The parts complete as they come out of the box!

WING ASSEMBLY

The first step in the assembly process is to cut the pushrods to length as indicated in the chart and using denatured alcohol and a file to prep the ends for soldering the clevises on the non-threaded end of the pushrods. I soldered each in place using silver solder and flux. You will later find out that if you set these up exactly as indicated in the manual setting up the control throws and servos later in the assembly process.

Next, I removed the covering from the servo openings. I like to use a soldering pen for this as it gives me a clean edge and adheres the glue to the edges at the same time.

Using epoxy glue I affixed the 2 plastic wing dowels on the root rib of each wing half. You want to be sure that they go in straight so they align with the fuselage properly.

The CA hinges come in a whole sheet and you need to cut them out to 3/4" x 1" pieces as per the manual. I like to also cut small bevels on each corner so they slide into the slots better on the wing and control surface. I used my hobby blade and ran it through all the hinge slots in the leading and trailing edges of the wing components. I aligned the ailerons and flaps and affixed them in place using thin CA on the hinges.

Next, I measured out the locations of the control horns as per the manual and attached them with the supplied hardware. The wing has string inside it for threading the servo wires. I used 36" servo extensions for the aileron servos and 12" extensions for the flap servos and pulled the wires through with the string. Then I attached the 4 Futaba 9001 servos in position. For servo horns I used Dubro heavy-duty long arms to be sure I had enough movement for 3D control throws.

With the servos installed, I connected all 4 control rods and temporarily connected the servos to the receiver so I could adjust the centering and end points on my radio.

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TAIL WHEEL & WHEEL PANTS

The original engine that was supplied for this model was the OS Surpass 120 III, but after installing it on the plane and test flying it, I realized that it would not produce enough power for enhanced 3D maneuvers, so I opted for an OS 160FX 2 Stroke engine in its place.

RADIO INSTALLATION

I chose the Futaba 9CAP system for the Giant U-CAN-DO-3D specifically. For receiver I used a R149DP PCM 9 channel receiver. The receiver mounted on the radio tray towards the back of the cockpit. Just forward the receiver is where I installed the throttle servo and connected it with the supplied EZ connector to the throttle pushrod. The 6 Volt battery for the radio system mounted near the rear of the cockpit to provide optimum balance. I used a Heavy Duty switch from Smart Fly.

I connected each of the control surfaces to separate channels and used the radio to adjust the mixing of each. By using 2 channels for the elevator it allowed me to adjust each half independently and I did not need the use of a reversing Y Connector. By using separate channels for the flaps and ailerons, it allowed me to program features such as CROW (flaps down and ailerons up) as well as using the flaps like flaps on a slider on the left of the transmitter. But I was also able to flip a switch and tie the flaps to the ailerons to give me even greater roll authority.

The last thing I needed to do with the radio was to slide the antenna wire down the tube installed in the fuselage and use a piece of fuel tubing to secure it in place.

These are the recommended control surface throws:
	High Rate (3D)	Low Rate
ELEVATOR:	5" [130mm] up 5" [130mm] down	1-3/4" [45mm] up 1-3/4" [45mm] down
RUDDER:	6" [150mm] right 6" [150mm] left	4" [100mm] right 4" [100mm] left
AILERONS:	2-3/4" [70mm] up 2-3/4" [70mm] down	1-1/4" [32mm] up 1-1/4" [32mm] down
FLAPS:	4" [100mm] full 2-3/4" [70mm] half

Just like the two smaller cousins, I was equally as excited about getting this Giant U Can DO in the air. I ran a couple tanks of fuel through the OS 160FX at the field for break-in. I made some minor adjustments to the high and low needle valves on the engine until it was running like a top.

MAIDEN FLIGHT

The maiden flight took place on a 35 degree day with very little wind. It was cold, but the no wind made it very bearable.

I checked out the control throws and directions one last time and proceeded to make a quick taxi run to ensure everything was ok. Once satisfied, I advanced the throttle and just like the smaller U Can DO's the plane was airborne in seconds. I needed a few clicks of aileron and elevator trim to get the plane to fly hands-off.

Slow flight characteristics were amazing - allowing the plane to almost come to a crawl in flight. It remained very stable through out all speeds and the control response remained very effective.

The tracking on the Giant U CAN DO was excellent and it flew anywhere you pointed it. I think the larger size and increased power over it's smaller cousins made it perform even better as wind and breezes had very little effect on flight performance.

Landing was also uneventful. I tried a couple landings, with the use of flaps and without. Flaps on this plane, in my opinion, serve no real purpose other than to use for making maneuvers more fun. As a private pilot, flaps in a conventional sense are used to slow a plane down in landings by increasing drag over the wing and allowing for more lift. Because of the excellent slow flight characteristics of this plane there really is no reason to use flaps on landing. The impact brings the plane in at a crawl without and a snails pace with.

PUSHING THE ENVELOPE!

After the first few flights on the maiden day I had the chance to fly the plane several more times to get used to it before shooting the video. Weather conditions were much calmer on the other test days and the lack of wind makes the Giant U Can Do shine big time. I only wished that there were less clouds so the video could have been brighter. But none the less, the flying was fun.

I held the nose up until is stalled and brought the plane into a spin. Applying opposite rudder I was able to get it into an upright flat spin. Not perfectly flat, but almost. There is no real tendency for the plane to snap out of a stall. It just kind of mushes along until one wing drops slightly.

I then did some rolls on high rate, they were extremely fast and then tied the flaps into the ailerons using a mix on my radio and the roll rate doubled. Slow speed flight is just awesome. I activated the flaps and put them down and pointed her in the wind at 1/8th throttle or a little under and the plane basically stood motionless in the air for as long as I wanted it to at just a slight nose up attitude. When the plane finally converted into an elevator, the wing rock was minimal and by using the rudder I was able to steer the plane all the way down to the ground.

Inverted flight required only a touch of down elevator. I tried to stall the model but found it practically impossible to do so. I held the nose up and chopped the throttle, but the plane just keeps flying. If you can get it to stall the recovery is so fast it's hard to tell you stalled it.

The plane will do super tight inside and outside loops and sharp 4-point rolls. You can snap it and then come out of it and go right into a hover.

The last maneuver I tried was a blender which did not look so good the first time as the rates were on high and I think was just too much to make this maneuver work properly. So I tried it a couple more times on low rates and there was a vast improvement with the blender converting to an inverted flat spin with a very slow decent rate.

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