I'm on my second model which is a Big Stik 60 with 90 two stroke up front. I feel very comfortable with this model. I can do most of the standard stuff except low altitude hovers. I think the Stik will be a permanent stay in my household.

I still have the OS 46FX that I bought in 1998 that I used in my NexStar collecting dust. Any thoughts on the third model for the OS46fx? Should I look to a full 3D model such as a Yak/Su/Edge/Extra in the 40 size or do you think a pattern model would be more fun? I'd like to go warbirds eventually, but I just don't see that many good applications in the 40 size. I was recently thinking about a Tower Uproar or an Escapade as I like the pricing.

At this point the sky is litterally the limit for you.

You'll be tempted to move to larger aircraft over time, so think ahead a bit.

What would you prefer MOST? An Extra, or a YAK for instance?

If the Yak ( good choice ), save that for later when you can purchase it as a larger plane.... and use the engine on a 40 sized Extra now.

That way you will not feel that you may be looking at ANOTHER version of a plane you already own later.

I think a 3D plane offers a different challenge which you will enjoy.

one thing i can't do is a good knife edge in the Stik no matter how hard i try. I'm using an old FM radio with no mixing capability. I don't know if it's a limitation of the radio or if it's beyond the capability of the Stik or if I'm just not capable of doing that with my piloting skill yet. But I'd like to get something that has good knife edge capability.

A perfect match for that 46 is the H9 Pulse 40.

I think you are now beyond the Pulse, thanks to your ability with the Stik.

Neither the Stiks nor the Pulse are good at knife edge.

The Stik because of the high wing configuration and small dihedral.

The Pulse because of the low wing with higher dihedral.

An Extra or other mid wing, straight winged plane would give you better knife edge response.

My Yaks seem to behave exactly the same upright or inverted, neither nosing up or down in either position, which is what you want in a good 3D plane.

My Extras tend to drop the nose a bit inverted.

Both will knife edge quite well, though the Yak seems to have it over the Extra.

Do you have any experience with a U Can Do 40?

Actually I own the Giant U-Can-Do.


Wonderful plane - BUT -!!!!

U-Can-Do's are purposely built light... very very light, to make them wonderful 3D planes.

When I first attempted to put the wings on the tube, merely trying to slide the wings on, crushed the wing tips!

The gear also rips out easily.

It is a great flying plane, and wonderful for 3D, but bear in mind how light it really is.

I'm not saying it is a bad choice, however if you opt for one re-inforce the gear area, put on plastic wing tip guards to protect the undersides of the wings, and treat the plane as if it is made from eggshells.

Do not attempt to fly the plane fast. It flies ( as someone here put it ) like a ballerina.

Prop it for low pitch and high thrust... say a 13x4W-14x4W APC prop.

I find them somewhat easy to repair if you've done Balsa/Ply ARF repairs.

Tower Kaos. It will knife edge and do all pattern aerobatics and more. You could fine tune everything you can do on the stick also. If you want 3D on a 46 size glow,get a profile from OMP or Swanny. These 2 choices are about best for their size. Only bad point is Tower Kaos covering. Strip it down to all white and do a scheme in Ultracoat. Doesnt take long and Ultracoat sticks well to existing covering.

If you want to experiment with warbirds, there are a few 40 size ARFs available from World Models
http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=2865
http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=78
http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=22
http://ecsvr.com/abm/shopexd.asp?id=61

For a .46 engine either the Dago Red or the Mentor would be my choice.

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