rcdivot how long have you been flying ? if you want to crash all the time good onya i don't .. aerobatics is not always done flat out it takes more pilot skill to do the manouvers at half or quarter speed. I only go full speed when i go vertical. and a65l is right they are economical. out of the years that i have flown i have only seen 2 mid air crashes 1 from a bloke the was not flying the curcit was going against the direct that everyone esle was going and not calling his movement and 1 other which was combat which you normally get head ons because they fly really close to each other trying to cut the other persons ribbon . so if you want to crash that's up to you don't put it on every one else i'm sure that they would like to keep their planes in one peice

Another good one is

No Slime! I am so glad I went gas as there isn't any slime to clean up anymore. My YS 140dz would just cake it on my Ultimate. It was so gross!

Lastly (I just made the switch to 50cc and bigger) what I enjoy about flying most now is the lack of equipment to lug around. No more charging glow sticks, putting them on the engine, carrying around the heavy duty starter motor, and no more 20+ dollar fuel. (Granted with gas prices increasing that may change ). Its just so nice to fill up, flip, and go.

I certainly agree with everyone that says, once you go big, you don't go back.

I will add my agreement. My 100 CC is a dream to fly!! I still fly glow sometimes because of transport issues, but I am putting together a couple 50 CC planes that will fit in my truck with the TG up. Once that happens I will sell all of the remaining glow planes and run gas only....50CC and larger.

I think it's been discussed here, but I will say it again. If you have two comparable designs, bigger is necessarily and always better in terms of flight performance, that is unless you like unstable and unpredictable airplanes. Reynolds number and other factors go into exactly why this is so. I don't even pretend to understand it all, but it makes sense to me.

Bigger = Better (But only in terms of flight performance and stability, not cost and 'fun per dollar' etc...)

OK so I'd like to thank everyone for their opinions, it has seriously helped me A LOT! While I would love to get into true GIANT scale (that is, big enough to justify using gasoline engines and big, high-torque servos), I just don't have the confidence or experience yet to fly a plane THAT big and THAT expensive! However, I am considering larger glows, and I think the Giant UCanDo or Hangar 9 Showtime 4D 90 is a good choice for me. However, I did have one question about this. At the field the other day, I heard multiple pilots raving about YS engines, a company I have had no experience with. Then I went to my local hobby shop, and what a coincidence, there were 2 guys raving over the YS products too! I did a little research on the company and evidently they make unbelievable 4-strokes. But here's my only question. Usually, pilots try to slightly overpower their planes (at least the ones I've talked to). Examples: Saito 100 in .91 rated UCanDo 60, etc. However, the pilots I know using YS Engines in their .60-sized planes are using the YS-63. This seems like way too small of a 4-stroke to put in a .60 size 3D aircraft. Is there something special about these engines that I don't know about? I will admit, they are considerably more expensive than their counterparts in the same displacement. I ask because I am seriously considering buying the H9 Showtime 4D 90, which is rating up to a 1.10 4-stroke. Lucky for me, YS makes a 1.10. Will this be WAY too much power for this plane? Let me know what you guys think and what your experience with YS engines is. Thanks a lot!

YS makes supercharged motors, and their performance is clearly superior in the horsepower category. However, they require much higher nitro content in their fuel, and their needle valve tweaking is opposite to the industry standands. That is....turn the YS needle clockwise to richen the mixture, while the rest of the industry turns the needle counter-clockwise to richen the mixture.
Their fuel tank plumbing is a unique set-up too. The tank is highly presurized by the motor, and there is a one-way valve to be installed properly in the fuel line. So, there is definately a learning curve to get through with YS, but once you become familiar with their operation, you will enjoy top notch performance.

On a YS four stroke engine, the carburettor feeds the fuel/air mixture into the crankcase and the bottom of the piston pumps the fuel/air mixture into a pressure chamber that leads to the intake port in the engine's head. This supercharges the engine. The supercharging happens because the bottom of the piston pumps air on every downstroke but the intake valve is only open on every other down stroke. Supercharged four stroke engines are painfully loud without mufflers.

