I haven't seen any posts regarding this particular ARF so I thought I would mention my experiences so far. I bought this on EBAY for $72. Its made in China (what arf isn't anymore???). Fuse is fiberglas that is painted with glossy paint. Wing comes in 3 parts which you have to put in the aluminum wing joiners. Hmm...I take it old Wong was sleeping as he didn't drill the smaller joiner holes big enough. Also, there are two metal dowels that are fitted in the main wing and go into holes in the fuse to attach wing. Well, Wong's twin brother Wang was taking a siesta as he didn't drill the holes in the fuse for these either. The instructions are also in english but they are slightly butchered. This ARF is not for newbies as a first arf assembly.
Because there are a few items that need attention that aren't mentioned in instructions. The plane will look gorgeous when finished!!! Very pretty model. Anyways, if you have a few arf's under your belt, grab one of these!!! The parts so far are not bad quality-wise. I will try and take a few pics and post them here. These arfs also can be purchased at
www.raidentech.com


Dave...

Dave, I bought two of these, one for possible parts as the kits were cheap enough. I was impressed by the quality compared to another China made ARF, namely the Lanier's Mariner. ( I was tempted to strip the covering, sand and recover it. I did not) I have since bought an Ace Seamaster and another China made, Seamonster. Both are better quality than the Marine, IMO.

I have not flown it as I only have water as my flying field, Lk. Washington, and having read a few posts re this model on floats, I may reconsider the floats and try it on land. I think the wing surface might be insufficient for the extra drag of floats and water.

Any info on flight characteristics?

Haven't flown the Cessna yet as it is still being built. I noticed that there are a couple of wing joiners that are used but they are way too big. I had to drill holes a little bigger. Alot is taken for granted building the Cessna in that if you have never put an arf together, you'd be in way over your head. If I get real lucky, I may fly it tomorrow as the wind is supposed to be around 5 or 6 mph with 48 degree temps.
Depends on how much I get finished. The engine gets mounted sideways in this plane. I may have to do some cutting on the cowl in order to be able to get at the glow plug and fuel lines. Like I said, quality isn't bad but the instructions I think a lacking a little.

Dave...

Hey dave how did the flight come out, have you had a chance to fly it yet? I been eyeing this plane for my son for Christmas.I am currently installing floats to my H9 cub and i removed a saito 56 4 stroke and adding a OS 70 at some point,but i have this saito with out a home. it looks to be a good candidate. hey dont forget to post some pic's

I have had this plane with a Magnum/ASP 61 RFS. It was not the easiest ARF to put together but not so difficult either. I thought the plane came together nicely. The only part I though was beyond the new ARFer is the drilling of the wing dowels. Otherwise the plane is not only beautiful, it was a nice scale flyer. I would recommend a 70 class 4 stroke over the 60 if you're looking for anything above scale flying. Also, file the front landing gear rod down so that the control arm doesn't shift... mine did and it nosed over, scraping the nose gear pants. Also, the control arm broke once leading to more scraping of the nose gear pants... but other than that... love it! Hated to sell it when I left Hong Kong!

I have one of these with a .58CD RCV engine mounted sideways. The plane flys fine, plenty of power.
The arf drove me to fits building it as things seem very simple but end up being a royal PITA.
a) the nose gear plate nuts and bolts are Impossible to get at unless you are a contortionist
with very very small hands. I ended up using sheet metal screws into automotive type
"speed-nuts" that I could hold with some long hemostats. I replaced the nose gear with
a double leg Fultz set-up as the suplied was too thin, especially with wheel pants
(which are very good BTW)
The wing joiner holes were drilled out for 1/4 dowel rod instead of the metal pins, they didn't seem like
they penetrated the wind panels deep enough to do much good.
I wish they had included strut covers for the mains, looks weird with wire gear.
Overall, not a bad plane for the money. Cowl and trim are really nice.

