H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Well , I'll have to give it to Bubba and the guys at Lanier. I have owned C.G. Planes in the past and was not very excited about the quality and fit,[] but now I'll put the new 30% Ultimate up against any ARF out there. Just completed it last night. Everything fit perfectly ! The quality is first rate and the covering was flawless. This is the very first ARF I have owned that I did not have to iron and heat out any wrinkles what so ever. I personally think it is slightly overpriced at a little over $800.00. But I will say if it flyes as good as it looks and fit, it may be well worth the money. First flight will be Thursday weather permitting. Will let you know how it goes. Oh by the way, 4.2 Brison with Futaba 3305 servos on all surfaces and a GWS Pico mini on the throttle. AND OF COURSE SMOKE ! No biplane should be flown without smoke.

gunny11

My Feedback: (6)

I like this arf. Good to know about the covering, must be their Ultracote. Let us know how it goes and how you like it. I would like to get one too eventually.

Gunny

RobertC

My Feedback: (157)

I too have this ARF (although it is waiting patiently in line behind the other models that I have yet to assemble! ). I agree that the quality is very good-- and the construction is super-light! Price is a bit high-- but it does include all hardware (most ARF's of this size don't seem to). A few questions:

(1) What did you do about the elevator hitting the horizontal-stab? Not a big deal, but just curious about your solution.

(2) The instructions have you mount the cowl first, then the engine. This seems backward to me-- did you do it this way?

(3) My cowl seems to be a *tight* fit around the fuse. Was it this way for you also?

I am planning on using a ZDZ 80 on mine (unless the DA-75 comes out before I start construction). I would certainly be interested in hearing how the Brison pulls it around!

By the way-- for anybody interested in pictures of the kit-- I posted some a few months ago. Hit the "search" button under this post to find them.

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Robert, #1 the elevator, - Well, I took 1/4 inch off the inside the elevator and recovered it so as to allow it to clear the stab. After I did this, I called G.G. support to report a problem with the "I" supports & the elev hitting the stab and they stated the elev. was like that to keep us from putting in to much elevator travel, it was designed as a stop. They cautioned anything more than 2 1/2" the plane would snap. TOO LATE mine will now travel 52 degrees. By the way if you go that route you will have to use ball ends on the servo arm and the elev. the "clevises" supplied will hit the servo arm and limit travel.
#2- Yes, I always mount the cowl first on all planes. I mount the cowl, and engine before I do anything else, that way you can stand the plane on its tail, place the engine on the firewall then mount the cowl, slip the spinner base on the engine shaft and move the engine around under the cowl until you have it centered in the shaft opening.
#3 The cowl will not fit on the fuse unless you cut the reliefs for the landing gear. I just cut a slot on each side of the cowl along the corners for relief until I mounted the landing gear in order to get the cowl on the fuse to line up the engine.
Please note ! DO NOT TRY TO PLACE THE "I" WING SUPPORTS AS LABELED. The dummies at the factory must have been standing on their heads with the plane facing them when they placed those little "top left" orentation labels on them.
Good luck, I'll let you know how it flies tomorrow.

rongreg13

My Feedback: (129)

Your comments and solutions are identical to mine. I've been flying this plane for over 2 months now first with a Fox 4.2 and now a Brison 4.2. I absolutely love everything about the plane and the way it flies. I too had the mislabeled interplane struts and had to trim off and recover the stabs and elevators to get decent throw. I've also had to change the main wing mounting bolts and add some large washers as the mounting plate is a very soft wood and loves to deform unless you spread the force out. This plane will fly slow enough that you can almost get it to go backwards on a windy day. I was surprised to see how much it floats and how little drag is has compared to most of the larger Ultimates. Mine just does not want to slow down! I've had 2 deadsticks--one due the the original Fox engine and the second due to my fuel clunk separating and both ended up being total non-events as the plane glided right down to a nominal landing with no issues. I used all 4-40 ball link connections on all of the control surfaces with AirWild Aluminum servo arms and JR 8411 servos. This has been a great combination with super smooth control. One thing I don't like is the firewall design. My firwall has actually begun to slightly warp after a few months of flying. It's not enough to worry me yet, but I can foresee having to support it even more and possibly switch to either a thicker and/or tougher wood. I too think the price is too high, but I still love the plane. I got a deal on mine for just over $700 and this is a much more reasonable price than what most are asking for it. Overall, it's a great plane at a great and manageable size and the flight characteristics are typeical Ultimate!

