Hi all

I was planning on buying a tigermoth (either the Pacific Aero Model 30 size, or the Kyosho 40), however our lhs has a built Kyosho Stearman - one of the guys in the shop put it together when business was quiet.

Anyone know how these 2 planes compare (tigermoth vs. stearman)? In particular what are the flight characteristics of both? I'm wanting a nice looking, scale plane for slow fly-bys.

Many thanks

Peter

i had the stearman but it was one of my worst airplanes. I mean it looks good, but aerobatic performance is poor. If someone looks for a great performer, this is not a good choice.

Personally I would stay away from the Kyosho Tigermoth. If you are only after a great looking SLOW fly-by then the Tigermoth is the one otherwise stay away. The plane is handful to fly well. It is directionally unstable always searching both in pitch and Yaw. The ailerons will need to be maxed out to get a very slow roll, and the elevator travel will need to be cut in half. Set-up according to the instructions it will feel like an extremely tail heavy plane with no ailerons. I have been flying mine about two years now and have learned to like it, but I would not purchase again.

If you are looking for a tiger moth in a .40 size I recommend the Dymond model sports tiger moth. It's the quickest and easiest ARF i've ever assembled. Even easier than the U Can Do 3D.
Very well engineered. Perfect fit and finish. And the cockpit slides off so you can access the radio gear with the wings left on! Great Covering job with Oracover. Overpowered with an O.S. .52 and balanced with no added weight. I get compliments on it all the time. Also, It's under $ 200.00.
WWW.RC-DYMOND.COM
And yes it does fly like a tiger moth. Just like it should. The Stearman also flys like it should. These aren't supposed to be super aerobatic planes even though the stearman is very aerobatic, (not an Ultimate, but good) The Moth will make a pilot out of you.It forces you to master the plane and use tecnique to make it fly correctly. Not a bad thing.
If you want super performance, get a Dave Patick Ultimate.
You won't be disappointed.

This is a previous post I made on the Stearman.

I really enjoy my Kyosho Stearman. It's a lot of fun to fly and is quite aerobatic. It is easy to assemble. The decals were easy to apply and they have stayed on through 100+ flights. It is not a beginners plane to fly. It's not squirrelly but it demands your full attention. When people ask me how it flies I tell them it flies like a biplane. It has no bad stall characteristics like snapping and is easy to land. It will float in like a trainer, which is unusual for a bipe with a radial front end. It also handles well in wind or cross wind. This is probably because it is so light. Mine weights 5.25 lbs. The construction is very very good and strong except for the tail feathers. The covering on mine was good but a little loose. This was easily corrected with a heat gun.
I use a YS53 for power and an 11/7 APC prop.. It's a bit much and I normally fly at half to 2/3rds power. It balanced right at the aft balance point recommended in the addendum, with no weight required. The first flights were quite tail heavy but manageable. I put a brass spinner nut on it and that got it where I like it, still a little tail heavy.
Ground handling is real handful with mine unlike the experience of others that posted on the rivanna thread. And I haven't flown anything but tail draggers in years. It takes a fine touch on takeoff to keep it from swerving and a fine touch after landing to keep it from ground looping. maybe I got something in the landing gear screwed up. With a little concentration though it will go straight down the middle.
I didn't like a lot of the hardware (low quality) although I used most of it and haven't had any problems in a 100+ flights. I did throw away the threaded bolts for the landing gear and put in Dubro axels. I used their bolt and nuts for the struts and eventually replaced them with 4-alen screws and lock nuts. The wood screws holding the cabane struts to the fuselage kept coming loose so I replaced them with threaded 4/40 brass inserts in the fuselage and 4/40 alen screws. Putting hardwood blocks in the fuselage to accept the brass inserts was kind of a pain because of the double wall fuselage. I didn't use the heat shrink for the control rods, instead I bound and glued them, like I always do.
Make sure you get the "N" struts in the right way.
Follow the addendum for CG and control throws. I did wind up putting in more aileron throw on high rates and the recommended on low rates. The high rates turned out about right. I increased the rudder throw after a few flights and this was a mistake. Too much rudder throw causes sever pitching toward the gear and rotation in the opposite direction. It's called rudder stall.
My wheel pants were fiber glass. Don't put them on until you've made enough flights to be comfortable you will make a smooth landing every time.
On your flight questions. It will knife edge nicely with only moderate rudder input. It snap rolls easily either inside or outside. I have only been able to get a flat spin to the left and it's pretty but not real flat. I haven't been able to get it to flat spin to the right or inverted. I suspect that's because I haven't got the application of power and aileron quite right, (timing and coordination). Stall turns are good. Loop tracking is a little iffy. This is far from a pattern or IMAC plane. It's not a precession aerobat.
Now for the bad. The horizontal stab broke twice during flight. I thought is kind of weak when I built the plane but I didn't do anything about it. I only do snaps at low speed and I have avoided any other high speed violent maneuvers but it broke anyway. Both times I managed to land the plane smoothly and taxi back to the pits. God is my co-pilot. The first time the break was about 2 inches out from the fuselage and through both the leading and trailing edges on the left stab. I fixed it with carbon fiber sheet through the leading and trailing spars, both sides naturally. The second time it broke at the fuselage and took nearly full down elevator to land. Again I think the good lord was driving and I made smooth landing and taxed back in. More carbon fiber and I haven't had a problem since. I strongly recommend wire braces if you build one.
Denis

dang! you mean the tiger moth really flies like this ? i though it might be
my oversized motor in the wind and first flight is why it flew like that .

Thats disappointing news about your experience with the Tiger Moth. I have one in the box. Thinking of selling it and getting a GP TigerMoth.

I had a Stearman with a Magnum .52 4 stroke. It is a great flyer. I flew mine for about 3-4 years, then soldit. The new loves it. Pretty much like "djlyon' says.