I am going to get and avistar and i would like some advice on how building it. I am getting the ARF version with Monokote. Like to hear from your mistakes so i dont have to learn the hard way.

And if you can i would like some advice on flying it.

First off, it's a great plane. I have built 2 of them, (one met an untimely demise the week before Christmas last year, but it is flying again). The very first thing you WILL want to do is add epoxy to the back of the fire wall where it meets the triangle stock. Both of the planes I have seperated at the joint, (one of them didn't appear to have been glued in the first place).

You will also probably want to epoxy the landing gear block from the inside. That joint is also a little suspect.

The instructions are very good and easy to follow, but some of the pictures can get a bit confusing. The angle they were taken from is hard to match up to what you are looking at, but it should go together with no problems by following the directions.

The Avistar is one of the best trainers you can get and will help you transition to a more advanced plane a little easier, however, it may take you a little longer to solo with it if you haven't already. The semi-symmetrical makes it fly a little different than the standard flat bottom wing and it's self righting abilities take a little longer than some.

All in all, it is a great plane and if you take a little extra time to do some reinforcing of a couple of areas, you will have a blast flying it.

T.

PS, I see you are from SLC, do you get down to Cedar or St. George much?

Mighty good plane.......... IMHO

Fuel proof the firewall using thinned exopy ( be sure to put some Vasoline in the blind nuts so you won't get epoxy in them! ), same for the fuel tank compartment and the landing gear block on the inside of the plane.

Do yourself a favor and get with an instructor to help you learn to fly the plane. He/she will also be glad to look your plane over for you and give you pointers on how to correct any problems they may find. I'd say you can find a local Club in your area. Just ask at the local hobby shop. I'm sure they will point you in the right direction.

Best regards,
Mike

Thanks for the advice tsawyer and MikeIJay.

I will us your advice.

Just remember..... take your time!

And have fun!

Best regards,
Mike

I saw a guy over the weekend who glued the wings together with epoxy but forgot to install the steel rod. Needless to say the wing folded. So my advice is "don't forget the rod". It was my first plane, I loved it.

I have been into RC planes for about 3 months and had an electric so i have not yet flown in cedar city. I fly and the jordan river parkway.

Let me know if you get down this way, we fly pretty much all winter in St. George. We try to get down there at least once a week, if not more. Winter weather there is perfect, not too hot, not too cold. Summers there are horrifically hot so we fly off a dry lake bed here in Cedar during the summer.

T.

Just like tsawyer148 said, this is a pretty easy build. It was my first ever and other than adding strength to the firewall, and landing gear, mine when together in a snap. I will admit, however, since it was my first plane, I read each step at least 3 times.

One recommendation though, after you mount the engine and prop, check the engine deflection to the right, and the incidence of the engine as well. The deflection to the right on mine was fine, but when we checked the engine incidence, it was 4* down. It has between 0 and 1/2* down now, and it is a great plane for a trainer.

I just got my Avistar... can't wait to star puting it together. How does one thin epoxy....to use as fuelproofing? Thanks to all for the timely tips.

I have an avistar with a .46 LA on it. It went together pretty easy but I changed a few things.

After 4-5 landings (even good ones) the wire landing gear started to sag. It would probably last forever if you bent it back after every few landings but I changed it to the DuBro fiberglass peice. Plus after a while I'll slide it forward and make a taildragger out of it - plus I painted it to match the plane and it looks pretty sweet I get lots of comments. I added a plywood doubler to the floor to put blind nuts in and mounted the landing gear with nylon bolts - hopefully it will shear off if I dumb thumb it.

The only other thing I changed was in the fuel tank bay I made room for foam around the tank and made a hatch over it.

I added some triangle stock to the vertical stab (but it's hard to get a very big piece because of the pushrod exits) and some triangle stock around the firewall, and the formers in front and behind the radio bay.

I also gap sealed the hinges on the ailerons cause I had a small gap cause the aileron horns are already installed and don't go all the way in.

I ripped off all the avistar trim down to a plane white plane and then trimmed it out like I wanted. I painted my muffler with high heat brake caliper paint to match the engine and used that metallic blue as an accent in my trim scheme. Also painted the front wire landing gear the same blue after I got all the chrome off.

It flies great to me and my instructor said at the field "You can fly 10 ARF's of the same model and 1 of them just flies better - this is it".

Thanks for all the advice on building the avistar and flying it but what kind of engine do you recommend?

I first had a .40 in it......Docile as a KITTEN !

I next put a .46FX in it..... Wild as a TIGER !

Much better with the additional power !

A Great Little Plane !

Happy Flying !
Ugo

I use the OS46fx. As far as I am concerned, it is the right engine for this plane.

I'm in the middle of building my Avistar ARF, and am estimating that I will finish after about 20 hours total building time. Based on the experiences and challenges I encountered so far...

You might find some bubbles in the Monokote over the fuse and other major assemblies. Don't fret.
- While you can probably get the components replaced, I suggest getting a heat gun and/or iron (w/sock) to tighten things up - no big deal and good practice for your future repairs and kits.

