Checklst

In keeping with the orgional question.....SIG..... started building ARF's that caught my eye as something that was of high enough quality, not to build my own.

alanc

All these models seem to be over your side of the pond, over here, it was much later, and the first we had was MODTECH, ARTC models, distrubuted by a fledgling company call Yt international, my, how times change!! my first was a clipped wing cub, i covered ut as Hazel Sigs very own, flew it for 12 months, then passed it on, i simply could not build better, thing i remember is this--it STANK!! not its quality, but it actually stank, strange??? anyway, havnt the ARTF models come on? i hope building does not dissapear, we get asked more and more for silver blank airframes, so there are still skilled artizans out there who at least want to paint and detail,

interesting thread, thanks for starting it

tevans55

LDM-
My first plane was the Lanier Cessna (circa 1971). It flew with an EK Logitrol brick...3 channel. Maintenance was high but it flew well as my trainer ARF!

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

Ed - Formula 560 is just as good as the RC-56, just bought a bottle a coule of months ago.

Fastsky

I am wondering if hinge glue would work. I wouldn't think that it would attack the foam??[8D]

ramboy

Cox had a bunch of 1 and 2 channel ARFs in the late 70s/early 80s. I still have a .020 powered single channel trainer from 1979. I also had the Sportavia and the low wing Cessna. This one was underpowered with the .049.

larrysogla

I started RC planes in 1979 with a $79 Pilot ARF Cessna(55" wingspan) with plastic fuse, plastic wingtips and plastic stab tips. However, Pilot used a very attractive apple green color on the plastic plus attractive red trim so that the plane really looked good(at least for me). The display model was hanging from the ceiling at the Hobby Shack(Hobby People now) branch store in Encino, Calif. and I was drooling. Purchased one in the box, assembled it and installed a brand new $35 OS .25 bushed non-schnuerle engine in it. Without any prior RC experience or skills, I took off without an instructor at the Apollo flying field at the Sepulveda Basin and promptly crashed and totalled the Cessna into the cornfield surrounding the flying field. I replaced it with a 55" wingspan 100% foam $24 ARF Cessna and installed a $21 .25 Thunder Tiger. This time I hired for $10/hour a teenager named Brian to instruct me. So after two hours of flying instructions I was able to fly, take-off and land on my own. Next, I bought a Pilot low wing $75 .25 ARF with the same color plastic as the crashed Cessna and I also replaced that crashed Cessna with an identical Pilot Cessna ARF. In 1981 I completely stopped the hobby because of the expense and the hassle of driving from West L.A. where I live to the Apollo Field. I came back into the hobby last year because of the cheap electric RTF planes. Now I am back with a vengeance with dozens of electric RTF's and Nitro ARF's. Once you are bitten by the RC bug as Arnold the Terminator said......I'll be back.
I still have intact and completely flyable those plastic Pilot ARF's and OS and Thunder Tiger bushed engines sitting in my garage and plan to bring them back from storage into the flight line along with my recently bought fiberglass ARF's. So many planes to fly that ARF's are the only way for me.........timewise. Flying not building is what excites me. By the way......on hundreds of flights those bushed OS and Thunder Tiger engines have NEVER quit on me while in flight EXCEPT for running out of fuel. Extremely, extremely super reliable bushed engines. Never even had to replace a glow plug. Also that 1979 Futaba 4 channel radio(Futaba was the cheapo radio back then, PhilKraft Digital Proportional radio was the no.1) was always trouble free, very reliable. I still have all the 1979 stuff, radios, plastic ARF's, nicad flight batteries, charger/recyclers. Now I fly Airtronics 2.4gHz, schnuerle engines, fiberglass ARF's, brushless motors, Lipo batteries. Life is good. God Bless America.
Larrysogla.

captinjohn

Here is my first airplane. It was a semi-ARF The wing was built and covered. The fuse was real easy to glue together. It was called a Box-Fly and I built it in the early 70,s I used a Expert Radio and a OS .25 engine. Capt,n

foodstick

It was not the first cheap arf..But I would say the father of the modern large decent looking arf was the G-SHARK....

FD av8r

Not all that many years ago for me

The LT40 gets my vote as well. I couldn't believe that the ARF was cheaper than the sum of the kit + parts to complete and the plane was built better than I could do it. Sure, ARF's have been around a long time, but this put an off the shelf trainer in the air the next day. I was impressed, and have reccomended them ever since.

Daryll

sawdust

My Feedback: (7)

The Jim Walker FireBaby was my first ARF. Although it was a control line ARF. It was an ARF. It was a very early ARF.

I was flying one in the late 50's.

How many of you have flown one?

Anyone still have one?

Here is a link for some history on Jim Walker and the FireBaby. http://www.americanjuniorclassics.co...yhistory-1.htm


Todd

Rocketman_

Jim Walker's Firebaby was also my first ARF and first controliner. It flew very well and was very complete and unique with it's pressurized fuel tank and aluminum propeller.

Kmot

My Feedback: (24)

larrysogla: I also had some of those planes and mine were more of a blue plastic.

