I am looking for suggestions for a new plane to replace my H9 Ultra Stick.
The Ultra Stick was OK and had several hundred flights on it, but I see they want $179.00 for a new one . I think this is too much for this type of plane.
I am looking for .46 size pattern/sport plane. I'm not interested in another 3D type of plane. I already have a Funtanna 100X, and a 50cc Yak 54. I want something that will do a decent knife edge without having to add a lot of elevator coupling, and also be able to preform spins well. The plane should also be able to fly in a fair amount of wind.
I have been flying a .90 minimum size planes for a few years and really haven't paid much attention to what is available in the .45 size of planes.

Greg

Venus 40!
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXBMZ5&P=ML
Same price range as the stick, does everything you requested (and well), and Tower discounts, 3-pay, and free shipping for members =)
It's the only .40 size plane I really care to have in my lineup.

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't buy anything right now.

Lots of stuff may be unveiled at Toledo in about 3 weeks

I see you fly your Venus 40 with a 55AX. Did you feel as if a 46 engine isn't quite enough?
I have a couple of OS 46 FX engines available, and a YS 63. Would the YS 63 have prop clearance issues? I figured to be using an 11" prop on the .46 and a 13" prop on the YS .63.

Greg

Based on the other planes you are flying, I'd say take a look at one of these:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXVVG4&P=ML

It will knife edge as long as you care to hold it there, spin, tumble, whatever you want it to do. Not only that, it is rock solid stable and makes a great sport flyer on low rates. Stalls are tame and slow flight & landings are a breeze (not trainer-like of course).

I have a YS-63 in mine and the performance is outstanding. I was using a 12x6 Xoar prop and it was very fast. I switched to a 13x4 Xoar and it is still plenty fast with great vertical and lots of power through maneuvers.

I have not been this happy with a new airplane in a long time. It flys almost as good as my 70" Yak and 25% Sukhoi.

I was also about to mention ChuckW's suggestion. These newer Great Planes ARFs have a lot of nice, built in features for convenience in both assembly and operation. I'm hoping to have mine together, as soon as I can locate a suitable engine.

NorfolkSouthern

The .46 flew the Venus, but after flying the Venus II with a 1.20 I got spoiled, so I just bought the 55. I think the YS63 would be superb in the Venus 40. I was turning a 12x5 with the 46AX, and I think with the YS 63 you could turn a 12x7 or 12x8 (what I just bought for the 55) and not have to fly wide open, leaving a bit more juice for verticals. If I didn't have 2 other big planes to blow money on, I would have got the YS63 instead; you could spin that 12x8 right up without the lag of a 2 stroke. There is plenty of ground clearance for a 12 or 13" prop.

The GP Extra mentioned above looks nice, but I'd say the Venus is more of a change from the Funtana and Yak if you're looking for something a little different. The Venus series planes are designed with flight characteristics as the primary focus. There are no scale factors to hinder performance.

Both planes have the same wingspan, the Venus is like a half-pound lighter, so I'm sure I would prefer a .55 (or the YS63 in the Extra, too

Check out the review on the Venus [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=107]here[/link]

It's really a hands-off knife edge, flies straight as an arrow, though it's got a shorter tail than it's big brother so it's a little more agile.

Check out the reviews, too. Everyone I've talked to who has this plane loves it.

Of course just my thoughts, get what you think looks like the most fun =)

The Venus .40 is a very nice plane, I used to have one. Another option is the GP Revolver. It is a great all around sport plane that is very fast and loves to knife-edge.

There are a lot of great options out there these days. I'm so impressed with that Extra though that I'm going to by the 27% GP Extra and drop a 50cc gasser that I was holding onto for another project in it. Hopefully it will be even better.

Also, like Minnflyer mentioned, we may be seeing some more new stuff in the near future.

the Hangar 9 Tango is a fun airplane so is a spot on 50 and a La Racer, *edit..the Escapade is a blast too

Thanks for the input guys.
I like the looks and the flying characteristics of the Venus. I'll have to go through the manual and reviews.
The Extra would be cool also. I have an Extra 300 with a Saito 100. Sweet flying plane. One of my favorites. I was certainly considering the Extra, but there again it is like what I already have. I would like to have one though.
I had a TaiJi 40 pattern plane at one time, and remember the sweet flying characteristics of a pattern plane. You got to love that groovy feeling that type of plane has. That is why the Venus seems closer to what I'm looking for. Don't need a full blown pattern plane. $$$$$
Keep the suggestions coming.

Greg

i have a venus .40. i have a super tigre 45 on it and it has plenty of power. its very smooth and tracks like its on rails and lands very nice also. very good wing design.

If you have never had a Kaos, I would recommend it. It is very inexpensive, and a wonderful flyer, as well as a first class ARF. I use all the supplied hardware, and think it is one of the finest planes around. Very maneuvarable.

i had two tower hobbies kaos's.wonderful flyer's,... the first one years ago was covered in monokote. the 2nd one had the worst covering job on any arf i have owned and was coverd in towerkote. the covering literaly fell off the fuselage even after re- sealing during assembly. i would not recommend the one they sell now unless "old rookie" want's to take the time to strip off the covering and recover. just my my 2 cents

Thanks for the heads up on the covering. I was checking out all the planes that were recommended, and the Kaos was one of the planes that seemed appealing except for the covering. They didn't mention a brand on the Tower web site. I am hesitant to buy a plane with anything but Ultrakote or Monokote on it. I am even hesitant on the World Models covering. With World models using their own covering, I am not sure I would want any of their planes either. I wonder why Tower went to crappy covering on such a well known airframe?

Greg

I'm puzzled. The covering on my Kaos (and also on my friends Kaos) is tight and excellent. Have not had any problems with the covering. My previous Kaos also had good covering but the stripes
finally came loose. I hear complaints about the covering in this forum all the time, and have yet to have problems myself. This is simply not true that you have to buy the Kaos and immediately strip off
all the covering. the "except for the covering" is just plain wrong.

Rather than strip covering on a new ARF, make it a point to always go over it (Or at least the critical areas) with your iron.

Just to chim in a bit...MinnFlyer has two really good points....

1) Be a little more patient (not that you are not a patient person) and wait until after Toledo. More is on the horizon. I hit Toledo last year and made some really great purchases after the show on some cool stuff.

2) With respect to ANY covering...just figure that after each time you fly, part of your preventative maintenance schedule MUST include "hot socking" your covering. Every time you fly ANY of your "birds", take the time to completely give your covering the once over. Two advantages in doing so...A) It will keep your covering looking fantastic for many years (provided you do not bring her home in a body bag)...B) It allows you time to really look closely at your entire "bird". You will be amazed at some of the small bullchit you discover early enough to repair BEFORE it becomes a big issue in the air.

Have a ball!!