Having the right tools and glues ready to go is key.
- The instruction manual suggests tools that you'll need - I bought and have used them all (and then some!).
- In additiona, a Dremel tool with various cutting and sanding heads will make your trimming work a snap and save lots of time (yes, they do leave a few things to cut/trim away to keep the ARF experience macho enough).

This next experience saved me a lot of headache: before joining your wings, assemble the aileron servo tray (yes, jump slightly ahead), slip your aileron servo into it, place against each wing and eyeball the servo cavity from the side. I found that the servo only by itself would have fit into the cutout on the wingroot rib, but due to the space required by the wires coming out of the servo, a little trimming was in order (more macho-ness to be had).

You will become an expert in the art of glue.
- Buy lots of epoxy mixing cups and brushes (two bags) and don't try to spare them. Mix, glue and chuck.
- Also, you will speed up assembly if, while you are waiting for the glue to dry on a given assembly, you look ahead in the instructions to see if you can put together any other sub components. Use common sense and you won't "paint yourself into a corner".

I learned that thin-CA pretty much sets instantly, so watch out! However, you can use this to your advantage in one area of your assembly:
- When you attach your ailerons and elevators using the fabric hinges, pre-fit everything together, then don't pull the control surface out to access the hinge (like I did on the first try) to apply the CA.
- Instead, use thin-CA, jab the point of the bottle into the crevice as close the hinge as possible (w/o hurting the wing and monokote), then let the thin-CA drip and roll down onto the hinge. The fabric hinge will absorb the thin-CA like a sponge, pulling it off the monokote and drying within a matter of seconds. Wiggle the control surface a little after a five seconds to ensure that nothing is stuck and you are all set. This method will get you nice, narrow gaps between your wing/stablizer and the associated control surfaces - like a pro.

And last...the hardware. It seems that they give you only the exact number of items to complete the kit, so if you lose an item, or something doesn't fit, you'll be stuck. I had problems with the landing gear collars. On almost half of them, the set screw wouldn't screw into the collar (argghhh!). I called Tower Hobbies(where I bought the plane) and they happily sent another bag of hardware corresponding to the parts I needed (so now I'll have some extras of other h/w). Alternatively, I could have just gone down to my LHS - but I was going out of town anyway for a couple of weeks.

On your question about the engine...I deliberated on that, too. Sure, you can put a .46 on it. However, I decided that this is still a TRAINER and that I would treat it as such. The .40 should be fine enough [unless of course you are planning to go head-to-head in all out competition with another trainer and want to devastate them ;o) ] When I want more performance/speed, I'll invest the difference on model #2.

Anyway...hopefully this are a few tips to help you out. I have really enjoyed the experience so far, and am looking forward to completion this weekend. (whoo-hoo!)

Good luck!

Let us know how it goes.

20 hours is about right, that's how long it took to build my first one. The second one took about 8 hours, it was alot easier to see what was happening the second time around.

The hardware was also a concern of mine, the second kit I built was missing a control horn, (that or one of my cats drug it off, who knows), but thankfully the hobby shop had plenty.

T.

put a 46 fx on it save some cash from buying 2 motes you don't have to fly at full throttled but when you get better you will have all the power you can handle
PS have fun

I agree with everything already stated here. Avistar select RTF was my trainer, and the shakedown was pretty good. Mine did require quite a few minor adjustments and reinforcements, but an EXCELLENT plane to learn on if you have an instructor. Because of the semi-symmetrical wing, you will actually have to learn to "fly" like an airplane really flies. When you pull out of a turn, you have to learn how to re-level the wing yourself, because I don't care what Hobbico says, this is no a self correcting airplane. But this is invaluable experience for when you move up to your second plane (most likely a mid-wing).
Another thing...when you balance the airplane, make it SLIGHTLY nose heavy (empty tank). You will not want want to attempt to make your first landing with a perfectly balanced or tail heavy airplane, as the plane can over-react if you give it a little too much flair on the landing, smacking the tail into the ground or pitching up and stalling 3' above the runway (BAD THING).
As an example, if I remember correctly, my Avistar manual stated that perfect balance was 3 5/8". You will want to go to 3 9/16" or 3 1/2" (this puts the balance 1/16" to 1/8" forward). This will also create better tracking in flight.
Another nice thing about the Avistar is that it can go a lot farther than your average "flat-bottom" trainer. I can make passes about 1' above the runway.......inverted. This plane has a lot of possibilities to learn. HAVE FUN!!!

grittykitty,

That's great info at the right time! I'm done with the assembly on my Avistar and am going to be adjusting the controls surfaces (alignment and throws) as well as balancing this weekend.

Perhaps you (or anyone tuned in) could give me some advice on the latter. Frankly, I'm a little confused about how to balance with the rx/battery tray provided with the kit. It seems to fit only in one place (in the open space between the servo tray and fuel tank), with little or no room to move back and forth. I'm thinking that I might toss the tray, find the best batt/rx positions (wherever they may be) for the balance point you described, and then velcro/strap down the rx and batteries in place (I read a technique here on RCU where you CA the velcro to the bottom of the fuse, then strap those babies down!).

