SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

OK gang I finally got the PC-9 and got some good flights on it. here is my little review of it.


Initial Feelings

I opened the box and was impressed by the quality of the covering and the lack of wrinkles on the plane. Some small ones but I let them slide. Parts were clean and seperated into neat organized bags. Found the manual to be pretty concise and thorough. Easy reading. The scheme of the plane is outstanding. It is modelled after the Australian Air Force's "Roulettes" air show team. Very authentic looking on the ground and in the sky


Construction

Very straight forward bild up of this ARF. One very nice thing is the hinges on all the surfaces are already done for you! Very nice job and very cleanly installed. I pulled on them to make sure they were in there and yes they were! Fit and finish is very good all around. I used the supplied hardware and everything seemed ok in that dept. I will eventually take the plastic clevices out and replace them later after I get some more time with it.
After running the rods and mounting them to the control surfaces I went ahead and installed the engine. The motor mount is already mounted and I tightened the bolts to double check. Engine goes right in and the front gear is very similar to any trike setup i.e a trainer. Wings were glued together in typical fashion and the servos run through them. It is nice with 2 servos in the wings. So far no complaints! Did I forgoet to mention the tail section? Nothing fancy here either, line them up, check incidence, mark and then glue into place. Simple as cherry pie! The canopy and the pilot are included and already installed!! talk about easy! Supplied spinner is nice and accents the cowling nicely. The cowl requires some cutting becuase the stock muffler is used with the engine. It's not bad at all. Once installed it doesnt interupt the planes line too badly


Flying

The motor gave me some trouble as it mounted upside down and the engine itself was brand new. The cold weather didnt help either so after fiddling with the needles for a bit my pal and I finally got it dialed in. Still needs more breakin time but it will fine im sure. Once the motor started up I range checked and made sure throws looked good and it was off to taxi. On the rollout it handles very well and responds to rudder input niceley. Plane tracks pretty straight so not much steering is needed. Rotate up and the plane lifts of gently. Got some laps of the field and found very little adjustment was needed on the trims. That was a nice suprise. Slight left aileron dip was corrected and we had a nice smooth flying plane hands free. Wind was a bithigh so it required both hands on the wheel at all times ;0
After some circuits I did some basic loops and rolls and the plane is very responsive and agile. Not exactly a monster but for its class its more than enough to have fun. I was up with many of the newer planes like the Funtana, UCANDO and few bipes and sport flyers and everyone had a compliment on how nice the plane looks in the air. I have to admit myself this one the prettiest planes on a flyby. Looks magnificent! Once time was up I brought it around for an approach and it was a little hotter thn im used to so I went around to try again. This plane is pretty quick and requires some real estate to slow it down before you get on the final leg. With that said the slow speed characteristics are nice. Doesnt really drop a wing but kind of mushes forward. Nice feature if you ask me Lined it up and did a 3 point landing. Got some comments on the landing too
5 flights later I had a grin on my face that I coudlnt get rid of. I was up for a while and even had time to play with others with some psuedo formation flying. Good times and the plane tracks nicely.


Conclusion

Flying the plane reminds me what "fun" is supposed to be when you leave the expensive planes at home and just have a go with your buddies in the sky. Doers basic aerobatics easily and has decent speed to cruise around with. Construction is great and looks are even better. My ONLY complaint is there are no retracts. Yes the plane is only about $130 but it would have it made one the best ARF's in its class for me easily if it did. The planes value for money to fun factor are hard to beat. Overall a good plane and purchase. I got many compliments that day from onlookers and were impressed with its flying ability and for its good looks. Enough said! Hope you find this info usefull


Setup

Engine - OS 46FX with a 10x7 prop
Radio - Futaba 6 channel RX and TX with Futaba 3004's and 148's in the wings
Throws - standard throws recommended by manual



Regards

jrotor

My Feedback: (5)

We appreciate your helpful review and pictures.
One question, I'm shopping for a second plane and wondering
if this plane would be easy enough to land.
Thanks.

Jake.

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

Greetings Jake!

well..I flew it more this past weekend and the more I fly the more I love it. Its not a complicated airplane at all but is very capable. It surprisngly does a very nice knife edge which shocked me! Can it be a good second plane? I think so but it all depends how much stick you have on your trainer. This plane with a 46fx can really haul and that can take some getting used to if you have flown fast planes. It can be flwon like a low wing trainer or a semi aerobatic plane all depending on your style.

Landings with this plane can be a little fast, you really have to ease back on the throttle way early than what Im used to. The first few times I can in really hot and adjusted by throttling down all the way to idle on approach and it helped alot. Its a bit hot still if you ask me but a joy to fly!!

