Flightle

Here is my first model....The Duraplane Trainer 40. It is outfitted with the 0.S. .46 FX and Futaba 4VF radio system. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the design, it is based on a PVC fuselage with an aluminum channel rod which houses the radio components on the inside, and on the outside, the empennage of the aircraft. Construction went ok. There were a few missing washers and such. The engine didnt quite fit in the provided mount so like a barbarian without a Dremel, my roommate and I (college) drilled into the mount with drill bits and files in order to MAKE it fit. Everything else went together well and the most time consuming part was the covering. It has a nice foam wing which is aluminum reinforced with a spar buried within the foam.

THE BEST PART IS: It made it through its first 3 flights un-eventful except for 4 GREASED landings on an absolutely perfect day to fly. Not a single cloud, a high sun, and a DEAD windsock. We are headed out soon to fly once again. The trainer cord is a life saver but I am proud to say without fear that years of MS Flightsim on the computer (Meigs airport [Chicago] on tower view, Rate X2) and hours of a buddy's realflight program caused my buddybox guy to never need to take control except for the trim flight.

Let me know what you guys think! Have any of you owned this airplane before? It would be nice to hear from you.

-Forest

00hex

I have one of these and I love it. Flies great and tough too. Mine went straight in at full throttle - new wing & tail and it was fine. There was no damage to the rest of the fuselage. It's good for trying "crazy" things with.

There are some problems with the pushrods though. The housings need to be securely fastened to the tailboom, or they will flex. Also, watch the one from the rudder to the nosewheel. That's a very weak setup (mine's a taildragger now).
Oh, and if your tailboom isn't quite straight, and the tail tilts to one side or the other (looks fine to me in the pic but it's hard to tell) - just grab it and twist it! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Flightle

I basically agree with everything you said. I taped down the pushrods along the channel. What kind of engine do you have on your's and what kind of stuff can you do with it? Vertical? Invert?

-Forest

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

Have you guys seen the promotional video for that thing? It starts out with them flying into a chain link fence at full throttle. After 4 or 5 times of that , only changing the prop each time, they stand with a lamp post between them and the plane and fly it right at em. CLANG!!!!!!!!!!!! Then the put a new prop and motor mount on it and go to the skeet range. After several hits, one of which blows a 4" hole in the wing, a BB finally hits the reciever and takes it down.I think it would have still flown with a new reciever. Funnyest thing i've ever seen.
later daveo

Flightle

That's awesome... where did you find that video at?

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I dont have it but it used to play on a loop at the hobby shop I use. The people that make the Duraplane put it out as an advertising tool. If the hobby shop guy still has it i'll get a copy.later daveo

Dragoone

I have seen the Duraplane take a bunch of punishment. 3 guys in our club have them and boy let me tell you these guys fly'em "HARD" if you know what I mean. I drive them into the ground and in about 5 minutes, they are right backup in the air. I have been told they are not much for handling, but for the purpose of training, these guys seem to like them

00hex

Mine has a Tower 40. Nice engine but nowhere near as powerful as an FX, so not too much vertical. It still flies around nicely at half throttle though.
Loops are fairly easy to do. Just make sure you have enough speed so you don't run out at the top (not a problem with that engine I bet). Inverted flight is possible but tricky; with all that dihedral it wants to fly upright. Rolls are possible but again it takes some work to make them look good.
I enlarged the tail on mine slightly, converted it to a taildragger (no wheel - just a little non-steerable skid!), and added another aileron servo so I could use flaperons and spoilerons. It's not exactly meant for precision aerobatics but I can flip it around in all sorts of silly ways. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

hangerrash

If you like the trainer, you should try the Dura stick. Semi symetrical wing, no diheadral, same durability.
I'm extremly happy with mine.

chik magnet

This is my first model also!It seemed so small Whe I ordered it but once I got it together I found that its huge for a trainer.Heavy as hell to!I have a 46LA on it.I cartwheeled it across the runway once and all the happened was a broken prop.I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Silent J

My Feedback: (2)

I think youre Duraplane's got my Sturdy-Birdy beat. I did an unscheduled vertical parking maneuver with my S.B. and the thing simply shattered. The aluminum tail boom was the only part undamaged. Maybe the fuselage got brittle after all those years.

Silent J

Flightle

I have a buddy with a sturdy birdy.... I love the plastic wing. It's a lot like ALL those plains that you can find on Simple Plastic Airplane Design!!!! Seems pretty cool. My roommate and I just completed our 5th flight without incident. We are using a Futaba buddy box setup. Meanwhile, my buddy across the hall crashed his Sig 1/4 Extra 300 on the same day. Thank god for cheap models.

Until Next Time,

Forest