Mine arrived today. Beautiful kit. Maybe my standards are much lower, but the covering is as good as ARFs get. I personally prefer Ultracote, though.

This will actually my first bipe, so I'm a little apprehensive. I'm a little puzzled by GP's weight estimates: Christen Eagle 16-18 lbs, 1/3 Pitts 14-16 lbs. I was under the impression these two are practically the same plane. GP specifically warned about keeping the 1/3 Pitts below 16 lbs, above which the mild manners supposedly disappear. How come the Eagle is 2 lbs heavier?

Then again, they might be more different than I thought. Their wing incidences are all different. BTW, both of mine came with new "Product Improvement" brackets. May be I won't have problem with strut alignment.

Wayne, I'm glad you didn't take my suggestions the wrong way. The stuff you heard about battery packs supposedly able to "absorb" RF probably came from the fact that battery packs can act somewhat like great big capacitors. It is true that capacitors are commonly used as low-pass filter to filter out higher frequency "noise". In reality, the effect in the typically RC configuration in minimal. Besides, even if they do act like LP filters, them been stuck all the way at the end means that they won't do a thing for any noise picked up by the battery leads.

HEy Volfy,
Keep us informed how yours goes together. I got mine like 2 weeks ago. I also had the new brackets. The wings still didn't mount correctly. See how easy your wing fits in the saddle. It goes in fine,the TE is about 2.5" before I need to force it to bolt down..Becides that its a complete ARF. I like the flying wires are done,this will save lots of time,and the hrdware is great also.. I just want to see if mine was a bad one or not. I also prefer Ultracoat
Later Frank

Update on the CA hinge failure topic for those of you that may be interested. I had some help and used a different solution than the Robart Hinge Points or the Dubro pinned hinges. Here is the thread update at the bottom of page two. Hope this helps some of you avoid the hassle I experienced with CA hinges in a Pitts with a DA 50.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_13..._2/key_/tm.htm

Hey guys,
I used the ca hinges that came with my DP Extra. I used Daves idea with using a wax pen across where the hinge flexes. That keeps the ca from getting into the pivot area. The've been great for the 2years of every Sunday flying with 3-4 flights per day. I now do this with all my ca hinges..
I also seal the hingline with covering which probably also helps...
Later
Frank

Volfy, unfortunately, I MAY not be the brightest bulb on the tree, therefore I welcome any and all suggestions and comments. I appreciate your heads up on something I was mislead about.
Now, Xtraflyr, I really hate you hade the same problems I had, sorta proves/reinforces my comments on my first thread. I had the pleasure of assisting another flyer assemble his Eagle this weekend, it was apparent his brackets were not going to fit from the start. Sooo- After we finally got the bottom wing in the saddle and fitting properly, (that was not a problem on mine, but this one was way off), we mounted the bottom wing outer brackets 3/4 from the LE of the AIL, where the cabane struts fit as good as possable on the wing, then we mounted the top wing brackets to fit the bottom. last we mounted the center cabane. Mine missed the cowl by about an 1/8 inch, we had to notch his cowl amout 1/4 inch. Most likely that was influenced by the engine selection. therefore effecting the cowl mounting depth.
I hate this problem is more common than uncommon, I know it's going to break Flyfalcons heart.
I flew mine again Friday, Saturday and yesterday, Take offs, the plane still wants to drop the left wing and turn left taking off.???? Death spirals and Flat Spins are spectacular! Inverted flight requires very little down elev. Knife Edge- well I'm having a problem there, the plane wants to fall towards the canopy and gain altitude, I have to add a lot of ail. to correct it. Snaps-- do them high, REAL HIGH, the recovery time is scary...... Still love it.

My Eagle has landed! Test flown this past Friday, all flights excellent. 18.5 lbs dry with Fuji 50 engine, no bad habits, 100% aerobatic, but no 3-D. Still flies like it is on rails.

(Notice, no strings or cropping on landing photo)

Dick, very nice shot on the landing approach. Much better than the "fake" ones. BTW, did you use the short prop hub on the Fuji 50? I have a Fuji 50 I could use, among other engines, but I find the $58 price tag for the short hub obsurd. I know I should probably wait till your full report comes out in RCR, but how about a little more detail on its flight behavior? I've heard the Eagle's close cousin, the Pitts Special, is a precision, if somewhat unforgiving, aerobatic plane. This seems to jive with Wayne's flight report. I'm no rank beginner, but I did manage to spin a GP .40 Decathlon to the ground just recently, so I'm still leery of snappy airplanes.

Frank and Wayne, I will keep you all posted on my progress when I get around to assembly this one. I am trying to decide whether to start this one first or the Patty Extra.

Yes, I used the short hub. The long one is really too long. It's a shame you can't order the engine with one hub or the other. You may want to ask Great Planes if this can be arranged. The long hub isn't even installed when you get the engine.

Flying? Nothing out of the ordinary noted, but it will take 2 full turns more after you start spinning to get out.

Keep this in mind.

Greetings,


Mine is now complete with a fuji 64 in the nose.

Serge,

There somthing wrong with those last photos you posted.

I can't find the girls anywhere!

Ah! ha! ha! You can't get over it. LOl

http://www.wspromotion.com/photo32.jpg

Serge

Serge, no flying wires ? What is your Eagles final weight ?


