Abraxxas

I am currently building a Stinger .10 to play with as I have wanted one for years now but just never got one for some reason, LOL. I fly mainly 3D stuff these days and obviously want it overpowered enough to hover at 1/4 to 1/2 throttle. Only one I ever saw fly was at the Byrons Expo years ago and it had a .40 with a tuned pipe on it... a bit of overkill weight-wise. I am not all that familiar with the thrust of smaller engines but is a .25 what I am looking for? Or will a .15 do it? I also like the idea of a .30 four stroke, but is that too much? The plane is not really designed for 3D but I have modified the tail to include fair sized counterbalances, widened the angle on the inside of the elevators to permit at least 45deg of rudder travel each way, made ailerons with roughly twice the cord of the supplied ones and am trying to build it light. Am looking forward to flying this Any comments on engine size or any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks much

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Abraxxas:

I don't claim to be the world's best builder, but when you've been doing it as long as I have you either get pretty good or you give it up. And I've not given it up.

Now. If we are talking about the Lanier Stinger .10, I had one with a hot Magnum 15 mounted. Can you say "Dog?"

And don't blame the engine. When I got rid of the Stinger I bought a Tequila Sunrise .25 and stuck the Magnum .15 in it. A larger plane, and the Magnum flew it well. But it almost would not fly the "Stone Stinger," the "Lanier Lump."

So what I am saying, from my experience, is that if you've not already gotten the Stinger, get something else. There may well be many who had good experiences with the plane, but I wont get another.

And there's way too much plastic in it for me.

Bill.

William Robison

My Feedback: (3)

Abraxxas:

Sorry. Just re-read your post.

Hang the .25 on it and be prepared for nasty tip stalls. The Stinger bites careless drivers.

Bill.

AndyW

My Feedback: (1)

I agree with Bill,

The Stinger in the larger sizes had a reasonable wing loading. That did not translate well in the small one. It was just too heavy. If you can get the plans and cowl and canopy and if you can build light,, say to a 7 or 8 ounce/sq ft. loading, put a Norvel .15 on it, you might have what you want. The Norvels are the lightest to power to weight ratio of any engine. I had a Pitts bipe with an Enya 11CX on it. It flew OK but not spectacular. I found that the Norvel .15 weighed the same so in it went. While I couldn't do 3D, at least now I had a plane that would do basic aerobatics.

How to build light? Use the Norvel .15 instead of a .10. You can build to plans but eliminate the plastic and use Sig contest wood or the softest, punkest wood you can find,,,, except for spars. Use Litespan or Ultracote Lite. Use micro servos, receiver and a small pack, like a 250 mAh nimh ( or smaller) and field charger. Building light allows you to use a lighter landing gear and save even more weight, even if it's just a little. The lighter you get, the lighter you can go. It's an accelerating process. The reverse is true as well. Heavy plane, needs bigger engine, equals more weight equals larger tank,,, more weight, and on and on. You know,,, gravity sucks etc. etc.

dennis

My Feedback: (90)

Your getting some very good advice here on the stinger. Most of Laniers stuff is really heavy. To much heavy plastic and luan ply.
I had the Stinger 10 and powered it with a Fox 15BB. But I cored the wing and threw most of the kit away. I got involved in some really unusual building sequences to make that sucker light. So many changes were made that it fundamentally bore no resembalence to the origional kit. How did it fly ,super The fox on 30% is a real thrill and to it's credit with proper break in and set up was extremely reliable.
Only downside is my buddy did the same thing but went with a Cox Conquest. A slightly heavier motor but it really did haul a.. with it.
My recommendation is to forget the larger motors the wing area simply isn't there and you'll have a brick instead of a plane. Swap out the bad stuff in the kit and lighten everything that you can use a light 15 the Norvel is excellent and it should perform reasonably well.
Better yet get something a little newer and built lighter to start.

Abraxxas

I greatly appreciate all the comments and suggestions... I know it will be heavy, I'm not looking for a feather-like light flying airplane that will do everything 3D, I have a Funtana for that. I dont care if it flys "perfect" by todays standards, its 35 bucks and I am a greatly experienced pilot that can deal with tip stalls, in fact a heavier plane tumbles and does lomchevaks better, handle wind better, track better at high speeds and have more momentum for large scale aerobatics. Heavy planes arent all bad if you know what you want. When I was 18 I put a .15 wired wide open in a 24" span two channel .049 pylon racer... rolls were a blur, fell out of the sky like brick when the engine quit... dive down at a 45deg angle and flair at the bottom to land, but man was it fun. I have planes for most of what I want to do, just always wanted one of these for fun... heavy or not, big engine, little "handfull" of an airplane = fun. I appreciate all the warnings and am well aware of what it will be, just wondering how big I have to go with the engine to get crazy enough for me... you guys are saying its a dog with a .15, that tells me I need at least a .25 to get what I want, or maybe a .30 four stroke with a larger prop like I initially thought I think. Thanks again for the input

Lynn S

I have a Stinger .10, but have not started building it yet. It looks like a nice kit. I'll have to find a .25 for it.

Lynn S

I just noticed the wing does seem rather small for this plane.It is about the same size as the 1/2 A SST wing. I guess Bipe Flyer can always cut a larger wing for it. A .25 with this wing would be a heavy load.