Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Well I bought my first ARF yesterday.
After seeing a friends GP Pitts and how nice the quality is I picked up the 182 for a O.S. 52 four stroke I have.
The ARF kit looks very complete and my LHS sold it for $167.99.
Going on vacation at the end of the week so it will be two weeks befor assembly. Any one with experiance with this plane ? John ;)

182 comments
 

I have just about completed this particular ARF and I have mixed feelings on this one. First, the completed model does look good however there are several areas that I feel needed a little more work than should have been required.
The front windshield did not fit as it should have. It looks like you should just trim off the excess on the trim lines around the edges of the windshield and glue that sucker in place but there was no way that was going to work on mine. I had to cut quite a bit of the windshield mostly around the top cabin area before it would even begin to fit.
The rear window was more or less a custom fit as I had to bevel the rear edges of the fuselage where it's supposed to fit just so I could get it to sit flush.
I did not like the way the strut fairings fit nor were the wingtips as shown mounted in the directions the best way to mount them, IMO. I did a simple fix that gave more surface for the tips to be glued to the end of the wings.
I also mounted an OS 52 four stroke for power as several others out there said it would be more than adequate power. The rest of the model went together fairly well and as I mentioned in the beginning it does look nice when all complete.
If I had to do it all over again, I would replace the pushrods in the kit with Dave Brown pushrods and call it good. I replaced the foam wheels in the kit with DuBro low bounce wheels and most of the hardware is useable.
I have not flown the 182 yet, but hope to this weekend. I'll keep my fingers crossed that goes well.

Thanks for the reply
 

Hello Dan
Well I guess this is my first ARF and it shows. To be honest having built kits over the last nine years long befor laser cutting I am very used to having to do some of the work myself.
If the parts dont fit perfectly then they should modify the vacum mold for the wind sheild.
And the wing tip covers should fit better. But from what I am used to this is a pleasure to assemble. I hope it flys as good as it looks then we both will be happy.Good luck at the feild this weekend . John

Finished
 

Well it's finished. I think it took around 40 hours instead of 24.
I am waiting for the weather to improve for the test flight. High winds and rain not good. John

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Great looking plane...
Bill

Thanks
 

Here is another view! I am using an O.S. 52 four stroke in this. Thanks for the comment Bill . I taxied up and down the driveway and it seems to track great . Hope the weather is better tomorrow
looking forward to flying this one.

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Fantastic! It was worth the 40 hours! :)

Thanks for the reply
 

Hello Dennis
I have a friend that has one and loves it. I cant belive the quality and sharp aperiance of this ARF. They built it straighter than I could have. It was only $ 167.99 at my LHS. thanks again John

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Looks good! I just got the Hanger 9 Cessna 182 yesterday for my birthday (today).
Anyways cant wait to finish it also. The GP you guys have
looks pretty similar to mine. Hope they fly as well as
they look!

Todd

Great looking!
 

Great looking airplane Johnathan, hope she flys great too! I bought the GP J-3 and if it turns out as good as yours did I'll be happy. I don't think I will be able to complete it in the time they stated in the manual either. I like to take my time and I also want to add a few more details. ....Brian

GP 182
 

jonathan,

I'm just a wee bit slower than everybody. I bought mine in December and just got around to finally completing it this last week. I'm taking mine out tomorrow for the first test flights. I'll let you know how it goes if it doesn't rain. I'm using the same exact setup as you are so it will be interesting to compare the two. From just bench running the engine it feels like the OS .52 will be more than adequate.

I'm glad you mentioned how long it took you to assemble it. I thought maybe it might be just the way I did things that slowed me down. I would have finshed this plane a long time ago, but other projects interrupted the process. One other thing I'd like to know is if your front windshield fit okay or did you really have to trim the heck out of it to get it to fit?

Hello and thanks
 

Hello all
Burl I looked at the Hanger 9 and it looked good also .I think it was $30.00 more but a high quaity ARF as well. Good luck on your choice I think you will love it !

J-3 The Cub is a long time favorite of many scale buffs . Thanks for the positive feed back but lets give the credit to the people in China they built my 182 I just put it togeather. I only wish I had the paitents to build and cover that well . I am sure the cub will be a great flyer.

Deadstickdan
I had problems getting the front windshield to fit. I streched it apart as much as I could and it was too tight at the top . I layed the canopy glue on thick and put two wood screws in to hold it untill it dried. I first installed the stock control rods and changed them installing Dave Brown composite rods.
I live in Fort Worth Tx. and the wind has been crazy for a week. 20 to 30 mph today. 10 is ok but more than 15 isn't worth the risk. John

Very, very short test flight..........
 

Well, first test flight happend today and it is probably the shortest first flight I have ever had. I was primed and ready to go this morning and when I got to the field everybody just had to walk over and check out the Cessna. The completed model looks very, very good. I range checked everything with engine off and with it running. All was A-Okay. All control surfaces move in the right direction and the engine runs strong. I'm actually surprised with the .52. It's got more power than what I thought it would.
Get the plane lined up on the runway centerline and come up on throttle.......it's lookin' good! Half way down the runway it lifts off, turns right, keeps rolling right and did the prettiest swan dive you've ever seen. I tried correcting with as much left control as I could and had reached the point of no return. My new 182 had just became one really expensive lawn dart!

