My first build... she's done!!
 

Well have a look! Yes, I'm a SF Giants fan =) One of my neighbors suggested I take it to SBC park during preseason and try to get the wings signed...

Man what a good time this was! Over the past 5 weekends, I've taken a box of balsa and created something that might just fly! Hard to believe...

And yes that is a busted prop. I just had to drive her around my parking lot a bit... couldn't disappoint the neighbors... you understand. Anyway, it turns out those curbs can be pretty inflexible. :D

I think she's ready for an experienced hand to trim her. Hopefully I'll get my membership card to the local club here shortly, and get her up in the air.

Thanks guys for all the help and support. This forum has been invaluable.

-JW

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Hey man, great looking plane... Although I'm a Cardinals fan!:D

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

very nice, love the look of it, might be a little hard to tell wether its inverted or regular thoug,

o yea, GO CARDS

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

That looks great. nice PT-40. Youll like it lots. Mine has so many flights on it now, and 4 planes later I still fly it more than the others (instructing friends and family).

You did well with the covering. It is a tough covering scheme for a first time. Looks like you got all the straight lines straight, and the Logo on the fin must have taken a while.

Although you may find this difficult to fathom right now, though, this plane is not one you should molly-coddle. It is a tough, rugged plane, and it needs to be thrown around a bit (in the air), and you need to learn all about nose-overs, hard landings, and dead-sticks etc. with this plane, and not the next. Trainers are not meant to look pretty at the end of the season ;-)

Job well done.

gus

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Very nice effort there!

And yes! You are required to drive her around a bit... I leave the wing off just in case!

Keep us posted and lemme know if your ever coming to fly in San Diego!

James

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Very nice job JW.

Finish the next one in Boston colors. (GO SOX!) :D
Dennis-

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Yea beutiful job. That was a super covering job. But unfortunately I'm an Indians fan. Go Tribe:)!

Mark Shuman

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Thanks guys! I freehanded the tail logo out of monokote... yea that took a while to get right.

Ok, so I too am worried about the orientation issue... right now there are no distinguishing marks to tell top from bottom on the wings. I'm open for suggestions regarding this. What do you think would give the best visibility, and still keep with the theme?

Cards fans... man I had fun in 2002 during the NLCS... our season tix at then PacBell were right in front of the visiting team family area... it turns out one of the players on that year's team is a guy I went to high school and played ball with. I was drafted, he wasn't. He made it, I got hurt. We had fun yelling back and forth at each other... although I think he enjoyed his view from the dugout a bit more than I enjoyed mine from the upper deck ;)

To the Sox nation... celebrate and enjoy! Its been a loooong 86 years!!

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Very nice job! My first plane didn't come out anywhere near as nice as that. You should be proud to show up at the field with your bird. :)

What's next?

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Nice job. Of course the only reason you ever finish a plane is to make room for the next one. Better get building again. :D

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Don't worry about orientation. This plane does not have a massive roll rate, it tends to fly level, and the high-wing and fin make the orientation easy. You'll find it easy to get right. (it flies awkward inverted as well.... if you are inverted and can't tell with this plane then you have bigger problems .... like no gravity....

gus

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Supeer job! Looks great! On the props: pick up a few spares and make them Master Airscrew brand. They can withstand a few bumps on a grass field without breaking. Wooden props break very easily and therefore aren't used much on trainers. On the taxi try out: get an instructor before you try anything else and have fun! :D

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

:D


Pretty good point with a trainer!

I did paint the bottom of my trainers wings yellow with psuedo invasion stripes.....made it much easier to see......

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Just put a few bold black "invasion" stripes (leading to trailing edge) on the underside of the wings (easy), or cut out a bunch of 2x2 squares and make a checkerboard (harder but cooler imo) on the outer 1/3 of the wings

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Alrighty... I'll consider the stripes and squares. I do understand that this probably shouldn't be much of a concern... but still...

Geez you guys are worse than me! I have yet to fly in real life, my completed kit is barely 3 days old and you've already got me thinking "whats next?"!! My wife is gonna kill you all...

Seriously though, I love to build. I really get into a project that, while not necessarily incredibly difficult, requires huge amounts of time. My job usually requires a lot in depth thought and focus (I'm VP of a software design firm, and I'm directly responsible for planning projects sometimes years long). I like nothing more than to come home, spend time with my wife and dog, and build. With that in mind, recommend something that might seem ridiculously tedious. I don't yet have the skills needed to just follow plans and/or fab parts on my own. The PT40 was wonderful; I learned, I got to not think (read followed the clear instructions), at when done, something that works emerged!

Any ideas?

RE: My first build... she's done!!
 

Jason,

You have the right idea about this hooby. I too like to look at a box of sticks and planks and watch it emerge into a flying machine. Yours came out looking very nice BTW.

Your enjoyment of this hobby will soar when you see your efforts actually take off for the first time. It's hard to put into words the excitment you'll feel when this happens. Let us know what words come to your mind after your maiden voyage.

Mine were "!%*^*(**&(*(%%$^%$*)&+_)((*(*&^#* GREAT!!!!" (That's why it's hard for me to put into words). :D