I did not care for the box stock colors so I always painted mine. Here are a picture of the Pilot EZ-ARF Cessna from 1981 and a Pilot Shell Fly 40 from around 1976:

cranet561

I started in the late 70's and my local shop carried a full line of Kyosho ARFS. These planes were pretty tough, wood framing with some kind of foam film covering.Awsome planes flew like crud, the covering was so heavy, and the CG varied between models many times numerous lead fishing weights were added. I remember my fisrt plane was a cross between a cherokee, and a GP super sportster, brown and white. 25 sized plane that flew like a brick with a 40. Since those days I have owned them all and it is aazing how much all has progressed for th better.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

does anyone remember the really Junkey foam and plastic eletric plane by Mattel , probably late 60ties , early 70ties ?
I also bought a Kyosho zero -all foam brick of a plane in the early 80ties , it was suppoed to be eflight lol .The plane and foam were very nice but the power was poor at best .
I did sell it on ebay for twice the original value
I dug out my old planes and found an old Kyosho big white plane with long balsa wings , a heavy plastic fuse , and eflight , its in mint condition but very very heavy lol .Its look like a powered glider

IAMKAOS

although they were not the first arfs i believe in the mid or late 1980's "Royal" came out with the first ply and balsa wood film covered arfs and were very popular. they had a high wing trainer with a flat bottom wing and then you could buy semi sym. wing for it. they had a sportier shoulder wing version also. even then they were about $99.00. some people back then thought that was outrageous to pay that for them.

IAMKAOS

i remember the ep kyosho zero. i watched a guy for a hour try and get one to fly.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Ya the zero was a brick for its time but in todays world it would do really well on a brushless motor .
I just found the box on the other Kyosho-it was the patricia 10 , was suppsoed to fly on a 10 glow or eflight , another plane that was extremely heavy for e-flight in its time .

LUDS96

My Feedback: (23)

I loved the EZ Kits back in the early 80's I still have a Comander 20. I have a K&B forty in it. I take off and fly around at wot then set up for a landing. Don't think I ever got the engine to idle. Sure pulled that 20 around. I heard there factory burned down. To bad they were fun ARFS. Had a few Lanier Darts good inexpensive kit.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

Seems there were lots of foam ARF's back in the 1970's and 1980's. Cox had a RTF 210 Centurion that was very popular. Midwest and Sureflite had lots of foam ariplanes. Although not ARF's by todays definition, they were considered ARF's back then. The MRC Trainer Hawk was a good one.

I had a Lanier Jester. It fluttered and cracked all over. I had it less than one year and had to yank out my equipment and gave it away.

EZ's were the ARF's we all lusted for, but they were very expensive. $300 for a 40 size Decathlon was big bucks in the early 80's. But the EZ's did become more affordable in the late 80's and I had several. They flew great. But after a few years, their leaky firewalls allowed enough fuel to blow into the nose compartment to make them weak. And they were virtually unrepairable if you did crash one. But I did love them. In fact, I have an EZ VooDoo in the box right now.

As nice as the EZ ARFs were, I think that todays ARFs are better. EZ did offer a great variety. Their little 25 size Reno racers were wonderful and fast. Their F16 was a bullet. But EZs were foam board wrapped around a minimul wood structure and had many plastic parts that tended to crack. When an EZ airplane got to be 5 or 6 years old, you really wondered how much longer it would hold together. But hey, you can't fly all the worlds airplanes if the ones you have last forever.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

EZ was EZ the line with excellant painted foam over balsa ? NIce but delicate and difficult to repair , I think they had about 4 planes in there line that were warbirds ?
Do you remember the P40 by Great Planes that was foam over wood and none of the plastic parts matched lol

scottrc

Ace Alpha; foam wing, plywood box fuse, took about 6 hrs to glue together and cover and cost me $14.95 plus $1.99 shipping. Ran a hand me down Veco .19 on it.

ramboy

I have a Cox ARF from the late 1970s that matches your Cessna description. My Cox has a single channel Sanwa radio with a circuit board servo.

Schrader

My Feedback: (1)

The foam and plastic ARF's we had during the 60's, 70's and 80's from Lanier, Pilot, Hobby Shack, etc., didn't really "turn the corner" for the ARF's.....they were either heavier, not as durable/repairable or had marginal flight performance. The one that convinced me that the ARF had "come of age" was the Hanger 9, 72" CAP 232.....during that same time frame, the Sig CAP 232 and Extra 300 came out also.....these ARF's had the same weight, performance and duribility/repairability as any kit built plane. The constuction was as good as or better than that achieved by most modelers at the time and they were all wood construction. They had repairable covering(monokote, ultracote), fiberglass accessories and hardware as good or bettter than that used by most modelers and the flight performance was as good as any kit built planes at that time. These were the planes that convinced me that the ARF had "Come of Age".
Larry

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Though the "Prefab kits" started appearing in the late 60's, I stayed clear until the Sig LT40 came out and I got one. I still have it. I flew it some this past spring. I still think it is a good ARF. I have another still in the box but have not needed it. I did eventually change it to a four stroke tail dragger with bolt on wing.