mgnostic

Someone, I think in Great Britain, has linked back to this thread. It is rewarding to think that someone finds it worthwhile. That prompts me to give a bit of a long term report on the plane. It has become one of my go to planes and it probably has 20+ flights on it this season. No dead sticks yet but I did pancake one landing when I tried to flare a little high instead of going around. So far the only real gripe I have is with the Brodak green dope. The yellow and gray have both held up well but the green is vulnerable to fuel spills. I am considering touching up the green and then giving it a coat of catalyzed automotive clear. I don't recall if I mentioned it but along the way I converted over to a 2.4 g radio.with a satellite receiver. I have flown it with both a 10-6 and a 10-7 prop but I would have to say the difference is minimal. The 10-6 might accelerate a little more quickly and the 10-7 seem a little quieter but not enough to chose one prop over the other. Being a .40 sized plan and a relatively compact platform it is more comfortable to fly closer in. The yellow underside really helps with orientation. I also added a red flash to both of the rudders to help with visibility. Landings with this plane are nice. You do have to bleed off speed before you turn into your final approach since it is a low drag air frame but it is very stable and flares nicely into the landing. I'm still on the fence about installing rudders. I don't miss them much but I think the airplane would knife edge if you had them. If you buried dual rudder servos in the wing I think you could also set them up as air brakes. The bottom line is that several months into flying this airplane I am still very enthusiastic about it.

malitape

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I can see why someone would use your site as reference. You did a great job with your bird.
Unfortunately was unable to repair and mod my bird last year.. My wife became very ill and just passed away in March. Little unorganized right now and still numb. Hope to work on this bird in the near future.
If you have additional pics of your fleet, post them. It should get me motivated to restore mine.

Keep 'em flying

mgnostic

I'm saddened to hear of your loss, the passing of a loved one is one of the most difficult things that we face in life.
Per your request:

Not sure if the pictures will show, the internet is cranky this morning.

malitape

My Feedback: (213)

Thanks Matt, beautiful paint schemes. I would think it takes a lot of time and effort to get to that perfection. Are you an artist?
THank you for your kind words. My daughter lives in Cypress, just west of Houston.

Keep 'em flying

mgnostic

I can't claim too much artistry. Most of my planes are 10 footers. The little Arsenal VG-33 represents a time when Lustercote came in a wider variety of colors. The red and yellow Staggerwing is just Ultracote and iron on trim cut by the local laser guy. I've been to Houston a time or two but I live about 6-7 hours hard drive north of there.