Let me know if you have any questions about, I would love to help you out.


kind regards

jrotor

My Feedback: (5)

Hi DiabloKid,

Thanks for the reply.
I'll be practicing more with my current trainer before I fly my second plane but need
something to build meanwhile.
I think I'm pretty close to buying this plane.
I learned that it's inverted engine, and it's my first time dealing with such engine configuration.
Do you think it'll be a challenge ?

THanks.

Jake.

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

Jake the inverted engine installation is a breeze, actually the whole plane is almost too easy to put together. I enjoy the looks and flight performance so it was an easy choice for me. I would def look into it, something alot of other flyers choose is the Sig 4 Star, good flying plane! I wanted something different and this fit the bill for me. Construction is a breeze, dont worry about that.

The only issue I had with the engine was the low end needle needed to be leaned out a hair as it had a tough time idling. It was a new engine and I ran the break ins in extreme cold weather so it made it harder than it actually was.

rcflyertwo

My Feedback: (3)

[8D] I have built and flown this plane, love its looks, cowl was very well made, instructions were a bit lame, my fuel tank seems small only getting 5min flights with a super tiger 45 , for great turbo prop looks I put an evolution 3 blade prop on it, painted the tips yellow, the squarded off prop tips look very realistic!!!! I had some problems with the front wheel turning sideways on grass fields, installed a thicker push rod and it seems fine now, plane looks great in the air, flys very nice, the 3 blade prop slowed it down a bit but that is ok as it is a fast flying plane. Its winter up here so I have it hanging in the local hobby shop just for display. I am looking forward to flying it again next summer. Butch in Niagara Falls. NY

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

Welcome to the forums! Excellent suggestion with the 3 bladr prop, Im getting one now too!

Druce

I've had mine for about 2 years now, and still fly it I have a webra speed 50 on it with a 11x4 prop I think it's the best flyer I had. I bought it because it had the Austraila markings on it .. great plane ..

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

good to hear it still flies. There was a thread over in the ARF section where epople bashed it becuase of elevator flutter issue. I have flown it flat out and have yet to have trouble.

stuk_at_work

My Feedback: (111)

Matt,

We seem to have similar taste these days!

I could not resist picking this plane up when I first saw it. I haven't assembled it yet as I have a couple of partial builds/repairs to get to first, but I too was impressed with the general quality of this plane, especially considering the price! The covering job is first rate.

The firewall attachment looks a little bit on the light side, so I may reinforce it a bit, and depending on how much of a pain it is I may turn the engine sideways and run it with a pitts style muffler to minimize the amount of engine exposed. Probably be a TT 46 Pro, as I sold my 46 FX to someone you may know!

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

Greetings Stu!! Happy New year to ya!!

I would recommend installing the engine upside down. I would hate to chop into that beutiful cowl anymore than it needs to but im sure you can make it work

My friend wants one now so when he gets his we will fly some formation

BTW the engine I got from you was the TT 46. Its in my Kyoshso Spitfire that overdue for some fly time as soon as this mid atlantic weather clears enough [&:]

stuk_at_work

My Feedback: (111)

Hmm [sm=bananahead.gif], Ok. So who did I sell that 46 FX too? So many trades, so little time!

I haven't run a 46 Pro inverted yet, my only experience so far is with a 40 Fx inverted in an elder-40. Verrrry finicky on idle, had to lean the low end quite a bit to keep the engine running at low RPM. I have an onboard glow driver that I originally purchased for the elder, but I don't thing the PC-9 can stand the extra weight ... almost 3 oz. It would have been a wash on the elder because it needed 3 oz of weight in the nose to balance out (I didn't build it!).

Did you have to add weight to balance this plane out, or were you able to balance it by moving stuff around?

SunShyne

My Feedback: (68)

Stu-

I run the 46fx stock upside down and was able to balance it with simply moving the battery around the "cabin"

the pope

has anyone put a70 4stroke in it . on the box it says up to 72. im having trouble trying to get it to fit. can you put the steering setup on the inside of the fire wall and what about c of g? any other mods needed ? thanks from sunny goolwa auz.

Biggles2

I Bought a PC9 and was impressed by the quality of the kit. Two eveings to prepare and powered by a SC 46 abc under the control of a Futaba FF9 . Iv programed flaps into the ailerons and it lands like real one with a little nose up flare out. It flies well and looks even better in the air. I love it and would recommend it to anyone looking to purchase one, its a real joy

BaldEagel

I'v got a OS 70FL in mine but this required a mod to the front wheel mount to clear the rear carb, and a different tank to ensure sufficient air time, also the tank position is incorrect for an inverted 4stoke, other mods where to bend the wheels forward in the wings to impove ground handling, there is a deffinate bias towards the nose of the aircraft with the wheels in the standard position, the ideal would be to have the leading edge of the wheels on the c of g, whith the plane on the ground push the tail down it should only take a small amount of pressure if the tail stays down you may have gone to far, but it will work just not for newbies.

