jpmaro83

My Feedback: (1)

What does everyone think? Any comments from people who have built and flown the plane would be appreciated

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

overall a pretty nice flying little plane i have a saito 72 in mine and plan on soon switching to a 13-4w however the landing gear that came on the plane originally was too short to handle over a 12 inch prop so i put aluminum mains just barely forward of the wing on the fuselage also you may either make your own firewall or beef up the firewall at the joint because according to where the engine mounts are located it weakens that joint where the top of the firewall joins the bottom part of the firewall. builds really nice and easy. i had mine built in three months. other than that its like a said a pretty little plane.

edit:
another problem i had was the abs cowl you had to fuse the two halves together which easily cracks. get a fiberglass cowl it will hold up better.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

In a word, Great. Mine has an OS 46FX on it and it is a sweet plane. Good Luck, Dave

Jinxter

Very nice plane. I've a Magnum .70 four stroke in mine - flys great on a 13 x 6 prop.
To get over the short landing gear problem I made mine a tricycle and just put bigger wheels on it.

Jinxter.

David Cutler

Is it me, or are the build instructions a bit lacking? The trailing edge looks like it is removed as a last action when building the wing, as all it seems to do is align the wing ribs when building.

Am I reading it wrong? Is the strip called TE glued in place and cut down to profile, or or is it removed after putting the small blocks that make up the trailing egde?

-David C.

Jinxter

David, from memory I think the TE is sanded / cut down to shape after you put the TE sheet on. It's been a while since I built my Ultrasport 40+ so I'm not positive.

Might need to check the plans in detail.

Jinxter.

David Cutler

Thanks for the reply. I think you are right so I will cut the TE down after sheeting it as you suggest. It's unlike Great Planes to miss out anything in their instruction booklet.

Thanks again.

David C.

goplaneman

My Feedback: (175)

Is this plane to much of a build for a first time builder?

David Cutler

Difficult for a first time builder?

Yes, maybe a bit, but if you take your time and have an eye for detail, like dressing the ribs properly and pre-fitting everything until you are completely happy with the fit before gluing in place, a first time builder should be OK.

I use one of these to get really accurate fits and square ends of sticks :-

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXG876&P=7

It's something I would suggest every builder should have as it makes sanding square and accurately extremely easy. You get excellent fitting joints especially when you need to sand the end of a stick at an angle when building a space-frame.

Make sure everything builds square. For example, the trailing edge is made up of many small sticks so it should be pinned securely to a flat surface before gluing them in place.

One excellent first time build I could recommend is the Sig Somethin' Extra. The parts are so accurately laser cut that it falls into shape very easily with hardly any effort.

-David C.

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

this was my first kit and i thought was easy. i am building a dynaflite chipmunk quite a bit of difference.

sugarfoot

I have built this plane and regretted it. It is an extremely fast plane. However, I chose to put retracts on it and found that the instructions were horrible. The wire configuration that they gave were no where accurate. And the cowling is a royal pain in the butt if you have a two stroke on it. The instructions for installing the throttle wire is meant for an upside/sideway engine. That presented another problem for me AFTER I had already glued and drilled all hole for the throttle cable. All in all, I felt the instructions were really bad for a really good looking and good flying plane. But that's just my opinion. Probably won't be too many people that have the same opinion.

carlosponti

My Feedback: (1)

i thought they were good overall but there were discrepancies. however i never ran into any problems due to the fact that i dont really read instructions thouroghly. which on some kits has caused me problems. but i mounted my saito upside down which didnt cause a problem for me. it is a fast plane that slows down pretty fast once you pull off the throttle.

David Cutler

I've just finished building one wing and I constructed my own wheel wells for the retracts using 1/32 and 1/16 balsa sheeting as I didn't like the idea of there being big holes in the wing, both for aerodynamic and oil / dirt contamination reasons. It's turned out a nice solution.

I really concentrated on getting a perfectly straight wing by always firmly pinning it to a straight surface and using straight edges when adding sheeting, TE, LE, etc and seem to have succeeded. It's defnitely a 'builders' kit and the die cutting leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a pleasure to build.

