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Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

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Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Old 02-18-2003, 06:11 PM
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Airshark
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Hey everyone....I was just wondering whats the worst flying plane you have ever flew, and actually got back on the ground in one piece?? I dont mean the worst kit....but the worst plane from bad building, unknown damage, underpowered, anything that made it fly like concrete glider!!! And you managed to get it back to the ground in more or less the same shape it went up in??

Mine was a small (24 inch wingspan) bottom wing plane that my brother in law built about 10 years ago. I cant even remember the name of the kit....I think it was a PT-19 or something...his first bottom wing plane attempt, he had never flew a low wing and asked me to take it up on the maiden flight, (I had flew about 5 flights on a low wing and did'nt want to try it but we were self taught and had no one else to turn to ...sooooo...) we knew nothing about checking the CG and it was BAD tail heavy...it had only three channels (no ailerons). We got it set up and ready and I gave her full throttle, she took off extreamly quick I remember, and climbed with her nose high at first. Then as I tried to turn into a circuit around the runway I noticed the nose wouldnt drop!! she started to stall and I had to apply full down to keep her in flight! She wallowed in near stall, wings stalling and dropping to both sides as I fought the controls to keep her alive. I tried to trim it out on the first circuit but it was no use!!! I fought it around the field for two more laps trying to get it back to the runway to land , missed the runway both times had to go around the third time at full throttle just to keep it in the air.... it looked like a fish trying to catch a bug on top of the water!! On the third lap I made it down to about five feet high and managed to put it into the high weeds at the edge of the runway with only minor damage!! I was sweating profusely, nerves shot, and felt like I had been fighting a swarm of bee's with a stick!! I finely figured out what was wrong with it about a year later and fixed it for him with a little lead weight to the nose....and it flew great after that....... anyone else had a nightmare flight they care to share???
Old 02-18-2003, 06:49 PM
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AJF 2
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Bud Nosen 40 size Citabria with a Saito 50-- I too knew nothing about checking CG--snapped on takeoff--saved it--snapped all through the maiden flight--landed it at what seemed 100 MPH. It sure did change when I added nose weight.
Old 02-18-2003, 08:08 PM
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Matt-RCU
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

ModelTech Cap 21 (snap 21) UUHHHGGGGG
Old 02-18-2003, 08:27 PM
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Razor-RCU
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Default No contest!

GlobalTequila Sunrise (25 size)

Flew like a brick and fell apart literally in the first few flights-
Old 02-18-2003, 08:33 PM
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Default THE SECOND WORST

ModelTech Cap 21 (snap 21) UUHHHGGGGG
Very close-- Great Planes Cap 21--spent a year doing this plane right-Surpass 70---made 6 take offs--5 landings. Never flew that bad--but never that good either-it snap like crazy and one day it just wouldn't stop. Broke my heart
Old 02-18-2003, 09:10 PM
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Fly4Fun2
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

I had a Marks Model Fun Scale Pitts back in the early or mid-80's. I am surprised I ever got it off the ground. Used a .25 - weighted a ton, and the wings were two pieces of slab balsa glued at an angle to give an airfoil - if you could call it that.

Another one was a .40 size Long EZ. When I bought it, I asked the guy how it flew. He answered "Very scale-like". Since I have flown a real one - I responded, "You mean grossly underpowered?" He said - Yep" - and wasn't lying. It did OK. Took about 300 feet of pavement to lift off and flew at full power all the time. Never went too fast, but looked cool. I was adjusting the needle valve and got the top of my middle finger between the first and second nuckle in the prop. Normal engines it would have just pushed my hand out of the way, but on a pusher, it grabs it and took a chuck out about 3/4" long by 1/4" wide. Sold the plane - - still have the scar. I am done with pushers!
Old 02-18-2003, 09:33 PM
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f4you
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Test flew a "friends" Slow-Poke. WAY tail heavy--I assumed he understood what "CG" was---wrong---
Took off, got into some real "fun" pitch oscillations almost immediately--"galloped" around the field once, lucked out and landed just exactly at the bottom of one of those gyrations.
Scared me more than it did him. That plane got some noseweight IMMEDIATELY, was great fun after that.
Sometimes, luck does go your way.
Old 02-18-2003, 09:48 PM
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pcm
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

I also had a Great Planes Cap 21 .60 sized. It was kind of a love hate relationship the Cap and I shared. It loved to snap and I hated it.

