ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

Sorry to hear about the cylinder problems. I bought a scratch 'n' dent sale PT-17 from Tower way cheap that is missing the dummy engine and the hardware kit. I had planned on making a dummy engine using Williams Bros. cyliders anyway, since I think GP's dummy engine looks anorexic. IMO, it's the engine on this model that either makes or breaks the whole plane's looks.

I am hopeful that Dan Brett gets WB Model Products cranking out cylinders soon, as I'm sure I will need some spare cylinders sooner or later. Right now I have just enough.

Rick

Nerevar

Carl .. Sorry to hear about your problems with the dummy cylinders.
During the build up I noticed the plastic dummy engine seemed a bit on the thin and flimsy side so I coated the crankcase and inner cylinders with a light coat of epoxy. If that turns out to not be enough, I'm going to keep in mind your fiberglass "fix". I'm mostly concerned about the bottom two cylinders as alot of material had to be cut away to clear the 120.


Rick .. I don't have to worry about not being able to tell mine from the others. I've got my fingerprints on it.
'course it was accidental like you understand.

Fly4Real

My Feedback: (14)

Here is my plane. I've always wanted a Stearman but didn't like the color scheme so I changed it. Recovered the fuse/tail, painted the cowl, struts, gear. Repainted the pilots and modified one to make him look different. My biggest problem was the dummy engine supplied with the kit so I made my own from two half engines from a top-flite giant corsair dummy engine kit. I also don't like the "plastic" look for a scale aircraft so I scuffed the bejesus out of the monokote with the scotch brite pad on a mouse sander. Overall I am very pleased with the results and it flies great. I have a G-23 for power which is plenty. I like to putter around with it and landings are SWEET!

Fly4Real

My Feedback: (14)

Here are the other pics of the recovered Great Planes ARF.

ExperimentalAviator

My Feedback: (15)

Ramon,

The circles on the bottom wing are 6.0" Diam. and the letters are 6.0" tall. A few dollars worth of graphics personalized my Stearman and the vinyl holds up so much better than the stuff that comes with the ARF's.

Fly4Real,

Great job on your Stearman!! Yours is definitely personalized and looks great!

Mike

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

Fly4Real, are those anti-rotation scissors I see on your landing gear? Can you provide a little info on them, and maybe a closeup shot?

Rick

Nerevar

Thanks Mike for the info. I sent an email to Mr Fulmer to ask him about his lettering.

Fly4Real ... Yours with the yellow and blue makes me want to get another one and redo it in that color scheme.
What did you make the dummy air intake on the top of the cowl out of?

Fly4Real

My Feedback: (14)

Here is the closeup of the anti-rotation scissors. They are'nt dead-on scale, I just made them look like pictures I had. They are made from two pieces of balsa cut to shape and a piece of aluminum tube glued to the !QUOT!elbow!QUOT! of the joint. The whole piece is soaked to CA to harden it then is simply glued to the gear strut with gap filling medium CA. After over a hundred landings they have stayed on, which surprised me. I have knocked them off moving the plane around once, but just simply re-glue with CA, no problem.

Fly4Real

My Feedback: (14)

Ramon081850- Here are the pics of the air intake. According to the pictures I took of the real thing, this looks pretty close. I made from to pieces of balsa dowel glued at a 90 degree angle. I then sanded it to shape and made the recess on the front with a dremel "router" bit. The screen texture on the inside was made from a piece of fine netting material my wife had (It was used at a wedding for table decorations). I CA'ed the material to a piece of paper, cut it to shape and then glued it inside the recessed area of the intake.
The entire assembly was hardened with CA lightly filled with balsa filler and then painted. I painted the recessed area flat black and then "dry brushed" the silver over the screen texture which gives it more depth. Hope this helps and good luck with your Stearman!

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Just picked up this AFR yesterday after a mishap with my Edge (4 years old). I had a Saito 1.8 in the Edge and now this engine is freed up. I read thats at least one other person has the same engine in his Stearman.. Of course using Throttle will be a must with the larger engine. I'm just wondering if I shouldn't go for a smaller engine in the first place or just put the larger engine in it and not worry about it. Thanks in advance.

ExperimentalAviator

My Feedback: (15)

I have not had any problems with my 1.80 powered Stearman, now with 14 flights (140+ minutes of air time). I am swinging an APC 18 x 6W prop to keep the thrust up and speed down. I would prefer a 18 x 4 prop but APC does not have one, and I need the weight of the Glass Filled prop for C.G. purposes. I prefer APC props, but since performance is not critical here I need to see if Master Airscrew has one.

I do not use any power setting above 50% except for high angle climbs to altitude for spins. Scale like takeoffs require only 30% power, at best. The big advantage to having a big motor is on the flybys, which require so little power that the sound of the prop can be heard, and overall, the effect is almost real.

I bought the PT-17 because my wife liked it so much. I thought I was going to be bored with this model in short order, but that is not the case. I really enjoy trying to fly it in a scale like manner, and repeated touch and go's are a lot of fun. Sometimes I touch two or three times, but it's still a lot of fun

Here are some pictures from todays flights (downsized for email). All of the Stearman pictures are available in High Resolution if you want a copy. Just let me know.

