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Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 6/8/2003 7:27:14 PM   
aaron2874



Posts: 488
Joined: 5/24/2003
From: League City, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I bought the Tower Voyager after I totaled my Thunder Tiger Sport 40. They are pretty much alike. Low wing trainer with trike gear. And since I'm on a budget, the price is right at $90.

When I first unpacked the plane, my first impression was, "What a piece of ****!" The whole thing looked nice, and was packed well, but just looked cheap. I felt it necessary to go over everything I could with thin and thick ca. There was even one structural piece that just fell off. Right off the bat I didn't like this plane very much.

Anyway, putting it together is pretty much just like any other trainer type plane. If you have done one before there are no suprises here so no real need to go into detail. Just inspect everything and reenforce if needed. The instructions were very good though. Easy to understand and had good pictures. Building was very quick.

The cowl was a bit of a problem. Holes are precut to allow for your exhaust. They weren't even close to my engine (OS 46 LA) so I had to widen them. I would prefer a cowl to have no holes so I can custom fit whatever engine I use. This would make for a much nicer finished product.

The engine is mounted upside down. This is a problem because the fuel tank inside the plane was mounted too high. It made a great siphon! I ditched the cowl and flipped the engine and mount right side up with no problems. I didn't want to refit the fuel tank. This only took me a few minutes to do and everything lined up just right. Any comments on this would be appreciated as I have never had an inverted engine before. It was a real mess!

To the field! I didn't have high hopes because I was already irritated with this plane. I could have crashed it and not cared. However, I found this plane to fly very well! Now, I don't have a lot of flying experience. I have never had an instructor, but have managed ok. I did have a great time flying this plane though.

Take off was no problem. It was easy to steer and lifted off in about 50 feet. I thought, "Well, at least something is going right". I didn't like the recommended low rates. The plane felt sluggish. I switched to high rates and found response to be much crisper. I may even increase the rates a little more. The Voyager is a very easy flier. I didn't have to make any trim adjustments. I chalk that up to blind luck though. Rolls were ok but not very tight. Loops were nice and inverted flight was very easy. I would not try it at a low altitude though. It flew nice simple patterns and is very easy to control just like a trainer should be.

Now for the hard part... landing. I have not mastered this yet and I was very nervous. Usually I just set my planes down anywhere in a field. Today, I wanted to learn to line up to and land on a paved two lane street. The Voyager responded very well at low speeds and I FINALLY had some really nice landings. I was feeling pretty good so I tried several touch and goes. I had never done this before, but the plane handled so well at low speeds and steered on the ground so easy, I was quite successful. In all, I flew five times and did about 10 touch and goes.

Then it happened... On my last landing, I nosed it in on the street a little hard. The fire wall broke around the gear mount and the nose gear buckled underneath. True this is pilot error, however, I don't think I hit that hard. The firewall seems thin so I am going to cut it out and use a heavier ply. That should take care of that (along with keeping the nose up).

BTW The Voyager comes with large foam wheels and has long gear so it sits kind of high. I could see on landings how well the wheels took the shock of touch down while the plane itself looked very smooth. Tower get a plus for that. Other planes I have came with dinky little wheels and short landing gear.

This plane does have a few structural issues, but they are easy to fix. I believe it is a good low wing trainer. Despite some of its' shortcomings, I really did enjoy flying and landing this plane. In fact, I just had my most enjoyable flying session to date so I really kind of like this plane now.

If you have any specific questions, please post them, and I will answer promptly.

_____________________________

24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not!
       Post #: 1

Follow up... - 7/14/2003 11:52:22 AM   
aaron2874



Posts: 488
Joined: 5/24/2003
From: League City, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I was out at my mothers' property flying yesterday. After my first flight, I noticed the covering was really loose. I have had to put the heat gun on the wing a few times before. No surprise since I live in Texas. After all was tight, and it took some time, I put 3 more flights on the Voyager. On the last flight, I heard this massive flutter sound at high speed. Time to land! When I got the plane back, THE COVERING WAS WAY LOOSE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!
I use a big 50 x 100 sq. ft. building right by the runway so my plane never sat out in the sun. This pvc covering they use just plane bites.... pun intended. When I got home, I stripped the wing. Gonna recover it with this MONOKOTE I have laying around.
I also had a Goldberg Tiger 60 which is covered with Ultracote. No problems with that covering at all. I guess you get what you pay for... I still like flying the plane though so it will get a facelift!

