Thanks for everyone's contribution in helping me find my first IMAC model i ended up with a second hand 30cc Extra, so cant wait to get that in the air.

My question is in IMAC because its not like 3D where your pushing the limts of your models i have seen people fly everything from 1.500mm to 3 meter models. When do you decide you need a bigger plane and what are the perks for IMAC not 3D ?

There are several threads on this topic over in the IMAC General Discussions forum.

That said, you can do well with just about any plane in Basic and Sportsman. A bigger plane in Intermediate and up will help you and the judges see the plane better as the maneuvers get bigger.

In the end, however, it all comes down to who's on the sticks. I had one of the top unlimited pilots fly my old 70cc Extra, and it was quite the sight.

The bigger planes are not as twitchy and do not get bumped around by wind so they look smoother, and of course depends who is flying and how much practice and effort they have put in to the setup.
Judges perception and being able to see the smaller planes is a factor as well.

That is a tricky question that has been debated over the years. The core IMAC guys will tell you that the size aircraft you are flying makes no difference, that you can be just as competitive with smaller planes. That being said, in the lower classes I absolutely agree 110%. Once you get to intermediate you had better prepare to fly no smaller than a 35%! This is not a popular opinion by the majority, but just ask the majority of them what they fly. I would bet that 8 out of ten fly 40% size planes! There is a reason that almost all of the upper class pilots fly large planes that are specked out with 4 cylinder motors. If being competitive or consistently winning is not your goal then don’t worry about it. No matter what you fly, IMAC or precision aerobatics will make you a better pilot!

Avi8tor1, If you are just beginning in IMAC and you will be flying in the Basic or Sportsman Class, you'll most likely want to stay with something that requires minimal investment until your sure IMAC is something you want to stay with.
Based on my experience in IMAC, there is no question that bigger planes perform better however, in the beginning you'll most likely be concentrating more on your flying skills.
If you wind up staying with IMAC (your gonna love it), You'll have time to look around, talk to other competitors and make more informed decisions about the plane you want.
Just my thinking

When you get into the Senior IMAC age group,,, Bigger planes are easier to see


BV

Lol

Originally Posted by Bill Vargas

When you get into the Senior IMAC age group,,, Bigger planes are easier to see


BV

Age of 40+ = 40% er

Learn to fly what you have well. Get the basics down. Once you start losing contest due to the plane, but another. Hint: it's not the plane for the most part. AJ will beat you with a glow powered Goldberg Extra.

eheliflyer, agree 100%. Here in the NE region, there is 1 intermediate and 1 advanced flying 35%. All others intermediate and up are flying 40% planes -- at least at the events I was at. It should be noted that both of those 35% planes are extremely competitive and compete very well regardless of their size -- great pilots!

This season, I made the leap from a 70cc plane to a 42% plane, and I moved up to intermediate. Biggest observation for me was the bigger plane allowed me to move farther out and make maneuvers bigger. Allows me to not rush. I often practiced with the smaller plane, but I found it harder to maintain the lines in the wind. Your 30cc plane will absolutely be fine for basic and sportsman. Go up to intermediate, and your workload will increase.

YMMV

- Dave

I would say once you get to a contest, you'll see what your fellow flyers are doing, and get a feel for what might work better for you and your goals.

It's true most any plane will fly in the Basic class, and with a good pilot and the right plane, will do very well(which is why they automatically move the top 3 Basic pilots of the year up to Sportsman).

What I've found this year in watching bigger planes in the 40% range, (I'm flying a 27% 50cc, and a 33% 100cc), the pilots have a bit of advantage as they can fly higher, and have more time to execute the larger more complex maneuvers, particularly in the upper classes(int, adv, and unlimited), which for some of those maneuvers there's no way around it, say on a downline where there's multiple snaps, rolls, point-rolls, etc.. all on one line.. the presentation just looks better when a plane can reach those altitudes easily and can be easily seen.

We have one guy that's flying an ExtremeFlight 88" Laser with a DA70cc twin in Sportsman, that's a phenomenal pilot, he's directly competing with a few other Sportsman pilots that are flying 150cc-200cc 40+percent size planes... and he's now in first place in our region(Southwest)... so it's possible to go quite a way with something that's not 40 percent... but on the other side of the coin, you can be outgunned pretty easily too, as BigDave said in the previous post, the maneuvers in Intermediate are probably better performed, and easier to accomplish with a larger plane.

So yeah, I would say get to your first contests, get a feel for how the game works, and what you're up against, and learn. I've been loving the game all year. We have our regional finals in Havasu next weekend. I'm a first year Basic pilot, in second place, and I'm down from first place by 15points... so this weekend will be the showdown... I might be able to grab first place, I might not, but at least I'm trying. Myself and my friend have battled it out all year... and we're calling Havasu the Southwest Basic Shootout... as either of us could get it. Either way we've both worked pretty hard to make it happen, and had a ton of support from the whole community, friends, and family.

It's a ton of fun, and I say fly what you got, and you'll see where you're next step will go.

Your location isn't visible, but it would be cool to know where you're at, so we know what region you'll be flying in. There's just a great group of guys all over the place... and room for many more!

go out and have fun first. there's a huge learning curve that applies to all airplanes regardless of size. yes, bigger airplanes do have an advantage but they are not a substitute for good flying.

Originally Posted by FGNewbie

go out and have fun first. there's a huge learning curve that applies to all airplanes regardless of size. yes, bigger airplanes do have an advantage but they are not a substitute for good flying.

Best advice so far right there!

Get to the bottom of the gas can!

Thanks everyone for the advice, I cant wait to get started in the sport and maybe one day bring home the odd trophy or two . I wish i could have started earlier than in my mid twentys but will plan to go out and practice often as i can. I have been flying models since I was six and was just over flying circuits and basic rolls and inverted ect, I wanted to fly precision and push myself to fly better and perfect each routine.

I am based in New Zealand which all we fly is IMAC and Pattern but there is talks of starting 3D, Because there is a small market for IMAC planes, models like extreme flight, Ajs ect need to be imported.