Well, I have finished my plane all I have to do is the final balance and then hope for a nice day to do a maiden. I have to agree with an earlier post about the paint. It really is applied poorly. When I was fitting the cowl I used some 3m painters tape to hold it in place as I drilled the mounting holes and when I took off the tape some of the paint went with it! Since I cannot figure the color to match it, I guess it's time for a strategic decal placement or some white paint to cover the peeled off paint.

I also think I'll leave the tail brace off for the time being, same thing for the wheel pants. It should be sturdy enough to fly without the bracing and no wheel pants works better for me in the grass.

The Magnum 91 seem to have good power, runs up smooth and has a good idle, I ran the plane across the back yard and it moves out real quick -- was tempted to launch right there in the yard!

Chasman

I am going to maiden mine without the brace if weather permits.. But I will not do any violent manuvers. I have the same setup as TMan coming..


BTW thanks for the idea TMan

I bought the parts to do the same as Tman did on the Tail brace, nice weather this morning here in northern Va. too bad I have to be at work...

Chasman

Yea, when you do that first rollout for takeoff, it will suprise you and start flying way before you expect it. The thing starts skipping on the mains almost immediatly, ease back just a smidge and up she goes. It WAS awesome to see it pull out so smoothly. Your gonna love this plane in the air.

I am anxious to see if both of you have the down-pitch problem with the thrustline. We are mounted square to the firewall, so I think it's in the design. If you do, trim it level for real slow fly before you land it, or it will be a handfull pushing down to get it to land. That was difficult for me, fighting to make it come down while dealing with a bit of wind and running near stall speed and shaking knees. I used every inch of the runway on that first landing.

stop your killing me its supposed to rain this weekend and im ready to go

Ya know, I am getting ready to put the wing decals on and I have to say, I am not sure I want to. It looks good witout the decals! I did put the fuse decals on since they are small anyway. I may leave it and put them on later if I change my mind.

Chasman

Chasman,

We have debated since Thanksgiving on the decals too. Alas, the coolness won out. It does look nice without, but the decals give it a unique character. We also put some big canary yellow Ultracote stripes on the underside of the wing... matches the decals and improves visibility. This thing is stark-white from the underside... really poor visibility on a cloudy day. Think we will add some blue border stripes around the big yellow ones, just to improve contrast. Some of us are vision impared...

However, the Decals are not very good quality... I doubt they will last a year. But, this is a plane hardly anyone has ever seen... so there is a wow factor in the novelty of it.

nice runway!!

i opted for no decals.

fly it always upside down and you should see it

Yea, it's a great strip, but bordered by fences on all sides. Too many planes have met with an ubrupt stop there. It's scary when you have to drop over a fence on a floaty plane and get it down fast. Then, at the other end, decide if you want to hammer WOT and risk killing it and deadstick blind behind the burms...

I was concerned about the underside being all white so I am going to put a 3 inch or so stripe along the LE so I can see it better. maybe black. I also though the decals would look rather nice on the underside as well, that would be a nice touch, uncluttered by the stripes on the topside.

Chasman

BTW nice stip for carrier landings! You guys are shameing me into putting on the wheel pants, Really does complete this one!

Also my CG w/o wheel pants is 4 3/4 off LE with wheel pants 4 1/2-9/16

The wheel pants are a must. Planes without pants look silly. I know, the weight is the concern, but cummon, its only an ounce or so and what difference in the sleek look. Without pants, planes look like bow-legged cowboys. I can buy it if you fly off of deep grass, but it sure diminishes the beauty of a bird.

You're right...Wheel pants it is! In the manual they show cutting out a notch on the outboard side of the pants to allow for it to drop over the axle, yet the pants are pre-drilled for having the axle pass through. Mine will pass thru ...

Bow-legged cowboy...what a visual, reminds me of a Sukohi set of mains

chasman

Some have suggested over on the Funtana 90 thread to epoxy in a ply plate inside the wheel pant with a hole to support the free end of the axle. Makes it better and stronger for grass landings, and no visible holes...

