ORIGINAL: 757jonp
I've had my adventures with a couple Twists. Overall I consider it a fine knockabout general purpose plane and really enjoyed them, especially on windy days, they love flying in the wind. However, sooner or later you will dork a landing in the wind, and like I did, break the fuse just aft of the canopy. While making repairs, the problem appears that with the wing and canopy removed there just isn't much to hold the front of the fuse to the rear. The canopy obviously does not contribute any strength, and since the wing is held in with just a dowel pin in the front, it doesn't add much strength either. I solved the problem by fabricating a plate out of 1/32 ply extending about a 1/2 inch forward and aft of the wing saddle area fastened with socket head screws. (Think of it as a belly pan.) Adds a little weight, maybe an ounce or two, and you have to remove it to take the wing off, but many rough landings later, never had another fuse failure!
Good point. I was going to bring this up but you beat me to it. I usually reinforce the fuselage with a piece of 1/4 square hardwood (or what I have handy at the time) lengthwise inside above the wing. Your idea sounds better. The twist can take a couple of ounces, I build light anyway. I always use micro servos for throttle and 850ma LiPo receiver batteries which saves a couple ounces anyway. The plane is small enough to fit in most cars with the wing on, so no problem there.
Just to clarify, EVERY plane is a compromise, NO plane does everything great. I usually show up at the field with a Twist and a Stick. My two favorite planes. I have specialised planes: pylon racers, pattern, speed, etc... But none of them are fun enough to fly all day. Fun is why I fly,andfun is why I choose the planes I fly. Sometimes I am in the mood to go really fast, so I bring my speed plane...You get the idea. I consider the Twist a good all around fun plane that does a lot of things pretty well, but none of them great. I look back and see that I have gone flying with only a Twist, flown all day, and done it again; that is all I need to recommend this plane to anyone.