Campgems

Just found out my Grand daughter is going to come out to Grampa Don's Aviation camp in a couple weeks. Ineed a trainer for her. My Sig Senorita is not something I want her to start with although it goes up and comes down with some regularity. Any thing other than poking holes in the sky though is a real challenge. I managed to to a roll once, but was never able to repeat it. Though I was going to run out of fuel before it made the roll. If I could get a 4* 40 or 60 ARF, that would be my first choice. I think they are as good a a "trainer' for a beginner. And I could have fun with it after she goes home.

Here is what I'm looking for. An available ARF, screw on wing, preferably individual aileron servos, but I can take care of that if needed.40 size or larger. A tail dragger would be my first choice, but a trike is OK. One that will not struggle through a roll or loop. Engine size is open, I've got them covered from a 40 2 stroke 62cc gasser.

Suggestions please.

Don

mike109

G'day

I have all the Four Stars from 40 to 120 and they fly well but I also have a couple of Spacewalkers. I have the 40 size and also a 120 size and I think the 40 size is a nicer plane to fly than the Four Star 40.

My Space Walker 40 is either a Black Horse or a Seagull (I think it is a Black Horse) and I originally put a Saito 72 in it but it never was happy in it so eventually I put a Saito 62. Perfect. A good 46 two stroke would also be fine.

They are gentle fliers but will also do all the usual aerobatics too. And mine was quite cheap into the bargain.

My suggestion. But I am sure there are plenty of others too like the Tiger.

I also have several Kadets Senior. My oldest one has a Saito 56 and like the Seniorita has no ailerons (if you built it from the kit). It can roll - the trick is to get lots of airspeed with small dive, then lots of up and once she is nose up some rudder to get her to roll then once she starts to turn over a big fist full of down to keep her inverted briefly then more rudder and some up to complete a rather untidy roll. Inverted if fun too. All that dihedral fights you but it will stay there if you keep a fair bit of down and keep the wings level. You do have to have plenty of height as the only way out of inverted is the other half of the loop that you used to get it there in the first place.

Cheers

Mike in Oz

bingo field

If you can't find the 4*, I wouldn't pass up on a Tiger 60, not the Tiger 2, the 60 flies much better in my experience. I built mine as a taildragger to start with, and there was absolutely no issue with that. I lucked out and found a used 4* 60, it was inexpensive, but extremely ugly, so I doctored up the holes in the covering, and that didn't make it any better until I ended up making a P-40 style shark mouth for the nose. Now it looks the part of Frankenplane. The only reason I mentioned that is because I wasn't really in the market for one, and I just happened to see this at a LHS, where some guy brought it in on consignment. It took a couple of minutes to look at to determine that it was just ugly finished, but the thing was halfway decently built. So, maybe you can find a "bargain" somewhere, and "make it hers" by spending a little time doctoring it up. I also found an Astro Hog the same way. The Astro Hog came with a ST 91 on it, it ends up being heavy, but flies ok, just sucks up more fuel than my 4 strokes. It is a great touch and go plane, flies inverted fairly well, needs the power to pull a big loop, however. If it were built more lightly, it would be a better flier.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

I'll second that. I had both the Four Star and the Tiger. The Four Star was the 40 where the Tiger was the Tiger 60. The Tiger 60 came first, followed a year or so later by the Four Star 40.

I kept the tricycle gear on mine, although after a fashion, the nose gear would never stay straight so I converted it to a tail dragger. My Tiger 60 started out life with an older OS .61 SF (I believe it was an SF) engine, and later on, I put a Super Tigre 75 with a tuned pipe on it. The reason for the tuned pipe was that the original equipment muffler was defective. The baffle inside came loose and there was no way to fix it. Super Tiger sent me a new one and about a week after I installed the new one, it too came apart. So, I opted for a Macs tuned pipe. Although the max speed was limited by the design of the airframe, that didn't stop it's vertical capabilities.. pull the elevator for straight vertical and push the throttle to full open and it would pretty much go ballistic.

Anyway, the Tiger 60 was red and very visible. And, that was one tough aircraft. It was my second plane after solo and, well, I think they (second planes) take more of a beating than the trainer did because now, we are trying to improve our skills, usually at the cost of hard landings and so on. The visibility is a good thing because it's much easier to see things, such as flare at landing, actually see the elevator move as it flares and touches down.

So, I too, recommend the Tiger 60.

CGr.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

Oh, one more thing. I also had a Tiger 120. Although they don't make it any longer, it was a typical Goldberg Tiger. It flew just as nicely as the older 60 did, but much bigger. Mine had an OS 1.20 AX and it too was a tail dragger... I say was.. I still have that big beastie. Man, was that thing fun to fly. Big and very easy to handle. It would float like a butterfly or do maneuvers like a pattern plane. Very enjoyable aircraft.

CGr.

corch

My Feedback: (1)

Easy Sport 40 was my trainer. Individual ailerons were an easy mod, and many at my field have converted them to taildraggers with some aftermarket landing gear. I used an OS 46 with a 11X6 prop. Good luck and have fun!

thailazer

CGr... What was the span of your Tiger 120? That does sound like it would be a fun plane. I'm looking for a first gasser platform and that could be it.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

It is large enough for a gas engine, no doubt. In fact, it probably would benefit by gas power over glow due to the weight differences in the engines. I had to add about a pound of nose weight to get it to balance properly. That's an awful lot of wasted weight when a gas engine would probably have taken care of that little issue.

Goldberg lists as discontinued. Maybe someone has one available in the RCU Marketplace. May be worth asknig.

Wingspan: 80"
Wing Area: 1143 Sq. In.
Overall Length: 72"
Flying Weight: 10½ to 11½ lbs.
Engine: 2-stroke .75-1.08 or 4-stroke .91-1.20 (although, as I said, I believe a gas engine would be better)
Radio: 5 or 6 - Channel Radio


CGr

CGr.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Nothing wrong with the 40-size Tiger II either. I like it even better than the 60

World models has some cheaper options in the Wingman and Wingman II

thailazer

Regarding the original query, I forgot that the Tiger II is available as an ARF. Great plane, and my kit-built version with a 35AX will Cuban 8 all day and is a very aerobatic ship with trainer-like landings. I had to convert the kit to duel aileron servos to resolve flutter problems and have several hundred flights on it so far. Here's a YouTube clip...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvWvzBaTnQQ

CGr.. Thanks for those dimensions. That's an easy scale up from the 62 inch span Tiger 2 I have.

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

We had a project a few years back where we were going to modify the Tiger II and electify it. I got some done on mine, but my friend and mentor (as well as my original instructor) got his finished. And, it came out really nice. It involved slightly lenthening the fuselage and removing a bay from the wing, thus shortening the wingspan. It flys likle a pattern plane and is very light. The truth be told, it is an amazing plane.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Don, don't forget the Super Sportster. After the young lady goes home you will have a nice looking plane you would enjoy yourself and it would get a lot of air time.

armody

My Feedback: (10)

I think some good trainers, tail-draggers are on this link

http://www.americanpioneerhobbies.co...s_trainer.html

Lnewqban

Have you checked the RCU classifieds?

You may find something local and save the shipping.

Campgems

Gene, Ithink you hit the nail on the head. That O.S.52 four stroke has been resting too long now. I could also use it to break in the ASP61's for the P-61

Don

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I have a couple of 1.20s for you just waiting for your next trip, don't forget.