Home > Aerobatic Planes
Use the left column to find the plane you're looking for!
  
Lightweight Packages | Personal Ratings
Builders Kits | ARF Pros & Cons | Conclusion
LIGHTWEIGHT PACKAGES
We offer products which we have used in competition of giant scale airplanes for several years. These products have a proven history. We can put together a package for any plane which will save pounds of weight and will improve its performance. This includes batteries, spinners, props, engines and everything else to outfit your new plane. Lightweight planes fly better. For some reasons why, CLICK HERE to go to the "Lightweight Planes Fly Better" webpage. This webpage has some examples which may interest you.

GOT A NEW PLANE? Get everything you need to finish it here! Save money and save pounds of weight!! If you have an ARF, it will be heavier than it should be without these parts!!
 
I offer my personal ratings of the planes below
- 3D control surfaces: There is always a compromise between 3D and precision. 3D needs extremely large surfaces with lots of throw and precision is just the opposite.

- 3D flying is very weight and size dependent: These planes can vary greatly in weight depending on how you outfit them. Do your best to make them as light as possible. This means lightweight wing tube, landing gear, batteries, tires, spinner, tailwheel, etc.

- The larger the plane the better it does 3D and precision flying with the same wing loading. A really light 35% plane will fly better than a heavy 40% plane, but it won't fly as well as a reasonably light 40%.

- No plane will fly well if not set up properly. Digital servos, high voltage batteries, radio set up, right thrust, CG, sealed control surfaces, baffled engine cowls, gas/oil ratio and type, propeller and more make a lot of difference to your fingers! - Do not screw around and buy cheap components for your plane or you will be sorry. If you can't afford to buy the right stuff in a certain size class, then stay in the lower class. Go to the highest class that you can afford to do right because the bigger the better. You will have a much better flying plane in a smaller class if done right than in a larger class done on the cheap.
 
BUILDER'S KITS - PROS AND CONS
PROS: The best plane for you is the plane you build for yourself, but only if you are an experienced builder who knows how and where to lighten and strengthen a kit. Most kits need some personal modifications to make the lightest yet strong plane. Note that I didn't say the strongest plane. You want a plane that is just strong enough to do the job, any stronger than necessary is a plane which is too heavy. You must decide how strong and thus how heavy to make the parts to do the job that you have intended. Take the landing gear attachment as an example. Will you make it just strong enough for a gentle landing or strong enough for a hard harrier landing? Your choice, but it's hard to change your mind later. Designed for gentle landings means repairs to the landing gear plate, engine, prop and cowl if the landing is not so gentle. If you make too many parts too heavy, the plane is a dog.

CONS: It will take a lot of hours to build the plane. Those hours could be spread over a 4 month period or a 4 year period. Repairs are very difficult. It you whack a wing, what are you going to do? This will take many hours to repair, especially if you need parts. If you had a builder make it for you, then you have to get in line again to have it made again. If you want the best, then you have to build it yourself, or go to a builder and have it built. Either way it's going to take many hours to build and thus there is a lot of money invested in the plane. You may have so much time or money invested that you may want to sell it to someone with a lot of money, someone who can afford to lose the plane more than you. If you have the money or the time and the skills, then a kit is the way to go, however, you will need two or three planes which are close in size so that you can have one sit for months on end waiting for repairs.
 
ARFs PROS AND CONS
PROS: The quickest way to go and very inexpensive. The Asian builders are paid $2 or so per day. If it takes 8 weeks to build a plane, then that's only $80 or so. That's cheap! If you do have an accident, then repair parts are fairly easy to come by. Most people cannot build an airplane as well as an Asian ARF. The quality is going up and up all the time, so they are a great way to go. I greatly prefer ARF planes over kits. Some kits are better than others.

CONS: The quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Quality is getting better all the time. Chinese planes are the most advanced followed by Thailand and then followed by South America. Now, having said that, the Thailand produced Composite ARF planes are a higher quality plane, probably due to the owner living in the shop, while importers who aren't on the production floor on a daily basis have less control on quality. Thailand is not as developed as China, so there are fewer NC machines and the aluminum heat treating is not up to the standards of China (though Chinese aluminum is pretty bad), much less the US. The adhesives used now are much better than before, the wood is better, the machining is better, the assembly is better, the paint is better, and the hardware is better. The covering now used in many planes is Ultracote which is FAR superior to the "Chinacote" or "Procote" or whatever they call it. The Comp ARF planes are pretty good quality but I think that the 3W planes have much higher quality paint jobs. The paint jobs on the Comp ARF planes are done in the mold so it saves weight but the seams are evident as they can't be sanded. The 3W planes are painted out of the mold, so the seams are sanded and the colors shine better. The paint jobs are beautiful, but alas, they are much heavier. I would rather have a Comp ARF plane than a 3W plane because of the weight savings.

CONSTANT QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS - TBM provides feedback to the manufacturers for improvements which are being made on an ongoing basis. Each batch of airplanes are better than the last. Constant improvements are the nature of the giant scale industry.

