ORIGINAL: iron eagel
Bruce,
A couple of months ago I slammed a thirty year old TF Mustang into the ground. Not even the motor survived I'm not to sure about what happened, it may have been a high speed stall. Lost control and got into a spin up high, stopped the spin and when I tried to pull up the nose came up and the plane continued down nose high till it hit the ground. Hence my wanting to try something else before I trash another old plane still knocking the rust off.
The main reason for the SE is that I have it and it is designed for more performance than a trainer would be. I have a brand new OS 55AX I plan to put in it so power to weight should not be much of an issue.
I hope to keep the basic flying weight as close to the 4 lb figure as possible so as a sport plane it will still perform, and by varying the wing loading I may be able to see how it reacts with more load.
It sounds like a kewl project. It's amazing how much more interest you have in an airplane you change than one you buy and fly. We got us a great hobby, don't we.
I think it'll work well to get back your touch, but don't expect it to be much of a warbird trainer. That wing is nothing like one that'd be on your average warbird.
And after noticing in the pictures that it looks like a low aspect ratio, fully symmetrical design, and hearing that it builds with washout.... and that the airfoil thickness changes from root to tip, but the designers didn't seem to notice..... and they suggest flaperons to help make the landings safer......... that sucker ought to be an amazing learning experience.