What do you think? Or is there a way to make it work with the provided tray?

Since you said before that you were using the .40, balance won't be a problem. Just use the tray as they recommend with the velcro to hold it down...

Just put the tray in the spot they recommend. Balance should be fine...

Just balance on the main spar, where the plywood joiner is, or where the sheeting endds. Those are all the same part... Balance it without fuel.

Thanks BotleRocketWar.

Another general question I just thought of...is there a better way to adjust the control clevises, especially once the pushrods are all installed. I'm killing my forefinger and thumb on those evil devices. Is there a tool or better technique?

did you use Z bends? if your using the quick connector on the servo arms just loosen the screw and move the rod thats what i do

I know what you mean by killing your thumb and forefinger, nasty little buggers after awhile, aren't they.

One thing you can try is to find a really small crescent wrench (adjustable wrench) and put a layer of black electrical tape on the inside surface of the wrench. This keeps it from doing too much damage to the nylon clevis..DO NOT DAMAGE THE LITTLE TAB THAT GOES IN THE HOLE. That would be bad. Try using the wrench but do not force it too much. Those clevises can damage very easy and then you have to work with them even more to get them on and off. It is very important that you take your time with the adjustments of the controls. Be sure there is no binding and that they are straight and operate freely.

T.

P.S., hey BRW, it's good to see you are still around, always good to see you giving advice....

If you built this from a kit, and know what you are doing, then scratch build a small battery tray to go behind the servo compartment, and move it back and forth inside until you achieve the desired CG, then attach.
If this an ART or RTF, and you have no building experience, then this may be a little easier for your first time.......
I wound up using the supplied battery/receiver tray (laziness). Place the battery to the rear of the receiver on the supplied tray, as the battery to the front made mine way too nose heavy. If you have a CG machine (these are relatively cheap, and invaluable), place it on the desired balance point, and if it is nose heavy, place a couple of prather weights (self adhesive lead weights) on the rear horizontal stabilizers, up against the fuselage (do not attach yet!). Experiment with moving different quantities back and forth until you achieve the desired balance with as little weight as necessary. If it is tail heavy off the bat, then go ahead and move the battery to the forward position on the tray, but this will most likely not be the case with the Avistar.
You do not want to place the weights on the back wall of the servo compartment, as this would require 3 times as much weight to have the same effect (fulcrum effect - the farther back you move your weights, the less you will need). Once you have determined how much weight is required ( I think I needed 1 1/4 oz.), go under the horizontal stabilzer(s) and, using a new blade razor knife, trim enough of the monokote from the fuselage to attach the desired weight. You don't want to attach any weight directly to the monokote, because if the covering comes off, so will your counterweight. I used a SMALL dab of thinned epoxy around the weights to seal any exposed wood, so the oil blowing back from the muffler would not soften the wood from underneath the weights, destroying the adhesion, thus having your weights possibly falling off mid-flight.

Hope this helps. There are many ways to do these kind of things, but this is my quick and simple way. I know it adds a little extra weight to the plane, but if this is your first trainer, you're not going to notice the difference like a 125mph pylon racer would.

If you built this from a kit, and know what you are doing, then scratch build a small battery tray to go behind the servo compartment, and move it back and forth inside until you achieve the desired CG, then attach.
If this an ART or RTF, and you have no building experience, then this may be a little easier for your first time.......
I wound up using the supplied battery/receiver tray (laziness). Place the battery to the rear of the receiver on the supplied tray, as the battery to the front made mine way too nose heavy. If you have a CG machine (these are relatively cheap, and invaluable), place it on the desired balance point, and if it is nose heavy, place a couple of prather weights (self adhesive lead weights) on the rear horizontal stabilizers, up against the fuselage (do not attach yet!). Experiment with moving different quantities back and forth until you achieve the desired balance with as little weight as necessary. If it is tail heavy off the bat, then go ahead and move the battery to the forward position on the tray, but this will most likely not be the case with the Avistar.
You do not want to place the weights on the back wall of the servo compartment, as this would require 3 times as much weight to have the same effect (fulcrum effect - the farther back you move your weights, the less you will need). Once you have determined how much weight is required ( I think I needed 1 1/4 oz.), go under the horizontal stabilzer(s) and, using a new blade razor knife, trim enough of the monokote from the fuselage to attach the desired weight. You don't want to attach any weight directly to the monokote, because if the covering comes off, so will your counterweight. I used a SMALL dab of thinned epoxy around the weights to seal any exposed wood, so the oil blowing back from the muffler would not soften the wood from underneath the weights, destroying the adhesion, thus having your weights possibly falling off mid-flight.

Hope this helps. There are many ways to do these kind of things, but this is my quick and simple way. I know it adds a little extra weight to the plane, but if this is your first trainer, you're not going to notice the difference like a 125mph pylon racer would.