I have not yet soloed on my trainer but I believe that will be this sun. and its only my second flight, I did so well on my first flight, some guys in the club was joking saying that my instructor was even teaching me, just watchin, I have a stik 40 so should I get a engine and servos for it or should I get the great planes cherokee or does someone else have a suggestion, We have a grass runway so I dont know how that would affect the wheel pants on the cherokee

thanks for reading

hey i have a great planes cherokee and its an awesome plane, its very fast with a os 46 fx on it, if you put a 55ax you would have a moster!! its very agile but floats similar to a trainer with very little control input needed. When i did my maiden flight i have to give it 2 clicks or elevator and 1 click of rudder and it was done!! you will not be dissapointed!

Personally, I'd fly that Stik after your trainer sine you have it but if you really want the Cherokee, go for it. Just don't move to either one too soon. Heck, get both flying; you can never have too may airplanes.

its true you can never have too many, i've been flying for 1.5years now and i already own 8 lol

I vote for both if Santa will be generous enough

which one would you be more attached too? If you really like the cherokee a lot better, then save that for a 3rd plane, that way you can experiment more with the stick. Odds are you will crash a plane in the first year, which plane would you rather crash.

Just my 2 cents worth

Jon

I reveiwed this plane for RCU not too long ago. [link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=1039[/link]

A 55 AX is almost a waste of an engine for this plane as it's way more than you'll ever need. A 46 AX will be more than plenty on it.

I can't recommend this plane enough. I absolutely love this plane. I often don't hang on to review planes after the review, but this plane has found a spot in my hanger. I've got well over 100 flights on this plane since I finished the review. This is a good plane for a second plane, but it's got the capabilities to take a pilot well down the road as their skill develop.

Ken

Since you have an instructor he should be the one to help you determine what's best suited to your ability. Certainly the Cherokee is a great looking and flying plane but becomes rubble very fast if it's beyond your ability. Take your time. It will probably save you money and enhance your skill by sticking with trainer types for short while.Don't know what you now have for radio equipment but recommend possibly upgradeing that first?

That is a possibliy butI will have ask for some electronicsso I will have tell my parentst the excact stuff so they can tell santa, and hopefully I wont get something I can't use, I beleive I've been a good boy this year,got a job( I bet santa is real happy about that) , trying to bring up my spanish grade, how will the wheel pants to on grass?, I beleive I have a capable radio do put in both planes, its a JR sport 6 channel so I should be ok since the cherokee has flaps ( I think), pretty sure

A 55 AX is almost a waste of an engine for this plane as it's way more than you'll ever need. A 46 AX will be more than plenty on it.

Yeah a 55AX is somewhat too much engine.....but you can always throttle back =) but if your not an experienced pilot then i'd stick with the .46ax , dont forget that this plane is made to be a second plane!

[quote]ORIGINAL: fly boy2


that depends on both the grass and the pilot. If the grass is really short and fairly smooth the pants might do OK. If the grass is a problem ,just take them off. It won't look quite as nice but the plane won't care.

No need for anything more than a good .46 on the plane. My first one had a .46-AX and it was about as perfect a power match for a sport plane as you could get. Unfortunately it crashed. The second was electric using the recommended setup. This version was not impressive in my opinion. It was noticeably heavier than my glow powered Cherokee and it made a difference in flight. It sure seemed that way to me at least. I liked my first glow powered one much better for the very short time I had it.

One thing I will say about this plane is that it is tough. There is a pilot in my club who is not always so good at landing. He's bounced it like a basketball, cartwheeled it and other assorted mishaps. It is a little beat up, the landing gear has bent and it has needed some minor repairs but no major damage. It keeps on flying.

I looked at the Cherokee ARF. I like the tricycle gear and how the tail surfaces bolt to the fuse, without the use of any adhesive. Assembly is very strait forward, especially with the 46 AX, which is what this airframe seems to be designed for. I don't think you can go wrong with this choice.

NorfolkSouthern

I have not had luck on 40 size planes with wheel pants on grass, They usually have to be removed. 60 size planes with wheels pants are borderline, some will work some won't. Above that are usually OK
Things you can do to be able to use the wheel pants, aside from the obvious of cutting the grass short.
Replace the stock wheels with the tallest wheels you can find that will fit inside the wheel pants (you may have to file or grind the opening of the pants for clearance). Mount the pants as high on the gear as possible. Some pants come with pre-installed blind nuts so you are kind of stuck with the way they mount unless you want to pop the blind nuts out and drill new holes lower down.

Wheel pants work fine on grass, as long as you give them outer support. The axle has to extend the entire width of the pant, and slip inside an aircraft ply square that is secured to the inside of the pant. I am no Minnflyer, but my cheesy paint drawing might give you guys an idea what I mean.

There is one gripe I do have about the Cherokee that has come up after I finished my review. It's the wheel pant on the front wheel. There is a recessed hole that the end of the wheel axle sits in on the wheel pant. This keeps popping out and the wheel pant gets off center to the wheel. I might put it on the bench when I get some room and see if I can find a fix for it.

I did mention this in the review, but if you use a pitts muffler you will almost have to keep the front wheel pant on. The reason is that the muffler will be directly above the front wheel, and when you fill the fuel tank the excess fuel will drip down on the front wheel. Also, when running the engine you will get drips of fuel and exhaust on the front wheel. The kit comes with foam wheels in it, which will soak up and fuel that drips on it. This fuel will cause the foam to break down and deteriorate. Which means you'll need the wheel pant in place, or replace the wheels with ones made of rubber that won't be affected by the fuel.

Ken

Do you want the Cherokee just because its cool?,,ask yourself...if you already have a stick and havent soloed yet....if it were a mustang everybody would be telling you to get a 4 star or a tiger,,,do you really want it just because its cool?...fly the stick , get the .46 for it and then transfer it if you want.....Rog

RCken - great write-up on the plane. Looks like it might be a good knock around plane to have in the hanger, right along side the Stick and the Super Sportster.

I've flown the Cherokee with an OS .55AX and found it a really nice plane, and that engine is a perfect match for it. I'd easily recommend it as a second plane. Fly it with the controls tamed down for a while, then increase them with experience and you'll have a great basic aerobatics trainer. I've see it with the .46 AX and think its faster with the .46 but has much better vertical with the .55. Knowing almost every pilot who flies will want to do aerobatics with it, I don't see any reason not to put the.55 on - it'll perform them much better.

Hogflyer

Same problem here. If the axle were just a hair longer or the plywood piece it sits in were a little thicker it might work a little better.