What would be a good second plane to get? I have been flying a Avistar Select and have enjoyed it. I would like to get into a high wing taildragger. I was looking at the J-3 Cub ARF from Grauber, I have everything I need including a MDS .46 engine. After reading some posts it sounds like the Cub can be difficult to fly. I have read the Ugly Stick is a good one, but its ugly[:'(].lol. If anyone has some good suggestions that would be great.
Thanks, Travis

Nice high wing tail dragger would be something like a Super Decathalon ... you have them from various manufacturers like TT etc. They are nice, better than a Cub.

Take a look at Sig's Rascal 40 ARF. It has a 72" wingspan, is a high wing tail-dragger, wheel pants and a neat retro- 30's look about it. It flies great and even does some mild aerobatics. The wing is 2-piece, so it transports easily, and should fly fine with a .46 2-stroke. The only concern (?) I might have is that it requires an inverted engine installation, because the engine mount is built into it. I say concern only because I don't know how much you might want to mess with the inverted engine. I have a Rascal 40, love the way it flies; I have a Saito .56 mounted inverted in mine and I have no problems at all with idle, starting, etc(all the things you hear about inverted mounting that are supposed to be "bad").

The trainer I have and still fly a lot ('cause it's fun to thrash) is a Superstar, and I think the Rascal flies better and more easily. I crashed mine a couple of times over the last year, wound up re-covering it (the crashes were my own stupidity), and I am building a set of floats for it now.

The last picture I included just 'cause it was next to the Rascal in my files. Chuck and me, 1988, talkin' about airplanes over a brewski. (Brooks AFB O.C., San Antonio

Hey thats a good looking plane hodges. I love "Golden Era" aircraft, how difficult was it to put together? I fairly new to this but I have a good working knowledge of aircraft and have some club members that can help if needed. Does a fourstroke run inverted better than a two stroke?
Thanks Travis

Reading the other part of your post, about the Cub-- make it your 3rd plane. Learning the tail dragger stuff on another plane will make the Cub a great 3rd plane. I have a 1/5 scale Cub and it's my favorite. The thing about Cubs is, you have to fly it all the time; it's like an older style car without power steering or brakes and 3-on-the-column shifting. A Super-D like tIANci said is a good plane, but much more high perf than the Cub, a good 4th plane. If I had to compare (I've flown R/C versions of the Cub and Super D), I'd say the Rascal has the best attributes of both without the bad habits.

This one looks nice.

You must have replied as I was writing the above post. It's an ARF, so it's almost together when you get it. You have to mount your servos, run your control linkages, set up and mount the fuel tank (the formers up front are cut out for the tank, you just stick it in, basically). I used a fueling attachment from DuBro and used a 2-line setup for mine, it made it easier than having to take the fuel line off the carb to fuel and defuel, which is difficult on the Rascal, because the engine is fairly enclosed. All you see is the cylinder head under the cowl, which doesn't detach. The wings fit together with an aluminum joiner that sets the dihedral (less than the Avistar). You have to mount the aileron servos (dual servos, one for each aileron, out in the wing), and it has some nice covers that conceal them.

If you have basic building skills and basic tools, it should be straightforward. The instructions are clear and complete; it would be a great transition to building a kit- there's very little gluing, and no covering to do. You do have to glue the horizontal and vertical tail and align them properly.If you have some help from your friends, it should be easy.

As far as inverted engines go, I've only run 4-strokes that way so have no personal experience with inverted 2-strokes. The glow plug on a 2 stroke sits right on top of the head, so upside down it acts as a little reservoir for fuel to collect in and it tends to be a bit harder to start. An idle bar glow plug helps, it tends to deflect fuel droplets from the glow element at low engine speeds. Using an electric starter will probably eliminate most starting problems, the idle bar will help idle, everything else will take care of itself. I only have one 2-stroke, in my Superstar (LA-40), and will only have 4-strokes because I love the way they sound and run. Both my glow engines are inverted mounts, my L-4 (Cub) has a .65 Saito.

If you use the 2-stroke on the Rascal, I'd recommend a remote glow starter attachment, because the glow plug will be a bear to get to and still keep your fingers. The plug on the 4-stroke angles back; it's still kind of inconvenient, but at least it's away from the prop. If you were to get a 4-stroke, the .56 is a great engine for the Rascal. The .65 case is too wide to fit between the engine mount (I tried). The .72 case is the same width as the .56, so it would fit, but approaches overkill as far as power goes (I've often thought it would be awesome, though, and not too much for a floatplane, given the extra weight and drag). I use a 12-5 Master Airscrew prop and it is a good combination with the .56. A 12-6 would also work. I tried a 13-5, but it's almost too much prop for the engine, it doesn't rev as well. With your GMS, I think an 11-6 or 11-7 would be okay, you could try a 12-4, but might not get as much speed.

Thanks for all the info hodges. That does help quite abit. I may look at the saito .56, I like the sound of fourstrokes and I have tendency to hurt myself so the safer the better. Im not looking for anything high performance or 3d, I just want to get comfortable with takeoffs and landings in a taildragger.
Thanks Travis

Take a look at this link
http://www.geistware.com/rcmodeling/second_plane.htm

I know you said high wing,but I would like to [img][/img]suggest the Seagull Spacewalker II. It is built for a .46 so it will work well with your MDS .46. I bought mine used but the ARF builds easily I've been told, the instructions aren't the greatest but with some skill shouldn't be a problem. I loved the way mine flew with an O.S. 46 FXi, was my second plane. It is very stable and predictable will do basic aerobatics and looks like a golden era low wing open cockpit airplane. [link]http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByCategory/Product/Default.aspx?ProdID=SEA2050[/link]

Why don't you save some $ & convert the Avistar to a taildragger. Crank up the throws & hang on for a wild ride. You already own a GOOD second plane. If you want just a bit more fun, get rid of the dihedral & try dropping the wing into the fuse by 3/4" (use a dremel to make the cut). There is nothing wrong with the Avistar as a serious hot rod -- there is a lot more plane there to be explored.

Thanks for all the info everyone, I will keep all that in mind. I ended up buying a used RTF Sig Rascal for a good price. I will now have two aircraft so when I buy the farm with one I will have another to fly anyway. Thanks a bunch for taking it easy on the newbie (me).
Travis