It could sit there on the flight line so innocent until I looked at it and then it would just flop over.
Old 02-18-2003, 10:13 PM
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splatt
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Default marks models

I had a pitts too, those wings were too funny. It would fall if inverted.

Someone gave his after he gave up on it and I had a 25 FSR in it. It would give the most beautiful ground loop taking off. Then after reassembling the fuse one day I noticed that I made a banana out it, so it had massive side thrust and right rudder built right in it. After that it became my favorite model. It would buck a 20 MPH wind no sweat and do snap rolls and spins like nobody's business.

Finally retired it after it weighed close to 4.25 lb. with 1.25 lbs. being oil. I would love to find another, anybody ?
Old 02-18-2003, 10:43 PM
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Default plain planes

Interesting... I've got a Marks Models SE5, ready to cover, and I hope it flies better than the Pitts seemed to. Putting a .40 LA on it.

Also had the Tequila Sunrise, you're right, it lands like a sick brick, but it flew great at high speed, until the battery failed at about 300 feet up. Wasn't anything left after that. Wonderful knife-edge that thing had.

I guess the worst plane I'd ever had (so far) was a EZ Models Christen Eagle that I got off Ebay. Had an TT .25 on it, and I never knew where that plane was going to next! It needed twice the power, and it was already heavy. It was about the most unstable thing I'd ever touched, and it wasn't tail heavy, either. It just did weird stuff. Would not turn right most of the time, unless you piled enough rudder into it to almost make it snap, would ground loop by just bringing the fuel can near it, and just plain wore me out!
I thought I was a pretty good pilot until that thing got a hold of me. It ended up being sold for a 1/4 what I paid for it to an old man who said he was going to hang it in his grandson's room. It still looked great, so that was the best thing for it. I wanted to take a hammer to it...

phil in austin
Old 02-18-2003, 10:50 PM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

I had the Great Planes 60 size Ugly Stick, the first generation. It took off and I fought like hell to keep it from crashing. Finally with alot of luck I got it back on the ground. I asked my mentor to fly it and see what he thought the problem was. It took off and snapped right into the ground, total loss. Then I found out there was a recall on that plane but I got my money back.
Old 02-18-2003, 11:47 PM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Global Raven 60

weak landing gear
heavy
always on the verge of snapping into the ground

Looked good but sold it before I plowed it into the ground
Old 02-18-2003, 11:57 PM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Great Planes Trainer 40. Flew like a brick coated in lead.
Old 02-19-2003, 12:31 AM
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John Wells
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Flitecraft (long since out of business) ARF Cherokee airplane. Flew like a rock. Ick!
Old 02-19-2003, 01:02 AM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

I've never been a glider enthusiast, but I gave it a try in the late 1970's. The "Bird of Time" had just been introduced in a magazine article and I ordered the plans and built it. I balanced it exactly where the plans said to balance. When I flew it the first time, It went crazy as soon as it was released from the high start and I was barely able to get it back down without total destruction. (It even hit a car in the parking lot). Turned out that the balance point on the plans was too far back. I corrected that and it flew perfect and I caught my first thermal and it nearly went out of sight. At that point, the wings snapped in half and it spiraled back down and became a kit . I think the wings were probably damaged when it hit that car. Anyway, I have not flown a glider since. RS
Old 02-19-2003, 01:50 AM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

MY TRAINER BEFORE I GOT AN INSTRUCTOR the dang thing would go up then come down real fast!!!
Old 02-19-2003, 02:14 AM
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Nuker
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

TF Contender Gold Edition with a .46Fx up front. 11x6 prop barely let it take off, 11x7 a bit better but still flew like a dart through cement. Really needed a .61 though it is a .40 kit.

Wing incidence made it stop on a dime on landing; no rollout and wheel wires don't like that too much.
Old 02-19-2003, 02:33 AM
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Dago Red
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

a superstar I got from a friend, fought it trying to trim it out, the ailerons were to far off , the plane drifted alot. after giving up on triming, tried ot land it, was succsessful, yet killed the engine, took the wing off, messed with the servo, and the plane hardly needed to be trimed. fun plane now.
Old 02-19-2003, 03:05 AM
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Dave Barrow-RCU
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

A beautiful Top Flight F8F Bearcat that I bought already built, put a Supertigre 90 in it, cg according to plans. First flight, took off ok after a long run, after reaching a comfortable height, throttled back, fell like a rock. Pulled out just before it hit the ground, minimal fuse damage. Fixed it and added more nose weight. Second flight, took off, reached good height, again throttled back, fell like a rock again, wouldn't pull out. It hit so hard, the wreackage bounced two feet back into the air. After some post crash inspection, someone discovered the wing had been built with the semi-symmetrical ribs upside down. Since then, I build my own.
Old 02-19-2003, 03:11 AM
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Mike Bogh
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

Flightcraft Extra 300...flying brick...high speed snapper, too. It would finally slow down if you made your approach from a 1/2 mile out on final... mabey.

