Great Planes T-Craft.....
05-21-2005, 11:56 PM
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Great Planes T-Craft.....
I started on the kit yesterday and the fuselage is finished today. This is one of the quickest and easiest kits I have ever assembled. I searched RCU for some info and did not find much, so I will give some basic thoughts on the building as it progresses. Maybe it will help the next guy. This is also, between yard work and 3 children! I have used very little balsa filler and have had no issues yet.
05-22-2005, 10:29 AM
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RE: Great Planes T-Craft.....
I'm thinking about getting this kit, also. Keep us updated! I have an O.S. .40 four stroke that I plan on putting up front. I know it might be a little big, but it doesn't weigh much more than a .30 four stroke, and I need a little extra power due to the altitude in Denver.
Lachlan
Lachlan
05-22-2005, 11:06 AM
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RE: Great Planes T-Craft.....
A bit of advice for when you are ready to maiden, make sure you have plenty of ground speed before you let the plane leave the ground. Don't be to aggresive in getting the plane to altitude, this plane will snap very easy on take off.
05-22-2005, 01:02 PM
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RE: Great Planes T-Craft.....
Lear,
I hope you haven't spoken too soon and wind up eating your own words. I have this airplane and am still trying to get it ready to maiden. Yesterday, I took it to the field to break in the engine. The fuel lines were somehow kinked and I never did get the engine to run. Due to the tiny dimensions of the fuel tank compartment, I had a Dubro 6 ounce tank installed. But trying to get that small tank in with foam padding so the fuel wouldn't foam was an exercise in futility. So, back to the LHS for a Sullivan Flextank. This SEEMS like it will fit in the available fuel tank area, but will still be a major pain in the ass. Do yourself a favor... drill one large hole in the firewall to pass your fuel lines through, instead of 2 small ones. Also, since this plane has a cowl, I added a fueling valve to mine. This creates yet another problem trying to get those lines all tucked inside without kinking.
Wait until you get to the wheel pants and the 3 piece cowl! Oh, what a joy these are to try to put together! There are no "mold lines" on these ABS pieces so you are left to cut them to your "best guess" dimensions and hope like hell everything works out. Trying to glue them together per the kit directions is a MAJOR pain in the ass. Then, when you finally do get them together, you'll have to sand and fill, sand and fill, sand and fill, prime, sand, prime (are you getting the picture here?) to get a decent looking finished product. The cowl works pretty much the same way.
I've been working on mine off and on for over a year now. I get so frustrated most times that I have to just put it up and then get motivated to come back and work on it again later. I sure hope this thing flies if and when i ever get all the kinks worked out of it.
Good Luck! Rich
I hope you haven't spoken too soon and wind up eating your own words. I have this airplane and am still trying to get it ready to maiden. Yesterday, I took it to the field to break in the engine. The fuel lines were somehow kinked and I never did get the engine to run. Due to the tiny dimensions of the fuel tank compartment, I had a Dubro 6 ounce tank installed. But trying to get that small tank in with foam padding so the fuel wouldn't foam was an exercise in futility. So, back to the LHS for a Sullivan Flextank. This SEEMS like it will fit in the available fuel tank area, but will still be a major pain in the ass. Do yourself a favor... drill one large hole in the firewall to pass your fuel lines through, instead of 2 small ones. Also, since this plane has a cowl, I added a fueling valve to mine. This creates yet another problem trying to get those lines all tucked inside without kinking.
Wait until you get to the wheel pants and the 3 piece cowl! Oh, what a joy these are to try to put together! There are no "mold lines" on these ABS pieces so you are left to cut them to your "best guess" dimensions and hope like hell everything works out. Trying to glue them together per the kit directions is a MAJOR pain in the ass. Then, when you finally do get them together, you'll have to sand and fill, sand and fill, sand and fill, prime, sand, prime (are you getting the picture here?) to get a decent looking finished product. The cowl works pretty much the same way.
I've been working on mine off and on for over a year now. I get so frustrated most times that I have to just put it up and then get motivated to come back and work on it again later. I sure hope this thing flies if and when i ever get all the kinks worked out of it.
Good Luck! Rich
05-22-2005, 11:28 PM
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RE: Great Planes T-Craft.....
Sorry to hear you are having trouble. I have the cowl and wheel pants trimmed already for a nice fit. They are very easy to assemble (at least, mine are). I have lines in mine to cut to. You can avoid alot of heartache by glueing a strip of ply on the bottom cowling and protruding it 1/4 inch over the edge. This gives the top cowl a lip to hold on to and glue to. Then sand and fill it, really easy to do. I could see where these plastic pieces could be troublesome if assembled per the manual. I have posted a pic of the fuselage after a day of working on it. Probably 3 hours or so.
05-23-2005, 07:47 AM
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RE: Great Planes T-Craft.....
I built the T-Craft and have been flying it off and on for a year or two. I have the OS-26 4-stroke (discontinued) in mine and it is under powered. I think the OS-26 replacement engine, OS-30 would be about perfect.
When I first built mine, it had a tendency to tip stall upon take off unless a high speed was achieved before rotating. After dinging the wing after one of those tip stalls, I had to rebuild the wing tip and now it doesn't have that tendency. I guess I had a warped tip before. The struts will have a negative effect on performance, so most of the time I don't bother with them, although they do have a pleasing appearance. I would recommend that you attach the landing gear fairings differently than described in the instruction manual. I used landing gear straps and attached them to fairing and fuselage. If I were doing it again I would glue balsa strips on the fairings and attach them with silicon. This method is used on the G.P. "Pete 'n Poke". You can check out the manual on the G.P. web site.
Over all, I like the plane. I don't do much with it other than put around, but it is easy to fly, easy to land, and it it looks good.
DaveB
When I first built mine, it had a tendency to tip stall upon take off unless a high speed was achieved before rotating. After dinging the wing after one of those tip stalls, I had to rebuild the wing tip and now it doesn't have that tendency. I guess I had a warped tip before. The struts will have a negative effect on performance, so most of the time I don't bother with them, although they do have a pleasing appearance. I would recommend that you attach the landing gear fairings differently than described in the instruction manual. I used landing gear straps and attached them to fairing and fuselage. If I were doing it again I would glue balsa strips on the fairings and attach them with silicon. This method is used on the G.P. "Pete 'n Poke". You can check out the manual on the G.P. web site.
Over all, I like the plane. I don't do much with it other than put around, but it is easy to fly, easy to land, and it it looks good.
DaveB
