a lot about the effort to construct this model as lightly as possible. The balsa wood and plywood parts that make up the airframe structure were cut with a laser. The advantage here is precise fitting of all parts making for a solid assembly that requires less glue to hold it together. Material is removed (we call these lightening holes) wherever it isn’t needed and covered with lightweight heat shrink covering to protect the porous wood parts and streamline the surfaces.

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