Great Planes PT 40
 

goodday.

I'm kinda new and i just purchased the great planes PT 40

Im hoping when i get back sunday that it will be in my mail box, well the card saying pick it up will be there.

Im just curious to who has built this kit and if they have any suggestions, ive read a few reviews about it and thats why i chose it, i figure if this goes well my next kit will be the easy sport 40.

anyways advice or information is always welcome thanks

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I built a PT40 a while back and it's very easy to build. The only suggestion I would make is to build the sport wing rather than the trainer wing. Especially if you will be learning to fly with an instructor, the sport wing has plenty of dihedral to aid stability. The plane is a very good trainer and pretty tough too.

Ben

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

An excelent choice.

Not as easy to build as some others... but more sturdy than any wood ARF trianer. Not a bad trade.

Just follow the directions... build the with ailerons (sport) option wing and its a GREAT trainer. The 3 channel variation is pretty well outdated.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I'm finishing my PT40, all I have left is installing the radio equipment. It's not hard to build, just follow the directions and double check everything before you put on the glue. I bought an extra wing from Tower Hobbies and built one with the big dihedral and one with the lower dihedral.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I also say "Go with the Sport Wing". The other has too much dihedral.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

Man, I love my PT-40:
Also in the pic are all the things you need to fly, and some of them are optional.

Electric starter is a very nice to have.
Elastic bands for the wing. Glow plug igniter, restraining device (a strap), fuel pump, and fuel.

gus

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I had my second start on a PT- 40, use the rubber band option and the sport wing. And contriary to what anyone says it will fly inverted just fine if you hold lots of elevator to hold it in level flight(alittle nose up inverted)!!:D:D

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

A great plane to build and fly! Definately go with the "sport" wing.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

Ditto on the sport wing thing. Nice kit, easy to build and flies great. Mine sure took a beatin. Good juck and enjoy your PT.

Mark Shuman

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

CMAN,

Here are some things I did to my PT40:

- Sport wing and rubber bands are the only way to go.
- I used wider and lighter fiberglass cloth because I didn't want an ugly hump on the wing.
- I used steel cable for the throttle and nose gear linkages. (You need a little soldering to stiffen up the cable but it's worth it!)
- I cut of the 'lip' of the tank hatch because it just got in the way when it was time to fuel up.

Things I wish I did to my PT40:

- Re route the nose gear cable so that replacing the quick link 'rubber disk' wouldn't be such a pain in the arse.

Good Luck and have fun! And don't sweat the small stuff!

-Matt

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

After I learned to fly I converted mine to a tail dragger! Great Fun!!:D

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I just finished building mine. Don't sand the leading edge of the vertical fin at the same time as the horizontal stabilizer. Starting out, you do one thing to the stab and then the same to the fin so you kinda get stuck in a routine. I had to do some reto-fitting down the road when it came time to glue the dorsal fin to the vertical fin. Other thatn that it's a straight-forward build.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I am making final adjustments to the pushrods on my PT20. The instruction book is the same for both and they are very similar planes. Pay attention to the plan when you are building...I wasn't thinking or looking and put A1 in backwards and had to cut it out and re-epoxy it. I built the trainer wing before seeing that everyone said to do the sport wing and it had A LOT of dihedral. I too went with the rubber band setup. I might get replacement wing and do the sport version and the bolt-on down the road.

Oh I thought I would say please do not look to closely you might see the bubbles in the fuse...second covering job, but I am learning that speed means bubbles! Cant wait to get it in the air!

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I bought and built a PT-40 as well; I have yet to fly it. I've had so much fun building it- I bought a second one. I will be building the sport wing at the suggestion of your posts. I'll wait to put a picture up since this was my first attempt at using Monokote.

RE: Great Planes PT 40
 

I've built about four of them... It's a good plane to build. Enjoy twisting the wing ;) (It's a good lesson in structural strength and stiffness.)

As for different things to do with a PT-40, I repaired one for a buddy of mine. Among its problems was an almost detached tail, so I amputated the tail feathers, leveled everything up, and remounted them true to the plans. We went out to fly the plane and it seemed a little squirrely, so I added a 1/8" shim under the wing trailing edge. That was a wild ride... let me just advise you as a begineer -- DON'T DO THAT!!

Anyway, good luck, enjoy building, and never hesitaste to ask questions. (Maybe people will tell you some of their wild wing twisting stories... when you get to the "Putting wash-out in your wing" part of the building process, I'm sure you'll know what I mean!)