Has anyone had experience flying the VMAR Discovery trainer with a VMAX .46 engine.

If you haven't bought it, I'd stay away. VMAR doesn't have a good reputation. I bought a VMAR Harvard II, and wasn't happy with the quality at all.

There are so many good ARF's available, spend an extra $20 and get a solid plane you can trust.

Thanks for the reply. You are right, there are so many ARF to choose from today. The price was attractive.

Please please please STAY AWAY!!! At my field seen 3 VMAR trainers snap their wings on maiden or after just a couple of flights! One of the best trainers I have seen and tried is the ARC brand one from Italy. Its all plastic and flies really good, can be pretty fast too!!!

Thanks for the info. I haven't purchased any trainer yet. Again, Thanks

I bought a Vmar Discovery and am still flying it. I've had no trouble with the wing folding. Granted, the wood is so-so, and the hardware is mediocre, but it flies very well. My instructor says that it is the best flying trainer he has seen in ten+ years of flying. You get what you pay for, but don't sell the Discovery short...

Bill Wheeler

I bought the VMAR vstik. Flies OK but construction is sub-par for sure. Service is horrible. Good luck getting ahold of anybody who knows anything. Plus takes more than a week to get to them (Canada shipping). My experience, I'll never buy from them again, and would not recommend them to anyone. Buy from your local hobby shop, you know what you're getting and who you're buying from and get local service as well!

and, I might add, the vmax engine is NOT recommended. If you must buy the plane, you might get away with it. It will fly, and fly well. However, the wood is very light weight, and isn't put together very well. And, the covering sucks. This adds up to a plane that may not stand up to the rigors of training. I flew my vmar stinger until I burned it in a few weeks back. I now have the wing on a hanger 9 alpha fuse, and that is a great combination. However, there is SOOOOOOOO MUCH DIFFERENCE between the vmar quality and the hanger 9 quality!
However, my brother had to send his vmax .46 back before he ever fired it up because of a stuck throttle. My vmax .52 through the con-rod after about a half gallon of fuel (two flights after break in). I don't know if he ever got his .46 running or not. I've received a replacement .52 already, but haven't done anything with it yet. Stay clear. Spend the extra 20 or so bucks and get some quality!

i have had a vmar discovery 40 trainer before and i would have to say that it was a very good trainer. mine was very durable and flew great. it could do some great tricks and glided with out even caring. mine is in the graveyard now after a full throttle crash but the discovery was in pretty good shape after the full throttle crash. the wing was in perfect shape except for a small gouge and the fuselage was fine except the entire front was ripped off. and i will agree that vmar's service really really sucks b/c they told me that sincei live so close to there main headquaters i couldn't buy directly from them and that i would have to buy from a dealer so i don't how there so called good prices work

I recently purchased a stinger and am wondering where the wings broke on the vmar models before I buld it. Did the spar brake? Are there any recomendations or modifications that i can do to this.

DO NOT buy VMAR especially if you live in the U.S. By the time you add their shipping prices, their ARFs aren't as attractive. Plus there are too many better ARFs trainer out there (ie, SIG LT-40, Kyosho Calmato, World Models $70 Mach I trainer, Tower trainer and many more). My first mistake was buying the VMAR Apache trainer.... it flies fine but the materials were junk. I replaced it with the LT-40 and it was like Mercedes vs. Yugo. Plus their customer service absolutely sucks. Don't waste your money on their products. Support good company such as SIG, World Models, and others.... just NOT VMAR. Have fun.

dehonda,
I never had any problem with the wing on my stinger breaking. However, the leading edge sheeting is very thin, so handle it with care! You can stick your thumb right through it in a hurry. What engine are you putting on the stinger? It is a very aerobatic plane with the right engine. Also, it lands so much easier than my trainer did. As I said earlier, I crashed my stinger (disorientation), and the wing is the only thing that survived. I really like the wing, so I put it on my alpha 40 trainer by hanger 9, and still fly it on occasion. Just use 30 min epoxy to glue the wing halves together. I used the supplied hardware, and it never failed me, but I was constantly worried about it!
The stinger has a forward gear mount for mounting skis and such to. It is directly below the leading edge of the wing. I thought this would be a perfect place to put the main gear, and make it into a tail dragger. The gear kept breaking out, and I never really like it much. I converted it back to trike. Moral of the story--it doesn't make a very good tail dragger.

