Dirty Birdy ARF
08-25-2014, 06:32 PM
#776
Right Jeff, I believe if you spend the time to align it properly when it's assembled and you trim it or mix the issues out it will be close enough that practice can make it a good flying plane. I did know about the issues but after flying a couple I felt it was worth buying anyway. But I still think with your skill you could fly a crooked stick with wings, stabs and an engine glued on it and win Expert so I don't think it's the plane. I think it's practice. You've been flying these a long time I assume.
My point was that I built a glass and foam DB and it flew much better from the start; however, after spending the weekend with the trim chart and mixing out some of it's bad habits, the ARF is closer to my built up plane and feel it could become a competitive plane for me but it goes back to the practice. I've practiced with the P7 and my timing and corrections are based on the P7 with a swept wing and a 2 stroke so it's different.
I meant to get across that it's not a horrible plane but that it has some issues to be careful of when it's assembled. One needs to know how to triangulate the wing with the v. stab and the h. stabs with the wing as well as the incidences and so on. It is not a glue the wings together with the pin installed and expect it to be straight or glue the stabs on without aligning them with the wing longitudinally and laterally. Most guys don't have a builders background to know that these things need to be checked and that's why we help as many of the Novice guys build their planes as we can.
A couple of issues I'm working on is that it pulls out of a dive on a straight line. It pulls towards the wheels and rolls inverted during knife edge while on the right side but not so much on the left side so slow rolls are hard work (for me). It seems that with a given rudder input on the KE the problem is not that much but give it a couple more degrees and it gets crazy. The rudder is bent. ALL of the controls are higher than the flying surface they are connected on to so this winter I will cut them all off and re-hinge them.
An interesting bit of info...if you go to the CPA web site and look at the bottom there is a Natt's winners link at the bottom. 1st place was won by a lot of different planes so I would be the first to say someone didn't win because of the plane they are flying, it's more than likely because they practiced and trimmed their plane. It was interesting too that the DB and Phoenix had a lot of use through the years.
Tim
My point was that I built a glass and foam DB and it flew much better from the start; however, after spending the weekend with the trim chart and mixing out some of it's bad habits, the ARF is closer to my built up plane and feel it could become a competitive plane for me but it goes back to the practice. I've practiced with the P7 and my timing and corrections are based on the P7 with a swept wing and a 2 stroke so it's different.
I meant to get across that it's not a horrible plane but that it has some issues to be careful of when it's assembled. One needs to know how to triangulate the wing with the v. stab and the h. stabs with the wing as well as the incidences and so on. It is not a glue the wings together with the pin installed and expect it to be straight or glue the stabs on without aligning them with the wing longitudinally and laterally. Most guys don't have a builders background to know that these things need to be checked and that's why we help as many of the Novice guys build their planes as we can.
A couple of issues I'm working on is that it pulls out of a dive on a straight line. It pulls towards the wheels and rolls inverted during knife edge while on the right side but not so much on the left side so slow rolls are hard work (for me). It seems that with a given rudder input on the KE the problem is not that much but give it a couple more degrees and it gets crazy. The rudder is bent. ALL of the controls are higher than the flying surface they are connected on to so this winter I will cut them all off and re-hinge them.
An interesting bit of info...if you go to the CPA web site and look at the bottom there is a Natt's winners link at the bottom. 1st place was won by a lot of different planes so I would be the first to say someone didn't win because of the plane they are flying, it's more than likely because they practiced and trimmed their plane. It was interesting too that the DB and Phoenix had a lot of use through the years.
Tim
08-25-2014, 07:08 PM
#777
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I agree Tim. A straight plane, proper trimming, and practice. It just happened that at the time the DB was a quick way to get in the air. I now have to finish my plans-built Deception, a Curare ARF, and some restoration projects (30 + year old Deception and Bootlegger.) One of these days I'll have an Air Force!