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Rongreg, thanks for the heads up on the wing mounts, I'll address that right away. As for your comments on the motor box, I can see that becomming an issue, I thought the wood was soft when I mounted the engine and had to cut out for the muffler. What do you think about going ahead and laminating some Aircraft quality 3/16 or 1/4" ply to it now.

rongreg13

My Feedback: (129)

I would highly recommend doing that now. I wish I would have beefed things up before setting everything up. Now I think I'm going to have some work to do this winter to take everything apart and redo the firewall.

You'll love the way the plane flies! I mounted my twin 1800 mAh NiCads at the back of the hatch (I use an EMS Jomar battery backup) and the plane balanced out perfect towards the middle-rear of the range. This plane really likes to be a bit tail heavy. The aileron effectiveness is out of this world. Using the recommended max throws, roll rate is great. When you crank them up, roll rate is out of this world. High alpha flight is SUPER easy and stable and you'll appreciate the elevator mods! I don't know what in the heck they were thinking with the "designed-in" throws, but they are not enough. If you look at the horizontal and vertical stabs, you'll see that they have some dowels imbedded in there for tail bracing. I've been wondering if this was the original plan and to cut costs and negate the need for the bracing, they just tried to force folks to keep the elevator throws super low.

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

I noticed the dowels also Hummm ? I have already got the 3/16 ply ready, After my test flight tonight I'm going to go ahead and reinforce the box.
I love 3D flying and that is one of the main reasons I got this plane, therefore, I'm gona try to use all the elevator I can get which is now 52 degrees, will try it high and adjust if necessary.
I have even thought of modifying the rudder for more movement. What do you think?

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Wagas, I know your out there, see your name at the top, gona go to the field tonight for the test flight?

rongreg13

My Feedback: (129)

I've got crazy throw on my rudder. I use the Airwild aluminum arms with JR 8411 servos and 4-40 ball link rods to the rudder. This combo deflects the rudder all the way over and I can't see being able to use any more! I haven't even flipped my switch to go to max 3D throw for the rudder yet because I just haven't found anything that has required it yet. I can do real tight knife edge loops even with just a bit of rudder.

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Will follow your lead, Thanks.

RobertC

My Feedback: (157)

Awesome info, guys! I will definitely keep the information about the firewall in mind when putting mine together.

Ron, it sounds like you are using two 8411's on the rudder (mounted in the tail?). I was thinking of just one 8611-- or that new Hitec monster-- mounted pull-pull under the canopy. Any thoughts on why this would be better/worse?

Looking forward to hearing how the maiden went, Wayne!

H. Wayne S

My Feedback: (18)

Well Ron, Ishould have listened to you better and took your advice to heart. BAD NEWS---Third flight, the engine box plywood de-laminated/seperated and the engine came off in mid air. Yes I had pegged it, had the trystock as per and had even added some reinforcement.
Good news, believe it or not this plane is and was so stable it was landed with absolutely no damage what so ever. The only thing damaged was the prop, the Cowl of course is eaten up and the Ignition system of the engine was pulled apart- trash.
Easy fix, just should not happen to an $800.00 plane. Will post pictures AFTER I talk to C.G. reps and see what thay have to say about a new cowl.
Later.

rongreg13

My Feedback: (129)

I would probably recommend staying with the dual servos in the tail. This seems optimal to me for balance, easy maintenance, easy adjustment, and super easy removal. You'd probably be fine with a great big servo up front or a pair ganged together, but I would just stick with the stock design as it works great and in my mind--if it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!

Wayne--Man, sorry to hear that! Now you have me thinking about accelerating my plans to further beef up mine. I was going to wait until the end of the season, but I might just go for it now! Too bad such a simple component has to ruin an otherwise awesome airplane! I just love the way it flies and can't say enough good things about its flight characteristics. Sounds like you really got lucky that there wasn't any more damage! Let us know how things turn out!

flyinrazrback

My Feedback: (69)

How bout some pics of the finished planes?

wagas

flyinrazrback: Pics are here of Waynes airplane...


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