OK , I am tired of fixing up arfs . I need a windy day plane that will last for years. I am thinking G.P. Supersportster 60 or G.P. Extra 300s 60
Please, tell me what works for you.

S.P.A.D. Debonair. take the dihedral out,convert to a tail dragger and there ya have it. The wings last several crashes and the fuse and be easily repaired.

Heh:

Here you go!

[link=http://www.electrifly.com/parkflyers/gpma1274.html]Click me![/link]

You are on the right track as far as building from a kit. Things to remember are use the correct glue for the job at hand and take the extra time to make the parts fit well. If this means you need to replace a part or two the do so. Most kits when built correctly will be durable enough to withstand some abuse but within reason. You just can't expect to be able to land in a plowed field or cartwheel the airplane and expect it to remain intact.

You can a SPAD. Just saying

I think the OP was interested in an airplane with some style to it

Until you fly a well built one, you have no idea how great they fly. Until you crash one you can have no idea how tough coro is. *chants* SPAD,SPAD,SPAD !!

I have a spad stick, looks just like the H9 UltraStick until you get close enough to see the flutes. It is a great flying thing. really easy to build/repair.

I lawn darted mine once, I failed to do a preflight check, the battery pack had broken loose. In a dive it plopped forward and unplugged, full throttle into the dirt about 30 ft in front of me. SMASH!!

I had to replace the motor mount and straighten out some control rods. Had to glue in some formers that were shocked loose. Was flying again in 30 minutes Most of that time was spent with others cleaning dirt out of the engine while I repaired the airframe.

How about a Tiger II (40 size). It has less float and better sink rate than the 60 size. The Tiger II tracks very well on approach and corrects quickly in bumpy air with reasonably fast servos and sticks to the runway when down. I would however reinforce the bottom firewall, behind the nose gear with 1/8" X 1" wide ply across the bottom inside. Use blue Loctite on the wing screws or loose them. OS 55AX with Jett muffler or the Evolution 60 and performance muffler using a Master Airscrew 11X7 S-2 (dark gray) prop for either engine for incredible vertical AND speed. I have over 500 flights on mine, second engine(55ax), second set of servos, third set of tires and really it badly needs recovering (most of the trim has blown off)

I really liked the TF Contender..........it has some style and still flys great. It was a fun fly from the late 60's and is still in style. It builds easy and flys better. I lost mine when someone at our field turned on his transmitter and it was the same frequency I was on. I had the pin and he mistook what frequency his transmitter was on...............he did buy me another plane though but I lost the work I had in mine. Oh well, it was a good excuse to build something else.

Any stick fits the bill nicely. When you get the CG right they don't balloon in gusty winds and they only weather vane a little bit in side winds. They are easy to work on too in the event that you do set it down too hard once in a while.

I second the Big Stick's. Great all around performance. Very durable. Engine is installed upright and out in the open allowing easy access for tuning, fueling, maintenance, etc. I recommend NOT overpowering them ie; 40 range engine for 40 size stick, 60 range engine for 60 size stick, etc. The added weight gain from overpowering alters key areas of flight, one of which is landing speed.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBMM9&P=0

Pick and choose:

http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/index.htm

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_48...tm.htm#8668405

a spad stick or DPS, ( das pla stick) or just about any spad, they can take the wind, cartwheels and pretty much anything you throw at them. And at 20 to 30 bucks for the airframe, why would anbody not at least try it.

If you are interested in SPAD's then here is a link for plans to get ya started http://spadtothebone.com/freeplans.htm

The Vagabond is a good choice for a kit, if the OP was going that way. That XLT sure is purdy, not for a beginner tho.

I don't know how much experience ES Control has, but let's examine what he may want in an airplane.

To operate well in windy weather pretty much eliminates models that are not low wing designs. I would also eliminate tail wheel airplanes as well since they weather vane more than tricycle gear. You also want a wide track on the main landing gear.

The second requirement suggests toughness from the design and good assembly. I would also throw in good access to the engine, so no cowls.

Finally, it should look good and not have any bad habits that may bite a pilot, so that suggests a constant chord wing.

One of the best sport designs of all time was the Andrews Trainermaster, designed by Lou Andrews in the mid-60's. Unfortunately the original kit is long out of production, but it has been slightly redone with laser cutting by Early RC Models.

I have flown Trainermasters off and on since 1973 (think I'm on my third now), and few models offer the flight characteristics that make this design special, and I flown hundreds of different designs over the years (mostly other peoples models if you are wondering).

http://www.earlyrcmodels.com/id15.html

I agree that the GP Big Stick's are great but the OP wanted something to build and the Stick's are ARF's hence my recommendation for the Contender

My choice for the same reasons was an Ultra Sport 60, glassed and painted. It's my plane of choice when the wind starts to blow!

Terry

I don't think an arf or a kit will know when it's windy, the wind only effects the pilot Fly the plane, don't let the plane fly you. Those words are what my instuctor told me everyday. Iflew my GP Easy Sport in a gale, 3/4 throttle landings are fun! Only mishap was breaking a prop, on the ground while tunring to line up on the runway. Wind flipped on it's side.

I think what the OP meant was that he was tired of repairing ARF's that he had crashed due to flying on windy days, thus he wants a tough and easily repairable plane. The best plane I have for flying in heavy wind is a S.P.A.D. Demon. If he is against a S.P.A.D., then I would second the STICK recommendation. Aside from a STICK, any thing with enough wing loading, semi or fully symetrical air foil, constant chord, and a small fusalage and rudder profile will perform well.

Well there are as many options as opinions here but this was my solution for a windy day flier. I have flown it in 25mph winds and it was still fun. It will fly backwards!

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=943610

I used a whopping $2.00 worth of depapered handiboard on mine[8D]