RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF  
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RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/9/2008 2:58:12 AM   
*JCB*



Posts: 597
Joined: 9/23/2004
From: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Status: offline 		i just pulled my tail section apart after reading what you wrote to check things out. I had assembled it "loosely" just to get things together and hook up control surfaces. Upon pulling it apart, I noticed some good indentation on the h.stab, and the bolts were hardly snugged! This doesn't bode well

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       Post #: 51

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/9/2008 7:34:16 AM   
testfly



Posts: 77
Joined: 4/1/2002
From: Anna Maria, FL, USA
Status: offline 		Chuck,

The picture you posted of your completed model looks really nice.
To have lost it on the first flight is A Shame!
Sorry for your loss.


Send me your address and I will donate $10.00 toward another one if your going to replace it.
Your loss and the reason for it may have saved a lot of planes including mine.
I am sure to glue on the tail now.

(in reply to *JCB*)
       Post #: 52

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/9/2008 8:51:37 AM   
freeair


 

Posts: 365
Joined: 5/10/2008
From: queensland, AUSTRALIA
Status: offline 		nothing worse than loosing a new arf model, yes there is . a plan built or kit built. think of both these model build types, when you build a model yourself you know what glues your using ect ect but when you buy an ATF or RTF job you do not know what the guy who built this model has used as far as glues go. i have allways been a kit / plan builder but now i am getting into the ARF,s as the price is right plus the time is down in having a new model but i do feel some of the GLUE is very vaige in cricical ares, this is why YOU MUST check and add correct glues to certain areas that are more or less visibl to your eyes. i have seen a new model loose its engine due to the glue used on a certain ARF kit, they used CA glue only on the main engine mount bulk head instead of the good epoxy glue. so anyway with any brand of ARF or RTF kits you must check all critical areas and use a good type of glue [ epoxy ] not the quick CA .

(in reply to testfly)
       Post #: 53

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/9/2008 8:12:32 PM   
ChuckW



Posts: 1889
Joined: 6/15/2006
From: Clovis, CA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: testfly

Send me your address and I will donate $10.00 toward another one if your going to replace it.
Your loss and the reason for it may have saved a lot of planes including mine.
I am sure to glue on the tail now.


This gesture is very appreciated. Buying a new plane really isn't an issue though. I already plan on ordering a new one and powering it with a 4-stroke this time. I also have plenty of others to fly in the mean time.

(in reply to testfly)
       Post #: 54

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/10/2008 3:00:10 AM   
Corsair 29


 

Posts: 56
Joined: 10/8/2006
From: Selma, AL, USA
Status: offline 		I've maiden three GP Cherokee's so far, two of them belong to other people, and one mine. The first one was setup for electirc I don't remeber what exactly it had in it but the first time I flew it, I was hooked. The second one had an OS .46 2 stroke in it. With this setup it had plenty of power, and I mostly flew it below 1/2 throttle.

I decided to go with electric in mine using a Turnigy 50-55B 600kv motor, and an 80amp ESC from Light flight RC. The battery pack I used is an 6s2p 4600mah A123. which gave me a total weight of 7lbs 10oz.

I usually only fly for 8 minutes total. So with an 8 minute leisurely flight I consume about 1700mah from the pack.
An 8 minute flight with some maneuvers uses about 2300mah from the pack, and an 8 minute flight with lots of manuevers uses 3200mah from the pack.

The flaps are very nice it slows the plane down a lot, and it is effective for a real slow landing.

I dont use a charger for this 6s2p A123 pack but instead wire two 12v lead acid marine batteries in series to give me 24volts total, then I attach an 18gauge speaker wire around 14 feet in length to drop the current to 20amps to the battery pack. Packs charge in about 12 minutes, and I'm flying again.
I did this for a total of 9 flights today.

Love to do touch and goes with this baby.

Here's a short video taken last weekend of my Cherokee:
Cherokee video

(in reply to ChuckW)
       Post #: 55

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/10/2008 7:34:25 AM   
Kostas1



Posts: 1229
Joined: 12/19/2005
From: AthensAthens, GREECE
Status: offline 		ChuckW hi from sunny Greece!
Sorry for your loss...... especially on the 1st flight...

Do you have any pics of the Cherokee after the "crash"?

Also,
did you use a 2stroke or a 4stroke engine?

Thank's a lot,

Kostas

PS. So guys maybe we must all add a thin (why not?) coat of epoxy on the tail surfaces....i don't plan to strip it apart to drive it to the field and back again....