Thanks 2slow2matter for the tips. I not sure what motor I will be putting on it. I was considering trying the vmax 52 or a supertiger 51. I am also making my own spar for the wing. I didnt like all the holes that vmar put in them.

You don't have to make a completely new wing, you can just add shear webbing in-between the ribs. Just cut some 1/8 inch balsa to fit in between each rib, and CA into place. This will make the spar at least twice as strong. You are correct, there is little to no shear webbing in their spars. This is one of the ways they cut corners, I guess. Makes for a super light wing, but a little weaker than normal. However, a little caution--to do this you'll have to remove the covering. you cannot (to my knowledge) buy the type of covering on that wing, so you'll have to go over it with monocote or some other covering. Matching colors will be tough. i don't think you'll have much trouble with the wing. As I said, it was the only thing that actually survived my flying

Im sorry I ment the wing joiner. I was not impressed with the way it was cut with the grain. I built another one out of plywood. I also bought a vmax 52. I talked with some customers at the hobby store that already purchased them and they loved them. They had them on a vstick and a stinger with many flights and had no problems with them and highly recomended vmar products.

actually, you want the grain to run lengthways through the wing joiner. this will give the greatest strength. If the grain is running up and down, then you have a lot of opportunity for the wood to cleave.

The grain was running cross ways across the spar. I made the new one with the grain running lengthways.

Anyone know the weight of the Discovery ?
Magnus//

I've just finished building a discovery and the following may of of interest to others who are either in the process of deciding which trainer to purchase or are about to start building one.

Firstly, the fuel tank is too thin, especially at the corners and it's not worth taking the risk by using it. Remember, your expensive electronics are likely to get soaked in glow fuel if it should burst or leak. Throw it away and buy a good quality tank. I purchased a Ripmax 10oz tank and it fits perfectly. Cost £2.85.

The wing band supplied in the kit are too thin. Buy a pack or two of good quality bands. Costs around £1.75 per pack.

While you are in the shop, buy a length (only about 6 inches will be used) of 6mmx12mm medium hardness balsa strip. Comes in very handy to hold items such as the fuel tank in place. Cost around £0.50.

I used a small ball link to connect the supplied threaded rod to the throttle control on the engine. It works very well. It's probably worth having a good look at the engine and planning this connection in advance in order to save another trip to the shop. Cost around £0.75.

Whilst in the shop, also buy a pack of high-density foam to put around the fuel tank and under the Rx etc. as packing and to isolate these items from the vibration of the fuselage.

Apart from the above items, I only needed to purchase 30-minute epoxy and cyano as per the instruction manual.

I did use a couple of swing keepers but that was out of personal preference rather than being absolutely necessary.

The key decision after purchasing the discovery is which engine to use. I intended to use an OS FP40 with the optional OS mute kit. But, just for interest, I also tried a number of alternatives. Basically, any engine of 420g to 450g including silencer - with the radio battery appripriately positioned - will give perfect balance without the need for additional ballast. VMAR have been quite smart here in that 2 stroke engines such as their own VMAX, GMS, SC and ASP will give correct CG withut having to add additional weight. Also, 52/61 size four strokes can be used as they fall within this weight range. I tried my ASP 61 4-stroke - it gave perfect ballance and fitted well in the pre-installed monunt. If you do use a lighter engine, lead will need to be added as far forward as possible under the engine in order to bring weight up to the above level. An RMX40 is a heavy engine and would have needed some lead at the tail end. The OS FP40 and the LA40/46 are very light engines and I ended up using about 100g of lead plate mounted under the engine, secured to the side cheeks with screws.

The total weight, without fuel, is 5lb 8Oz. It would be difficult to deviate too far from this provided you stick to the standard build process. This is light for the wng area (719 Sqinch measured) and explains why the Discovery has a reputation for being a very easy to fly trainer with a slow, vintage style flight capability. Just what's needed from a first trainer.

Overall, the plane cost £55 and around £10 for the additional items listed above.

It really is very easy to put together - about as easy as a manufacturer can make an ARTF. Taking time with the building an forward planning of the radio installation and servo connections pays dividends.

My only gripe is that the covering is a bit thin and in places not stuck to the wood that well. But given that this is a trainer I expect it to see me through learning to fly and possibly beyond.

Would I buy another should this one suffer a mishap - without a doubt.

Hope this helps some potential flyers.