-David C.

XTOL

I have a question for those that may have built/flown the newer US40+ and
have built/flown the original Ultra Sport. How do the two compare?

What little I've been able to find comparing the two suggests that while
the US40+ may be a fine airplane it is nowhere near the plane the
original Ultra Sport was.

Which is why I decided to scratchbuilt an original US60 from
the RCM plans.

Mike Hammer

JMOR06

Not a bad build, I built mine with retracts (a first for me) and an OS 70fs. I did not encounter any difficult problems while building. The plane is great in the air and with the os fs has a whole bunch of power. The plane will do anything I ask of it by me.

Jeff

David Cutler

Did you have to add weight at the tail to get a good balance? I'm going to be putting a Saito 100 in mine an they are about the same weight as an OS 70 FS.

-David C.

fstevenj

David,
Was wondering if you could post some pictures of your wheel wells. I am in the process of doing the same thing as I do not like the idea of open wheel wells also. I am trying to form the wells out of excess sheeting, but am having trouble with getting them to look good. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

David Cutler

I used 1/32 and 1/16 sheeting and they came out quite well. I'll post a couple of pics soon.

I formed a drum shape wrapping 1/32 sheet round a spray paint can lid and sticking a 1/16 disc on the end, then cut a hole in the bottom LE sheeting exactly that size and slid the drum into the hole while manually pressing the sheeting into place (not gluing it yet) and CA-ing it into place so that the curve of the sheeting is maintained. Then I formed a 'U' shaped channel from the side of the drum shape to where the retract is mounted, cutting a small circle near one end for the coil spring to sit when it's retracted and lining that circle with wetted 1/32 sheeting.

Difficult to explain (!) but I hope it comes out in the pics I post tomorrow.

-David C.

p.s. Oh, and as you can see in the pics, I moved the wheel wells as close to the side of the fuselage as possible so that the legs are as long as possible for prop clearance. I'm using a Saito 100!!

David Cutler

I haven't yet finished sanding, as you can see, but they seem to have turned out quite well, I think..

fstevenj

Thanks for the pics. I was planning on doing the same thing except I wasn't putting a bottom cap in mine and I was trying to use 1/16 balsa. I am going to have to get some 1/32 to make it easier.

David Cutler

Yes, I was considering using the opposite sheeting as the bottom of the wheel well but its too complex a curve to handle, especially as you can't see what you are doing because the sheeting blocks your view.

I am using 2" wheels and the actuating wire doesn't use the position shows in the plans. I was a bit concerned about where the wire ran, but have now completed the whole installation and it's, luckily, a perfect fit!

I would also recommend the wood, especially the 1/32 parts, are hardened by painting it, inside and out, with epoxy thinned with alcohol.

-David C.

JMOR06

I did not have to add any weight at all. I did build it with the optional rear battery mounting and that is where I put the battery.

Jeff M.

David Cutler

Thanks Jeff.

I hate adding useless weight!

[8D]

-David C.

buzzingb

My Feedback: (2)

This is a wonderful airplane. Like those wheel wells. I will save your pictures for later Ultra Sports. I think this may be the best all around airplane out there. It will fly fast or slow and do it with style. It will handle larger engines as well. The 61/91 two strokes with tuned pipes are perfect for this plane if you want speed and vertical power. If you want to fly for fun, a 46 will fly this plane plenty fast enough. I flew mine with three different engines OS 61, Saito 91, and Saito 80. I liked the two stroke power for this particulat plane to alow it to wind out for speed. But the Saito 100 will get you speed also.

David Cutler

I have a GP Venus with an OS 61 FX in it. That's my 'workhorse' plane and has never yet let me down. I love the OS 61. Good power, great starter.

The Venus is a bit like the Ultrasport in shape and size which was a major factor in building it. When I have it finished I will post my thoughts on the way it flies. I think it should do well with a Saito 100 in it, as it's very light for its torque and power. I considered putting my YS 110 in it, but that might be a little too heavy and powerful! It might fly like a brick on steroids!

Thanks for the comments.

-David C.