Well,
I'm wanting some engine suggestions from the fellers who have had, or still have this ARF plane. By searching the forums, I have read where there have been a few people who have wrote of the plane being tail heavy by using 61 sized engines. I'm wanting to mount a 2-stroke .75 sized range engine, or even a .91, or so sized enigne for the extra oomph due to the size of the bird. I do not want to go Gas, or Diesel, or have to alter anything in order to make due for the engine choice. I'm leaning towards the MVVS .91, but ground clearence may be an issue due to the need for use of swinging bigger trees. Maybe MVVS has a nice 77 that needs a good home?
Dennis

I'm using an OS 91 four-stroke with a 14x6 prop. I did have to add some noseweight, but the engine works beautifully. Plane lifts off at about 1/2 throttle and the lovely sound of a four-stroke on this plane can't be beat.

Hey Dennis,
I built the GP Spacewalker for my friend, and we used an OS 1.20 4 stroke pumped, has on board glow, and dual elevator servos. No nose weight was needed at all. If I remeber right, swings a 16-6 prop, or something like that. Flys good with the power. He might have it for sale if you are interested. We are in Northern CA.
Red7fifty

Dennis, if you like your Hobbistar with the 1.20 stroke, you're not gonna be happy powering the GP Spacewalker with anything less than a 1.20. Unless you fly off tall grass, props like 15x8 or even 16x6 would be okay. If you have a .90 already, it'll fly the Spacewalker just fine. But if you're looking to buy an engine for it, you might consider a 1.20 4stroke. I had a Magnum 1.20 FS mounted on my Spacewalker briefly before switching to a Zenoah G23. It fit inside the cowl quite nicely with only a bit of the head sticking out pass the bottom of the cowl. Power- and weight-wise, I think a 1.20FS is ideal for this plane.

Not sure why so many people want to overpower this plane. It is a scale airplane and it flies like a scale airplane. It's not a 3D plane or an extremely aerobatic plane, it's just not designed for it. I have an OS .61FX in mine and it flies beautifully, it acts and responds just as the full scale Spacewalker would which means you have to fly it. Personally, I think this offers the most enjoyment from a plane such as this. I'm not degrading anyone who chooses to overpower ANY airplane but if you have never tried flying a bird such as this in the scale manner, do so, you might be surprised at how much fun it can be not to mention rewarding. I know, I know, with a big engine you can always throttle back, but when you don't have that extra throttle reserve, it sorta forces you to fly it scale. Flying this type of aircraft slow and scale is very cool and always draws a lot of attention at the field. This is just my opinion on this type of airplane, nothing more.

Go Stick Jammer!
Yes.
I agree, Why do people over power these planes?
I have a O.S. 91SII FS in mine and it will do everything but hover.
Why should it hover? The real one doesn't.
It makes a Stinken $100 worth of difference to go W\ a 120 so why spend the money?
Yes, This does need a few onces in the nose but GreatPlanes manufacture new this.
And they recommend the O.S. 91. People.. If you want a power horse go get a EXTRA.
This plane has alot of power for this type of airplane With a 61FX or a O.S. 91FS







[X(]

I appreciate the replies fellers! I guess what I'm looking for is the right engine to balance the plane with out adding ANY nose weight. The way I look at it is this; If the plane requires nose weight, the weight might as well be made from Aluminum, and Steel IE bigger engine.

I recently WAY overpowered a Hobbico Hobbistar 60 with a 2/strk Magnum 120. If I would have known what I had created, believe me, I would have used a tad bit of a smaller engine. It moves out FAST, and unlimited verticle. I can still get him to float down, but I'm pushing the airplane beyond its limits. I kind of get tired of throttling back, and worring about clivises breaking etc..

Anyway, wouldn't a 120 make the CG about right? I sure do like my Magnum 120, and at 206.00 OTD, its a bargain! Any of the 90 2-strokers heavy enough ?

By the way, I received the ARF today! WHAT A NICE LOOKING PLANE !!!!!! I'm going to take my time on this one, and make sure of everything being just right....

Dennis

When I had the Magnum 1.20 4stroke mounted on mine, the balance was perfect with all the radio gear (RX, batt, servos, etc.) in the "radio compartment", without much of an effort. I bought the engine new for less than $200.

Overpower or not, I don't like lead in my planes.

Dennis, I did tell you 1.20 was WAYYY too much for your Hobbistar 60, didn't I? My advice: take that nice 1.20 2stroke out of the Hobbistar and put it on the Spacewalker. Then go buy a .75-.90 for the Hobbistar. That way, you'll end up with both planes moderately overpowered with no lead necessary.

Whatever you choose to do, though, experimenting is half the fun - even if it is somewhat insane. Go for it!

