carlbecker

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Its been a bit windy here in Northern Va. Lots of cross wind but I did manage a very nice landing on this beautiful day. What a sweet plane!

Carl

Jimmy Bananas

My Feedback: (13)

Carl:

Due to some problems with mine,have made some adjustments to the elevator, and CG, have added about 5 ozs to the nose...Have quite a bit of down elevator trim to make it fly level..will fly again today..wind only 5-10 mph..haven't flown at all for a week..either it's been raining or too windy...finally a decent day to fly..will let you know what happens...did some measuring on the plane..this is what I have found;

Eleavtor: 0-0
top wing: -1.0
bttm wing: 0-0
downthrust: 3.0 degrees

Later....................

Flyboy1958

My Feedback: (1)

Carl, looks real nice, boy it really looks real with the sky in the background. Good luck to you Jimmy.

Kmot

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Picture #1 sure does look real!

carlbecker

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I had help with a beautiful day. You can still see things hanging of the plane that should not be there but I'm pleased with the pic. I had a couple of hard landings and the fiberglass around the LG struts cracked. I just removed them. I'm tough on wheel pants also. Maybe one of these days I will learn.

Carl

carlbecker

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I just purchased a 50 pound postal scale for $18. I weighed the PT-17. Top wing 1 lb 15 oz. Bottom wing 1 lb 13 oz. Fuselage 9 lb 4 oz. Look like I'm at 13 pounds with a little fuel in it and no fiberglass on the LG struts. One pound under min.

Carl

Jimmy Bananas

My Feedback: (13)

Carl:

OK,where did you get that 50 Ib postal scale? I sure can use one of those..As for my PT-17,added the weight,and still wants to climb...can maintian level flight,but with quite a bit of downtrim..Guess I'll have to settle with that..Yep,the fiberglass molding on the landing does split..Got a new one on and it's starting to split also..got the old one repaired,and ready to paint,but will change the wheels on it...going with Robarts 3-3/4" scale wheels ,with foam inserts..the wheels that come with the kit are too hard and the plane likes to bounce on landing all over the place....needs softer wheels..also the tail wheel unit is going to be replaced..friend of mine who has a Super Stearman,replaced his with a Ohio R/C unit and it works fine...won't fly it again until all of this is done...have a nice one

Flyboy1958

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Good info from you guys. Boy, doesn't anybody else have this plane or what? Not many people talking about it.

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

I found serveral on the auction place. I think you can find them at Walmart, etc. It a small unit using battery or AC. I use battery, I have to many cords already. I placed the fuse vertical on the scale and balanced it with my fingers so I might be a little off but I believe very close.

Carl

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

By my math, this makes the airframe with radio weigh in at around 11.25 lb., since the Saito 120 weighs 28 oz. according to Horizon. Good info to know for my contemplated electric conversion of this plane.

BTW, how are those fiberglass strut cuffs attached? I want to rebend the gear to be narrower in track to make it look more scale, and I'm probably going to have them pop off by trying it.

Rick

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

If you are counting Glow vs Electric remember the fuel tank and throttle servo and muffler. I'm sure its worth a few ounces. The fiberglass ? around the struts is brittle. I bounced the PT-17 in a couple of times and got a crack in the leading edge most of the way. I CA'd it at the field and the next week cracked it again. Its a fun fly ARF so out came the dremel to remove the other side.

When the Saito is put puting and the Stearman is just floating along is great! More than enough power for good sized loops from level flight. Cuban eights require throttle past the top of the loop to keep speed up for the roll. Ailerons are just not real responsive.

I like my scale. Now I will know what each plane weighs.

Carl

Nerevar

Hello guys,

I've been out of RC for over 20 years and now thinking of getting back into it.
I'll be re-learning to fly on a little SuperFly electric, but thinking of getting one of these Great Planes PT-17 Stearmans as my 2nd plane as scale biplanes and sport biplanes, especially the PT-17, have always been my main interest.
So needless to say, this thread is extremely interesting to me.

Having been away from the hobby for so long, many questions come to mind.
One is, I noticed a reference to using a 6 volt battery above the engine instead of the 4.8 volt. I'm assuming this is the receiver/flight pack battery. Is that correct? Or is this just for servos while the receiver would still need the smaller battery?

It seems that much has changed. One nice surprise was that glow fuel is cheaper than what I expected given the rise in price of most everything else.

I hope it's OK to just jump in on this thread like this. If not, please forgive the intrusion.

Thanks for your answers and comments.
Ramon Holloman

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

Ramon,
You can spend a lot of time reading here. I have been using 5 cell 6 volt flight packs for about 4 years without a regulator. For receiver and servos either Multplex, Hitec or Futaba.
I would recommend an advanced trainer/tail dragger before you try the PT-17. Its not fast if powered within specs but it can get squirrelly.

Carl

Nerevar

Thanks for the info Carl.

And for the suggestion too.

Maybe bringing my old .60 size ugly stick out of retirement might be a better 2nd plane. It's gentle and predictable. Actually more gentle and predictable than the SuperFly, come to think of it.