Haven't a chance to fly it yet. Heck, it aint even all together!!!! I hope to have it finished by the weekend. I flew my Tiger 2 and Twist yesterday. When nice days come up on the weekend, you got to take full advantage!!!!!
Only engine I have available for it is an OS .46 AX. I have one in my Tiger 2 and it flies great with it. Not looking for speed with the Cessna, just a scale type look in the air.


Dave...

I just got mine! It's Blue and White Instead of the Red and white scheme shown in the ads. This thing has to be the best kept secret in ARFs. It's beautiful! What a deal!

Meesh, yep! Paid 72 for mine. BTW, read the instructions thoroughly while assembling. I think the 55 millimeter or 2 inch wheels are on the smalll side. I'm not using the wheel pants because the 2 clubs I belong to have grass strips. I'm afraid the wheels will get caught up and flip the plane over. Should be ready to fly this weekend as I'm going to put on the linkages tonite.

Dave...

HI Meesh,your going to have to put a hanger attached to your new house for all those planes,hey what are the Chance's you have a OS70 kicking around you might like to part with i need one for my H9 cub i just added floats [sm=drowning.gif] .....Bill

Hey Bill,

Unfortunately, although I have quite a few engines, I don't have any extras

Can anyone compare this to the great planes cessna ARF?

Just about done with it. Some items like the nose wheel linkage, instructions really don't say how to go about connecting. Alot is left up to the builder to decide. And, I really did a butcher job on the cowl! The engine is side mounted. I didn't use the plastic mount but used the mount (hangar 9) that I had when my Arrow was flying. Its 1 ounce heavier that the supplied mount. Gonna try and maiden it today.
I have to check to see if the balance (CG) is okay. This arf really doesn't have any pre-drilled holes etc. Your kinda on your own to figure it out. There aint alot of space for your hands behind the firewall. Makes it difficult to get anything tight up front. I will try and get a pic today of the completed plane and post here. She is really nice looking!!! Kinda like that blonde cheerleader you dreamt about in high school!!!!

Dave...

Lucky - Yeah... the Cessna does build kinda up to you. I remember the steering linkage to be a pain in the ass. I had the front wheel give out a few times when the linkage collapsed. I had the steering go through the firewall and bend back 180 degrees in to the arm. Not the best solution. I had the ASP (Magnum) RFS 61 in sideways as well and it looked fine. Lovely actually. Good luck with the plane!

Meesh - can you post a pic of your plane? Would love to see it in another color scheme!

Hi Guys,

do you have the 63" wingspan version or the 83" ??? I am assuming due to the small engine that it is the 63"
appoligies if im wrong.

Michael

Here is my new CMP Cessna 50" with Magnum 52 (8.5ccm)

Klemen,

How did you paint the black on the nose ??? does it seem to stick well to the clear finish ???

Did you sand it first ???

Thanks in advance,

Sam

This is just black decor folia
p.s. sorry about my english[]

That's how the plane comes. The finish you see is gel coated over the fiberglass.

There are several longer and better threads on this plane here.

Search for "Best Cessna" to find the long threads, which include info on lighting systems and struts.


It's a beautiful plane as it comes out of the box.

I was actually talking about the black paint on the top of his cowl....this isn't stock and was added later...

Just wanted to know what black he used and if he sanded it first ???

I have a bunch of info on mine....

www.teamtracon.com <------ Check out our gallery for a bunch of our Cessna pictures.

[link=http://teamtracon.netfirms.com/aircraftgallery/nfpicturepro/thumbnails.php?album=24]Team Tracon's CMP Cessna 182[/link]

Sam

Hello.....I just got the cessna 182cmp...... for its looks and price
I dont know what size gas engine to install??? any suggestions??? evolution .46??

I also would like to know the flying caracteristics of this model I understand its not easy to fly.... very unastable??? is this correct

do you have any suggestions

tx
David V
Miramar Fla

Hello...
I just got this plane.......

How does it fly..??? any suggestions....
I wiill use an OS or Evo...not sure on the size...??

appraciate any feedback on this model...

Thank you
David