TimC: I replaced the original bolt with the spare which came with the kit - I have no idea what size they are, but they do look around 1/4." Yep, the holes line-up perfectly. My flying pal also had a 40-size Twist which has more flights than mine and his wing bolt is "as-new." As I said: I fly mine really hard, but I can't think that's the reason my bolts are wearing-out - is mine the only Twist doing this?

Tony

T.W., I'd be willing to bet a paycheck the threads are damaged in your blind nut. If you have access to a 1/4"-20 tap, try chasing the threads. I think the blind nut is shredding the threads of the wing bolt as you screw it in.

You could be right, but I don't have access to a tap. Tomorrow I'll remove the blind nut and take a close look at the thread . . . . and maybe replace it with one of my spares. Thanks Tim

Tony

T.W...Although I agree it is a pain to change those bolts, I strongly recommend NOT to switch to a iron bolt to holt your wing. Reason for that is if it ever so happened that you make a landing in which you might touch the ground with your wing, the iron bolt will holt the wing attached to your fuselage, more than likely causing damage to your wing. If you use the fiber bolt, the chance that the bolt snaps upon inpact is significant, hereby more than likely avoiding (significant/minor) damage to your wing or worse.
Just my .02.....

aa.2.dd,

I have my CG set at 5 1/4". I was at 5 1/2", and it was too unstable on landings. That 1/4" made a difference. I think a lot of guys are at about 5 even.

Thanks ... i have had the cg at different places. not sure if i have been at that range. I just trashed mine the other day. it done one of its famous nose up attitudes. I forced nose back down ... wind caught it and tipped wings to the left. the wind was gusty and turbulent ... corrected and it flipped to right instantly hitting the right wing tip on ground.
when it started to do the tumble, as the fuse started over the top, it busted iin half before it ever hit the ground. they are built flimsy, and unstable. nose up at 45 degree angle when you try flaring to land. first plane that i ever had that the fuse was so flimsy that it will break in half with out hiitting the ground! first plane that i have ever had that would point its nose up at 45 degree angle and float down the runway @ 45 degree angle till it just stops flying and falls out of the sky if you let it.

Bruce

aa2dd

TW I agree with TimC and Dutch,, check the threads on the blind nut first.

Don't change to the steel bolt

and another thing I noticed is your bolt looks kind of long, because of where I had to put my receiver I had to shorten the bolt a little on mine, on any plane I have, I always cut the bolt so only about 1/2 inch comes below the bottom of the nut, I have never had a problem with the bolt stripping or coming loose on the plane. I'm inclined to agree its happening when you thread it in, if the bolt is hitting anything on its way through because its to long, you will have the same problem as a bad thread in the nut.

Thanks again Guys. But no, the bolt doesn't hit anything - and the extra length of the bolt probably saved my model from coming completely apart in the air. I've always steered-away from metal wing-bolts in the past, but these days I don't mind using them whenever I need to - they "seem" safer when I'm flinging my models around in the air anyway

Over the years I've had my fair share of crashes (haven't we all) but I don't remember any where the wing-bolt let-go in the way that it's supposed to do - always it's the wood that's broken. My most recent crash-tested model was a Funtana. It did a "pancake landing" after the engine died whilst prop-hanging - too low to build-up enough speed to land properly but high enough to have got the model turned-around into a landing attitude. The arrival wiped-out the u/c and the front of the fuz right back to the middle of the wing, and again it was the 1/4" ply plate wing-bolt retainer-plate which gave-way. Some years ago I began cutting the wing-bolts about half-way through in order to make the bolt the "weak link" that it ought to be, but it made no difference, that bolt was still intact whilst the rest of the model got damaged - sometimes totalled even. So . . . . if I have a metal bolt I'll probably use it

Removing the blind nut isn't a difficult job btw - I just gently push at them with a hot soldering iron and they soon drop out (make sure that the hot nut doesn't land on an area of film though as it may burn right through! I'll remove the bolt later today and take a look at it

You may be right about the nut damaging the bolts, but they both went in there ok, and they tightened-down ok too. It was only after 15 or so flights that I discovered the thread had stripped - and I hadn't needed to remove the wing in-between-times, so something definitely happened whilst the bolt was in-place

Tony

I've now exchanged the suspect blind nut for one from my spares box, but the one I removed looks ok to me. I tried fitting a different bolt into the original nut (see pic) and it doesn't seem to bind, or to have done any damage to the thread. Bearning in mind that once I'd fitted the wing in place, the wing bolt stayed-put, as I don't remove the wings from my models between flying sessions. So I guess this means that I damaged the bolt just by flying my Twist hard . . . . and as I asked earlier: Has this happened to anyone else?

