ClarkFlyer

First, my experience. I have an Avistar and just completed my first solo. I definately need practice on landings but all in all, I'm pretty comfortable with flying. As we all do, I'm considering my next plane. I DO have a Thunnder Tiger Lazy P-51 that I've flown on a buddy cord. While I do OK with it, its beyond my confort level as of yet.

I'm considering the .40 size Spacewalker as my next plane, to replace the Avistar once it becomes boring or I bust it up, whichever comes first. Would this be a good choice? I know I have do do a lot more flying with the trainer, but I'm just wondering.....always gotta have the next one in mind, ya know!! Thanks!!

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

DSK,
Congrats on the solo flight. It's a great feeling that last for quite awhile. I bet you still have that silly little grin on your face.

A 40 size Space Walker might be ok for a second plane, but I don't have a lot of first hand info on it. I'm sure others may be able to provide more info for you. You might want to consider a Sig 4-star 40/60 or a Goldberg Tiger 60 for a second plane. They are perfect for that role. Whatever you do please get some more stick time before the P-51.

A solo flight is a special thing here in the RCU Beginners forum. That wins you one genuine RCU ATTABOY (Suitable for framing, wrapping fish, or lining trashcans)

IFlySlowPlanes

Well-built, nice flier, easy transition from a trainer. Won't challenge you too much, but mine is a very reliable performer for basic acro. Don't go smaller than a .46 for the engine though. You don't gain too much by over-powering it either. I run an Evolution 46NT on mine and have been very pleased with it so far (second season with the plane). If I had to do it over again, I might try a Saito .65 or .72 4-stroke, just for the sounds it makes. Good luck whatever you decide. Also, there's a nice review in the magazine section of RCU for this plane.

ClarkFlyer

Cool Certificate...thank you so much!

On my Avistar, I have an OS 46AX, which is what I'll use on the Spacewalker, if I decide to go for it....

You are so right about that P-51.......now, the Lazy P-51 has big wings so it isn't scale but it was still a handful for this novice. I think I'm gonna dumb up the ailerons using exponential and continue to fly it on the buddy box as I gain experience with my Avistar

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Actually, I would look at a few others first. The Seagull Spacewalker is a good plane, but it's a handfull on take off. And if you fly from grass, the wheels are too small, and to put bigger ones on you'll need to omit the wheel pants.

Have a look at the Tiger II, Sig 4* or GP Rapture (The rapture comes in Kit form only) if you want to transition to your P-51

buckskin

My second plane was the Seagull Spacewalker II and think it was an excellent transition from my Nexstar. I would recommend flying your trainer until you are comfortable enough to fly half a tank inverted at 1 or 2 mistakes high, or you are sure that the airframe is holding you back. The Spacewalker will fly great with your 46 AX with an 11x5 master aiscrew prop. You will want to ditch the wheelpants and put on bigger wheels though.

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

I bought one as my first taildragger and really didn't like it. Minn understates how much of a handfull it is on the ground. One thing for sure, if you learn how to fly it, you won't have any trouble with any other taildragger out there. Other than that, it was a good sturdy airplane, well built, a little on the heavy side for a .46. I would suggest at a minimum a .51 2 stroker. But it flew nice once it was up.

In retrospect, I would have been better off with a Sig 4* for my first taildragger.

My two cents....

Andy

skorman

My Feedback: (3)

Nice looking plane but a real pain to takeoff. Very squirrely on the ground until you get the hang of it. There are so many better choices out there for a second plane. Ultra Sticks, Four Stars, WM T-34, etc. By the way, everyone I know that's had the Seagull Spacewalker II has sold them including me.

Gary From England

The SpaceWalker is an excellent flyer, I can't understand where the difficulty in taking off comes from. I have an irvine 53 in mine and it rolls out straight if you advane the throttle slowly and give yourself time to react. Flies around at a nice slow pace on 1/4 trottle then lifts its skirts and runs like hell when you open it up.

Was my first low winger and I would recommend to any-one, unfortunatly Seagull no longer produce the Spacewalker with the single cockpit, which is a real shame as it loks lovely on a low slow pass.

You will have to replace the pilot that comes in the kit as he is way way too small.


regards
Gary (UK)
[]

Gary From England

Sorry, just wanted to add, You do need to replace the rather small wheels but you do not have to lose the pants when you fit bigger wheels, you just open up the wheel bay in the bottom of the pant, this is what I did and I fly off grass and have had no problems with them.

regards
Gary

(UK)

skorman

My Feedback: (3)

Taking off on grass is easier than the asphalt runway I flew the Spacewalker II on.

ric0024

i love this plane but i wont get 1 for a while current plane is an extreme stik 40 which has had mayb 10 flights max also have a vq texan in progress so i think i should ease off a bit but you never know

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I flew a new one just last week, I was on a hard packed surface so I didn't have any ground handling problems like Mike mentioned, wish we did have some grass fields to fly from out here!! Anyway, it's a very nice plane and not any harder to land or take off then the other planes mentioned. I used to steer my students to the Super Sportster KIT as there second plane but started using the 4*. I no longer push kit building so ARF is just fine if that's what people want to do. Building a kit does give you time to fly the trainer a lot more though. Another great choice is the Hanger Nine Pulse but it's really nothing more then a different 4*. So many good choices out there!!

Charlie P.