myork

My Feedback: (3)

I am now in the process of building my Seagull PC-9. When I opened the box all I could say is WOW. I was very impressed with the quality of the model and the look. The cover on the tail was kinda ruff. But I took care of that with alittle TLC from a heat gun. Nothing major. I have the plane assembled with radio gear and all. Just need to install. My motor and go to the local gas station and buy one the small Coke's in a plastic bottle. To make my fuel tank. As for power I'm going to run (HEHE get ready for this) a YS .63FZs[&:] I am a speed freak and I am hoping to get acheive atleast 115mph in level flight.

This is only the second ARF I've ever built. The other was a Hanger 9 Aresti 40 that this YS motor was on. But it crashed on it's maiden[:'(] So comparing the model to the Aresti. The PC9 blows it out of the water. I can not wait to fly this little plane and hopefully I will have one of the fastest if not the fastest prop driven plane in our club. I should have the motor installed next week if my parts come in to fix it. Intake pipe and needle valve were damaged in the aresti crash. Motor is brand new to. That was just a bad day flying. I test fit the motor and looks like I'm going to have to find a motor mount with longer horns. Do to the carb hitting the nose gear mount. but other than that it should not be a problem. I hope to try to fly this plane in the next week or to. When I do I will take plenty of pics and video to post. Might do a few speed runs.

I conclusion the only bad thing I have to say about the model is the covering on the tail. Everything else get's a A+ from me.

BaldEagel

Myork
I took the stearable nose wheel unit off the bulkhead and cut a slot where the tiller arm would foul and then used a straight arm rather than the cranked one supplied, this allowed some extra clearance for the rear carb, with a little bit of file work on the other side and extra blocks on the firewall to attach the cowl too it all went in OK. Will post a pic next time I take the cowl off., the tank I used was a Grauper one out of a 72" Extra 300L that I converted to Electric, but that is another story.

If you have a need for speed look at the Weston Magnum 200mph or the Tigershark 150mph, I have the Tigershark, these are verified speeds.
Mike

BaldEagel

Myork
Took the pic without removing the cowl, but I think you can see the mods needed to fit, including the cowl mods also.
Mike J
Sorry very blurrrrrrred image will try again, that's better, the white gung in the pic is silicon mastic used to seal up all the various holes in the bulkhead to prevent fuel ingress into the fus, I also use this to mount the tank, which is not the one supplied with the kit.
Mike again

Supersix

hi baldeagle what size four strokw are you using??

BaldEagel

Supersix

Have a look on "Seagull PC-9 with YS.63 how fast?" its a current thread on the Seagull PC9.

I am using an OS 70FL with a four blade prop, the reason for the prop is to give ground clearance with the retracts installed, the distance from the bulkhead to the wing neccesatated a short nose leg. If your interested look on "Retractable undercarridge installation in a RTF" for details.

Mike

zip93

Could anybody(who has a pc-9) tell me how well it takes off? and how many feet it takes off in??

if somebody would get back to me i would be delighted..

Thanks,

P.S. I think im getting this plane.

zip93

Sorry, another question..

What would you guys recommend for the prop on the plane?? like what size,, how many blades..??

Thanks,






P.S. thanks everyone for your reviews on the plane it has helped my chocie of plane to get.. of corse this one..

anfora

Hi guys,

I am pretty much new to these forums and have been flying for just three years. Nevertheless I also own one of these sweeties. As any other arf there is always some tinkering that needs to be done, but hey, that's also part of our hobby. In my case the covering needed some fixing, as for the rest I only changed some things here or there.

All I can say is that this plane is a great flyer and now I totally got hooked to it. It is also an attraction at the field and people stop to watch my flybys. Now we have three of them at the field and we have recently been chasing each other in the air for the fun of it.

I have a TT Pro 46 fitted with a 10x6 prop and it really pulls the plane.

You just need to keep your eyes on the plane and keep it close to you as much as possible - the rest is sheer fun

gussospina

Hi:

I got the PC-9 at a swap meeting in our club to replace my four star crashed after a wing break in the air, obviously i flown this one as my second plane for about a year, and i guess he was just exhauted and failed....anyways it is a great plane and i highly recommend as your second plane. i started flying my PC-9 three weeks ago and let me tell you it is very stable, the only thing that you feel inmediately is the speed it goes really fast and this can be a challeng as second plane but it is doable......the landings are easy i simply cut the throttle before the final turn not much elevator and once it is aligned to the runway give two or three clicks up of throttle and back to idle when it is about a foot from touching ground.

i'm glad to have this plane as my third.