RCU Forums - Wow! Wattage Cessna 195....3 years in the making!

I just got back from a 13 minute maiden with my Wattage Cessna 195. Its been sitting in my office for at least 3 years partially built and I was tired of looking at it. I figured it was time to either get it in the air and actually add it to my stable or trash it after a meaningful attempt.

Well what a truly nice flying plane it turned out to be. I've heard all the horror stories associated with this discontinued model and some have suggested it was one of the hardest planes to fly and still bottoms the list on some difficulty scales Ive seen, but why? Its really nothing special, is it the high wing loading? heavy flying weight? airfoil? I don't know what it could be, but I am pleasantly surprised. To counteract those fears I've overpowered it, with an Eflite Park 480 Outrunner and an APC 11X7 prop that almost hits the ground when the plane is slightly nosed over.

On take off, it was up and away in what seemed like under 20ft!. I've read the motor mount is set to 0 degrees vertically so it didnt needed any elevator on take off. I think I might dial in some elevator compensation later rather than breaking off the mount and re-gluing it. While in the air, I tried loops, rolls, stalls which is not what I usually do when I maiden but this plane seemed so tamable from what I've read. With my setup I was able to cruise around at 1/4 stick and full throttle was blistering for this type of airframe so I just did a few short bursts, not wanting to test the wing just yet. Landing was fairly non eventful but it does come in hot. Just cut the throttle a few feet above the ground and it settled in nicely, but rolled forever. I pulled the wheel pants off to avoid a nose over that I read was common to this plane because of the rearward landing gear. All in all, this may have just become one of my favorites. I can't believe I waiting so long to fly it.

Here are the specs
Wing Span: 35 inches
Area: 240 square inches
Length: 27.75 inches
Weight: 28 ounces
Wing Loading:17 oz/sq.ft.
Functions: R/A/E/T

PS. Being used to foamies and composites, Ive never owned a built up wing on a powered aircraft, only gliders. It was interesting to hear the whistling noise as it flew by