Jeff
Jeff
08-26-2014, 05:21 AM
#778
Ha, you've got just about the same line up I do. The 'help a fellow pilot out' thread on the SPA site is for my Bootlegger. I'll be in AL in October, I may just pick it up then.
I have the Curare from Hobby Barn I'm eager to get done too but that ARF sure seems nice.
I have noticed that some of the DBs are a bit better than others. I'm sure they have multiple jigs and the ones mine came out of are probably skewed.
Tim
I have the Curare from Hobby Barn I'm eager to get done too but that ARF sure seems nice.
I have noticed that some of the DBs are a bit better than others. I'm sure they have multiple jigs and the ones mine came out of are probably skewed.
Tim
08-26-2014, 07:02 AM
#779
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I for one have the DB arf, one of the first ones , been flying it in spa always place in the top 1,2or 3rd place in a contest. I like Jeff am stumped as to why people are having problems many of these ARF's are at the spa contest people love them. Mine has about 200 flights, I have also built 3 Bridi or blue jay kit no difference . These pattern plane must be trimmed that take time , some times a week sometimes a month of a lot of flying. Just my 2 cents. Pete
09-19-2014, 07:17 PM
#780
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"I guess we are lucky also. My son and I love the way our DB flies. About 300 flights on it. Built it completely stock with a Rossi Speed 13 in it. Checked on radar at 143 mph. Flies like it's on a rail with unlimited vertical. Flies the classic pattern maneuvers perfectly. Only problem we have had is keeping the nose gear retract working. Too many vibs for the electric retract nose gear. Wires kept breaking. Had to put in a mechanical retract unit. Electric retracts in wing have held up very well.
Ralph White
Neoga, IL"
Well, you guys barely keep that DB flying
Seems a little underpowered on that NR 60. Just kidding Ralph, actually I think if a few of these posters saw yours fly they would understand how nice this plane can be.
Ralph White
Neoga, IL"
Well, you guys barely keep that DB flying
Seems a little underpowered on that NR 60. Just kidding Ralph, actually I think if a few of these posters saw yours fly they would understand how nice this plane can be.
Last edited by denonpmb; 09-19-2014 at 07:20 PM.
09-01-2016, 04:38 PM
#788
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Joe Bridi's web site has brand new laser cut complete kits in stock,VERY nice kits by Blue bird.
For what it's worth if in a hurry to get airborne the ARF's replaccement wing set can be mounted
directly too the kits fuselage with about15 minutes of work.
That can be usefull in a lot of ways to a lot of people
For what it's worth if in a hurry to get airborne the ARF's replaccement wing set can be mounted
directly too the kits fuselage with about15 minutes of work.
That can be usefull in a lot of ways to a lot of people
09-02-2016, 05:36 AM
#790
I built this one. It is one of my favorite planes. I put a .90 super tigre on it. Go and drill holes in the sky...
09-02-2016, 07:40 AM
#791
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I have a couple of the ARF's ready to fly....well one needs retracts. Both have Nova Rossi Speed 13 in them. I might be interested in letting one of them go...or maybe both!
09-02-2016, 06:53 PM
#794
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I know the comments above are a couple of months old, but it's worth mentioning that the reason they discontinued the Dirty Birdy was poor quality control from their manufacturer. Many of the ARFs did fine, but some has really thin fiberglass that failed in various ways. Great Planes got tired of honoring warranty claims and fielding customer complaints, so they stopped buying models from that manufacturer and discontinued the plane. The Dirty Birdy is such an iconic plane in traditional pattern flying that I'm sure it will show up again eventually, but for now shoddy Chinese manufacturing is the reason why we don't have any ARFs to buy.
09-03-2016, 07:47 AM
#795
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I have to agree with jeter...to a degree. They are not the best but still not really all that bad. I did have to take my time with them but they fly great with a little TLC!
