mikerc

My Feedback: (11)

Here are a couple of pictures of mine. I must say it is a pleasure to fly. I have only had 2 flights with it but am looking for a cool day to fly it more. It has a Siato 125. Power is perfect for scale flying and a little more. I will be putting a smoke system on it this winter.

David B

Fly4Real,

What did you use for flying wires? I like them better than the standard black cord.

David B

bdreed

My Feedback: (-1)

Hello -

I've been working on my PT-17 for a couple evenings and had trouble with the cabanes fitting properly. My struts were labled incorrectly as some other have mentioned. VERY FRUSTRATING !!!!!!!!!! I like the plane and it seems to be well designed but the little things that are not mentioned in the manual or are labled incorrectly etc. really get under my skin. I'm a flyer, not a builder. I hope Great Planes will take into consideration that most people who buy their ARF's are not kit builders and will improve their manual and quality control of their little arrow sticker placement.


Now off the soapbox and on to my question. The tires that came with my plane seem a little hard. I fly from both grass and pavement. Will some Dubro low bounce tires work better than the ones that come with the plane?


Brian

Hellcat716

My Feedback: (2)

I used the Robart 4" wheels.

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

To make sure you have the cabanes mounted correctly, you first have to make sure the interplane struts are right. There is a right and wrong way for them to go on. The longer parallel leg of the two goes to the rear. If the interplanes are mounted correctly and the lower wing is bolted on right, the cabanes should line up very nicely. If not, you have something wrong.

I used Dubro 5" treaded 'lite' wheels (Dubro # 500TL) on my PT-17. They are certainly softer than the GP wheels. They are as close to the correct scale size as there is out there in a commercially produced wheel. Nothing is exactly right, since the plane is designed to an odd scale, i.e. 5.33:1. There are two styles in this size from Dubro--a foam filled tire and an inflatable one (Dubro # 500TV). I went with the foam filled tire.

Be aware that larger wheels will make the plane sit taller at the front. It's no biggie if you aren't bothered by it altering the (more or less) scale angle the fuse sits at on the deck. The custom gear I had made for mine took this into account and allowed for it.

Rick

Nerevar

Hello Gary,

I just found your post. Sorry to be so late. I hope this will still help you.

For the flying wires I used elastic thread bought from Hobby Lobby craft store - NOT the Hobby Lobby RC store.

It is "Create-A-Craft" brand name. There is 10 yds on this one card - so one card was all that was needed. It is about the diameter of 'kite-cord', or, slightly bigger than 1/2A Control Line String - If you are familiar with that. The number at the top left on the card is 90501-00. The color name on the back of the card is "Silver/Arcent". Imported by Sulyn Industries, 11927 W. Sample Rd. Coral Springs, FL 33065.

I decided to use Silver because I thought it 'looked' more like the real thing than black. However, I found out that the Silver doesn't 'stand-out' like the black does on a Tiger Moth I have. The Silver tends to 'disappear' to some degree.

Anyway - I am needing to replace the rigging because our Himalayan cat decided to use the prier rigging as "dental floss" - which tore out what was on there. Now I am trying to decide whether to go back with the same Elastic Thread, or a bigger diameter of Silver Elastic Thread, or possibly a Black Elastic Thread. What's your opinion?

I hope this is some help to you.

Ramon

David B

Ramon,

In my opinion the silver thread looks better than the black; I think it resembles a the full scale flying wires a little better as well. To me the black looks a little too pronounced. I think it's a "less is more" case. If you want them to stand out a little more I'd go with a larger diameter chord. Just my opinion, it looks great either way.

David B

Nerevar

Thanks David. That's about the way I see it too.

I have some of the larger diameter silver and maybe that would look better for the cabane cross braceing, with the smaller diameter again as flying wires.

Ramon

Nerevar

My wife found this at our Wal-Mart too, just yesterday. So, if you have a Wal-Mart close to you, you might find it there.

Nerevar

I thought some of you might like a flight report on this Plane.

Sorry - no pictures. No camera was available and to be truthful, it wasn't even thought about until after we were packed up and headed home.

Today was the long, long awaited maiden flight for my Stearman. My impression of this plane is ALL POSITIVE! Absolutely nothing to complain about. It flys easier than anything else I have at this time. The only thing I could think of to compare it's flying characteristics to would be something like the Sig Kadets, but I haven't flown one of those in many years.

The first flight started from what was to be a taxi down the field to get the feel of the ground handling - and it wasn't even a 'fast' taxi. The tail popped right up and in about 5 to 10 feet, it was in the air - at less than half throttle. I went to full throttle, which I found wasn't needed, so I came back down to about 1/3rd to 1/2 throttle for the rest of the flight. The plane is VERY GENTLE in the air, as one said - a puddycat (the profanity filter wouldn't allow the other word). It is one sweet, sweet flying plane. And I have to also echo something else that has already been said - Great Planes sure got it right on this one!

The 2nd flight I tried a few loops to see about the power. Yes, the engine is still new, but I had to try it anyway. (you know how it is). The answer is, the vertical was much better than I thought I would have, given a new Saito 120, which many on RCU have given a bad name. It performed flawlessly for me today, and had more than enough power. I have an APC 17x6 prop on it turning about 9,000, according to the tach. It should do even better after a few tanks of fuel - or so I have been told. One interesting thing - on the down side of the loops, when you pull the power off to idle - you could hear the sound of the wind through the flying wires. Very nice endeed.

