Chad Veich

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Congratulations smithcreek, it doesn't get any better than that. The Peashooter looks absolutely stunning and appears to fly as good as it looks. I have to confess though that I don't think I would want to to try and operate it off of a hard surface. I'd be interested in your report on how it handles if you ever get the opportunity to fly off of a paved runway. Good luck with it and I hope it provides you with many years of reliable service.

Ram-bro

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absolutly gruesome congrats on a welldone project

smithcreek

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Thank you sir. On all the videos I've found the P-26 gets in trouble on takeoff because the engine torque causes it tilt left and turn hard right, I suppose that happens when the left wheel digs in. That's simple to fix, just don't hammer the throttle. I did a dozen taxi tests before takeoff. Pavement might be a bit more tricky, but I think it would not be a problem for takeoffs and once you get a little speed it handles very well. If it isn't perfect, abort and try again. Landings on the other hand, I would not do on pavement. I spent enough time building this that I would not fly it unless I could land on a grass strip. One little bounce that tilts the plane gets magnified quickly. The last landing was the only decent one of the three I did today, but all were low rates on the elevator and I think I'll be able to bleed off a lot more speed if I use high.

smithcreek

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Thanks, I spent the last 4 months worried that guy was right about how awful the plane was I couldn't resist misleading a bit. You know, the P-26 is probably weird enough that even a hardcore autogiro guy like Joe Cole would like it! I could almost see this plane with a windmill on top. Say hi to Joe for me next time you see him.

Dowmer

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Smithcreek,
I know I told you on RCSB but really a top notch job and to your wingman as well. In hind site, would you recommend building this plane again or go for a larger 80"+ version? I was considering scaling up to 1/4 scale to help with it's flying and handeling characteristics, but if you are real happy with the Royal size then perhaps it isn't necessary.

Also, Any chance of getting any of the fiberglass parts or wood kit for this plane you did? I have the Royal plans too and have been waiting for a long time because I don't have the expertise or time to make the FG parts. The CNCcut wood would be nice too and a time saver.

....Edit.... Nevermind, I read back through the early pages and I see that FGS offers FG parts. I tried the link to the .pdf parts you posted but it must have gotten wiped with the other pics when you changed servers. Any chance of getting it reposted. Also any pics of the rudder and elevator linkage would be appreciated. Hope the other flights go well.

Cheers,
Jason

Ram-bro

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If jo had it, it would b Gyro'd bfor I caould say ,"That aint Scale".

Gray Beard

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Smitty, I don't know about you but that was the first time in a long time I broke out a sweat and my knees were shaking on a maiden and I was only watching you!!! I knew from the first day this was going to be something special. Been a long 3 years! It was worth the wait though. I saw where you liked pulling the masking tape, that's when I lift off my base coat and get pissed!!
Gene

smithcreek

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Yeah, even though they are expensive I just could not do the fiberglass any cheaper than FGS and he would do a far superior job. I'll repost the pdf, but I would also be happy to send the CAD drawings to a laser cutter if you have one near you. That would save on shipping at least.

You asked if I would build bigger and my answer is I'm perfectly happy with this size. In general I'm not a fan of .40 size planes, they just don't fly that well, .60 is much better, but a plane this size, which I would call a .90, flies almost as well as planes twice the size. If I was to go larger I would still use the Royal plans and blow them up, they are the closest to scale I have seen. The other plans I've seen are just not right. I think the one on [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSKsqKlMX4]THIS VIDEO[/link] was built with the Peppino plans and if you look at the fuse ahead of the cockpit it has a weird "honeypot" shape to it that is just wrong and ugly. The Royal plans are not exactly correct in that area either. They are near perfect when looking at a profile, but the top of the fuse is too round, it should be more "egg" shaped and pointy at the top. I think that's the kind of thing only someone who has been staring at pictures for three years would notice though.

smithcreek

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Thanks Gene. I didn't feel nervous, but you can tell how anxious I was by my non-stop chatting through the whole video!

Dowmer

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Smitty,
Thanks for the feedback. Just curious. I'm always on the lookout for good scale plans. How hard would it be to scale your Royal CAD drawings to 1/4 scale? Admittedly, I know very little about CAD.

Jason

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

All the notches are cut for specific sized wood. Notches on the formers are for 1/8" ply, when you scale up or down that won't fit, maybe you could scale it up to the next size ply, not sure. Then you would have the problem of finding fiberglass parts, although making all those parts including the wheel pants/spats out of balsa and ply yourself would not be difficult, just time consuming, but nothing on this build is not time consuming so...

Dowmer

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Smitty,
FGS does 1/4 scale fg parts for the P-26 as well. They were made for the Pepino plans. The real limiting factor would be getting some good 1/4 scale CAD files for sending to PCK for laser cutting a kit.

Jason

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

Flew the P-26 yesterday. What a great flying plane! Landing on the other hand... Everything goes just fine on the approach, rock solid for the flare, touches down easy and predictable, roll out is fine... until the last 10 ft., the plane is practically stopped and it's about 50-50 whether it flips over! Seems like the wings loses enough lift to keep it level, but with the flaps down still has enough to make the tail light, so the plane will tilt over to one side just enough to touch a wingtip, that's enough to make it tip forward, the wheel pants grab the grass, and with such a short nose there's nothing stopping from going all the way over, even though it's barely moving when it happens. With that said, I've simply learned live with it. I fly off grass and the plane is going SO slow when this happens that I'm not worried about damage. The flaps are on a slider. I may put them on a switch also, so I can pull them up as soon as I touch down.

Ram-bro

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one of my favorite planes.....just needs a pilot

I-fly-any-and-all

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new p-26 build http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2148127

Mephisto

I want build the P 26. Powered by a original Seidel ST 770 radial engine. Span I think about 85 Inch.
Which plan do you recommend. Is there a possibility to get a kit, or a fiberglass fuselage.

Thank you for your help.
Roman

Dowmer

My Feedback: (1)

Roman,
about the only plans I know available in The size that you want that is reasonably accurate would be plans by Jim Pepino 80 inches. Fiberglass spats and cowl are available through Fiberglass Specialty. No fiberglass fuse is available as far as I know. Most other plans are either too small or inaccurate. I'd beware of the Dan Santich plans. I've heard there are scale problems. I love the Peashooter and I feel that it is widely over looked. It has a bad reputation perhaps. On the RCSB website there is a nice build thread of a 1/4 scale P-26 built several years ago. He modified the Santich plans.

I-fly-any-and-all

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what would it take to get someone to scan and email or copy their blue prints?

Dowmer

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There are plenty of quality websites that you can get the plans from.

I-fly-any-and-all

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Dowmer im only looking for "royal scale"

I-fly-any-and-all

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Are you still doing short kits and fiberglass parts for the royal p-26?
Im contemplating buying a set of plans and aluminum cowl on ebay.

I-fly-any-and-all

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I just bought an aluminum cowl and plans off ebay. A guy about 40 minutes east of me has a cmpro p26 just , he sold me all the fiberglass specialties p26 parts for royal plane.