I will try to send pics rt
I will try to send pics rt
04-27-2017, 02:46 PM
#797
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The electric will fly as well as the glow powered one if you have the same power in the end. The problem with electric conversions in SPA is that your power drops off through the flight. It seems that the guys being competitive in SPA with electric (there aren't many) are building their planes really light so they can lower their watt usage a bit. But then their planes aren't as smooth in the wind, so they still have a disadvantage. But if this isn't for competition where you need to make it through the sequence, I'm sure an electric Dirty Birdy will fly just fine for maybe 6-7 minutes.
06-18-2018, 11:52 AM
#798
Wow, been a year since the last post on this thread! Thats me always late to the party. I bought my DB arf several years ago at least and kept putting assembling it off. Glad i kept it though as my thoughts turned back to planes after concentrating on helis the last four years. Recently my friend traded a nice classic Kaos to me, and i love it. I already have a World Models Intruder. Anyway the enthusiasm for another pattern plane on rails grew, so i bought an OS 65AX for the DB and got to work on it. Happy to say mine is pretty straight re fuse twist. Didnt measure if wing is centered on fuse, but will now watch for lateral balance. So far the covering is the worst issue with lousy wrinkles that just will not stretch out. Oh yes, my ailerons were horribly centered on the wing trailing edge, so i cut them off and rehinged with CA hinges. Elevator similarly a little off but not enough to redo. I see the waves in the FG fuse, as well as feel the thinness, but i think it should be ok unless/until i crash.
Build progress: all servos installed, all control linkages installed, engine in place. Next up is cowl trimming...can almost leave that off as big as the engine is! But that wont do...gotta have the cool profile of the sleek DB fuse from spinner to rudder! Inside, i just need to install the receiver, batt, and switch. You can see i went with fixed gear...i can add retracts later if really desired. Looking forward to getting this bird in the air! Sorry for all the crap surrounding the plane!
Last edited by maukaonyx; 06-18-2018 at 11:56 AM.
06-18-2018, 12:04 PM
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I love the classic stuff as well and the DB is wonderful!
In the end, you will like it more with retracts.
Another thing to consider...while I know you purchased the 65AX, but I think you will find the OS 55AX on the red Dub Jett muffler to be an excellent combination for that plane. I have had one in my Phoenix 7 the last three years and while it has been so long I can't remember what my rpm numbers are, I can tell you I get 117 mph on radar.
But, there is lots of variation on how we put these planes together. Good luck with yours! It is nice to see fellow modelers burning nitro!!
In the end, you will like it more with retracts.
Another thing to consider...while I know you purchased the 65AX, but I think you will find the OS 55AX on the red Dub Jett muffler to be an excellent combination for that plane. I have had one in my Phoenix 7 the last three years and while it has been so long I can't remember what my rpm numbers are, I can tell you I get 117 mph on radar.
But, there is lots of variation on how we put these planes together. Good luck with yours! It is nice to see fellow modelers burning nitro!!
06-18-2018, 12:30 PM
#800
Gee thx Tom, but i have the engine and am stuck. It will mean adding tail weight too, based on what i have read in this thread. Never thought it would be nose heavy. Still loving it though!
For the last decade i belonged to just one club. Our use of the land is tenuous so i joined another club about the same travel time away from home. I belong to both clubs now. My old one has turned majorly towards electric as guys came and went. The other one is majorly nitro and gas with many old timers like me. I love to go there more than my old one now, just to be with like minded nitro lovers! Most of us there love the smell of nitro exhaust in the morning more than fresh brewed coffee and fried bacon! And we love to rib the electric guys in good natured fun about their planes being too quiet. I fly both.
For the last decade i belonged to just one club. Our use of the land is tenuous so i joined another club about the same travel time away from home. I belong to both clubs now. My old one has turned majorly towards electric as guys came and went. The other one is majorly nitro and gas with many old timers like me. I love to go there more than my old one now, just to be with like minded nitro lovers! Most of us there love the smell of nitro exhaust in the morning more than fresh brewed coffee and fried bacon! And we love to rib the electric guys in good natured fun about their planes being too quiet. I fly both.