ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I just ordered a Vagabond 40 from Bluejay and was wanting to hear some input from those who have dealt with Bluejay, and have owned, built, and flown the Vagabond. Of course I expect it to be a great flyer since it is a Bridi design, but am more curious about how well the kit goes together, the quality of the wood, etc. Thanks
http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/vagabond40.html

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

I can't speak for the Vagabond but I recently completed a Bluejay Dirty Birdy 60. The wood was good, cutting was perfect and fit was excellent. Lynn at Bluejay also provides very good support and answers question and e-mail quickly.

The plane went together well and flies great. I will build more kits from Bluejay.

Dave

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

I have an unbuilt Utter Choas 40 kit from Bluejay at home. Might build this winter. Plans and parts look great. I also have an older Bridi Kraftkit 4 Season 40 at home too! Quality of kits are compariable.

R8893

My Feedback: (20)

I have had a couple Bridi Vagabonds and have another kit waiting to be built. Last one had a Thunder Tiger .46 for power. It is an outstanding model. I do suggest that you take the outboard 2 inches of aileron and make them fixed. I have had flutter problems with the stock ailerons. Last one met an honorable death in a mid-air with a big biplane when both were at he bottom of an outside loop.
Chuck

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Thanks for the great info thus far. I had read in here somewhere before about cutting the last 2 inches of the aileron and fixing the remaining 2 inches to the trailing edge. This is something I intend to do, and It does sound like this quick fix really does help eliminate the flutter problem. I also plan to seal the gap which should also help. Static balancing the surfaces would also work, but no sense in adding the extra weight if it can be corrected differently like you suggest doing it.

gmeyer-RCU

My Feedback: (9)

I bought one of these about 3 months ago fast shipping looked like a quality kit but only one wing half is shown on the plans. maybe it was just me but the 3 or 4 parts for the fuse sides did not line up right [] so I put the whole plane away unbuilt. Greg

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

Lots of plans only show one wing. Not a problem, especially with a symmetrical wing. One wing is built upside down. But really, the only difference is the ribs with slots for the landing gear blocks.

Check over the plans for the fuse again carefully. It took me a while to sort out everything on my Dirty Birdy but then it built easily.

Dave

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I just recieved my Vagabond kit a couple days ago, and I must say that the parts look great! Some of the best cut parts I have seen in a kit, and the wood quality looks excellent. Looks like a fairly simple build, and something I plan to start within the next couple weeks. I have no doubts that it will be a good flyer. I have never heard of a bad flying bridi designed plane as long as it was built straight.

roncoleman

My Feedback: (14)

You are going to like this one for sure.

Ron

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I've been comming along pretty good on the Vagabond, and it has been a real enjoyable build so far. I have just a few finishing touches on the wing, and it will be ready to cover. The fuse is complete, and covered. Should be RTF within the next couple weeks, but probally won't see action til spring.

WacoNut

Great looking sport plane,
What dia. wheels does it use??? I fly off of grass and I need at least 2 3/4" mains 3" prefeably to handle the rough conditions where I fly. Can't wait to see the finished pics.
Anthony

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Anthony

I fly off grass, but our field is kept groomed pretty nice. I use Dubro 2 3/4" wheels on most of my 40 size Planes. Wheel Pants even seem to hold up quite awhile. Here is a nice photo of our club field shot from one of our members Full size ercoupe.

WacoNut

Looks very similar to the country I fly in,
I fly mostly at a friends sod farm 1/2 mile from my house. He has 50 acres and most of it is in sod, if you catch it just after he has cut sod it makes for a great runway but the rest of the sod is usually cut too high for small sport planes and can even be a problem for my 1/4 scale cub. I really like flying the large planes but it is nice to have a small plane that's easy to transport to just throw in the truck and go flying. My Jack Stafford Aircoupe fits the bill but I need a nice smooth runway for takeoff/landings.
I will be watching with interest to see how you like the flying performance of this kit.
Later!!
Anthony

markdam

My Feedback: (15)

updates? pics?

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Here are a few photos of the finished Plane. I have done quite a bit of flying with this Plane since I posted last. It is just what you would expect from a Joe Bridi design. It is basically a Kaos with a turtle deck, and the thing flys excellent and exibits no bad habits at all. Just a good solid flyer that can be flown fast or slow, can land fast or at a crawl. Inverted flying is as easy as flying right side up. Its just a real joy to fly!

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Well I know its been well over a year since I posted here, but I thought I would go ahead and include a photo of another Vagabond I just built last fall from scratch since info here on RCU about the Vagabond is limited. The first one I built I sold, but afterwards I wished I had kept it. So I just built another from scratch instead of buying a whole other kit. This one I droped in a new O.S 40sf engine I had, but that is soon to be replaced with a new JBA .46 I just bought and wanna try out. The Vagabond is such a smooth flying plane that it makes a good subject for engine testing.

markdam

My Feedback: (15)

thanks for the updates!!! ill be covering mine soon to copy the housecats colors/stripes

frannyannyb

Hi All,

I just finished my Vagabond converted to electric! I am running an AXI 2826-12 motor on a 4s-4000 Lipo. I lightened things up a bit by building up the yail feathers and lighting holes in the fuselage. I haven't flown it yet - just waiting on good weather. Wish me luck!

Thanks,

Franny

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Wow...that looks great! Love the color scheme. You don't need any luck flying the Vagabond because it is almost gauranteed to be a very good flyer![8D]

frannyannyb

Thanks Roo! I was going for something kind of 70's... My Sunfish sailboat is that vintage and has a yellow hull and an orange deck with a sunburst sail.

I signed up for a pattern class at our club so I needed a proper pattern airplane. I think this will do just fine

Thanks,

Franny

jwmav528

A fellow club member switched to gas and electric only and is giving me his gms .47.  I've been away from the hobby while I was in college and then job hunting and am now getting back into it.  I'm still flying my old Easy Sport 40 that I built back in high school and bought an ARF to get my building skills back. 

Is this a good kit for the engine I want to use? Also, is it a good kit for getting back into the hobby?  I want to build (more than ARFs or foam will let me) and then have a great flyer as a result.  Is this the kit for me?

P.S. I really love these old pattern birds.

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

Welcome back to the hobby. The Vagabond flies like a Kaos and is almost the same as a Kaos with the main difference being the turtle deck. It would make a nice 3rd airplane if you have mastered the trainer and have low wing experience and the bluejay kit is fabulous. A simple build and the parts almost fall into place.[8D]

markdam

My Feedback: (15)

the gms 47 is an awesome motor but because it has a ringed piston people dont know how to tune them do some searches here regarding it they like to be loaded down with larger pitch props

it will be great if not almost more than you need in the vagabond depending on weight /building skills....

ckangaroo70

My Feedback: (51)

I some how thought the GMS 47 was an ABC engine? I had a little GMS 40 once that ran pretty good, but I am pretty sure it was an ABC if I remember right. I am not saying you are wrong about the 47...I am just saying that perhaps my memory isn't to good. LOL

markdam

My Feedback: (15)

you know what im thinking of the .76 the .47 is ABC but it still liked big props