Ramon

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

I think that would be very wise. Not a big loss if something bad happens and you can certainly sharpen your skills on it. The Stearman has a gentle stall but can and will bounce on landing if you are not careful. For take off I have not put toe in on the mains so I have to carry up elevator until the speed is up and then some times its already close to flying speed and I don't want to yank it off the ground. Still its a very nice flying bird and I enjoy it greatly.

Carl

serge760

what about a OS 1.60 2 stroke in the stearman , i have a giant super chipmunk 1.20 size with a OS 1.60 2 stroke flys great

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

I think an OS 160 would make it a rocket, but if that's what you're after....

Rick

Meesh

My Feedback: (135)

A club member has one with a Saito 100 4-stroke and that flies very scale like with power to spare.

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

Except for the light weight I think the Saito 100 would be perfect with a 15x6 APC prop.

Carl

Hellcat716

My Feedback: (2)

My YS 91 is a perfect fit for the stearman. No nose weight required. More than enough power for this plane in my opinion.

ExperimentalAviator

My Feedback: (15)

Here is my Stearman with different markings. I had the graphics made by Bill Fulmer at www.customcutgrafix.com/ and the muffler is from www.pspec.com

I only had a Saito 180 for the project, but the C.G. came out perfect. Maiden flight was today with four total flights before sunset.

This Stearman is one sweet model, but throttle management is a must with the 180. One advantage of overpowering this model is on the fly-bys, which are very realistic at scale speed with the throttle around 20-25% power.

After starting the engine and ground testing I was able to fly for ten minutes and land with 3.5 - 4.0 ounces of fuel left. This is based on using the factory supplied fuel tank and that I rarely used more than 50% power.

This ones a keeper for those lazy days.


Mike

Nerevar

Nice looking plane Mike. What is the diameter of your circular markings on the bottom wing and the height of the "U.S. NAVY" letters. Id like to put some similar on mine.

I finished mine yesterday. It came in at 13lbs 4oz with a Saito 120 in it.

Since I shifted the servos forward one bay and put the receiver battery in the weight box above the engine, and did Carls elevator joining thing with 1/8th inch diameter music wire and just one elevator pushrod, it is just slightly nose heavy, by about 5 degrees (haven't measured that yet).

I've found with this that I don't turn out the same quality finished product as I did 20 years ago. Even with all the added panel lines and rivet decals added, it still doesn't look as good as what I used to turn out since I wound up with "glue fingerprints" all over it. I'm trying to clean those off before any photos, or taking it out to fly.

I was quite impressed with how the Saito ran as I was breaking it in (by the book) in the back yard. Very smooth running little engine. Have an APC 16X6 on it right now. May try an APC 17X6 though just to see what it'll turn.

I intend to add the markings to the bottom wing as Mike did in the post just above. I already added a "Dove Gray" center section to the bottom wing. Don't know if that's right for this particular color scheme, but the traditional yellow and blue color scheme has the bottom wing center section the same color as the fusalage.

I don't know right now when I'll be flying it. The small farm I've been flying my little SuperFly electric and Parkzone P51-D at isn't big enough for this plane and doesn't have a runway and the county's club field is, I'm guessing here, about 15 to 20 miles away. Since I don't drive, and haven't since '98, because of my disability, I'll have to wait till one of my flying friends goes to the field and lets me go with him. With gas costs now running over $3 a gallon here, even with sharing the costs, that probably won't be soon. That high priced gas sure takes the fun out of going anywhere. Yea, I know, the glow fuel is 6, or more, times that price per gallon - but it's just the mental thing of knowing that gas SHOULDN'T EVER be that expensive.

Anyway - just thought I'd share my good news with you folks. I've wanted a PT-17 Stearman for years and it's nice to finally have one. Right now I have it setting on the dining table just admiring it. I'm sure this one is going to be a easier, better flyer than ether one of the little planes I'm flying now.

Especially that P51. It's a good flying plane, but it's fast and quick responding. So you've got to keep your eyes on it from launch till landing. No looking over at your friends planes, or at them, while flying it - unlike the SuperFly.

Nerevar

Changed my mind. Here's some pics of my new baby.
The wires to front cockpit are a Hanger 9 remote glow attachment and the receiver battery being charged for another run.

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

Very nice planes, guys.

My geared electric motor arrived yesterday (finally!), and my big LiPo packs are in the mail to me, so I can finally get to work laying out my electric power system on the plane. Stripping the fuselage and tail and recovering them in the 'right colors' has begun. Yellow, that is. The color scheme out of the box just doesn't do it for me, authentic as it is--just personal preference. At least I'll be able to tell mine from all the others.

I'm expecting my AUW to come out the same, or maybe less, than the 120 4-stroke glow setup. Those LiPos are light.

Rick

carlbecker

My Feedback: (3)

The dummy cylinders keep cracking and trying to fall off. I redid the landing gear mount and decided to fiberglass the inside of the dummy cylinders and crank case. I have about 8 flights since and everything is tight. I'm trying to get better dealing with a cross wind so I'm doing lots of touch and goes. I have done a couple of great ones and now I need to up the percentage. This Stearman seems like it takes 10 feet to drop a couple of inches. Lost that little tail block at the bottom to the rudder[]

Carl