Mike

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Mike, I think I see your engine mounted inverted? Is that correct? Thanks for the update. I do have a Saito 150 as well so I could switch to that but I received it second hand and I haven't run it yet. Not to mention that a friend of mine bought the same plane as I did yesterday and purchased a Saito 180 because he has the Flair Stearman and wants to use that engine in the Flair when its built. So he plans to break it in in the GP Stearman. I used the 17x8 APC in the Edge and it was a good combination but the Stearman is a different plane so an 18x6 is probably a good choice.

ExperimentalAviator

My Feedback: (15)

I mounted the 1.80 inverted like the instructions call for. I have never had a problem with running a Saito inverted.

I have a Goldberg Sukhoi ARF with the 1.80 and ran the APC 17 x 8 for over a year. Just last week I installed an APC 17 x 6, and My Oh My what a difference that change made. Much, much better for that particular application.

For the Stearman I wanted to slow things down, but the 18 x 6W is a tad too much prop and lugs the 1.80 a bit near full throttle, which increases the operating temperature. That's not good.

If I can find a 18 x 4 prop it will let the 1.80 wind up the RPM's a little more, and not lug the engine as much; thereby lowering the temperature. Not a big deal since I don't need to use full power, but ............

Mike

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Mike you could take that 18x6 and cut about .25 off of each tip making it a 17.5x6.That should keep your engine from getting too warm.

Nerevar

Fly4Real ... Thanks for the pics and info. Yes, it helps.

ghostrider168

Ramon,

I like what you had done with the fly wire. Best looking set up by far. What did you use and can you post some close-up pictures.

Thanks,

Gary

hayman1

My Feedback: (5)

Has anyone powered the PT-17 with the Evo-26,I have just picked up this arf and would like to go gas and would like to have it cowl up as nice as the photo's of the 4 strockers are?This seem's to be a very nice flying plane from all of the post here that I have read,and to have it gas powered would also make this setup a real cool combo. I havn't ordered the engine yet, would like to here some feed back and any opinion would be well excepted.The 1.6 dosn't seem to be any larger than say the Satio in size,but purhaps the exhaust would be the trick to cowl up, any ideas? I've seen a web site with this arf and a Zenoaha 26 installed and the extra weight is needed to balance but the cowl is really opened up to get the muffler and side carb to clear,this is why I ask about the new Evo because of the front centered carb and purhaps a inverted wrap around pitts muffler it all will fit.

gwulle

Hayman1;
I maidened my PT-17 this morning with a Brillelli 25GT gasser and it flew like a dream. I had a OS 120 4 stroke on it and decided that I was not going to like the inverted engine. I bolted the Brillelli to the firewall and the CG was perfect. Flew it with the power just above half throttle with a rich engine(new). I am tickled to death with the combo,especially the way the engine ran. I have never had to adjust the low or high needle setting since it came out of the box. Great engine !!

Gaines

ghostrider168

Gwulle,

I am thinking to do the same. Do you have any photograph of your set up? I really wanted to know what it looks like before I commit.

Thanks,

Gary

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

INTERESTING i OWN THEIR SUPER STEARMAN SAITO 100 FLYS SUPER A LITTLE STEARMAN BOUNCE ON LANDING NOT TOO BAD THOUGH THE COVERING ON THE AILERONS AND ELEV IS TERRIBLE! THOSE WRINKLES WILL NOT LEAVE! ITS 3 YEARS OLD

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

A BIT OF ADVICE THE PLANE IS HEAVY WHEN THE TAIL COMES UP SMOOTHLY APPLY FULL POWER AND RT RUDDER LET IT STAY ON THE MAINS IT WILL FLY OFF WHEN READY. HORSING IT INTO THE AIR WILL SNAP IT. landing is easy just keep a little power on and flair about a foot off the runway and hold back pressure she will settle. do not try a 3 point landing unless you have lots of bipe experience it can destroy your aircraft

David B

Great thread guys, very good info & pics!

As an open question to all, did you guys have a hard time fitting the center cabanes to the fuselage? With mine, I loosely screwed the center cabanes into the wing to line things up but when the rear of the cabane touches the fuselage the front sticks off the fuselage about a quarter of an inch. I'm not sure if it's supposed to line up perfectly or the builder is to flex the cabane to make it contact the fuselage & attach it. I checked to make sure they weren't backwards about 5 times. Everything else has fallen into place up until this point.

I did notice that the top wing appears to have an angle of attack of about 2 degrees more than the lower wing. Is this consistent with what you guys have as well?

Thanks for any help or advice.

David B

mikerc

My Feedback: (11)

I ordered a PT-17 last week and am putting a Saito 125 in the nose. I want to run smoke. Has anyone tried this? Is there room for another tank and sullivan bump?

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

If you're having to fight the cabanes, then something is not right. Maybe a little flexing is OK, but it shouldn't take much at all. Make sure the interplane struts are not installed backwards, as there were some kits that had them improperly marked with the orientation arrows placed wrong.

One way to tell which way is right is by measuring the two parallel struts on them. One will be a bit longer than the other. The long one goes to the rear.

Hope this helps.

Rick

David B

Yeah, I figured it out eventually. My struts were backwards, I thought the center cabanes were the ones that were mislabeled. Once I switched the struts everything lined up perfectly. Thanks for the help!