A shot of touchdown (at the far end of the strip) and a look at the orange stuff warning of the fenceline danger. I think the orange stuff is monocote magnetic, cause it seems to attract planes. The field is surrounded by settling ponds, and there are burms all around the field about 5 ft high. Makes for a hairy deadstick if you can't make it back to the airstrip, cause you can't see the plane when you land it out there. Many birds have died out in the barron wilderness of the settling pond. Weeds and mudholes abound. We saw three planes converted to sticks in one day not too long ago. The pilot's walk of shame is terrible...

well i think you guys turned me off of this plane, i look at your posted dates, and doesn't look like it was long enough for bme to address and change the problems i've seen, i am a good flyer, but not a builder, i can assemble arfs just fine, but i don't want to buy an arf and have to modify this and rebuild that, and come up with a new thingamajigy there, even if it does fly nice, i had a fx91 waiting for a home, thought this may have been it, but might have to find another home for it, thanks for being thorough and honest with everything

DDave,

Yea, we have not had an easy build. However, some reported better quality than those of us that bought the first ones. I don't have a clue if BME sees this thread. You would think they would read it, and even participate, but they don't. The plane is incredible in the air, at least as a pattern ship. I'm no 3D expert, but I think it will be awesome in that mode too.

Oh yea they see it.. i had a talk with max on the phone when i was sending mine back and he was talking about it.. he also said something about upgrading the hardware. but i didnt get a definate if that is what they are going to do..

like i said if they took the hardware out and sold the plane for $139 i think it would be a great deal. i would love to have another in an uncovered version with no paint on the cowl and no hardware.

I just sent an email to the folks at BME Aircraft and made the suggestion for them to review this thread.

Maybe they'll do that.

thats cool, i do like the way it looks, maybe i'll leave the 91 on the shelf and wait a bit, it just seems pricy to be having these kinda problems, considering the array of other planes in this size that are less expensive and been out for a while and are a little more "tried and trued", never had a cap yet either, i'll keep an eye out for any changes i see,
lee: i'd probably would have bought one too without the hardware for a cheaper price, even if i had to deal with some"issues" putting it together, unfortunatly, that aint up to us[&o]
i really like what i've seen of the bme edge, thought about getting one when i'm ready($) for a bigger plane, i was thinking this would be a good way to see how there aircraft are, but i won't judge on this one i guess

Hi everyone, this is Max from BME Aircraft. I do read this thread whenever I have the chance. And we do care about everything that you folks had commended on our Cap Maniac or any other threads related to our products. We are aware of everything that you guys had mentioned. I'd like to thank you all for taking your time on this thread and try to make this plane better. We are also trying very hard to bring good products into the RC world as myself is crazy about RC. I'd like to see our produts getting better and better. Not only the flying characteristics but also the pleasure of building.
You folks can count on our design in teams of the flying ability and the structure. As for the building quality, I believe every company may have more or less complain about their kits, as they are mass producted. Some flaws been seen in some kits is reasonable. Quality control is one major issue. We will get this accomplished very soon. And provide you with the best we can offer. You will see this happen soon.
As for the hardware, it's also under our improvement list. That includes CF wing tube and CF push rods. Nicer finishing detail on the boby, and lighter weight etc. The control horns and fuel tank included in the Cap is VERY usable, and working great. But they will also be upgraded too.
Again, thank you all for all the effort that you may had put into our planes.
Enjoy your flying, I believe our planes will bring you a lot of fun time.
Max

that sounds like it would be well worth it then, i'm not saying its not now either, when do you expect all that to be taken care of? would you put something on the web site like, now updated or new and improved, or something to that effect, or now it features...., i may purposely wait for that, i was eying up that new great plains cap 580, but this bme looks like it would be more 3-d friendly with the counter balanced surfaces and such, hope you can keep us up to date, and i'll check the bme site on occasion as well, thanks for addressing us...

Dad dont Forget the funtana, and you should also ask aeromax what kind of covering they use on the capmaniac.

It is chinia cote .. there is no problem with it. wrinkles iron out like all the rest. i have used monokote over it on this plane and Tman has used ultracote. there is little difference untill you peel some off wood.. the color will stay on the wood in spots but no big deal..

Chinacote, LOL...

Hey Max, welcome. Hope you stay engaged here. Tell me, what city in China is this plane manufactured (if it is China). I travel to China frequently, maybe I can pick up some covering while I'm there.

hoosier daddy??