The pieces were brought back to the pits. The radio and engine are undamaged and it wasn't any glitch or anything like that that killed it. I have been in this hobby since 1978 and have assembled/built numerous r/c airplanes and all have them have flown without incident. I'm careful in my equipment setup and linkage hookups but this one finally caught up with me and I didn't catch it. The pushrods in the kit are wire-in-tube type. One for each elevator half and 1 for rudder. I don't normally like to use these but I did on this one. When I installed the rudder pushrod, apparently I had somehow put a bind in it somewhere in the aft end of the fuselage. It was working smoothly on the ground but when I put it on the takeoff run something changed and the rudder deflected almost full right and the rest is history. Builder error! :mad:

The plane is hurt pretty bad. More than what I want to try to repair. I just ordered another of the same 182 ARF and will try it again only this time I will use the Dave Brown pushrods. I fell off the horse today, but I'm gonna get back on it as soon as I can.

Sorry
 

Hi Dan
Sorry to hear of the unfortunate mishap. I tried the stock push rods but I could move the controll surface against the servo. Way too much flex in the rods for my tastes.I tooke your advise and changed them out .

I installed a Sulivan fueling valve on mine and got to the feild today and ended up coming back home with a major fuel leak. The end fiting is press fit and poped out. I cleand it with alcohol and used high temp sealant . I will see if it holds tomorrow.

Besides there was a 16 mph cross wind today . A little to many negatives for a test flight for me. Maybe tomorrow ? John

182 fueling....
 

jonathan,

I have used a fueling valve before on a J3 Cub and haven't had a problem with it yet. However, on all my planes since that one I have always used a separate fill line with a fuel dot. I think the fuel dot actually looks much cleaner and can be mounted in a multitude of locations. No air leaks to contend with either.

My replacement 182 should be here by Thursday. Man, am I still bummed. :cry:

Thanks
 

Hi Dan
Next model I will use the fuel dots. I have a Goldberg Extra 300 that I use the Sulivan valve in with no problems ? Well I sure do hate to hear of your crash I know how that feels and knock on wood hope not to feel that way anytime soon.

Glad to hear you will recive your other 182 soon. I think they will be great flyers ! John

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Good attitude! Thanks for sharing the info.

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

I purchased the GP Cessna 182 I found out that the front landing gear is very weak. Make sure to replace it with something a little stonger. I made up my own.

Completed test flight
 

Now to continue the story.
Boy was I nevorus the adrenalin was pumping today at the flying feild. I set the cesna up with the factory control throws on the low side of my dual rates.
On the high side I increased the throws another 50 % .
Glad I did the standard settings are way too light handed for me.

Lined up on the grass strip slowly advanced the throttle to full and eased the 182 off the ground. With 2 clicks of up trim she flew hands off. Flys almost like a trainer eccept no self-righting chacteristics.

I hadn't told anyone at the feild that it was the test flight and after three flights I mentioned it. It had flown so smoothly that they were suprized it was a test hop.

After 15 min I thought I would give landing a try pulled back on the throtle and let her settle in. On aproach I pulled back to idle and lightly flared for a very smooth landing. Wow what a nice flyer.

On the third flight I tried some rolls not quiet axial but hay this ship looks best flying low scale pases. It will fly inverted with just a hint of down elevator. I put four 15 min flights on her today.
The landings are very straightforward and easy to grease in. I guess you could say it flys as good as it looks. John
P.S. DeadstickDan I hope you have recived your new plane by now!

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Thanks for the tip Dropzone 25. A friend is using one of the Robart struts on his. Snice I have never owned a strut I think I will give it a try. John

GP Cessna 182
 

Way cool on the flight story! I too am a proud owner of the GP 182, and like all of you also enjoy it's wonderful flight handling. I however went to the next degree, using the same OS. 52, I added some Gee Bee Plastic floats, and wow! This is a perfect float plane. The aircraft becomes a little more sensitive with the stick, but it looks and flies well as a floater. I only fly it scale, but it is a ball doing touch and goes, as long as you fly into the wind!

Try changing yours, and you too will be very happy with the results. I do recoment using aluminum struts which I purchased from the local hobby store which look scale, and add very strong support.

Enjoy!

good report on the flight and...........
 

yes jonathan, I did receive my replacmenet 182. It shouldn't take me quite so long to put it together this time especially since I have so many prefab'd parts to use from the other broken one. :rolleyes:

It will probably take me about 2 weeks to do. On the positive side, since I crashed my first on I sure got to look inside to see how it was built and it seems to be well done structurally.

Dan

Great Planes Cessna 182
 

Thanks for the reply GrayfoxVT
I never have outfitted a plane with floats. Sounds fun but I do well to bring home the same number of pices at the grass strip. I will keep the floats in mind for later.

Good to hear Dan. I am sure you will love the way it flys. I am changing the wheels up to 3" on the mains and 2.5 " on the nose.
The wheel pants look great but we don't have a paved runway where I fly. So nix on the pants !
To go up on the nose wheel I have to change the front landing gear the robart struts look nice but man are they pricey. John

strut
 

As an owner of the GP 80" 182, I can tell you the nose strut is the best thing you can do for the longevity of your plane. The short wheelbase on this plane will have it bucking like a bronco if you hit a bump at high speed or blow the landing just a little bit, if it's anything like its big brother. The shock absorber on the front end all but cures these problems.

Check out the Eurokit landing gear for maybe a better fit in price and size for this plane. I haven't bought from them yet, but their stuff looks good and priced right.

http://www.eurokitplane.com/retractfix_40_60_size2.htm

Thanks for the reply
 

Hello Johng
I looked on Robarts website last night and the retail was almost 3 times the price for somthing very similar.The Robart strut is of better quality but not 3 times the quality. I ordered #15073/000 nose strut at $19.99 it looks great.
Funny thing is they don't have their website set up for secure transactions yet. You give them a time frame and they will call you.

I will give you the details on the order after I complete the transaction tomorrow. Thanks for the link and the excelent information. John