ABOVE AVERAGE ARF PLANES: SD-Models are the best value in a plane in my opinion. They have the lowest pricing, and offer a light yet strong and good flying plane, though their instruction manuals could be better. They boast the lowest wing loadings in most cases, and thus they fly very light. Garrett Morrison is one of the best pilots in the world and he is helping out tremendously with the design and testing of the new planes, though Garrett is no longer associated with the company. They use Ultracote. They should be one to compare others against. Aeroworks has their new QB or "Quick Build" line. These are the fastest building planes by far at this time. The hinges are glued in and the canopies are attached. Dietrich Models, SD-Models and others have already announced these upgrades as well. I'm sure everyone will follow the Aeroworks lead. Aeroworks planes historically have been heavier than SD-Models, PAU, and QS planes, though they are addressing this. If you want a plane which is easy to build, well engineered and has the best assembly manual in the business, then Aeroworks is the plane for you. Performance Aircraft Unlimited The aircraft portion of BME is under new ownership. We know the new owner very well and we have great respect for him. We feel that he is a great asset to the company, and we now feel confident in recommending this product line. The name changed from BME airplanes to PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT UNLIMITED (PAU). Some of the current stock will be sold under the BME name, though as new stock and new items arrive, the name will be converting over to PAU. The 50cc Edge they offer is an excellent plane. It is light in weight and is great for hovering. They offer several planes now, and there are plans for expansion.


NOTE: There is some confusion regarding the name of SD-MODEL produced airplanes. You may know their airplanes which were sold under the following the names:

& AVIATION MODELS & TOC1 & EXTREME FLIGHT

The above names belonged to the US importers who imported SD-Model airplanes. The company in China has always used the US name of SD-Model. Each importer had their own name. Each importer brought planes into the US, and distributed them under their own name. SD-Model simply manufactured planes. They did not market them themselves or put their name on them in the past. These models continue to be imported into the US as they have been for many years. SD Model is a solid company and they will continue to produce planes for the US market for the foreseeable future. TBM has and will continue to offer SD-Model manufactured airplanes. TBM feels that these are currently the best value in an airplane. They have the best combination of price, wing loading, power to weight, flight characteristics, durability, ease of construction, value, quality, workmanship, design, inventory/availability, selection, spare parts, hardware, and tech support. While their competitors may have an edge in one area or another, all in all, I feel that these planes are the best buy when all aspects are considered.

WHICH IS BEST? - All of the planes that we offer fly very well. You will not be disappointed with any of them. If you are primarily interested in 3D flying, then the Yaks are the best. They hover pretty much all by themselves. They fly more slowly due to the large cowl, large fuselage, and thicker wing. The SD-Models 35% Yak has the largest wingspan in its class and the lowest wingloading. If you want to fly with more speed, fly larger maneuvers, and do snaps much more easily, then the Extra's are the best choice. The Extra 260 is a mid wing version of the line of Extra planes, and it has the best pitch and roll coupling of any of the Extras. While the Yaks are extremely stable, they are difficult to snap. The Extra's are less stable and are easy to snap. So, get a Yak for 3D and get an Extra 260 for IMAC.
 
Conclusion
Buying a plane is like buying a car, golf clubs or a tennis racquet. There are subtle differences in them, and the right one for you is determined by your unique abilities and preferences. You are best off talking to an experienced rep from TBM because we can ask the right questions and put you into the model which is outfitted with the components which best fits your needs. We point out an endless amount of variations in the planes, servos, engines, and electrical systems on the website, but we can't put in perspective which advantages outweigh which for you without a one on one consultation. So please read up as much as possible so you have a good knowledge as to what to look for, and then call or e-mail us for our recommendation for you.

GOT A NEW PLANE? Get everything you need to finish it here! Save money and save pounds of weight!! If you have an ARF, it will be heavier than it should be without these parts!!
 

WARNING - Gasoline and Turbine powered aircraft are not manufactured to withstand unlimited G's. Any aircraft can fail, be it a wing folding up or a fuselage breaking in half under too high of a load. Just as any full size aircraft, model aircraft have a maximum G rating. Because you are not in the plane flying it and experiencing the G's and reading the G-meter, it is more difficult to judge the G's on the aircraft, and it is very easy to exceed the limits of the aircraft. Understand that if you perform a snap roll, parachute, wall, blender, knife edge loop, or pull hard on the elevator at almost any speed, you can be putting in excess of 15 G's, even in excess of 30 G's, and most aircraft can only designed to take 10-12 G's. If you perform any violent maneuver, you can break your plane. When I perform hard maneuvers, especially for the first time on an airframe, I am prepared for a failure and am prepared for it as best I can be. This mainly includes performing the maneuver far enough away from spectators that in event of a failure that I am not endangering others. In addition, be prepared for the manufacturer to not pay for a new airframe which is broken during flight. It is common practice for any manufacturer to not replace an airframe which breaks in the air or upon landing. I have only seen manufacturers replace airframes when they have received many of the same failures and the manufacturer determines that there was a design or manufacturing error. If you break an airframe, and you are the only one to do so, then it is probably not the fault of the manufacturer. Please fly safely, and avoid full throttle operation other than at low airspeeds.