What a coincidence, I just got one of these planes.I got it for 50 dollars built from our local hobby shop(no motor or electronics) but it had fell from the ceiling where it was hanging and it put a bunch of holes in the wing and broke it and a little bit of the fuselage where the wing mounts.Even with the ugly patches(couldnt find the right color of dope) I still love the looks of this plane.And it definately does have a very slow roll rate.The aileron linkages inside the wing being sloppy and not having much throw on mine doesn't help matters at all.I did one roll, I didn't want to try another!
This thing is built like a tank, I was actually suprised to see it come off the ground with the Saito fa-80 I orignally had on it.I took it out to the field with wind gusts of 30mph just to try to get the motor running as good as possible and do some little taxi tests maybe a small hop and possibly try to fly it if the wind died down.But I figured it would fly like a brick since it is heavy.I was doing a fairly high speed taxi at a bit over 1/4 throttle and the stupid thing just jumped right off the ground.That sure does get your heart pumping when you take off without wanting to!So I poured the coals to it and spent what seemed like 5 minutes trying to use my left hand to trim the ailerons while keeping my eyes on the plane!I do this all the time and usually have no problem, but I was a nervous wreck so I just couldnt get it.
I have a Saito 100 on it now and it is a nice choice for this plane, it is more than enough power.Which is just what I want.And you definately want to land this one with some power on.It loses speed fast being a bi-plane and a fairly heavy one at that.
Some problems I am having are noseovers being very easy when taking off and even when I taxi.I have to keep full back elevator to prevent it.Apperantly the landing gear are mounted a little too far back, so I will have to remount them.I also have to move my elevator servo control horn quite a few teeth, I have alot more down than up, it makes for an interesting ride.
Now one of the real problems I am having is figuring out a good guide wire set up.The first flight we just used nylon string just to get it ready to fly.Now we have some turnbuckles and wire and tonight when I was just running up the engine for about a minute caused one of them to fall off so I ended up supergluing all the nuts on them to keep them from turning free and also taping them just to err on the safe side.Also the on both sides of the wings the 2 wires going from the top to bottom wing rub against each other so I put tape between them because I don't want any radio interference.So I am still trying to figure out a good way to prevent them from rubbing without making it ugly by using tape between the wires.
The biggest problem is that the wings are sitting cockeyed which doesn't help this thing fly straight at all.So I need to figure out how to get them straight when the bolt holes are already in place.My best bet is probably just loosening the bolts and measuring from wing to tail on each side until I get it straight then tightening it down and hoping it stays like that after putting the guide wires on it.Maybe I should replace the nylon bolts with metal bolts so I can get it a little tighter to keep the wing from sliding.
So there are a few things to iron out but I am in love with this plane.And it is hard to believe the darn thing was built in the 70's and it is still kicking.If only I could find the same colors of dope to recover the wings, then it would be perfect.The closest color the hobby shop had wasn't even close enough.But at least there are no holes!
I'll try to post some pictures from its first flight later, the supposed engine tuning and taxi test flight that is.[:-]
By the way I love your signature Stickbuilder.That is a very good way to put it!