(in reply to ChuckW)
       Post #: 56

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/10/2008 2:56:39 PM   
ChuckW



Posts: 1889
Joined: 6/15/2006
From: Clovis, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I used a 2-stroke .46-AX with a Slimline Pitts muffler. It was a great power match for the plane. Sorry, no pictures of the wreckage.

(in reply to Kostas1)
       Post #: 57

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/11/2008 10:30:25 PM   
*JCB*



Posts: 597
Joined: 9/23/2004
From: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I maidened the Cherokee this morning and boy this is a nice plane!! It needed a minor amount of trim and then tracked perfectly straight through the air. Axial rolls, awesome loops and inverted flight with just a touch of down elevator, what more could you ask for out of a sport plane??

After the first takeoff it was trimmed in about 3 seconds and it felt so comfortable that I immediately proceeded to do some loops and rolls on the first circuit around the field and the plane didn't balk once. I kept the first flight fairly short because I like to check all the nuts and bolts to make sure everything is holding tight. After that, I flew it again and again and again, wringing it out as much as I could. I put about 90 minutes of airtime on the Cherokee this morning and it was great! The fuel tank that is included is HUGE! I have a trusty ol' Magnum 46 XLS installed and I could easily get 20+ minutes of flight on one tank. The longest flight I made was 18 minutes and there was still 1/3 of tank left (and, NO, I wasn't just puttin' around the sky)!!

The flaps were absolutely awesome, although not completely necessary. The plane will land easily without flaps and will CRAWL in for a landing with flaps. I did notice a tendency to climb when the flaps were deployed, but it was nothing major and easily cured by lowering the throttle. I don't think I will be mixing any elevator into the flaps. Using 50% flaps for takeoff was great too!

Ground handling was superb as well. This plane tracks nice and straight down the runway and responds nicely to rudder input without darting all over the place.

Next step is retrofitting the plane for floats!! I think using flaps for takeoff and landing, this plane will hardly even notice if floats are attached to the bottom.

The only thing I would recommend is to do some fuel proofing around the wing saddle, especially in the forward and aft ends. Using a pitts muffler spews a good amount of oil on the bottom of the plane.

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       Post #: 58

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/12/2008 12:51:36 AM   
da Rock



Posts: 6705
Joined: 10/11/2005
From: western, NC, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: *JCB*
The only thing I would recommend is to do some fuel proofing around the wing saddle, especially in the forward and aft ends. Using a pitts muffler spews a good amount of oil on the bottom of the plane.



It doesn't take much to keep the bottom of an airplane clean.

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       Post #: 59

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/12/2008 4:43:42 AM   
ChuckW



Posts: 1889
Joined: 6/15/2006
From: Clovis, CA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: *JCB*

I maidened the Cherokee this morning and boy this is a nice plane!! It needed a minor amount of trim and then tracked perfectly straight through the air. Axial rolls, awesome loops and inverted flight with just a touch of down elevator, what more could you ask for out of a sport plane??

After the first takeoff it was trimmed in about 3 seconds and it felt so comfortable that I immediately proceeded to do some loops and rolls on the first circuit around the field and the plane didn't balk once.


That's exactly why I want to get another one. I sent my tail section to Great Planes to see what they say. Regardless, I will buy another Cherokee. Too bad they are out of stock at Tower right now. I'll probably do a 4-stroke next time though.

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       Post #: 60

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/12/2008 11:27:46 PM   
*JCB*



Posts: 597
Joined: 9/23/2004
From: Redondo Beach, CA, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: da Rock

It doesn't take much to keep the bottom of an airplane clean.



The exhaust from my pitts muffler hangs out pretty far and the bottom of the plane still gets all gooey

Also, the float mounting is coming along! I now need to head to the LHS for more music wire to make some bracing. It looks a little funny with the landing gear still attached, but that'll come off when it's time to fly from the water.

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RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/13/2008 12:46:45 AM   
da Rock



Posts: 6705
Joined: 10/11/2005
From: western, NC, USA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: *JCB*

The exhaust from my pitts muffler hangs out pretty far and the bottom of the plane still gets all gooey



And no hope on that wheel pant staying clean.

But here is how much works on a few different planes. None of these get messy. The P47 would seem to have no hope but it only takes one swipe to clean up.


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RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/13/2008 12:54:31 AM   
da Rock



Posts: 6705
Joined: 10/11/2005
From: western, NC, USA
Status: offline 		Those floats look like they'd do the trick for sure. Gonna paint 'em to match? Looking forward to some action pictures.

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       Post #: 63

RE: Great Planes Cherokee ARF - 6/13/2008 1:22:43 AM