decathlon; which brand?
 

got this used decathlon for $120.00 equivalent in Philippine peso. could someone let me know which brand this is? Have to rebuild it. it has a 63" inch wingspan.

I was told it was just flown once (maiden) then just hanged for more than 5 years after it crashed during the maiden. Owner never flew any plane after that.

this came with a working O.S. 70 surpass, Futaba 9C and receiver, a starter, 7 s3003 servos. Notice that it didnt come with a rudder and landing gear though.

With its present condition, i still hope this is a good buy. I'm a newbie by the way and I cant say much whether a plane's structure is still good or not.

by the way, i noticed that the back window doesnt seem right.

edited: oh I'm sorry. I think I posted this in the wrong section.

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If you are a newboie how did you get Cub Brotherhood #279?

BTW, I've seen that yellow Decathlon somewhere but can't remember where. I don't think there are too many of them.

Hi, got it for the only reason that I currently have a 1/4 cub build which is now halfway through. It's my first build.

Hopefully someone could help identify this plane. not really sure if it is indeed a decathlon or just the color scheme. I noticed from my searches that the decathlons do not have flaps. while this one has them.

First, the flaps appear to have been added by the original owner. Second, it is a Decathlon. Third, it is also missing the wing struts and you may need them to support the two piece wing. Fourth, it is in very rough shape. Fifth, the Decathlon is a difficult airplane to fly.

You paid a very cheap price for the engine and radio. You paid nothing for the airplane. Buy yourself a nice 40 size trainer ARF from Hobby King or a local shop and you will be MUCH better off.

Hi jrf, thanks for the reply. oh I didn't know it is that difficult to fly. My plan here was to rebuild, recover then fly. But if that's the case, I might as well just rebuild , recover and hang it until such time I become competent to fly it. Will have to remove the cover soon to see its real condition.

It is a scale plane right? would you suggest restoring the wing to its original condition, i.e., removing the flaps?

​​​​​​I now have a trainer, a world models skyraider. I Will settle with that one for now.

Thank you!

These ground loop terribly. That my be why the flaps were installed. I would take them off but that's a personal choice. You may have fun with them on there. You got good advice on learning on a different plane. Please take it. You could spend a bunch of time on this plane only to bang it up and get discouraged.

David

Thanks David! Yes I will. I've been using this trainer for almost half a year now.

That's definitely a Decathlon. I can't pinpoint the manufacturer either though. As mentioned, it's been altered slightly, and is missing some components. Really in rough shape, still fixable. That OS .70 four-stroke is a very decent engine though if that one's in good shape. The Futaba 9C is a very decent radio as well, even though it's not on 2.4ghz(I'm not sure if your country uses 72mhz like the US does).. I have a 9C that I've had for 16yrs that's still rock solid. All I've ever done is replace the battery... so you probably did well with that radio and engine.. and as said, the plane was a freebie in the mix, and can probably be repaired if you wanted too...

I do have to say though... don't let the high-wing fool you on these Decathlons. Some of them take quite a bit of experience to fly successfully. Most have a symmetrical airfoil, and are short-coupled, which makes them very aerobatic, and very quick. My guess is the original owner of this plane might have been in over his head, thinking it's docile because of the high-wing it has... which is quite common... but these planes when set up correctly are extremely manueverable and aerobatic. I own a GreatPlanes version that I built many many years ago... and it takes a definite touch to fly ... very doable.. but very unique in how they fly. Good luck with your plane... I'd say you did fine.

That’s an old Global Decathlon. Not worth the rebuild at all.

thanks! that's exactly it! oh why not worth the rebuild?

For some planes there just comes a time when it's not cost effective, or time effective, and structural issues and weight due to repairs might not make a plane a good candidate for restoration... and it's different for every plane, as well for every pilot/builder.

This plane was an ARF in it's new days... which probably means it's built with marginal materials/woods, as well as assembly line techniques. It's not a Sig, Midwest, or any other higher end builders-kit plane that someone built.

The Sig planes and others of earlier eras used very good wood for the most part(albeit some heavy in todays world)... as well as there's documentation and plans readily available for the classics... which really makes alot of those types of planes great candidates for restoration and modernization. This Global Decathlon though is unfortunately not in that category... at least for many of us long time builders/restorers.

Without a real glimpse into that airframe, and only knowing now (I do remember that plane now), and what we can see of it, it just looks in need of many things that only an experienced builder could call out, and an experienced builder probably wouldn't spend the time and effort making it airworthy, knowing it would really only add weight, and anything you do to it won't change that fact it's a Global ARF.

If it was Sig, or Midwest, or Great Planes, and was in decent shape, I would say yes... restore it, or at the least fix and fly it, as all the companies I mentioned made great flying Decathlon/Citabria types of models, and all flew great... plus the fact there's ample resources to restore these as well.... but again not so much with the Global version.

So those are a few reasons why some builders would shy away from a restoration/repair of a plane like this. Of course there are those that are very ambitious too... and see this as a great challenge.. and can actually succeed in making a plane like this fly again.. whether it's just repaired or fully restored.. they will make it happen. Those are usually people that have an attachment to a particular model for whatever reason. I have attachments to certain models(certain Decathlons and others)... but I've got a few of the classics I'd mentioned above.. and the resources to repair, and restore most any of those.

So it all depends on your experience and resources, and how bad do you want to fly a Global Decathlon. The one you have might end up on the heavy side, but someone with experience might be able to gauge better by looking at it beforehand.... and knowing what it would actually entail to repair.

It's hard to tell if the gear block is torn out...I think it is... so there's weight... the under-carriage looks to be damaged as well... etc.. so there's more weight.. It's missing components like a rudder, landing gear (main and tail(which probably is with the rudder)), struts, and maybe more stuff I can't see. So if you do want to repair it, just start studying and gathering parts and resources... and drawing up a rudder plan, etc... It's up to you, but here's a few reasons why it might not be worth it.. I hope that makes sense. Good luck with whatever you decide.