Tony

I have to say, That bolt looks just fine threaded through the nut,,

I only prefer the nylon bolt as the metal bolts seem to come loose on me, not often, but they have, they are easier to vibrate out in some cases, so I just stay with the nylon,, not that I haven't used a metal bolt in a pinch or for a few weeks, but I always replace it eventually, I don't know why,, Creature of habbit I suppose... I'm sure a lot of flyers keep their wings on if they can, but I have lost more planes doing that because I wasn't checking the inside connections, The T_ _ _ T is a little different as the major connections are all on the outside of the plane anyway. but I loved my huge garage that enabled me to load and store my planes with the wings on them. and a van to bring them to the field in I could get 3 40 size planes in there with the wings on,,, Bad bad bad I say... I was lazy,,, luckily I have moved and now I have to take the wings off, which ensures at least 2 more flights before a crash.

The bolt breaking instead of the wing has never happened for me either, when the bolt has busted on me, it is because the wing smashed up pretty good too, so to me, if you hit hard enough to break the bolt, you hit hard enough to break the wing or plane as well, maybe it releaves some of the damage, maybe not,, but by looking at my catastrophys I don't see it,. [:-]

when I hit the ground I'm usually clipping at a good speed, or death spinning from atop of the world, and something gives, or radio failure,, either way its always my fault for pushing the envelope or not checking connections before I taske off, but thats my cup of tea, If I damage a plane, I'm going to give me something to have to use lots of glue and wood on. [X(][&:] Thats just the way I like it. building and rebuilding is fun as hell.

WALDO...You and your love for repairing are KILLING MEI think if I crash a plane, I'll sent it over to you for repairI am too busy with my job to have time to repair planes in my spare time..that's when I want to FLY..FLY..FLY!!..but your eagerness for repair is too much..I can see you just crashing your plane at the end of the day, so you have something to repair..ya goofball.....

T.W...I reenforced my blind nut plate with 2 small pieces of triangle balsaAfter many hard flights with my baby, that wing bolt plate is still as strong as a rock...neither did I ever had my nylon bolts strip.....I actually retired my bolt some time ago, just to be sure..but that was after many times placing- and removing the bolt...but I do recommend you reenforcing the wing nut plate with a few pieces of triangle balsa, if you have not done already so.....just my .02 my friend...

Thanks for this good idea dutchalltheway. I just got through reading about a "new" 3D model which suffered wing-bolt plate failure during its first competition - and after a second idential model suffered the same fate in the same competition it was realised that the wing-bolt plate needed balsa packing between the plate and the wing so that the plate could no-longer flex in-flight . . . . makes you think doesn't it

Tony

Speaking about engines, I bought a Magnum .91RFS while they were cheap( I payed 130 for mine through tower with promo code). At 4700 feet I finaly found the Engine for this plane WOW!! add a 14x6 Xoar Insant thrills. Had no problems with cg just had to reposition blind nuts a half of a hole wider. Also put 2 dowels on wing instead of one in the center. I've just found this thread and thought i would add my $0.02.

Kerwin,

In the few flights that I've had with it, I would have to say that the 55AX is more powerful than the .46 Pro (I've had both on the plane). I can't say that it's a huge difference, too early to tell yet and haven't flown it in 2 weeks with our weather, but my initial opinion when flying it was that there was a bit more power with the .55, but not a major leap in power

Bob

Waldo,
I know how much you like pictures so I figured I'd post a few from today's events. It seems there were more that a few other fellas who played hooky today. We had gorgeous weather today... Sunny, 70 degrees and a light wind right down the runway.

Thanks goodness I decided to have someone else fly my .60 for an opinion. I was having a hell of a time on a few landings, she just wouldn't point her nose down. Turns out she was quite tail heavy. I don't know if something shifted inside or what, but I had this thing's CG right at the front end of the mfr.s recommendation. Anyhow, we fixed it and she lands beautifully now. Hope you all have as good of a weekend flying as we had today!

