Gas RC trainer airplanes

Gas rc trainer airplanes ('trainers') are designed to make learning to fly as easy as possible, and all trainers have the same basic characteristics. The most obvious of these are the high wing design and noticeable dihedral, which is the term that refers to the upward 'V' angle of the wings, when viewed from the front.

This high wing / high dihedral set-up gives the airplane a lot of natural stability in the air, which results in a very stable and forgiving flight characteristic - exactly what you need when learning to fly radio control airplanes!

Gas rc trainers are typically designed around the '40' or '46' size (.40/.46 cu.in) 2 stroke glow plug engine, and are 4 channel with control to throttle, aileron, elevator and rudder. The wingspan will typically be around the 60 inch mark.

The airplanes can be purchased in kit form or RTF/ARF (Ready To Fly / Almost Ready To Fly). RTF airplanes are the better choice if you have no desire to do any model building, and you just want to get flying as quickly as possible. The primary differences between kit, ARF and RTF are:

Kit: the plane needs building from plans, you'll need to purchase quite a few extras and have a good knowledge of model building techniques.
ARF: the plane will be about 80% finished, needing some final assembly work, taking maybe a couple of evenings to complete.
RTF: the plane is completely finished, with motor and rc gear fully installed. You just need to buy batteries for the rc gear.

So you can see that an RTF gas rc trainer is the best choice if you just want to get flying with the least amount of fuss and in the shortest possible time.

Shown below are just a few currently popular gas rc trainer airplanes...

This NexStar Select 46 from Hobbico is packed with unique features to help you get flying as quickly, easily and safely as possible. Fully RTF and a great introduction to gas rc airplanes. Read more...
Hanger 9's trusted Alpha Trainer gets a revamp with this new edition; the same basic features as its predecessor are there, but the big difference is that this plane now comes with the latest 2.4GHz DSM2 radio technology, for interference-free flying. Read more...
A Piper Cub like this one makes an excellent scale trainer airplane, and is a popular subject. Modeled from a real-life trainer, the Cub is very stable and forgiving in the air, making it easy to fly.
An exception to the high wing rule, this P-51 Mustang PTS Trainer is a scale warbird that's been tamed to fly slower and more stable than such airplanes usually do. Sold as a legitimate gas rc trainer, this is an excellent alternative to the norm. Read more...

See these gas rc trainer airplanes in more detail.

Why high wing airplanes make the best trainers

Gas rc trainer airplanes have a high wing for one simple reason - stability. In a high wing plane the weight of the fuselage below the wing will always act to stabilize the model in flight. After a turn, for example, the plane will naturally want to level itself because it is 'bottom heavy'. Airplanes of this design are therefore perfect for the novice radio control pilot.

Low wing designs are of course the opposite; the airplane is 'top heavy' because the fuselage is above the wing and so the plane will not want to right itself so much. For this reason, planes of a low wing design aren't as stable as high wing planes. There are some low wing trainers available of course, like the Hanger 9 PTS Mustang, for example.

Between the two there are the mid wing designs, where the wing is located approximately halfway between top and bottom of the fuselage. These airplanes give a good balance of stability and maneuverability, and are perfectly suited to smooth aerobatic performance because of the generally symmetric design. The 'Extra' is a well known mid-wing airplane, but not really a trainer!

Other factors to consider...

Wing shape

When choosing between model rc airplanes, wing shape (airfoil) is another factor to consider. This airfoil shape is the shape seen when looking at the wing 'end-on'. There are basically 3 types - flat bottomed, semi-symmetrical and symmetrical.
An airplane with a flat wing section will have the most lift at the slowest airspeed - obviously good for the beginner.
A symmetrical airfoil provides equal amounts of lift regardless of whether the plane is right-side up or upside down - perfect for aerobatics.
An airplane with a semi-symmetrical airfoil holds advantages of both flat and symmetrical, so is ideal for the 'sport' flyer. Rarely will a trainer be of a symmetrical airfoil; the most common will be flat bottomed.
The 3 airfoil shapes are (very approximately) illustrated below:

Dihedral

Dihedral is the upward 'V' angle of the wings from the fuselage, looking at the wings from the front. Greater dihedral increases the airplane's stability, as it will naturally want to center itself to its lowest point.
Model airplanes that are designed for aerobatics will have very little or no dihedral, so maneuvers can be executed without the tendency for the model to keep righting itself.
Ones that are designed to be trainers will always have noticeable dihedral.

Landing gear (undercarriage) layout

While some models have no landing gear, there are two choices otherwise; tricycle or taildragger.
Airplanes with a tricycle landing gear ('trike') have two main wheels beneath the wing and a nose wheel, which may be linked to the rudder to give accurate steering control on the ground. The plane is held level and is easier to steer, making it better suited to beginners.
A taildragger has the same two main wheels but instead of a nose wheel, has a much smaller wheel located beneath the fin. Taildraggers can be harder to steer on the ground, but the lack of nose wheel means slightly less weight and drag in the air.
Of course, the type of landing gear will be determined by your choice of plane - for example, a Cub will always be a taildragger, whereas most non-scale trainers will be trikes.