Hi folks.
I've been flying my Worldstar 40 for some time now, and I have a low wing waiting for me in my garage.

What should I expect when trying my low wing? Different characteristics? Faster?

Oh, and I probably should not mention, the low wing is a Hobbico Twinstar..

G-Day
a highwing is much more stable because of the low CofG so it will tend to always be wanting to corect its self a low wing will be less stable because of the high CofGand it will tend to want to keep banking or hold the bank untill you undo it depending on the dihederal. low wing planes are generaly faster more airobatic it also can depend on the wings airfoil weather it is symetrical or semi semetrical. usualy if the airfoul is symetrical and it is a low to mid wing airplane with no dihederal or very little it is gona be airobatic and kinda fast
hope this helped
happyflying

simmo

One question that I have is what is the low wing plane that you have in your hanger? Even low wing aircraft can have very different handling characteristics from one to the other.

A high performance low wing plane, for instance, will be faster, more 'slippery' (meaning that it will be less inclined to slow down as you reduce throttle and thus come in faster on approach). And, the typical difference would be how the wing tends to stall. Different configurations will have very different stall issues.

Most high wing aircraft, and the World Star 40 is a trainer I believe, fly and handle very different from low wing aircraft, even low wing trainers.

My point is, what is the low wing plane you have? If it is a low wing trainer type, then it will be an easy transition, but will require some time, perhaps a few tanks of fuel, to get up to speed with the differences. My suggestion, and this is what I did, would be to buddy-box the low wing aircraft with an instructor and get used to the differences. Once you are ready, and you will know pretty much right away when you are ready, you can remove the cable and fly it yourself.

CGr.

As I stated in my first post, it is a Hobbico Twinstar.

If you're asking, The twin star is too much airplane for you.
It's even too much for me.
Not that I can't fly one, it's setting one up for flight.
A P-38 Lighting is a dream model for me.
I've never advance or experimented enough with twin engines set ups.

You can't just slap two nitro engine on it, due to vibrations.
The engines vibration will cuase enhomics balance against one another. Therefore cuasing the engines to run eratic.

If you don't tune your engine close enough to one another, it'll cause one side of the wing to yaw, lift or fly faster than the other.
For a new pilot..it'll probably roll than crash.lol

A guy at my field had one and he's a very exerince pilot. Never the less he spent most of the time messing it, tuning it..ect,
than flying it. It was bullet thou. He installed 2 .40s in it. It was fast but it didn't look fun too me. I saw it in the air
only once for less than a couple of minutes, then he had to bring it down and mess with it some more.

the Twinstar will be a handful for a beginner...be ready for single engine operation..which can cause the airplane to yaw to the dead engine to the point that it'll death sprial in....my best suggestion to you would be to get very comfortable with rudder...be able to execute any aerobatic manuver on demand..then spend some time with a twin engine ace on the buddy box

Ah, yes so you did. Sorry for that.

Well, that's quite a different situation. The twinstar is not a trainer, nor something that a beginner should want to try to tackle. Two engines means twice the problems. The setup for a twin adds to the complexity. The problem of synchronizing the engines is a big issue. You also really need to be up to speed on how to handle the aircraft should one of the engines fail in flight.

Pairing up engines is also something that you really need to work with. My friend had one, it had a pair of Evolution 36's and was quite nimble, but it was not that bad to fly... if the engines are set up properly so that the RPM's of both engines are somewhat matched at various throttle settings. That also means two tanks, two throttle servos, and so on.

It might be a good idea to put it aside and get a little more experience with low wing planes before attempting to fly this.. or any twin, for that matter.

There are several very good low wing planes that will help you move up to that twin. The Goldberg Tiger II and Tiger 60 are both excellent low wing beginners.. as is the Four Star 40 and Four Star 60. All of these are very nimble and handle very nicely, very capable planes, but are easy on the nerves.. in other words, handle very cleanly and behave well. There are others, those are but a few suggestions.

CGr.

The difference, ignoring dihedral and airfoil configuration, is that the CG is moved closer to the middle of the wing. With the same airfoil and wing configuration, that just means the low wing plane will be more agile. You could also phrase it "more unstable", which is necessary to throw the plane into snaprolls, spins, etc.

You will notice the low wing plane to be less sluggish in roll maneuvers. While the high wing plane has some difficulty making the first half of the roll, and after halfway it lurches back to the upright, you will find the low wing plane rolls more evenly.

The Twinstar has less dihedral and a more or less symmetric airfoil, making it more responsive in maneuvers. It will be much faster than your high wing .40 plane, even if you use .25 engines. Mine has two old bushing .40's, and it's a rocket. Engine-out flight is an exercise in rudder management and keeping the nose down.

Good luck,
Dave Olson

Coming right off a trainer and never having flown even a simple low wing airplane before you will probably fly it nicely right up to the point that the first engine stoppage occurs and at that point you freeze and the airplane becomes a complete and total loss. Usually in the first flight but perhaps you will make it to the second.


As to the original question and of course this does not apply to a single vs twin thing which I beleve was your real question.

Single engine highwing airplanes are simply easier to learn orientation techniques with than low wing single engine airplanes and developing the ability to maintain that orientation through out many varied lighting conditions. A rather important skill that for many does not come easily.

John

Most all low-wing airplanes are more aerobatic than high wing trainers and faster as well but this is not necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship. You can kit bash a trainer into a low wing design by putting the wing on the bottom of the fusilage but it will still fly slow. Fly your trainer inverted and suddenly you are flying a low wing airplane with anhedral instead of dihedral but is still flys slow.
Indeed, nothing prevents a high wing design from being fast or aerobatic. A lot of quickie-500 racing planes are high wing and they aren't for beginners. The Ultra Stik is also a very aerobatic airplane.

The twinstar's glide slope is about the same as a set of keys, and that is with the engines running. I've flown mine with each engine out. It's not as bad as some twins when they loose an engine, but it's a handful for sure. Often, when an engine dies, I simply turn the thing around, line it up, and then kill the other engine. But that's cheating, I know....
You should get a four star or tiger 60 or similar airplane first. As stated before, orientation is usually one of the biggest learning curves in low wing to high wing. And wingtips tend to get scraped on landings more often.

Would you please expand on the orientation issue..not sure I understand that point. Thanks in advance.

I have seen very little difference. If you do see a big difference, better work on that set up. High wingers are much easier to hand launch, beyond that either plane should be a breeze to fly. Low wingers are given more dihedral to gain lateral stability.

Looks like you have received many suggestions, not to move directly to the Twinstar. I would only recommend a twin to an intermediate to advanced pilot. If you really want a twin, start out with one of the really great electric twins out there. No engine setup, balancing, tuning, and most importantly engine "out" issues.

Most low wing planes do not have a lot of dihedral, and so they fly differently from high wing planes. A high wing plane tends to take care of itself, which gives you some leeway while you develop the right correction instincts. A low wing plane requires quicker corrections when it starts doing something you didn't intend. An inexperienced pilot can quickly find his plane in a diving turn and not be able to respond fast enough to recover.

A low wing plane with a lot of dihedral can be every bit as stable as a high wing plane, and 20 or 30 years ago there were several such designs. A high wing plane with no dihedral will act like it has dihedral even if it has none because in a skid or a slide pressure will build where the wing meets the fuse, and cause a correction in the same way as dihedral. With a low wing, the opposite will happen, which can be compensated for with dihedral. Similarly, the high wing effect can be offset with anhedral. It's not really a matter of the center of gravity.

And yes, skip the twin for now and get some experience with a single engine low winger like a 4 Star or Tiger 2.

Jim