OK, some of the bloom is back.

1. Soaked the gear struts overnight in WD40. Loosened up and work fine. Really neat, set the plane on the floor, push down from the wing mounts and they flex as advertised. Great gear setup.

Caution about all of the thru bolts required on the gear, very few can be tightened due to the fittings having to flex. I used the locknuts provide with a dollop of locktite and hope everything stays together. Every fitting needs a drop of oil or ir sqeeks.

2. Wheels - The Du-bro 1/4 scale wheels with the "Cub" hubcaps are so neat it is almost a must. However the Du-bro wheels are foam and look like it and will look pretty ragged in a short time, particulary if you fly off pavement.

I have a set of Du-Bro 4.5" rubber inflatabels on a Senior Telemaster, the hubs on the Cub wheels look like they will fit, if not I will drill the inflatabel hubs to take the Cub hubcaps. Let you know later. If Du-Bro would sell the caps as a seprate item and then buy the rubber wheels it would be the best of both worlds. This landing gear is so awesome it seems a shame to have cheap foam wheels on it (at $25.00 a pair the Du-Bro foam ain't cheap, just looks like it).

3. Starting to have second thoughts about the Saitp 182T and am not impressed with the numbers on the OS160, lot of weight with not a lot of oomph, what is everone else using? Perhaps a big single 4S (Saito180?) is the way to go....

4. Question about scale and the perception thereof. If you fit an 18" doll in the cockpit (1/4 scale 6 footer) he looks really jammed in there. (I know the Cub is cramped, learned to fly in a J-3). Try a doll around 18 - 20 percent and it looks more natural, however I still only have the floor boards in, no seats till I get this proportion thing worked out. Anyone have a good source for scale pilots this size?

5. I have the yellow J -3 paint scheme, love it but major mismatch between the cowl yellow and the rest of the plane. Cowl looks a little funny hanging out there.


Work tomorrow, durn it, I need to retire.