G'day

Over the years I have had three Four Star 40s, one Four Star 60 and one Four Star 120. I still have one of each.

My first one was a 40 and it had an OS 48 four stroke. I was still very much a learner at the time but I liked the way it flew.

Next 40 had a Super Tigre S40. I did not like the way it flew. It wanted to fly too fast for my taste. I probably should have put props with less pitch on it.

Current one has a Saito 62. Plenty of pull but not too fast.

My 60 started with a Saito 72. This was fine for normal aerobatics but my son flew it and said it needed more. So, I put a Saito 100 in it. Brilliant. I love flying it. That's it on the left there when it had the 72 in it. It is about 6 years old now.

My 120 has always had a Saito 150S. Tons of go and sounds amazing. I was flying it last week for the first time in several months. I need to fly it more often. It is the best to fly.

The 40s tend to be a bit difficult to land and it is easy to have it just drop out of the air. The 60 floats well on landing and the trick with it is to not try to put it on the ground until the nose is starting to go up. If you put it on the ground too fast, it will bounce every time. Bruce Tharpe, who designed it, says this on his website.

The 120 is easy to land but it too will bounce unless you let it slow down so it starts to go "nose high".

Really great planes though.

Mike in Oz