-Jay K.

Jay...I bought my T_ _ _ T .60 2 days ago, so these pictures are beautiful to seeThat 60 looks soooo incredible sharp against that blue sky man...wheww....I envy you.....Gonna put a Saito 90 in my T _ _ _ T...I think I recall you have the same engine in your T _ _ _ T am I correct??Can you refresh my memory and let me know how you like the flight character of the .60 with your engine??..please??

Well guys....I finished my 4th flight today with a Seagull Harrier .46.....first..I'm not an expert flyer...neither do I have a whole lot comparison, but this plane is not going to stay in my collection...[]..It is equipped with the O.S 61 FX...if I compare it with our so appreciated T _ _ _ T...well...there is NO comparison!!![>:]..First..it is way heavier than the T _ _ _ T...it is very twitchy in the air..it floats like crazy, making it hard to land..( I know..some down elevator should do it...)..and I unfortunately can hardly see how it hangs in the air..and my eye sight is good...Although brand new..I made the decision to dismantle it and give it away to one of my friends..

The Harrier made me realise what an absolute AWESOME plane the T _ _ _ T is guys...The T _ _ _ T takes off on a dime..is light in weight, yet strong....it lands so predictable....it can be flown relaxed, yet is ready for acrobats when you want it to be.....yu can make it turn 90 degrees almost around it's axle.... Next month I'll buy another T _ _ _ T, and just equip it with an O.S 70 4-stroke...I don't care having just T _ _ _ T's...I am addicted to the way it flies, ..the way it looks....the way it handles....the Harrier did not turn out to be what I thought it would be....LONG LIVE THE T _ _ _ T!!!....

Dutch,, I'm glad I can amuse you, its true I do love to build,,,, I am going to see if all this winters work will shred before my eyes today,,, its 1:30am here and we will be in the sky by 8am YEHAAAAAAAAA its Saturday. I don't think I have ever delibertly smashed a plane in for the sake of building,, [X(] maybe deep inside I did, [:-]but a friend of mine and I would sometimes take a hammer to a plane[>:][>:] so we would have something to work on in the winter months when we were broke and couldn't fly. try it sometime, you'll like it.

Jacklegchris,, welcome to the thread, you struck gold here I tell you. just ask and you shall be answered. I'm sure will be a T_ _ _ Taholic like the rest of us,, it already sounds like your hooked.

Jwk72,,, thanks for pics,, yes I love to see them,, everybody should keep sending them. and today I will be snapping some shots of mine as well, maybe even a video Today i get to T_ _ _ t until I have no more fuel and I may be maidening my US1000,, finally, after 2 years in the shop she will hopefully soar. I'll post todays events & pics tonight sometime. your pics look great are they all your crafts,, is that a Pitts bipe,,,,, NICE,,,,, looks like you had a blast.

Happy flying all..... I can't believe our season is back,,, this is so awesome...I am on cloud 500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0000,00,0: D

Hey guys...by the way....what do you all think of the T _ _ _ T 150???Any of you guys have one...considering getting one....saw one flying......what do you guys think??It is too big for my lil' car, I sure like the way it looks. I'm curious what ya'll think of it.

Jay...by the way...what prop do you use on your .60???I knew I forgot to ask you something...it now popped up in my mind..Also...did you re-enforce the fuselage behind the canopy??I have that surgery scheduled for this Wednesday...my buddy has done this to his .46 T _ _ _ T...and it really makes it stronger..ya know..to avoid the fuse cracks in the middle..

Is any of you guys going to switch to a 2.4 GHz radio??I saw the new to come Futaba 12 channel..that looks YYUUMMYYYYY..
I actually wrote an e-mail to Futaba, asking if they are planning on getting the 7CAP in 2.4 GHz version, but according to them this is not scheduled to happen as of now...12 channels is more than I will ever use..but heck...better more channels than not enough channels right??

