So i have been flying for about two years, flying a electric great plane yak. I want to pick up a bnf 37% yak, 50-75cc and was wondering what is the best route. I was thinking of going to me field with my training or buddy cord and seeing if one of the giant guys would fly with me. Also is flying a giant any diff than my yak? Arethe flight caracteristics the same?

You are going to be hard pressed to find anyone willing to even buddy box you on a $3,000 - $4,000 plane with you. At 37% you will easilly be in the 100cc range by the way. I have a 50cc Extra 260 (Aeroworks) with a DA50-R and it's about 27%'ish at 87 in wing span and that's about a $2200 plane to buy and set up new. I would talk to your Giant Scale flyers and see if anyone would be willing or be willing to just go it alone before taking the plunge.

Sorry i meant 30%. yea I was figuring about $2500 to $3000.But besides the obvious, expense and maint aside sould I be able to go from efficently flying a smaller yak to 30% yak without to many surprises as far as fight caracteristics?

The larger yak will be easier to fly. Quite simply it will perform all manouvers more slowly and spread out (not as tight. loops, rolls, spins, etc). The difference will be your "pucker factor". Trust me, there is a whole new feeling when you go from flying $200-$300 to flying $3000. So, how are your nerves? I would guess you would be at the line knees nocking, thumbs trembling, not sure if you are remembering to breath, as would most of us who have never flown such a plane.

Yea thats what I want to feel agian. My other planes have me at the ho hum feeling. Honestly I am kinda looking for that heart comming out of the chest feeling again. Dont get me wrong I love to fly but am looking for that next hand trembling experience. I was thinking this might be it.

As stated, the big guys are easy to fly, but landing is another big issue for the little plane guy to get used to. I still havent. I've managed to get a collection of these over that last six months or so. The first one I put up was a 25% Sukoi SU 31 with a Saito 150. My first flight was great fun, straight roll to rotation, smooth, smoothe smooth. Then came the landing. OK, one more try, man that thing ate up the 500' runway in a flash. Second was closer, I could have touched down in the last 50 ft but the bigole barbwire fence said go around again. The last attempt with the coaching of a couple friends set me down about 50 ft from the start of the runway due to stalling. I flew biger planes, IEa 4*60 has a wing span just about the same as the Sukoi, but the handeling is a whole different animial on landing. I've got to learn it, and I just picked up a couple more of the larger ones, a Twist 150 and a U-Can-Do 60. Neither is going to fly and land like the Sukoi though. Nor the 33% Laser 2000 on the bench, or the 25% Extra 300. I'm having trouble as to which one to sacerfice to the lessons.

Don</p>

Yea the field i fly at is perfect for giant scale. 75 feet wide and 600 feet long that is fairway length grass and a 100 foot run off at both ends with rough length grass. Its placed in the middle of farm land. Im thinking everyone who flys giant scale had some of the same thoughts that I do the first time they flew one.

Ill never know till i put one in the air

Flying them is a bunch smoother then smaller planes but they do take some getting ued to. I went out and bought a 1/4 scale Extra 4th hand, paid about 150 bucks for it. An old Creek Hobbies Extra 300L ARF. Outsatnding plane by the way. I flew it for over a year while I was building a bigger plane. Ended up selling the Creek Extra for what I paid for it too. Landing wasn't a lot different, my big problem was flying it too far out, I kept it looking like one of my 60 size planes so it was way out there!! I do question going from a small electric to a big gasser though. It is comparing apples to oranges but you may be better off?? I did like most guys do and went from 40 to 60 to 120 size without any problems, my knnes do shake a bit with my 30% and I don't take off or land any of my friends 40% planes, I will fly them but I can't afford to replace them if something goes wrong so I don't do it often. I have only let one other person fly my 30% Extra and I was worried about it the whole flight.[X(]

If you're considering having someone buddy box you on the large plane, you may not be *ready* in terms of ability/confidence to go it alone.

... Of course I don't know your skills and I've never seen how you take-off, fly and land.

It's just my thoughts on the subject. Either way, good luck on the first flight.

Have you ever Maiden a Kit that you built and
set up ? 100's of hours of building a kit and
then flying it will make your body do weird
things. I too want a Gasser for my next plane,
but not sure on which style I want.

Bob

HI srewart1,
I have been flying for 1 1/2 years,I flew pulse XT 40 for a long time and then I bought a 120 edge and put 10 flights on it and didn't like it due to bad characteristics so I jumped to 50cc gas about 2 months ago. Its a YAK DA50cc. I have a Friend who is a super flier {giant scale} who helped me through the build. He maiden it and trimmed it out. Then the next 2 flights he took it off handed the control's to me I flew around and he landed it. On the next few flight I took off and landed it myself but he was standing beside me in case I got into trouble. Now I have 30 flights up on my own. There is more to loose when you get into this size model but if you have someone to help you out and you feel your up to it go for it. Your knees will knock alright but you will settle. LANDING IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM.Best of luck.

Regards
Damien

As the saying goes, you ought to learn to crawl before you learn to walk. In this case, going from a foam lightweight to a 37% large scale is a tad bit much. And, as already said, I don't know if anyone would buddy box with something that is that expensive.

