Anyone know of a good quality WACO ARF? 60 type size would be great, small gas even better.

sportsman aviation Waco 60 I have the 30 size nice looking and seems well built

laefd,

I received my Sportsman Aviation Waco 60 from Hobby People on Friday. It's beautiful. Not one wrinkle in the finish, strong, lightweight..........impressive! The only thing thats not top-notch is the control horns and clevises. I'm putting a Mag .91 4str on it which should be more than adequate. The fiberglass cowl and wheel pants are nicely done. The wheel pants are thick and strong....should be durable. Should have it ready to go this week-end!

Hope you find what you want,
Gary

Would be very interested in how it turns out....email me with the details.

Good luck and keep your nose up!

There is a thread in this forum on the Sportsman Aviation Waco 60. Type "Waco" in the box at the bottom of the page for 'Search this forum'. The poster put up some photos of the plane flying and his overal impressions of the plane; which are positive. You can find the plane on the www.hobbypeople.net web site for $219.99.

The rain finally stopped, and the winds went calm, and I test flew the new Waco 60 Bipe Sunday! What a sweet flyer! With a Magnum .91 4stroke under the cowl, the plane is not under powered. Slowly advancing the throttle to avoid ground loops, she was off the runway by the time I reached 1/2 throttle. Didn't need to worry about ground loops though, ground handling is rock solid! Needed some down trim to keep her from climbing so much, but when inverted, no down was needed. I have moved the CG forward with a 2 oz. brass hub to see if elevator trim will come back to neutral. Will find out next Saturday. This is one beautiful plane....will post picture tomorrow.

Gary

Glad to hear the first flight went well Gary! I also just ordered the Waco, it should be in this friday. I can't wait. I have a TT .91 going into mine, with a set of HS475 servos. The gear came out of my hog bipe (RIP). It's going to be interesting to she how she compares to the HOG.

Dave,

A couple of things to watch for: 1) When assembling the cabane struts, make sure the longer leg of the "M" goes aft, and the shorter leg goes forward or else the top wing incidence will be way off. 2) When installing the horns for the link between top and bottom ailerons, the lower wing horn faces forward, and the upper wing horn faces toward the back.

Everything else was very clear in the instruction book. Also, I ordered different hardware to hold the "N" struts and cabane struts instead of using the supplied phillips head screws and lock washers. I ordered 4-40 x 3/8 socket head cap screws and matching nylon insert locknuts from RTL Fasteners http://www.rtlfasteners.com

I think you'll be pleased with the quality of the workmanship and finish of this ARF and really like the way it flys........just remember "throttle management" on the first flight!

Gary

I also have the WACO 60 and it's almost ready to go. I put a Saito 100 in mine and can't wait to fly it. Fits nice in the back of my van so thank god I don't have to take it apart for transportation. Saves much time... Hopyfully this storm has passed by Sunday so I can fly. One of the few times I'm glad to be in NY. QUESTION " how much throw in the elivater and allerons?

I set my throws exactly as stated in the intructions for first flight. There was plenty of control without being too sensitive for the first flight....you can adjust them to your taste after she's trimmed up.

This is one sweet looking and flying plane and a real bargain at $219!

flew my sportsmans waco .60 for the second time today. yes, the main gear is quite weak, but that seems to be the only problem ive found... period . it came off in a soft grass landing on first flight last week.. not terrible though. its not weak anymore. using a saito 100 for power with a Graupner 14x7 3 blade prop. love it love it love it. its a beauty. does exactly what you ask it to. im also very happy to not have to take it apart to transport. thanks for tips and advice. this is a really nice airplane. i wish i would have started flying RC years ago. i never imagined the fun, excitement, and terror this hobby could bring. everything about it is AOK. just wish i wouldnt have messed up the cowl. its ok though, ill get better at building

Erik

Erik,

You know, you can order replacement parts from Hobby People. Search for the plane and then on the page with the description of the plane, there is a link to "parts". The wheel pants are $15/pair and I think the cowl is about $30. I fly off grass and have already found stress cracks in the wheel pants. Think I'm going to take off the wheel pants for everyday flying, and order a new set to use for special events.

Gary

OOOOOOHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh It's killing me... Mine WACO 60 is sitting in the basement ready to go. Tomorrow is breakin day for the SAITO 100 and if I can squeeze a nice day out this weekend it will be in the air... PS how did you reenfore your landing gear?

BULL-RCU,

I haven't had to reinforce the gear....I just used CA to harden the screw holes. After you drill the pilot holes, screw the screws in just snug, don't over-tighten them. Then remove the screws and soak the holes with thin CA. Make sure the CA is cured before you re-mount your gear. I haven't had any problems with them working loose. Had a great flying day last Saturday, really calm air, so I had a blast doing soft and slow touch-n-go's. She's a beauty in the air!

Gary

Hi, Just ordered my Waco 60 and cant wait for it to arrive. Question can both wings be taken apart for transportation purposes? I am afraid I dont own a van. Hope it does come apart.

Thanks

you COULD take the wings off, 8 screws i think and the aileron connectors.. at least 4 more. it would be worth the time to fly it though. to me anyway. i fixed the landing gear with a little epoxy. have had maybe a dozen landings since then and its been fine. i havent really been doing this that long. have an avistar, tiger 2, gp extra 300s, funtana and waco.. waco is by far my favorite.

i didnt mess the cowl up too bad. i can live with it
Erik

hi again.. any thoughts on elevator supports? good idea? not necessary?
thanks,
Erik

zorka,

There are no provisions made to take the wing halves apart. You might be able to devise some method to do so but you should be very careful! I've seen more than one biplane destroyed because of one or more wing panels coming off in flight.

Gary

Gary,

I am not thinking on taking the wings halfs apart. Just disasemble to top wing from the botom wing so I end up with fuselage and 2 full wings for transportation. Guess this can be done by removing the 8 screws on the wings struts and removing the aileron control linkage right?

Thanks

zorka,

I misunderstood. You can remove 8 fasteners if you want to take the top wing off without removing the struts from the rest of the plane. I take off the 10 fasteners that hold the struts on the bottom wing and fuselage. This leaves the struts connected to the top wing, then remove the bottom wing from the fuselage by removing the standard wing bolts.

Gary

my landing gear screws didnt come out.. the whole piece along with the front part of the bulkhead came out. wasnt anywhere close to a hard landing either. ive got a movie of it.. you can see and hear it crack in the grass. think some tall weed got ahold of it or something dunno
Erik

That's wild! I coated the whole landing gear area and the filler piece with epoxy during assembly because I didn't want it to get fuel soaked (my engine is mounted at 90' and exhaust goes out the bottom). Maybe that's why mine hasn't come apart. There is a "feedback" questionaire in the back of the construction manual....this would be good constructive feedback to Global.

I just brought me Waco home last night... Any new words of wisdom? I picked up a Super Tigre .61.... Is this enough? or should I go to a bigger engine?

thanks

Oh,I'm drooling over that picture
That looks like something I have to have,something not so wild fast or 3D.Just a graceful bipe.I have a os 1.20 that i would install,my .91 would probably only fly it.
Is there enough room to put a 1.2 in there or is the cowl going to me all cut up? and room inside for a smoke pump?