I have a Twist new in the box but was damaged in shipping and lost some small parts. The wing has some broken ribs,broken balsa and a small puntcure thru the ultra coat. The rest of the plane looks ok. I was going to list on EBAY but if someone is interested then let me know. I am sure the wing can be repaired.I bought it cuz I was tired of fixing mine and just wanted a new one. [email protected] $50 OBO plus shipping P.S. watch who buy from on EBAY! I got burnned on this one.

Hey Nahas924, And thanks Prop for those very kind words

Sorry to hear of the situation, unfortuneatley for you my crash wasn't to severe, so I will be rebuilding mine as well, but I understand completely not wanting to buy a whole wing for $70.00 when for $29.99 & Tax more, you can have the whole new plane. I would try my hand at buying some Balsa sheets and just refixing the wing, its not that bad of wing to do, just make yourself some new ribs and grab the spars, it will probably be less then $20.00 for all the wood needed, unless of course someone else reading this can help you out, then you wouldn't have to do the work, which of course is the point of an ARF, but I'm a builder so I don't mind it at all. or just get the kit again and have a bunch of extra parts.

Good luck in your quest.

Chad,

My Twist also has the Saito 82. The prop's been on so long I can't recall what it is--a 13 x 8, I believe. AND it hovers well. Believe it or not, I had a Super Tigre .45 (great engine) on my Twist #3. It had infinite vertical ability (12.25 x 3.75 prop) and ALSO hovered easily. No bigger wheels needed in either case.

I repeat: it's all about the fingers learning, talking to the eyes, back and forth, to get the bird to fly as you WILL it to fly.

In this relationship among the pilot, the bird, and the wind, there is a point in time when the FINGERS do the thinking. The MIND disappears, and you have this incredible RELATIONSHIP with the plane, indefinable, which feeds the passion of flying.

I wish that for all you Twist lovers for 2006.

Jack

I just finished reading this thread from start to finish. Wow.

I have a new Super Tigre .45 and I'm strongly considering getting a Twist. Here in Luxembourg it would probably be very expensive, so I'm thinking of having one sent to my sister's address in England from a UK supplier, where it will be picked up by another family member. Even then it would cost £93, which is $160. A bit depressing, since in the US that would buy a Funtana with some left over.[X(]

Is it worth it? Or should I find something closer to home - it's not like I haven't tried. I've been looking all over for a .46 sized plane with some 3D ability that isn't too pricey and doesn't look awful. The choice is surprisingly limited.

I would use cheap Futaba S148 servos and the ST45 mentioned above. From what I've read (all 2900+ posts) that will do nicely.

Thanks,
Matthew

P.S. And happy new year!!!

Hello Matthew,

I'm home sick with the flu so I'm probably the only person on RCU on NY eve. $160 is a lot of money to pay for this little plane but it is certainly a lot of fun! You will have to decide if it's worth the money by comparing it to your other choices. One reason we like it is because you can buy another one for replacement parts for a 100 bucks. This is not true in your case. They do have a problem with breaking in the middle if landed hard. You may want to look at some fiber glass reinforcement in the weak areas. I personally replaced the landing gear with wire ones to absorb some of the impact. Why does it cost so much? Shipping?

It's just because it's a US product (even if it's actually made in the Far East) being sold in Europe. Shipping would be on top of the $160. To be fair, that's a slightly inflated price due to the current exchange rate.

For comparison, I got a cheapo 30 sized trainer for £47 ($80) and a Protech Summit pattern plane is $172. A Funtana S40 will set you back $237. These are all British prices, and Continental prices are usually the same or higher for US ARFs.

Actually, looking at some German sites, I may be able to get a slightly more reasonable price there...

The fuselage issue seems a bt strange. I could understand that it might have a failure by design, but OTOH most models don't fail with ordinary 'bouncy' landings. Still, you guys have certainly talked this plane up enough. We shall see...

Matthew

Matthew, the Twist is just a slightly changed Pizazz. From what I understand, the Pizazz is still available in England under the name Whizzer. If you can locate one, it might be cheaper than the Twist. I have both a Pizazz and Twist, and they fly very close to the same.

I've heard of the Pizazz, but I can't find on anything on the Whizzer. Do you know of a reference or a site?

Thanks for your help, and happy new year too. It's already 2006 where I am.

Matthew

Happy New Year to all here on the Twist thread. I did a little digging and found out it is called a Whizz and is made by Minicraft Hobby. I'll post a pic here in a few minutes.

Ah, thanks.

Are the Pizazz and Whizz still made though? I got the impression that no one was selling either anymore.