I would like to add that I am assembling a Seagull Ultimate and have been impressed with the quality and completeness so far. Usually I tweak and futz with ARFs but this one will be all stock with all the hardware from the box. The only thing I have added is a fuel dot for the cowl. Good ARF - presumably the Spacewalker will be as well.

BUT, my usual recomendation for a second plane is a Stik or variant. The exposed engine and forgiving gear makes for easier times.

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

What makes the Spacewalker and Spacewalker II a relatively difficult first tail dragger is the short fuselage coupling. Both the Seagull Models Spacewalker II .40 ARF and the Black Horse Models Spacewalker ARF have 61" wings and 45" fuselages, which is very short coupled. This wouldn't present too much difficulty if flying from a grass runway, but taking off from an asphalt or concrete runway with this type of tail dragger could be a handful for a pilot inexperienced with managing tail draggers on a smooth surface.

My first tail dragger was easy for me to take off with from grass, but I had a heck of a time with ground looping it while taxiing until I learned how to hold a bit of up elevator on it while taxiing around. This helps keep the tail wheel planted for better steering control, but requires a bit of practice. I'd bet you an ice cold Coke Zero that the folks who say the Spacewalker handles easily fly from grass while the folks who say they're squirrelly flew them from paved runways.

If you fly from grass, handling the Spacewalker shouldn't be a huge problem. If you fly from a paved runway, however, you're going to need to really focus on learning to control the plane. It doesn't sound hard to do, but the first time you slip up and the Spacewalker hops in toward the flight line on take off, you're going to have some very unhappy club mates to whom you will have to apologize.

If you fly from pavement, a low wing sport plane with a longer fuselage will be much easier to handle. The previously mentioned Pulse XT 40 ARF offers a similar 60.7" wingspan but a 50" fuselage, five more inches than the Spacewalker II. The superlative Goldberg Tiger 2 also boasts a 61" wingspan but owes its wonderful tracking in no small part to its 56" long fuselage. Built as a tail dragger or with tricycle gear, the Goldberg Tiger 2 will handle significantly better than the Spacewalker. The fuselage is almost a full one foot longer on the Tiger 2.

Whether or not the Spacewalker II is a good second plane and first tail dragger will depend on where you take off and land. Good luck and good shopping!

raydar

I have the seagull spacewalker as a second plane and am really pleased with it. Take off and landings on grass not eventfull which I was suprised by as was prepared for it after reading the forums.
Seems really good as a second plane, not to responsive but far more so than the lt40 I am also flying.
Was suprised at how well the arf was made and covered although the manual was for a earlier version of the plane so some things were clearly different .
Bought a asp 61 fs for this plane and found that I could not balance the plane without alot of lead, ended up putting in a sc91fs in it and she balanced with no lead. Bit much engine for this plane and gives no advantage over a 70 fs which would be ideal, but flys great with no issues.
A 52/53 two stroke would be better than a 46 but a fair bit of lead would be required if yours is as tale heavy as mine.
Overall good second plane though might get a but boring for some who quickly advances in ability, the 91fs should keep mine entertaining for a while.

tjrad001

Mine is also a seagull spacewalker. I'm running a .52 Magnum XL 4 stroke it's a good flying plane. I didn't have any CG problems.  No problems on the grass airfield and not a bad handeling plane after it was trimmed out.  Flew her about 6 times today to tweek the tuning on the motor and can't wait to get back to the airfield.

ec121

My Feedback: (2)

I would continue to fly the trainer until I could comfortably flog it all over the sky.( Saving money for my next plane at the same time) At some point you can convert the trainer to a taildragger for a while then advance later to a sportier plane. A trainer could last you the whole first year of learning. The Spacewalker is a good plane, but not that much of a step up for a proficient trainer pilot.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

This year I have gotten to fly a couple of the walkers, one is glow and one is electric. I couldn't tell a nickles worth of difference between the two power sources. Too much has been said about the difference between a trike geared and tail dragger, a tail dragger isn't any problem to go over to, just not a big deal.The walker is a stunt plane and does pretty well. It's not an all out stunter but it's a good one to learn stunts with. The reason people think it's too much like a trainer is it's a floater when the power is off so it's easy to land. That's not a bad thing. That is the only thing that is close to a trainer. All of the planes designed for a second planes fly about the same, the Pulse, 4*, Super Sportster. The Walker is a pretty good step up from a trainer and was designed as part of the learning curve.

opjose

As he said!

The Spacewalker has a hard yaw tendancy at takeoff. This is particularly bad on easy rolling surfaces, such as asphalt.

The drag produce on some grass fields ameliorates the tendancy.

I used the Spacewalker as my third plane ( I STILL MISS IT! It was that nice once in the air! ), but lost it due to the YAW problem compounded by a gust of wind that threw it into a fence parallel with our runway.

tjrad001

It's right on about the yaw. The guy who owned the plane before me had a Heli Engine and rolled it over on a touch and go and crashed it. He didn't want to repair it so Igave him another low wing trainer I had for it. I found that when taking off if I run it on the ground till max ground speed and then a little elevator and she goes up real smooth. I also throttle up at a medium pace. She takes of real nice once Ihave the ground speed. My first flight I learned about the yaw when the plane rolled taking off at way to low an air speed. Cost me a couple hours of additional repairs.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I didn't notice it?? Dry Lake Bed is pretty hard packed, so it the asphalt runway. I found it easy to keep inside the runway lines, just a touch of right rudder. This grass stuff you guys keep mentioning?????