Pettit, where is your CG set ? How are the supplied flying wires holding up ? Are you using the supplied wheels ? Any problems here ? I had to you use the supplied ones since no other would fit inside the wheel pants. That might be OK, since I do not have any problems with the supplied ones on my Pitts either. I guess they are the same wheels.

Hi texas,


Flying wire only on the stab. Not on the wings. They are not fonctionnal after
all and does not worth the extra installation time at the field. Dunno yet about
the weight but I will soon. Winter here so no maiden yet.

Serge

Serge,

You need to put together a Babe's of R/C calendar!

Hey Serge1
How much weight ya looking at with the Fuji65?
Thanks Frank

Frank,


I am looking for 19.5 lbs or perhaps 20.

Serge

Srege and pettit,

Nice job you guys. Planes look great. Pettit, Congratulations on your maiden flights. Sounds like all went well. Hey Serge, ditto on tha RC babe calender.

CG at center of range specified. Flying wires fine, but tail wires replaced with 2-56. Wheels are stock. I fly off grass so they shouldn't wear much.

Read the rest in an upcoming issue of R/C REPORT Magazine

I know a lot of us GP-CEII owners have been following this thread, Please see my post in the Giant Aircraft forum concerning thr supplied spinner. Merry Christmas, Take'um home like you brung um to da field!

yep, I switched my spinner for a tru turn one.

OK, the Eagle is getting close to be finished. Who is running a smoke system on theirs ? I would like to mount a TME system. Any pictures of your smoke setup guys ? Shold I just shoot for a tray with the tank and pump on it behind the fuel tank. Should be almost right on the CG there. Any recommendations ? Does it really matter if the pump sits behind the tank or not ? I want to do that for a better access to the pump itself. This is my first smoke system, so I need some suggestions here.

Hey, flew my GP CE Sunday. Sewwweeeeeeet!

Poulan Pro 50 with CH Ignition and Wallbro #144 carb.

Flies absolutely great. 2 flights, no problems.

It went together fairly well. Covering is good, but losened up a bit by the time I was done. Only problem is the cabanes did not line up. One hole was 1/4" off. Everything else fit perfect.

They should include a list of measurements to where the holes should be so you can check them. I had a hard time finding the servo holes through 2-layers of covering (and there is no obvious picture showing that the bottom wing servos are located in a different place than on the top.

Still need to finish cowl (need to change muffler first) and wheel pants. Weight right now, 15.0 lbs. Poulan has almost unlimited vertical. Probably will be just over 16lbs when done.

BTW, I used Radio South CA hinges. No flying wires as I need to take apart to transport (some day I'll have that trailer...) Also, I drilled 12, 1/2" holes in the backplate of the spinner. Made a difference in the CG.

This is going to fight with my GP PW 300 for air time. Both are fantastic fliers.

<Scott>

Wow!!
That sound great!! Not glad to hear I'm not the only one with the cabane holes off. Mine were off 1/2"[:@]
Man yours came in light 16lbs!!! I hope mine does too.the DA 50 should rip it around good!!!
Again Congratulations!!!!
Frank

That's way off. Really, GP should include a template for the holes.

My Poulan matches my ZDZ-40 almost exactly in RPM on the same prop. I have not "tweaked" the timing but it seems close. It will climb out of a hover, but slowly. The Poulan can be made quite light, close to the ZDZ's. Mine is light but most of the weight is close to the prop, so mine came out a bit nose heavy (1/4" + on CG.)

Your ZDZ-50 will be sweet!

16lbs is light and the plane flies like it weighs almost nothing. It flew at 15lbs. But no wheel pants, cowl, pilot, or flying wires. I'm hoping 16.5 lbs with smoke (dry.)

Just finished fitting the cowl (had to modify the muffler to fit.) Had to cut a 3/4" hole in the right side so the plug boot would not rub [:@] otherwise only thing sticking out would have been the pipes (engine is rotated 20 deg.)

A buddy of mine has the GP Pitts. He had it (built) at the LHS when I picked up my Eagle. We spent an hour comparing the two. Canopy is bigger, firewall box is shorter and tail has slightly different shape. He still has not flown his. It is his first gasser (ZDZ_50) and bipe, so he is taking a real conservative approach (at field Sun running engine for 40 minutes.)

I told him, not to worry about flying it. He already flies tail-draggers and has forced himself to fly the tail on a slow takeoff rather than jumping off the ground. I assured him, he'll do fine. Within one circle of the field, I was Soooo comfortable flying it. It was just so smooth. I had total control and "felt" it would do anyhing. Loops, rolls, stalls, spins, and even knife edges were easy with no surprises. Snap rolls were a small surprise, It too a few tries to do exactly one roll (1.5 is easy.)

A buddy of mine has been taking video of my GP PW extra. I'll see if he can get this Eagle on video and I'll post it.

Tex, I have a Slimline smoke system on mine. NO Eagle should be without one !!!
Tank and pump are mounted behind the CG. I do this for better 3D type flying and when the tank empties I can still land the thing. Most important item is a smoke system is check valves, make sure you place a minimum of two in front of the muffler, and one in front of the pump. That will keep the oil from running back in the tank under maneuvers and keep the pump primed. ALSO *** Use line clamps and barbs on all tubing connections, the smoke oil is some nasty stuff and if you get it in the fus of the plane, it will migrate to your Rx, switches, connections, and you can never clean it all up.

Naw, they should should just drill them in the correct place at the factory!