If you want the low slime factor of gasoline power but don't want the expense of planes big enough for 50cc engines, consider the zero mess power of electric. I just built a plane from plans that calls for a .60 two stroke/.90 four stroke but I am running a e-flite Power 60 outrunner powered by 4500 mAh 6-s lipo battery. To say that I am not disappointed by this setup's performance would be a huge understatement. I don't even have the the motor propped to max out the amp rating and the plane positively smokes. (not literally, I hope) Those batterys do cost $280 bucks each though but I'll never have to take paper towels and Windex to the field again.

I too love my YS engine. Superb throttle response, best power in their class. You can usually compare a smaller YS to a larger OS or Saito. the 140dz i have is more powerful than the saito 180. They do like high nitro content, but it isn't required at all.

The learning curve is a little bit steep, and you must make sure you used an approved fuel tank as it will be very pressurized and non approved tanks may split and ruin the airplane. My 140 DZ (and all dzs for that) are fuel pumped so you don't need to pressurize the tank. The dz's also tune differently than the others.

Your Showtime 4d 90 will be a blast with a YS 1.10. You could almost compare the YS to a saito 150. They are just very strong motors, and after running one, i dont think i could bring myself to run anything else for glow.

Let us know what you decide. Hope this helps.

Skulboep
If you can fly a Sig Somethin' Extra well, then you should have no problems with a Giant U-Can-Do-3D. Set the plane up the way you like it. Very hot or tame it down. You can slow this plane down for landings as slow as most trainers if not slower. I have been flying mine for 2 years now and also have the 60 size with a Saito 100. I have a lot of fun with them.
Just my 2 cents

Bigger is Better if: You Can afford it, You are not Intimidated by it, It will fit in your mode of transportation, It can land and take off on your local runway, you don't have to call the FAA for clearance, you don't knock your friends down with the wing when you turn around while holding the wing, you have a big enough set of wrenches for the prop hub, you can see it at 2,000 feet, you can still get it in and out of your house, You can sit in the cockpit....LMAO! I could go on and on.

Ok, so it turns out that my little brother is getting back into flying. I told him that he could learn on my trainer (Avistar), but would have to soon buy his own plane and supply the engine, as I would supply the servos (I have a near infinite supply of S3004s lying around and the last memory spot on my Futaba 6XAS. This is great, because he is buying a Goldberg Tiger 60 (a low-wing that I was considering purchasing), which means I now have an excuse to got out and get that 9C system I've always wanted, and the Giant U-Can-Do.

Flyinbr, your plane is gorgeous! What kind of engine do you have in that thing? Any recommendations or tips as this will be my first large aerobatic aircraft (I have an 82" Cub, but this obviously doesn't constitute "aerobatic" in relative terms)? Thanks!

A 36 inch wingspan plane that is 100 ft away is a lot easier to see than a giant scale plane that's 1000 ft away. If you have problems crashing because you can't keep your plane inside its "easy to see" flying box, a giant scale plane will only make you walk farther to the crash site.

Yea but a 102" wingspan plane at 100 ft away is just PERFECT and the wow factor is nice too

An 80" wingspan plane of 15 lbs facing a 15 knot headwind (or crosswind) is a lot less affected compared to a 55" wingspan airplane that weighs 6 lbs.

And 6" wheels do better in 3" grass than 4" wheels do.

Bigger is not always better, but it is better if you like bigger.

Skulboep
I have an OS 160 on mine. I bought the plan engine and severos all set up the way you see it. Got a good deal on it. The 160 does a very good job on it. Very happy with it.
There is a lot of engines that would be fine on this plane. If I was to go out and get a new one for this it would be a BIG 4-stroke. But that's just me

YS 160dz. Now that would be a beast.