jim4599

My Feedback: (3)

i just bought a used sterling pt-17 and want to put in a dummy radial into the new cowl i'm going to purchase. where do i take my measurement from, i mean how far back from the front lip of the cowl? the front opening is just shy of five inches. can anyone suggest who makes a good dummy engine for this bird??? thanks, jimmy

Ernest-T

My Feedback: (7)

I too recently acquired another Sterling Stearman kit. This is my second, and I had hoped that the wood would be of better quality. The first one I built flew well, but was extremely heavy and required a ton of lead in the nose for balance. This kit looks the same. I'm considering duplicating the kit onto lighter wood, and lightening the tail any way I can. I recommend you use larger wire for the landing gear, as the wire supplied is not strong enough to handle the weight. I replaced the original wire and used the Robart struts after damaging the plane on several slightly rough landings. The robo-struts help smooth out the landings. Get your arms ready for sanding. You basically build a box then sand it to the shape of an airplane (especially the front end).

As to the dummy engine, I used the abs plastic dummy engine for my first kit. It looks a little flimsy, but with a little work you can make a nice looking engine. I used a OS 91 for power, and it blended in pretty well with the dummy cylinders. I was often ask if I had a real radial engine on it. The dummy radial in the kit is about 7 inches in diameter, but hangs over the edges of the front of the plane. To use a cowl you would probably need something like 5.5 or 6 inches. Check out Top Flites dummy radials for cowled engines: http://www.top-flite.com/accys/topq7901.html

I'm also planning on building a 1/4 scale stearman when I can decide on which one.

Good luck with yours.