WRT the fuselage issue, has anyone devised a pre-emptive fix that definitely works? If I got the Twist I think I would prefer to prevent breakage rather than repair it after the event. I guess it's not that big a deal though.

Incidentally, looking at the RCG thread on the Twist, I see that ghee-grose is a member there too. I'm mcba there - I've been into electrics for a while, and only got into glow relatively recently. I'm really taken with the whole business though.

Matthew

The Whizz is still listed at the Minicraft web site in Thailand. I can't read Thai, so that's all I know about it. They made the Pizazz for Hanger 9.

As far as the twist being somewhat week in some areas and being new to flying well so new this was my second plane I had a flier at the field I go too say this to me. These planes are meant to be good flyer's not good crashers so fly it till it breaks and if it doesn't don't worry about it. So that being said I haven't had any problems with the twists week spot yet but I'm very cautious on landings. Good luck with whatever you pick.

Chris

I still have my first Twist and haven't had any problems yet. It flew all summer without any mishaps and I've a history of trashing planes. I also have been careful to keep it high and use caution on landings. In fact it lands better than a trainer. I just have seen so many pictures on the internet of Twists broken in half. That doesn't mean you will have problems Matthew. You're probably a better pilot than I am. Most people are. Also, I don't hover or harrier I just stick to traditional aerobatics.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm looking into various ways of possibly getting the plane. Either from my LHS (hopefully with a club discount to ofset the the inflated price a little), or from Germany. We shall see...

Matthew

Mathew. The Web site at Horizon Hobby will show that the Twist is not currently in stock. I emailed them and about a week ago they answered me that they should be available in late January 2006. I have owned several of them, and love them. If you do not crash them they will last forever, but as I expanded my envelope of experience I have crashed them. And when I do they tend to break in the middle just behind where the pilot would sit. They can be fixed. Often times the wing survives the crash very well. The tail always survives. So now I keep a roll of the yellow and purple covering in my shop. Perhaps a stonger plane would survive more crashes, but it would be heavier, and would not fly as well. The Twist is an excellent plane. At the start keep the throws very low. I started at 70% of the recommended low throws. If they ever come out with a Twist 60 or 90 or 120 I will buy 10 of them! Jim Tucker

A larger Twist would be something I would like to see! But wouldn't a Funtana be a better step after the Twist? The Funtana is one choice I have been looking at as my next plane.

[quote]ORIGINAL: Matthew Allen


WRT the fuselage issue, has anyone devised a pre-emptive fix that definitely works? If I got the Twist I think I would prefer to prevent breakage rather than repair it after the event.
....................

Matt, there's a sure-fire fix for the Twist and all other birds like it. Get the plane put together, radio and all, then get some of that expanding foam insulator and fill the whole damn plane, from firewall to rear fuse, wing interior too, with it. THEN you can drop it from a 12 story building and it won't hurt anything--much. It won't fly, either, but you won't have to spend much time fixing it.

The plane/plain truth is: the Twist is DESIGNED to break where it does, where it's generally EASY to fix. My pal put his Twist's nose (with an O.S. 61) into the frozen pond Saturday when he bottomed out of a low loop--going down wind! Yesterday he flew that bird again.

The TRUTH for pilots is to learn to fly. Early in this thread I heard about putting nylon bolts in the landing gear, paint-stir sticks in the fuse, and a half dozen other methods to "pre-emtively" FIX the Twist--all of which adds weight, of course. Don't do it. Learn to fly. Yeah, LEARN TO FLY. Focus on landings and don't fly in winds you can't handle. Go by the book's recommended CG until you want to push the envelope (and don't blame the bird when you do!). Know your limitations.

If this sounds harsh, forgive me, but it's all true--and there's damn little truth around in flying. Ask any old hand in this passion of planes and wind and sky. We ALWAYS want to blame something OTHER than ourselves (the wind, the radio, freak signal interference, et al) when it comes to our loves, our FLYING, our Twists.

As the manuals and AMA say, we're not playing with toys. These are highly designed instruments of flight, always dangerous. When you pick up the radio attached to a different bird, THINK and FOCUS. I've flown as many as 5 different airframes in a single flying session. I love that challenge--and I've made my mistakes. The Twist will do loops close to the ground, but when I change to the STurdy Birdy II (square firewall, Super Tigre .51--flies like a bat out of hell, 75 mph), I have to remember that the Birdy will NOT recover from inverted flight, low to the ground, with an outside loop. I have to roll out of it. The U Can Do floats forever; the P-51D lands at 30 mph. The Lanier Dart has to land at 40 mph, I swear. Flies like a brick.