I've flown the 1/4 scale G.P. Spacewalker for the last 3 yrs with an Y/S 91 A/C. I turn a 16- 6 APC prop aprox. 8400rpm. I also use 15% Cool Power. This gives the plane a lot of authority in the air. We have members in my club that use Saitos, Thundertigers and OS 91's that really don't compare. Also with my Y/S , I was able to put my battery pack on the CG and I added NOOOO lead to this plane to get it to balance. I love this plane....It's my every day flyer.........Mike

Just finished the rebuild of my Spacewalker. I was disappointed in the performance my Saito91 gave it with a 14x6 APC prop. This plane should do all the basic maneuvers with grace and mine could not even loop! I put a Saito 120 with a 15X8 APC prop and was VERY satisfied with the plane. Also changed the wing incidence to +0.5 down from the +3 as it seemed that with the larger engine the plane wanted to always climb with anything mor than 1/4 th. Pete

With an OS .61FX I only had to add about 2 ounces of lead in the cowl. On the first few flights I also had a 2 ounce spinner weight in addition to the 2 ounces of lead to get the CG where the manual suggests. After about 6 flights I removed the spinner weight and I like the way she flies much better. Two ounces of lead really ain't much for a plane that weighs 8 1/2 pounds. Rocketman612, I'm surprised to hear that yours wouldn't loop with a Saito .91, mine will loop with the OS .61FX turning a 13x6 TopFlite wood prop. It also flies quite nicely at half throttle.

Wow,
looks like I have bought a nicer plane than I had thought! There are quite a few SpaceWalker Owners out there in this forum.

So how does this plane fly ? This is my first low wing airplane. I have flown 1-World Models Super Frontier 40 W/GMS 47 (What I learned on), and their Frontier 20 W/MVVS 28 W/Mini Pipe, and now my newest plane the Hobbistar W/the Magnum 1.20. I'm hoping the SpaceWalker is something I will be able to handle. I still consider myself an experienced novice (hee hee) if that makes any sense.... smile. I do plan to just take it easy when I attempt to fly this great looking plane. I know I'm no where even close to performing 3-D Manuvers, and that this plane WAS NOT made for 3-D manuvers anyway. I'm looking for another Sunday flyer that has power when I want to throttle up! For some reason I like to fly slow and then throttle up vertically and watch the engine work to pull the plane up up and way.

Volfy-RCU,
I think I'm leaning towards the 1.20 2-stroke glow for the power, and cost savings. Man would I like to power this baby with a Saito 1.20, or even a 1.20 4-stoke Magnum, but ouch, the cost.... Anyway, at first I had some bad luck W/my new 1.20. First time out, I got it to blubber the plane away at 1/2 throttle, but wouldn't run right. Second time out, I had bad luck even more so. I couldn't get a decent run at all. It would cough and sputter, and would die when I attempted to land it every once in a while. It was not responding to my needle adjustments as it should have been. It was on my was home I finally figured out that it was my fuel! I felt so stupid, I should have known for my GMS did the same thing when I tried to run it with 15%. The 10% I was using in the 1.20 was too much! I could kick myself in the butt. anyway, I bought some 5%, and it runs like a dream now. I still have lost a lot of compression, but it has way enough for the Hoibbistar 60. I'm probably going to buy a new 1.20....... probably another magnum.

fflyer7,
If money wasn't an issue, definatly the YS.

Rocketman612,
Nice pics, and using the Saito 1.20..... Wow, would I like to hear that phutta, phutta, by and watch the plane fly.

Stick Jammer,
I'm curious as to how much verticle climb you can achieve W/the engine plane combo ? When your flying by slow, throttle up to full power while pulling up into a verticle climb. Will it pull almost out of sight with authority?

Thanks agasin fellers,
Dennis

Definitely not. The .61FX has enough power to do loops and Cuban Eights but the vertical potential is very short, remember though, this is scale flight. The full scale Spacewalker can't fly vertical either. I have other planes designed for unlimited vertical and 3D when I feel the need.

My Spacewalker flies beautifully with an OS 91 FS. I agree with others that flying an airplane on the wing and managing energy is an art in itself. That being said, my Spacewalker will do large graceful loops at half throttle. Full throttle is only necessary for vertical maneuvers. I very much enjoy tghis airplane, one of the best fliers I have owned in over 25 years.

So fellers, how does this plane fly ? Is it predictable, and as long as one pays attention to what the plane is doing, does the plane behave? I'm nervous already, and I haven't even started to take the plane out of the box to start assembly yet. It's my first low wing plane, and I'm hoping I didn't buy the wrong one to start out with. The plane looks like it could be a nice slow flying, gentle plane if set up that way...at first anyway.....

Dennis

I find the plane very predictable. It penetrates very well. With the engine set-up I use it has been a great honest airplane for me. No surprises. It will fly slow but NOT at a walking pace. With the cowl being so large it will loose airspeed fairly quickly. It can be a little draggy. If you balance this plane to the manual and also laterally balance it, the plane will just drop it's nose and stall very gently forward.( I balanced mine right in the middle of the CG tolerances) When you set-up for landing, use as little throttle as possible on your approach and try to stay off the elevator . At this slow a speed too much elevator will cause it to stall. Also this plane will float if you come in too fast so your going to have to experiment with the throttle settings but don't panic this is a great design and it won't get you into too much trouble too quickly. Just line her up in the middle of the runway about 20 ft in the air and keep the wings level and remember to flair when your wheels are about to make contact ....You'll do just fine..........