CK1

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Anyone assembling one ?
What are your thoughts ?

tailskid

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My only concern would be the set-up time or the need to leave it assembled. Other than that I think it looks Great!

jerry

CK1

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I have the same concerns , but my desires might override my common sense ....again !!!

CK1

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Ok , I'm locked in now . I know ... That didn't take long did it . Decision made .
PTE 72 twin for power sounds about right for a 50 to 61cc plane . Now lets see if the plane shows up in usable condition .

tailskid

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CK1, what is the distance from plug to plug? And what is the inside diameter of the cowl?

CK1

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From what I have read on other sites the cowl is 11.2". My pte 72t is 10.5"

BarracudaHockey

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Field assembly isn't too bad. There's no servos in the top wing so they slide onto wing tubes. The bottom wings you connect the servos and slide them in place. 4 screws, one per wing hold them in place.

Then 4 clevis pins on each side with cotter pin retainers and a screw on the upper end of the aileron to aileron pushrod (we replaced the screw with a clevis pin and cotter pin)

Gas and fly.

CK1

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Now that doesn't sound so bad . Probably won't take much longer to assemble than my Super cub with the wing strut assemblies and lighting wires.
Thanks BH , Is it enjoyable to fly ? The videos I've seen make it look very graceful .

BarracudaHockey

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I have the SC and you're right, its not much more work if any to assemble/break down.

So I will tell you this. I do 2 or 3 reviews a month, airplanes come and go. The ones I really REALLY like I keep. The ones I really like I try to sell to club members/friends so I can fly them occasionally.

So where does the Waco stand? If I were to crash it I would buy one to replace it.

Ours will be in Model Aviation shortly where you can read all about it and check out the video we shot. If winter goes back up north where it belongs I'm going to Go-Pro the cockpit or wing tip (or both!) and do some more video.

I did so some custom vinyl which I'm really proud of and as soon as its published I will upload some pics but here's a couple or teasers.

CK1

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I'll be looking forward to that MA article .
Thanks for the heads up on that .

CK1

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Ok ...The kit arrived very quickly from Tower despite their financial issues . Everything looks fairly good so far .A few dings here and there but nothing structural damaged . A few hours with the covering iron and heat gun and a little moisure injected into the bruises should bring things out flush again. I hope the assembling will begin soon .

BarracudaHockey

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Careful with the cowl ring, take it off and set it aside. I broke mine in 3 pieces when I sat the plane on its nose to measure the wings for vinyl.

CK1

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I might add a layer of 3oz. glass on that to give it a little rigidity

CK1

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No work today . No play today either .
Mother nature saw fit to grace us with a snow storm . 10 inches already at an nearly an inch an hour and 4 more hours to go .

Stickbuilder

Dan Hudson assembled one for Chris and we set it up last Friday. Engine was DLE 60 twin. They flew it on Saturday and everything was perfect. Great flying Stand Off Scale model

Bill, Waco Brother #1

Lifer

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Does anyone have a picture of a pilot name on the side of an aircraft like the Waco? I think I might put a friends name on mine and I want it to look authentic.

Lifer

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I haven't seen any references to the wing tubes in the assembly manual. I have one tube that is 37.75", the next is 30.25", a pair of tubes at 23" and a final pair at 16 and 3/8ths. Is there a reference in the manual, or can someone detail their places on the model?

Thanks in advance.

CK1

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Ok so I got started on mine finally . As stated by others the cowl ring is fragile and was broken into 3 pieces .
Why do they paint this if they know you will need bare wood to epoxy it in place ? I would prefer the firewall area and cowl ring to be unpainted myself so I can properly seal them before painting. Everything I have seen so far looks pretty well built athough the sheeting is a little rough , but most full scale planes are a little rough when you get up close anyway .
Engine is mounted , a Pte72 twin fits well within the cowl . Choke and throttle servos located under radio tray to make room for both the smoke tank and fuel tank side placed side bt side . Haven't decided where to mount the smoke pump yet , it will depend on where the weight for proper C.G needs it to be . .
Landing gear and fairings are in place as well as tailwheel . No suprises there , pretty straight forward install.
Next will be the wings and tailplane ...

BobH

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Thanks for the reply. Problem is, the upper, center section has plywood stops in the middle for both the front and rear tubes. I looks to me like the full-length tubes both go in the lower wing, and the shortened tubes go in the upper wings
with the longer of the two in its' respective front holes.
Seems as if that's correct.

outacontrol41

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Late August.... losing interst. Been waiting since Feb.

Lifer

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Hang in there. The plane is so easy to fly it's unbelievable. Field assembly is easy after a few practice runs. I alternate touching down the left then the right front wheels first.....it's that easy to fly.

CK1

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I agree with Lifer . Very easy to fly and looks great in the air too. I added smoke to mine and it is awesome . Well worth the wait ..

thevirginian

Received a huge box from Tower yesterday, after work. Opened it today and inspected every part. NO DAMAGES, what so ever. Covering is top notch, not even one wrinkle. I will go over the interior with some CA and epoxy to strengthen the structure in its joints. Other then that, Phoenix did a great job. I cannot believe the price for an airplane that size. Horizon and others sell Biplanes that size for well over one grand. What leaves me with more spending money for my engine I want to put in its nose. The Saito 90 R3. I am not going to start a new building thread here, so I will instead place some building updates inhere from time to time.

CK1

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Congrats on your newest arrival !! I was/ am very pleased with mine . I haven't flown it lately due to other reasons not RC related but I know you won't be disappointed with the performance . It flies better than it looks and it looks awesome on the ground and in the air ..

thevirginian

Thanks CK1,
Please forgive me for hijacking you thread without asking you for permission. But if you don't mind I would like to post some pictures from time to time with the progress of my build. I am not planning to rush through this building process, since I have other stuff to do, besides building this airplane. I read a lot about this Phoenix plane and everything was positive. I love bipes and this is exactly the one to own. Now I need to save up for the motor, which is another $1500.00 plus another $400 for servos. The boss won't be happy when I tell her that amount. After inspecting every part, I have to say I am blown away about the quality of the hardware and the completeness of this ARF. They included everything, but the kitchen sink. Great job! One last positive thing: I think they switched from CA-hinges to hing points for the ailerons and the rudder. The elevator still has CA-hinges, which I will change to hinge points, as well. I like the landing lights in the lower wings. Need to find me a good source for real LED-lights that run on 7.4 Volts. If anybody knows a vendor, who sells those, I appreciate your help.