The Twist is well designed and built, usually, but check those joints when you first receive it. Ask Gary, ghee-grose, he flew a Twist for a YEAR without damaging it in any way (huh!). The man knows how to fly. Then he crapped it out--as we all do when we have momentary tunnel-vision, do poor preflights, or simply push the envelope. And the birds, with that much use, tire out, CA hinges break, control arm holes enlarge, constant flex of internal joints, wing, ailerons, tail feathers, finally will give, unless monitored and re-glued from time to time.

Point is, don't destroy the Twist's design. Learn to fly it well.

Build well; preflight, preflight, preflight; practice, practice, practice; fly, fly, FLY!

And that's the TRUTH as I know it.

Jack

I was thinking of taking a break from flying after I lost the Twist into the middle of a highway nose first,full throttle.Also lost a super chipmunk the same day on it's maiden flight. This was a week ago, I just read thru the last week and a half of post and know I must build another Twist.Oh, I must build it soon! I was thinking after I lost my second twist which I repaired so many times that maybe I should stop.Well now I know I can't.Thanks to you all for bringing me back to my senses.

Everything that Jack say's is true. Especially the part about people blaming crashes on everything but themselves. I just have to bite my lip when people crash at the field. The excuses are comical. Of course there are some exceptions but most of the time it's pilot\builder error.

Maybe I should retract what I said about the week spot in the fuse. The fact is, it has to have a week spot somewhere. If you beef up one area it's going to break somewhere else that may be less desirable. I knew a guy once who would build his whole plane using epoxy. When there was a crash or hard landing the joints never broke but the wood would shatter between the joints.

The bottom line is it's a great little plane with no big design flaws.

Jim,

I'm hoping that if I order the Twist from somewhere in Europe I'll get it without a wait because there's stock sitting around. If not, that's life.


I don't think you're being harsh. I've been flying electrics since 2000, and I am very much familiar with planes that are designed to be flown, not to survive crashes. However, IIRC there were references in this thread to the fuselage failing in the course of normal harrier landings. Ideally you don't want a funfly/3D model to be prone to this sort of damage, but really, it's not that big a deal. If I get a Twist I'll probably fly it fairly 'conventionally', at least for a while - I still finding my feet in glow.

Some changes seem to make sense though. Fitting nylon bolts to the gear should mean that you strips the bolts rather than pulling apart wood joints and ripping covering if you screw up. Knowing me, I'll be too lazy to track down the correct thread though.

Flying skills shouldn't be a problem. Although I've had hard landings, I've never had a true dumb-thumbs incident with one of my balsa planes*. All my 'crunchy' balsa crashes have been down to stupid building mistakes and electronic issues. As much my fault, certainly, but easier to avoid in the future.

Anyway, I am absolutely not bashing the Twist. I think a 2900 post thread is a testament to any plane's popularity.

Matthew


*Don't mention the foamies.[sm=redface.gif]

I still love flying my Twist.. It has taken some hard landings and even some mild crashes and done just fine.. I reinforced the area behind the "pilot" that frequently breaks by removing and replacing the covering underneath. I used some gorilla glue and I can tell you, it added little weight, but greatly enhanced the days flyability.. It once fell from the sky @ 20 feet as I had to take my eyes off the plane (don't ask why) and nosed straight in with an impact @ about 30 degree.. no damage.. and my plane weighs less than 5lbs.. I posted pics earlier in this massive thread but I'd recommend doing this, much easier than waiting for a replacement or hoping that the fuse is still straight after your repair.

Sachin

I met a fellow out at the field today who was flying a Twist powered by and old O.S. .61 four stroke. He was running a straight pipe on it and it hauled the Twist around pretty good and sounded great also.

Hey, Tuck, I think we're ALL looking for bigger Twists, too, just for variety. There IS a plug and play model, more expensive, that may be available now. I enjoy the white/blue/green color pattern.

By the way, I have it on good authority (Mike Lucier, proflyer, who works at Riders Hobby in Taylor, MI, and whose club, Weak Signals, runs the Toledo exposition every year) that Hangar 9 reorganized the production line FROM building the Twist TO building their recent entry into the "P-51Ds can be trainers" market--which they created. I recall several full page and two page magazine ads to that effect--AND I bought their P-51D, a beautiful airframe. They evidently put LOTS of money into advertising and wanted to be sure they could supply the anticipated demand. So they shut down the Twist's production line, promised to be BACK on line in December for sales in late January.

I suspect it's much like making SUVs (with larger profit margins) vs. building small cars.

Jack

I just ordered a Twist from Germany.[8D] I hope you guys are right about this plane.

Matthew

You'll love it!