Does anybody have this ARF? I got one for Christmas and I am planning on a maiden this afternoon after work.It seems to be well built and I have it balanced dead on at thier recomendations.This will be my first bipe and was wondering if there is anything I should watch for.I have it set with high and low rates and will maiden on low,at the manufactors sugestion for throws.Any advice will be listened to.I am not a novice,I have been flying a couple of years now,but never a bipe.[X(]
Thanks!

The only difference you'll notice with a bipe is it won't glide as well. That's not bad though, it makes them easier to land, just something to lookout for if you go dead stick.

Thanks Rich.Everything I fly I have overpowered and heavy so I am used to landing heavy planes.I don't usually have the oppourtunity to glide in.I have to fly to the deck.

That's the one I am looking forward to it, and thinking to put an OS 46 FX into it. What's engine you put it in, and will be interesting to know how your maiden fly going.

Thanks

]Maiden went well.Well almost.I have a Saito 65 on the front and I think it is a bit much.The takeoff was pretty simple.Push the left stick forward and a little right,pull the right stick back a tad and it lept in the air.Had to trim a few clicks down elevator and a few clicks left ailerons for hands off.It was hauling butt at 1/2 throttle.When you would quickly throttle up the plane would twist in yaw from the motor torque![X(]Loops were tight on low rates and almost too tight on highs.I was a little disappointed with the rolls with aileron only.Seemed slow even on high.Add in full rudder with them however and it twists up pretty quick.Looked really good in the sky if you keep it close,42 inch wings got small fast.Now the downside.Even with Rich telling me it was going to land heavy,I was not prepaired for the stall on final.[:@]My downwind and base were fine but I chopped the throttle out from the end of the runway and it fell out of the sky from about 10' up.Landing gear come out and it has a small place in the fuse right in front of the horizontal stab.Not a big repair before it goes back up!Overall I love the way it flew and I am looking forward to some more stick time with this one.

Hey, I have that bird too. You are right, the roll rate with aileron alone is painfully slow, and it does get small FAST in the sky. I powered mine with an os 50sx swinging a 12/5.
I get unlimited vertical and very nice down line speed. I did learn the hard way that this plane is very sensitive to the cg setting so be careful if you decide to "nudge" the cg back a little.

I had to overhaul the torque rod set for the aelirons right out of the box on mine, seems someone got a little happy with the epoxy at the factory. Did anyone else have that problem?

Does anyone know if this is the same plane sold by Nitroplanes and AK models. I was looking at getting one.

I have SEVERAL of BOTH the Nitroplanes version and the World Models versions.

I have previously posted the differences between the two.

They are NOT the same plane, but they are very close.

IMHO some observations.

The N.P. version is lighter with more lightening holes. The fuselage is not sheeted as is the WM version.
The N.P. version does not include the pilot.
The N.P. version seems to "self align" the wing incidences due to the wing support design. I found this easier than the WM.
(Note: a little re-inforcement of the wing supports and gear areas is a MUST with both planes!).
I prefer the WM cowl.
The N.P. version has better wheel covers. The WM has slightly stronger gear.

Hints Do:

Re-inforce the support connection points, I did this using small angled balsa epoxied in place and CA'd to strengthen. This GREATLY improved the strenth of these areas.

Re-inforce the elevator. I used carbon fiber sticks to create a sort of "flying wire" from the fuselage to the underside of the elevator. This will prevent the tail from breaking during mishaps. I've flipped my plane end over end w/o nothing more than a scratch or two!

Re-inforce the gear area, Harden the existing wood and add support blocks.

Fuel proof everything. Use a thicker mixture around the cowl, and a thinner (hopefully lighter) mixture to the fuselage.
This will add some weight, but it will greatly strengthen the plane. This plane will not be lacking for power anyway.

The N.P. version has two pre-marked areas where the carbane screws are supposed to go into.
Drill these out by hand and position the carbanes in place using these. Affix the struts and slightly tighen. Then work on attaching the carbanes to the upper wing.

With the gear removed, put the plane on a FLAT table and check the edges of the wings. Make sure that both the edge front and edge back of the wings are square to each other.

Don't bother with the included wheel covers, especially at first. Instead install oversized (I used 3 1/4" ) lightweight wheels so that the plane can take off and land from grass more easily.

Re-inforce all the servo attachment locations with thin CA.

On the N.P. version you may have to CAREFULLY remove a small bit of wood material around the lower wing hold down screw to permit full range servo & wire travel. Not a biggie, but worth doing to improve the roll rates.

With a T.H./ GMS .46/.47 engine the plane will perform unlimited verticles w/an 11x6 apc prop.

Mount the battery inside the fuselage so as to offset lateral imbalance. e.g. mount the battery opposite the engine head or muffler, to avoid having to add weight to the wing tips.

Apply a sealing coat to all of the surfaces to prevent the covering from pulling up after repeated flights.

Always land the plane under power. Once in the air I move the idle trim all the way up and leave it this way.
That way I'm forced never to bring the idle back too far. The downside is that you need to start the glide a little further out this way. Only once the wheels touch down do I lower the idle trim back. At mid idle-low the plane SHOULD creap forward.

That said I've never stalled any of my 40S' in flat forward flight. They merely enter a gentle glide, with the slope a bit steeper than most .46 planes.

Excellent info opjose!The larger wheels do help a bunch,they give you a bigger target to hit on landing!This thing will not land itself,it must come in under considerable power.Fly all the way to the deck and when the mains touch turf and only then chop the throttle.That's a great tip too about pushing up the idle speed to keep the plane from slowing down too fast.When it stalls from too slow of an airspeed it is pretty violent and you don't get much warning.I have an eye hook installed in the top of the upper wing dead on the manufactures cg point.Suspended on a string it balances pefectly level both ways.Is this what I want?It flys sweet,I was just looking for a way to tame the landings down!

If you have a chance please weight your plane, I'm curious about this.

I've only flown tail draggers so I'm quite used to bringing the planes in at about 20%-30% throttle until just over the threshold just a few feet off the tarmac.

At that point I throttle down to 5-10% and let the plane bleed off airspeed until touchdown, then go to full idle... and start trimming back to neutral idle.

Is this what you mean by "considerable"?

Re: C.G. basically yes. I have mine about 1/4" further back than recommended.

This thing will stall at 1 foot off the deck if you close the throttle.[:@]I haven't weighed it,but I will.I am also used to flying them in to within a foot or two off the deck and then backing out of the throttle and let them settle in.But those are all high wing or low wing configurations.This is my first bipe and I have nothing to compare it to.I think I might be under propped too with the 11x4 I have on it.I am going to install a 13x6 and see if it changes the behavior any.

Ah, that explains it!

I'm coming in FAR faster than you with an APC 11x6.

I effectively never slow down enough for a full stall, as the 11x6 at idle will keep the plane moving above stall speed.

I tried a 13x4.75 and didn't like it.

Try the 11x6 if you have a .46 engine, it's one hot little plane this way.

I have a 65 Saito 4 stroke for power.

So the 13x6 should be the "Sweet spot" for you....

The added pitch will fix the landing issue, and the added diameter will just add unlimited vertical "icing" to your cake.

thanks for the info