Waldo...I really hope for you the weather is allowing you to fly...for such a die-hard flyer as you are, it most be a pain to hear us all flying..and you not yet due to weater conditions..the weather today in California was picture-perfect....bright pale blue sky...slight breeze....and the temperature just right....if I only would have flown the T _ _ _ T instead of the Harrier....[:@]

Dutch,
I have the Saito 100 in mine and personally wouldn't want anything less. It's gotten me out of trouble a few times and although I've not flown the .90, I'm pretty sure I'd rather rely on the extra size. Although I can't hover real well or real low, one of the guys who can flew mine and it hangs there at about 1/2 throttle. On takeoffs, this baby goes airborne in about 15-20 feet with just the slightest wind. My prop is a nylon 16x6 and seems to be doing the trick. As far as the 2.4 Ghz Futabas, I haven't seen one yet, but I have the Spektrum modules on order for my 9C.

After thinking about it a bit more last night, has anyone had problems with their bird floating or not "wanting" to come down on landings??? I had my .60's CG right at the front end of the recommended range and the other guys who flew it said it was way tail heavy. I took the 1 oz. stick on off of the tail I used to get the CG and it did make some difference. Any opinions? It was just real wierd that all of the sudden it was hard to land this thing. I looked inside and nothing shifted around so I'm lost. Guess I'll just have to try a few balance points.

-Jay K.

jwk72,

I had a similar exoperience on my .60. It was floaty and twitchy even though I balanced the plane on my CG machine at the front of the recommended, mine is an electric conversion so I just slid the batteries 1/2 inch forward and this took care of it. What you are describing doesn't sound wierd to me at all. Move the CG forward a little more and see how it handles. There are no rules, and you want it in the sweet spot for you. I experiment with CG all the time on my .40.

I'm so happy,, 7:45 this morning until 12:30 was just awesome,,, high 70's winds at 0mph for almost 3 hours then got to about 5mph, i took some great videos but I have to figure out how to post them here, the only one I didn't get flying was me, I couldn't fly and keep the camera on my T_ _ _ T I'll have to practice some more I guess,,or duct tape it to my head..[] so here are some pics of the days events,,, The T_ _ _ T was just wicked today, I absolutely love a fresh T_ _ _ T,,, just WOW,,, what a beautiful day in NY, I forgot 2 aileron servo horn screws in my US1000 wing so I couldn't maiden it today plus the retract was giving me a little trouble all of a sudden so I just ran the engine in and she will be airborn next week for sure

waldo, nice heli!!

I maidened my raptor30 for the first time yesturday, what a rush, I've never flown a heli before and thought I did pretty good. Burnt a whole tank hovering and only touched down about 10 times. I brought back the rush of the first few flight withthe twist on high rates!!!
I see you went with battery power, my buddy has the raptor e550 but has been waiting 2 months to get battteries and motor, I told him to get a new supplier!!!

Sorry guys I know it a twist thread but I had to comment, I was going to take the twist out, but got side tracked, maybe today.

Hey fellas,
I figured I'd post this here first for a few days, but to storage issues, I am being forced into parting with my Yak[]. I have a bigger plane on the way and the wife won the battle of "too many planes". Said if I wanted another one, I had to get rid of one. Anyhow, I figured I'd see if anyone here might be interested or knows someone who might be. I need to get rid of this ASAP to keep order in the house! It is a brand new, assembled ready to fly 67" CGP Yak 54. The only things left to do are attach the canopy (I haven't attached it yet in case a pilot figure need to go in), set the CG and break in the motor. I'm even going to leave the radio gear in it and include a very new Futaba 7C radio. Below is the list of parts in the plane.
- (6) Servos
Ailerons/ HiTec HS-5475HB w/ Karbonite Gears
Rudder/ HiTec HS-5645MG w/ metal gears
Throttle/ HiTec HS-311
- (1) Futaba 7ch receiver
- (1) CGP Tailwheel
- (1) Satio 125 (installed)
- (1) 16x6 prop
- (1) 3" red spinner
- (1) Slimline Pitts style muffler
Misc. Slimline fuel fittings and overflow fittings
- (1) Hangar 9 remote glow adapter
- (1) MPI power switch with charge port
I have a little over $1300 into the plane not including the price of the Tx. I'd like to get $650 plus shipping. Might consider possible trade for T-rex or similar heli. If you are interested, feel free to contact me off of the forum at [email protected] or on my cell phone at (630) 346-3059. Like I said, I figured I'd start here before posting to the sale pages.

-Jay K.