So - To anyone that's considering this plane - it's a great plane from Great Planes (couldn't resist)

OH yea - there is one problem - I had to get a friend that has a trailer to transport it to the field and back for me (the main reason it wasn't flown until now). That limits how often and when I will get to fly it again. If I had that trailer, I would be back out there tomorrow, and the next day, and the next ..... well you get the idea.

It's a wonderful plane - I just wish it was a 60 size so I could transport it and fly it more often.

Ramon

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

What is the recomended CG position like ? always found to have to play with CG on some brands of ARTF's

Also is the wing incedence pre set buy the cabanes

Nerevar

Balanced at the recommended point, mine flew great. Nice and smooth. Not 'twitchy' at all, as one would be that is tail heavy.

If I understand what you're asking, - yes.
I just followed the instructions, and it turned out fine.
It did require some 'down' trim in the elevator to stop it from climbing at less that half throttle.

Ramon

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

I am picking up mine on friday, I want to also redo the colour scheme, to the more familular all blue fuselage.

What have you guys found the best paint to use on monokote ? Dont really fancy re covering.

Nerevar

I haven't ever painted Monokote, but have painted SolarTex - which is another heat shrink covering. SolarTex is a woven, fabric-look, material, made in England (if memory serves me correctly). So, the weave gave it an ideal surface for paint to bound to. With that said - I suppose Monokote could be sanded to roughen the surface for paint to adhere to.

A polyurethane base paint worked well for what I did. However, be advised that polyurethane is H E A V Y, and the Stearman is big, so that equates to a significant weight gain for your plane.

Like I said, I haven't tried it But if I were going to do this, I'd try this first (in the color of your choice) - [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEBE4&P=7]Top Flite Lustrekote[/link] .

It's made by Top Flite, the same company that makes Monokote. And in the 'features' section, it says; ".... Use on balsa, plywood, fiberglass, aluminum, ABS plastic, and MonoKote-covered surfaces .....". - and also; "Get a tough, lightweight, fuel proof finish--easily!". (I added the bold and underline)

Be sure to read all the info, including the 'comments' section, for any incompatibilities.

Remember - this is JUST what I would do. Again, I haven't tried it myself.

I hope that what ever you decide to do, that it works out well for you. The PT-17 is a fantastic plane and a really great flyer! Enjoy it!

Ramon

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for that, done some research and it seems you can paint it ok after first "de glossing" it, with steel wool.

We cant get the top flite paint here but I'm sure the solarfilm suitable equivelent will be ok.

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

I used a product called 'Krylon Fusion' paint (in a spray can) to paint my PT-17's red striping on the Monokoted wings and fuselage. It is specifically formulated for plastics.

I just wiped down the surface to be painted carefully with denatured alcohol after masking it off, and shot paint. No scuffing was done, but it can't but help adhesion even more. A very light first coat is best.

Rick

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Rick

What shade of blue did you use

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

I kept the original sky blue Monokote on the rudder, if that's what you meant. That's the only blue on my plane, as I did a Navy conversion. I was torn over changing it to a darker royal blue color, but could not find any plastic covering in my stash that was close enough to the right shade for my liking. I didn't feel like springing for a whole roll to just cover a rudder.

The blue on the stars is part of the vinyl decal. I had these and all the lettering/numbering on mine, custom made. They came out beautifully, go on much better, actually lay flat on the surface, and are more accurate in size than the provided markings. I can look up where I got them if you like.

Rick

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Sorry Rick

Mixed you up with the guy who recovered the fuse fly 4 real

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

No worries.

Here's a shot of how mine turned out. It's electric powered, by the way.

Rick

Xairflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Just starting on the plane today, due to the size I am thinking about 2 piece wings, adding another spar/dowl near the trailing edge for alignment purposes. Anyone any ideas on how to join them ?

davemooney

Hey Rick, I'm new member just putting the finishing touches on my GP PT17 ,is 5 1/2 in correct C G as I used a OS120E and the battery under the RX and it balanced perfectly with no extra lead .But the manual suggested they used 18oz with a OS91which is only 9oz lighter than the 120

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

Mine's balanced somewhere between one-eighth and one-quarter inch aft of the recommended CG in the manal, and it flies perfectly for me. I tend to prefer a CG slightly aft of vendor recommendations, since most of them tend to be on the conservative side. A nose heavy aircraft is harder to fly and land than a slightly tail heavy one, IMHO.

If you don't have a lot of flying experience, I'd go with exactly what they show for the CG. You'll probably be slightly nose heavy compared to the optimum CG, but it's always safer than the alternative.

I can't explain why the disparity in engine weights and required lead, except that perhaps they wanted the plane definitely nose heavy for inexperienced pilots. That, and since the nose is so short, it takes a lot of weight to effect a small shift in the CG going forward.

Rick

davemooney

Thanks Rick see how we go this weekend weather permitting. Dave

ghostrider168

I finally have time to do my maiden flight. I don't I need to repeat what other had said in the forum. It is going to be one of my favorit bird.