I'm looking for a good second airplane and heard that the Great Planes U-Can Do was a good advanced second plane. If so what would be the better size the .46 or the .60, and if you have any comments on the planes and about its characteristics and stuff that would be great.

Futaba Owner

I have the 46 sized U Can Do. Mine has an OS .46 AX in it. There are actually 4 sizes of this plane. The smallest is all foam and is a 3D parkflyer, all electric. Then there is the 46 size, 60 size and finally the giant size. I've seen all 4 fly. I can tell you that the U Can Do will land easier than a trainer!!! Get the 46 or 60 size with either a 46 or 61 size engine. Once your used to flying it and are getting the itch for doing some wild 3D, put in a 4 stroke like the .72 or .80 size for the 46 and 1.00 or more for the 60 size.
When you get one, keep your control throws at minimum and add expo on your radio. It will keep the plane from being too sensitive while you get the feel of it. The ailerons on this model are quite large!!!
Another candidate for 2nd plane is a Goldberg Tiger 2. I also have one of these (my avatar). They fly awfully stable and make a great 2nd plane.

Dave...

I've had both of the UCDs. I really like these planes. A great deal of fun, and easy to fly. A bit fragile so you need to be able to land good. They will not take the pounding of say a Ultra Stick, but they are much more aerobatic. They will do anything, not as pretty as some planes but easier to learn with.

THere is a huge thread over in the 3D forum where there is much discussion on these planes. The 46 forum is usally where I hang out and there's a bunch of really nice people who'll answer any question you have on either size. Come join us there.

Thanks
Barry

I have had both of these planes also. Depends on what you want, how much room you have and so on. The larger plane costs a little more to build, I recommend a OS .91 FX or ST90 or Magnum .91 XLS for the 61 size. A magnum .52, st.51 or OS .50 SX are great choices for the 46 size. For both you may want to upgrade servos from the get go. If you like Futaba, the 3010's are reasonable and will do great on the elevators and ailerons, the 3305's work great on the rudder and std servo or mini servo for the throttle. If you are JR, the new sport servos are terrific, especially the ST125mg's. Of course you can use these, with Futaba also. I would recommend them all the way around for the .61 size UCD anyway.

Both planes have a weak landing gear mounting area in the fuselage. A couple of hard landings and it will break out. You can wait for that to happen, or you can remove the covering and put some glass cloth over that area of the fuselage at the beginning.

The planes definitely fly different, the .46 is inline on the wing and horizontal stab and has those tendencies that come with that setup. The .60 size is not inline, but is above the wing axis and has those tendencies. Most folks like the .46 over the .60 for it's quick response and 3d agility. I liked the .60 because it seemed to have better, almost pattern like tendencies on low rates, was a little slower and more graceful.

For a second plane, you can do worse. Just start out slow and easy on slow rates with about 25-30% expo. You can program out the few coupling issues there are as you get used to the plane and learn more about aerobatic trimming. There are some really great threads on RCU about inflight trimming for aerobatics.

Good luck with your UCD, hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours.

The UCD is a nice flying plane.

The landing gear mounting is weak and should be reenforced - either glass it, or if you can get at it properly, use some bass tri stock.

You DEFINITELY want to add bass tri stock backing to the firewall. All the ones I have seen are just butt glued to the sides with hot glue.

You may also want to reenforce the fuselage in the area of the trailing edge of the main wing. A hard landing has a tendency to crack the fuselage at that point.

Im just curious. Idont know what this whole high throws low throws is all about. I mean, i know what they mean, but is there somehting lie low throws? I t seems to me like there is only one other option then what you have which is high throws, but how is this supposed to be stable omn just "Standad" throws. Believe me, i dont even know what i wrote, but hopefully youll get what im asking.

low rates mean the control surfaces move a certain (SMALL) amount for just lazy sport flying. High rates the surfaces move ALOT further therefore the plane is MUCH more rsponsive to VERY SLIGHT control stick movements. You can adjust these with a standard radio by using the closest holes in the servo arm and the furthers out holes in the control arm on the control surfaces. Does this make sense? Low rates will make the plane less sensitive to control inputs on the sticks. This is great for maidens and for planes that were intended to do aerobatics and 3D if you just want to loaf around and not 3D.
EDIT: We beginners are better off on low rates for ALL planes until we learn to handle them From what I've heard this is a very stable plane BUT as stated before it is built VERY light for 3D maneuvers and cant handle hard landings from beginners. This is only what I've heard and in no way comes from personal experience.