Lins

Which would you get? And which engine? I'm thinking either Zenoah G38 or 45. 38 for the Patty, and 45 for the H9 since it recommends a 'lightweight' 50, but my hobby shop is out of DA50s for awhile, and the 45 is a lot cheaper. I'm leaning toward the Hangar 9 myself....I just bought a Hangar 9 Pulse and it was well built, but missing some hardware, and the H9 extra comes with the CF main and tail gear.

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

Neither. Look for something larger and lighter, if you want an honest opinion. If price is a concern, Wildhare offers a few better choices for around the same price. Look for something in the 1200-1400 squares with around a 14.5-15 pound finished weight. Or I would recommend the Great Planes Ultimate. It has 1440 squares and would come in at around 14.5 pounds with that engine. Mine is a real floater at that weight.
If you are dead set on one of the two, the H9 is the only option.

Lins

I already have a larger one on order...a Dietrich...looking for something smaller and cheaper until then.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Depends on what you want?

Patty is probably one of the first ARF's to come out capable of handling a small gasser and there have not been many changes to the model since it's introduction. It's fully sheeted and tough as nails when compared to some other lighter models, but even at her weight which usually comes in around 16 1/2 to 17 lbs. it still fly's better than it's wing loading might suggest. An excellent gas trainer if you ask me since that's what I used...

While I have no direct experience with the H9 Extra, certain reports suggest there is a problem with the rudder not holding up to gassers and while I have my own opinions of graphite gear, that has also been problematic with the H9 and IIRC, it's offered with either an aluminum gear now, or a replacement in aluminum is availble, can't remember which.

Of your engines mentioned, I think most folks would recommend something in the 50cc class for Patty while it's a bit big for the H9. I have seen one of those H9's with a ZDZ-40 RE and it was a spectacular performer even here at 4500' ASL.

While I also have a bigger model, I wanted something a bit smaller that fits in my Jeep like Patty did, to go play with as getting the Edge out requires hooking up the trailer. I looked at the various 50cc offerings and there's not much question that the AirWild 29% Extra is probably the lightest, but it is on the spendy side as well. Then there are others which guys on the GS Aerobatic & 3D forum like, but I decided on trying a Bunny as they've got an excellent reputation and since the release of the newer versions are all quite a bit lighter than they used to be. We'll see how heavy it winds up being, but for the money it's a pretty tough act to follow if you ask me; great workmanship, lightweight and really good CS with WildHare.

Do a bit of searching on the Aerobatic forum, you'll get lots of suggestions! [8D]

hosam

My Feedback: (121)

what bodywerks said... The Patty is heavy and with a 38 you are better off flying a cub b/c the PW will do nothing but just fly... had one with a BME 44 and it was gutless... the H9 has many issues that you will have to fix to fly a gasser... good luck...

Lins

Zeeb, what engine did you have in your Patty, and what altitude do you fly at? I'm at 700'.

scaleMan

My Feedback: (92)

I flew a GP PW with a G38 and smoke... AUW was about 18lbs. It flew good for scale aerobatics, nothing to write home about and because of the weight, it came in pretty hot for landing... im flying at 4000ft or so. She is a tough bird and flys pretty good but these days there are much better options... for 50cc don't get anything with much less than 1400sq/inches of wing area....

Bob_S

What about a http://www.wildharerc.com/products/engines/index.html for an engine and a slightly larger plane like bodywerks suggested. Lighter and more powerful than the G45 and the same $$$.

I wouldn't put either of these engines in either of those planes as they are just too small for that big of an engine and are sensitive to being too heavy.

Maybe this plane instead. http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=HAN2900

raptorflyr

My Feedback: (20)

I've got some experience with both planes and echo some of the comments. I think with either you'd want to avoid the Zenoah's. They are simply too heavy compared to the purpose built DA's and such.

I've flown an Patty extra setup with a DA-50. It was gone thru and lightened quite a bit. The owner spent a ton of money on carbon upgrades. It sure was a nice looking plane, but I think it is built with more old-school methods and is heavier as mentioned above. It always seemed to come in hot.

I've set up two Extra 260's from H9, both with the evolution 45. They are a great flying plane for the money. With the EVO45, the planes have unbelievable vertical performance. If I were to compare, they feel like a might lighter-flying airplane. The approaches and landings were not nearly as fast and I would almost describe it as floaty.

Between the two, I would most definitely give the nod to the H9. Again, I'd avoid the heavier zenoah's and go with a lighter electronic ignition engine. Those evo 45's out pull the DA-50's that we have. If you are on a budget, you might consider the DL-50 which is still light, but much closer to the zenoah's in price.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

We're at 4500' ASL here...[]

My Patty had a ZDZ-50NG on it with a Slimline Pitts type muffler. She was on the heavy side at 17lbs, but with that little ZDZ spinning a 22x8 Mejzlik at 7200 RPM it performed pretty well. Of course it did much better in the Spring/Fall when the ambient air temps were lower than our normal summertime stuff of 90's and the occasional 100 degree days.

Like I said earlier, you need to figure out what you want. You're getting into the area where folks are going to suggest their favorite model/engine for whatever reason.

Patty won't perform like other lighter models, but she's a lot harder to hurt as well and it does fly really nice with no noticeable bad habits, just the roll coupling you find with any of the Extras. Some folks swear by Caps and they ruled the roost for quite some time, but they've also got some of the nastiest coupling you'll run across in a model. That's why you see a lot of Yaks running around and most of the Extra/Edge type models going midwing these days, to more closely line up the thrust line, wing and horizontal stab to get rid of the coupling.

Since you're at only 700' ASL, you'll have a lot more choices than what we do up here, but finding any 50cc class model with 1400" or so of wing area is an ideal, but there has to be some concession to weight in order to get it that large and still light enough for 50cc power. That means it's easier to break with a say, less than desirable landing?

As for engines, the purpose built stuff is really the better choice IMHO since they are lighter. The Evolution 45, the DA-50 and the ZDZ-50 are all within a few ounces of each other, then there are those who love their Taurus, Birelli, lightened Zenoah and so on. That's really kind of a Ford/Chevy/Dodge type discussion.

Spend some time doing your research and decide what you want as you'll not find a concensous of opinion here on the best setup, particularly in this size range...

blueline

My Feedback: (6)

Do any of the models from here fit your needs? My knowledge of big birds is almost nil but I thought this might be of some help to you. Also, I've have no first hand knowledge of their quality or customer service. You never know, good luck.
[link]http://www.peakmodel.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1&zenid=0545fee7490cb7b2f4b9b03a8e55cc27[/link]