At the risk of touching a nerve, there is a degree of acceptability in the world of pattern.
I don't buy this "The Brio is a well-built plane and it flies extremely well out of the box with no alignment mods."
I thought that the whole point of paying approx $1300 for this ARF was to have the hard work already done for you. The hard work in building any plane, and especially a pattern plane, is the alignment. I know pattern guys who take days just measuring and aligning before they will glue a tube. This is because the alignment is very important.
When you use a professional builder, or you possess the skills, the kit-imperfections will be corrected. I know that a Brio built by Dave Guerin will be straight, but what about us normal building mortals. My Brio had wing-tube and stab-tube alignment issues in the wing and stab that I did not and could not fix.
I would not assume that it would fly straight if built the way it came out of the box. Please forgive my skepticism but I seriously doubt if the Brio's that you flew Don, came "straight out of the box".
Regards,
Eric.
ORIGINAL: Don Szczur
So what's the bottom line? If you are seeing double by now, just remember this. The Brio is a well-built plane and it flies extremely well out of the box with no alignment mods.
If you do choose to put the plane under the knife for perfect alignment, be sure to measure in many different locations to get the best possible accuracy.
Until next time,
Don