@nd OMIGOD plane is the TT Extra profile funfly...first flight snapped the horiz stab off in flight. Still landed it, but what a piece of whoohaaa!
Old 02-19-2003, 04:44 AM
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Default Worst Plane

Craft Air Mystique "I mean mistake that is!"
K&B .40 engine Dykes ring type.
Biggest POS ever made and I have flown many planes that fit
that bill.
Second worst plane I have flown is an ACE Seamaster 120
with a Supertiger 3000 engine. The 40 size flys great but
the 120 size is one big lead sled!!!


The Golden Rule!!
Don't buy it $$ until you fly it!
or at least see one fly!!!!
Old 02-19-2003, 04:57 AM
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Nitro Blast
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Default The Thunder Tiger Sport 40 L

Take a look at one huge piece of crap. This pig just misses the mark. Looks ok, was easy to build, has a foam core wing, and had a great hardware pack to go with it. What's the problem? I flies like a pig. With adequate elevator throw, it will tip-spin. It takes all day to do a loop, and wont knife-edge for 10 feet. Save your money, I wish I did! I would strongly recommend not buying this plane, because if you are skills are fairly new, you wont understand why it acts like it does, and you will be disappointed. I was able to improve flight performance with dialing in some aileron differential and some flaperon. Mixing the rudder only made it more like a pig. I don't think everyone has the time/patience/skill to make a bad design fly well. Thunder Tiger should have considered that. I even tried to make it better by adding a tuned pipe to the motor, but everything I did to make it better just bummed me out more. I finally gave it the flying burial it deserved by plowing it in.

G A R B A G E !
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Old 02-19-2003, 05:01 AM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

A museum scale Waco bipe, terribly overweight, and equally underpowered with a Veco .61 (sorry Clarence) built and owned by the owner of Topping Models ---(built desktop scale models for military desktops at the Pentagon (a fact). Not only that, but this was the day when the best equipment you could buy was an Orbit 10 channel with a Medco reed bank: Bonner Transmites, and a nicad pack, switch harness, and Brunner servo plugs were "extras" not installed, sold or assembled by the radio Mfgr. ( any of them).
.---if you couldn't solder you very simply crashed.

It required a freshly mowed field, at least a 5 knot wind and quartering the aircraft to the wind to prevent badly dropping a tip on takeoff torque due to the short scale span and scale airfoil of the bipe. After you worried it into the air and prayed yourself to enough altitude, it wasn't half bad.

Landing was a "get it right the first time because there was no go around" !

I was the "elected " pilot to get his thing up and down in one piece. We managed about 6 or seven flights over a two week period before I finally talked the owner-builder into retiring it to its rightful place as a display object. Fortunately with flight photos showing it in flight trim.

A handful by anyones definition. By the grace of God we didn't pit a scratch on it.
Old 02-19-2003, 05:07 AM
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Default Whats the worst flying plane you ever had your hands on??

I bought a built Andrews Minimaster a long time ago and it was a nightmare. It rocked back and forth in the air and was a snapper on landing. A friend told me to reflex the ailerons (raise them about four turns on the clevises). I did that and it was a whole new airplane. Had an OS .25 in the nose and was a beautiful flier. Sold it and the buyer decided to put a larger engine in it. Bye-bye Minimaster.
Old 02-19-2003, 09:50 AM
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Joe Nagy
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Default ...flying stone

Hi Everyone;

Greetings to all from the 'Valley of the Sun'.

My story of woe dates back to the early '70s, wherein I had built a Midwest kit, 'Das Little Stik', powered with a ST .23. Flew it several times, and had a hard time with it, CG was OK; had my Brother Steve fly it, [he is a much better pilot than me, always was...], and he said, 'Joe, get rid of this sucker, it's a flying stone'. And I did, kept the woderful little ST 23 though.

The kit quality was great, went together great, as do all Midwest kits, but it sure did not fly well. Best regards to all from nice and warm Phoenix,

Joe Nagy. email: [email protected]

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