RE: Need advise
 

My apologies. ;)

Tell the Mrs. that you're considering golf instead, but need about $800 for clubs and stuff, plus $60 to $80 a week for the course. :D
Dennis-

RE: Need advise
 

Or tell her you are going to take up bass fishing.
The boat, motor and trailer will run about $15,000.
The new pickup to pull it will be about $35,000.
Rod, reel, and other gear will run about $2,000.
Suddenly, $500 for a radio don't seem so bad!:D

RE: Need advise
 

i was reading this in a search i did. i learned on a plane that has 1 inch dihedral, and i built my trainer with just one inch dihedral, and it flys great. i dont know how a pt40 flys with like 5 inches of dihecral or whatever it is, but my eclipse can do really quick rolls, loops, immelmens, split ess'es, and even hammerheads. i would deffenetly sugest the flatter wing dihedral!

RE: Need advise
 

nylon 1/4-20.... and tap blocks....i hate rubber bands..

RE: Need advise
 

I'm building the PT-40. I'm a newbee with only half a dozen flights solo and selected the "B" wing with less dihederal and rubber bands. The "B" wing was recommended by forum members as being much better for crosswind landings. By the way, my kit arrived it good shape and no warped or bad wood except for one piece of sheeting that was a little soft. Good luck with your build.

RE: Need advise
 

Suggestion 1- sport (lower dihedral) wing all the way. As for bands/bolts my preferences is bolts. I hate bands. But being as you are building a kit why not both. Set it up when you build it for bolts. The only difference is the dowels for the bands. Lightly glue the front dowel in. If after a bit you find the confidence. And feel like it you knock out the front dowel and have at the bolts. If the front dowels interfere with the front band dowel, relocate it some. The position is not very critical. As long as it is in the doubler and close to the original location allw ill be well. You get the cake and can eat it too (and get fat like me:)).

Mark Shuman

RE: Need advise
 

I just built a PT-40 with the lower dihedral and bolt ons. I based my decision on advice from the local flyers. With the higher dihedral, the PT likes to tip over if you blow on it, and taxiing is much more difficult. Mine, on the other hand, made its maiden flight in about a 30Kt wind (not by me) and handled it superbly. Another word of advice for PT builders(IMHO)... no matter what you are told, do NOT reduce the washout that's designed into the wing. If you overfly the plane, as new pilots tend to do, and get into a stall situation, you want to lose lift at the root first. This will cause the plane to tend towards a nose down, wing level attitude. Tip stalls are not a good thing for the beginner to deal with.
I wouldn't worry too much about the planes ability to perform aerobatics. Remember that this plane is designed to help you learn the basics of flight. While it is able to perform a lot of advanced manuevers respectably,it isn't meant to do 3D. Get a good foundation and then move to another plane that's better suited for whatever type of flying you like to do.
As for the fuel tank question, Whatever fits will work. You might want to take a look at a Sullivan seamless tank to help with the fit. I have a 2oz that the instructions said could be reshaped by heating with a covering heat gun. I haven't tried it, so I don't know how well it works. I think that I would stay away from heating and bending the area near the cap to prevent deforming and causing a fuel leak though. Since C of G is set with the tank empty, and the weight difference would be minimal I would think that the only difference would be that the nose won't come up as quickly on takeoff due to the added fuel weight. I might be a little concerned about only getting 10 minutes on a tank of fuel. Are you running the engine too rich?