Move up slowly. Get a good low wing, glow powered, performance trainer and fly that for a while to get the sense of the larger than foamie electric models, then once comnfortable, perhaps a good 120 size glow or gas, then once competent with that, perhaps move up to something large.

CGr.

That's advice to bank on

Well said CG

i would buy a .40 sized plane before you would even think about going bigger and here are the reasons.

landing a electric and landing a .40 are much much different, electrics for the most part need little if any approch, just cut the throttle and your down in 20 or 30 yards.
some 40 sized planes need at least a football field worth of approch, and will take that long to loose 50 feet worth of altitude. they also have a 20-50+ yard roll out, something electrics have little of.

now take that into a 37% plane, your talking a quarter mile worth of an approch, 100 yards+ worth of rollout, ect ect ect
its a big big jump

also in the air big planes cannot manuver like little electrics they require tons of space. something that is very weird if you have only flown electrics that can turn on a dime.


i started off with small electrics and went to .40 sized planes. it was a jump but it was doable. my friend let me fly his 100cc yak and thats a whole nother ball game i wouldnt try the electric to 100cc any day

Yeah, thanks.

I made the mistake of going from a trainer to a performing low wing 56 size plane. I was pretty new but thought I could handle it. Well, one windy February morning, first flight of the day, I took off, did some orbits with a heart rate of about 140 or so.. did a basic turn from base to final and cut the throttle to idle. The wind was right down the centerline, but I didn't realize.. not enough experience.. that the wind really required that I come in "hot" throttle wise. When I cut the throttle to idle, the plane made a very quick reversal as though I pulled the elevator for a loop, went inverted, and started heading in the opposite direction from me, about 100 feet up.

Because I didn't have a lot of experience, my brain just wasn't ready for this and I really didn't know what to do next. I managed to roll it upright, but it was still headed in the opposite direction, and rather quickly, I might add. I tried to turn it to come back, but as soon as I rolls left, it stalled out and headed in a spiral down and crashed.

What I didn't realize that the whole mess could have been avoided if I came in with about 1/4 throttle, and if I had added throttle as it was going away from me, I would have been able to make a coordinated left turn and headed back to the runway. But, little experience equals broken airplane.

CGr.

I know the title of this post is "jump to giant scale" my question "what constitutes a plane being giant scale"

By IMAA regs I believe it is 25% (1/4 scale) for scale models and over 80 inches for other single wing aircraft. Then, and this is the one I'm not sure on, 60 in minimum for Bi-Planes.

Isn't there a weight minimum or something too? I know there is a length and weight maximum for Pattern.

CGr.

IMAA states 1/4 scale, if it's not a scale then it must have an 80 inch wing span. Bipes must have a 60 inch span. The funny thing is to see something like a Shoe String 1/4 scale, about the size of most 40 size planes but they are legal. When people started building Giant Scale planes we thought anything bigger then a 60 was huge but these days at an IMAA meet a 1/4 scale Extra is small sitting next to a 42% Extra. Weight is 50 pounds but you can get a waver for up to 100 pounds, however you, the pilot and the planes must be inspected for both safety and ability to fly by an AMA certified inspector every year to keep the waver. When I was involved with the Castle IMAA meet in Calif. we had several people show up every year for there inspection so they could hold there waver. It was really something to see!!!

Which GP Yak? If you're talking about the 16 oz 55 3-D it will have NO similar flight characteristics with a quarter scale (or larger) Yak sport plane. The flight control surfaces will operate the same way but there the similarities will end. You can get away with things on a foamie that will destroy a 15 to 25 pound model; especially the landings.

Mornin Gray Beard.

Ok, so it's a maximum weight of 50 pounds with a waiver up to 100 pounds. Thanks for the info.

CGr.

stewart, I too went to a gasser after about 2 yrs, I have an older Extreme Flight Yak with a DL50 in it. It was the biggest thing I had flown. I flew it the first time by myself. It is the best flying plane I've flown to date. It takes off smooth and easy (or in about 10 ft of roll out) very smooth in the air, much easier to fly then my 40 size models. And the first time I landed I made a couple passes and then set it down with no problem. The old saying , the bigger the plane the easier they are to fly is true. I use to not think so tell I got my own. Just be calm, try not to think about the fact that this plane cost more then all the rest of your hanger put together and you should be fine

I once spent 9 months of evenings just painting a model; epoxy glass cloth and hobby-poxy finish.
The paint cost way more than the kit did.
All in all, over a year from purchase to first flight.

I thought I'd faint, my heart was going so fast. and that was only 56" span!
stewart1, just do coke, it'll be cheaper.

2. The maximum takeoff weight of a model aircraft, including fuel, is 55 pounds, except for those flown under the AMA Experimental Aircraft Rules.

That's the AMA rule, but the IMAA is a splinter group from the AMA and adheres to their guidelines.

80" monoplane, 60" biplane UNLESS a 1/4 scale of a "real" aircraft that was built (and I believe must have been flown) comes out to a smaller dimension; as some do. Also, "giant scale" does not necessarily mean a scale model. An 80" Stik is still giant scale though not a model of any "real" aircraft.