_____________________________

24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not!

(in reply to aaron2874)
       Post #: 2

Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 7/20/2003 10:19:05 PM   
aaron2874



Posts: 488
Joined: 5/24/2003
From: League City, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Well, here are my final thoughts on this plane.

After stripping the plane, I used some thin balsa to extend the ailerons, elevator, and rudder 3/8 of an inch. Then I recovered the plane in MONOKOTE. No problem with the covering today.

As far as flight goes, the additions to the control surfaces made quite a difference. That sucker rolls a lot better now! I still used the recommended low rates for take off and landing, but I slightly increased the hi rates. The hi rates are a little on the touchy side, but I'll get used to it. Still won't hold a knife edge worth a darn, but stall turns, rolls, and snaps are much tighter and a lot more fun. And it WILL turn on a dime! I bet this plane would be much cooler with a bigger engine. You can never have too much power!!!

Anyway, I noticed that I have pretty much wasted my time as Tower Hobbies has discontinued this plane. They do still sell another like it called the MKII for about $120. For that money, I would go with the Thunder Tiger Sport 40.

Now, it's time to go finish my Shrike 40. Ohhhhh man! Can't wait!

_____________________________

24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not!

(in reply to aaron2874)
       Post #: 3

RE: Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 4/8/2004 4:58:31 PM   
steinericj



Posts: 55
Joined: 4/8/2004
From: Downingtown , PA, USA
Status: offline 		I have one also and have been flying it for about 2 years now with an OS 46FX mounted inverted as designed. Flys great and lands great. The plane is so light that it goes vertical out of site at about 3/4 throttle. It virtually sticks to the ground on contact like. Makes me look like a much better pilot than I am. The only problem I have had is with the cowl. It continues to crack in various places. I have been repairing it from the inside with fiberglass tape and epoxy.

Enjoy

(in reply to aaron2874)
       Post #: 4

RE: Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 4/13/2004 10:43:56 PM   
aaron2874



Posts: 488
Joined: 5/24/2003
From: League City, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Yeah, it's such an easy flier I'm using it to train my girlfriend. In fact, it flys easier than any trainer I have bought (Avistar, Thunder Tiger 40, and Hobbico 60). I agree about the cowl. It's totally cheesy. I tossed mine. This is my "beater" plane. It has held up very well considering all the hell I have subjected it to while honing my landing skillz.

_____________________________

24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not!

(in reply to steinericj)
       Post #: 5

RE: Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 10/12/2006 4:17:20 PM   
Avistar 2



Posts: 352
Joined: 9/4/2005
From: Avondale, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		I be getting mine today, about the crawel ever thinking making your custum made or order from a model plane shop that makes crawels?

_____________________________

JUST LEARNING TO FLY
SOON TO BE AMA PILOT

(in reply to aaron2874)
       Post #: 6

RE: Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 10/12/2006 4:55:28 PM   
aaron2874



Posts: 488
Joined: 5/24/2003
From: League City, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I never bothered with the cowel after I took it off and flipped the engine right side up. It was a beater plane so I didn't care much about asthetics. Crashing, fixing, and flying it some more was satisfying enough! I actually cartwheeled it on a paved street once. I "mashed" a wing tip back to shape with my fingers, hosed it with thin CA glue, then wrapped it with tape. Slapped on a new prop and flew it again a half hour later! God I miss that plane.... so many crash memories.

_____________________________

24 hours in a day. 24 beers in a case. Coincidence? I think not!

(in reply to Avistar 2)
       Post #: 7

RE: Tower Voyager 40 ARF - 10/12/2006 6:22:56 PM   
Avistar 2



Posts: 352
Joined: 9/4/2005
From: Avondale, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Well right now there's a back order on the Goldberg Tiger 2 Arf
the Voyger mark 2 was my 2nd choice.

_____________________________

JUST LEARNING TO FLY
SOON TO BE AMA PILOT

(in reply to aaron2874)
       Post #: 8

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