"So there I was" sitting in my shop the other day. Bored outta my skull because all of my planned projects have been completed, it's raining outside and my new Extra 260 hasn't arrived yet. So I head up to the attic to clean out some space I told the wife I'd take care of and I see a trainer that my son built about a dozen years ago. So I said to myself, "self, you should do something with that old trainer". So I drag it outta to the shop and after chopping a couple of inches off each wing, flattening the dihedral, getting rid of the tricycle gear and replacing it with a set off an old U-can-do, throw an evo 46 on it that I had lying around the shop, several hours later I had a....well.....I'm not sure what it is but it'll be fun. Any guesses on how it will fly?

It should fly very similarly to a stick. A little less aerobatic becaue of the flat bottom wing, but not by much. Should be fun!

Well I'm not a genius but my guess is that it will do real well. You did a great job on it. It should fly fine. [8D]

see trainers are great for modifications. lots of fun there and head aches.

I like that idea. I'm gonna have to try that with the kadet!

Well i took out the dihedral in my superstar 40 (RIP), and it was a very good flyer. It was almost like flying the ultra stick, like 2slow mentioned. After taking out the dihedral it did some rather axial rolls instead of the barrel rolls it used too. I used it for just a throw around plane, until i dumb thumbed it in the ground after a low inverted pass. (flat bottomed wings are not good for loooong inverted flight)

Thanks guys. I'll post a report after I fly it. Have to leave town tomorrow (I fly real ones for a living). Hopefully the weather will improve while I'm gone.

Lots of guys really miss out on the fun of having a trainer around after they solo.

Too many people solo and immediately strip the gear out of the trainer and then either sell it, or mothball it. I always keep a trainer in the fleet. Now, they aren't stock trainers, but still, flat-bottom wing, and box fuselage.

My current trainer is an LT-40 with a TH .75 engine. Stock dihedral with scratch built flaps and big barndoor ailerons. Taildragger. I've had it for about a year. I dorked my last one flying at 10,000' elevation and ran outta fuel. Deadsticked it into a pine tree about 10' above the ground. Pretty much shredded it to kibbles and bits. They don't glide to well at 10,000' elevation. Even with a TH .75 on the firewall, you have to keep it over 1/2 throttle just to fly. Anything under 1/2 throttle and it starts to sink. Landings are fun. I'll bet most of you have never seen a Kadet LT-40 land at 25-30MPH. It takes that much speed to keep it from just falling outta the sky.

I love my trainers. I can do all the aerobatic maneuvers with them. I had a local guy comment that most people don't even think a trainer will do aerobatics. He had been watching me ring-out the LT-40 and he was surprised to see anyone doing rolling circles with one. We had a nice talk about using trainers to practice aerobatics. To do knife-edge flight, you have to keep the wings kinda flat, not perfectly perdendicular to the ground--but if you slam in enough rudder, they will knife-edge. The inverted flat spin is the most difficult. You have to constantly fight the ailerons to keep it from rolling back upright, but you can do it if you get the CG back far enough.

You can put a rear mount in the fuse with some lite ply. Drop in a couple blind nuts, and you got an instant float mount. Pull your mains off and slap the floats on in about 5 minutes. Instant float plane.

They make great video planes. A friend an I strapped a viedo camera to the wing of my LT-40 with electrical tape and foam. Instant video plane.

Going to a fun fly? Want to fly a plane thats perfect for spot landings or the ground competition? Trainer.

The best part about it, is that if you tear it up--they are cheap to replace and your not heartbroken about it. It's just a trainer.

As rcpilot says, keep a trainer handy. I use my Avistar with a 40 fp as a club trainer, a night flyer, a float plane, a cross country rally plane, and competed in a few fun fly events with it. The fuselage has been reglued together twice and I bought this plane at a swap meet for $20 less engine and radio. I think I've got my money's worth. Paul

im at that point now where im looking to buy another, but am waiting to go to perry georgia next friday instead and get something there, im bored with all my stuff in my shed because everyhting is done and has been done.

Ya, gotta have a cheap basher to keep around and play with, mine are the skyraiders

I agree with keeping a trainer around. I've been flying 5+ years and just bought my trainer. There has been plenty of times when friends and family would like a try at the sticks and I just didn't have a plane to take them up on. I know have my trainer with a buddy box setup ready to go.

Now, even the wife may have a go at it.

Great article by the master himself, Ed Moorman: http://members.cox.net/moorman1/trainer.htm