For some sadistic reason, I want to build a 60 sized trainer from a kit (70" WS and up). Does anyone know of any good trainer kits that may be made by a lesser known manufacturer (other than Sig or GP). I want something different than the standard Kadet or PT-60 designs. I am an experienced flyer who wants to build this to train others.

Sr Telemaster

Goldberg Protege is a 60 size trainer. Also, if you want to build from plans contact Dave Scott at 1st US Flight School for a set of plans for the Slo & Low the trainer that he uses at his school. It uses a 60 2C and has a 96" wingspan. It's really easy to build and is a great trainer.

Goldberg Sr Falcon if you can find one. Lots of fun.

I'll go with the expert and say the Hobby Lobby Sr. Telemaster

Bruce Tharpe Flying King or Super Flying King?

AHHHHHHH. I forgot about the ol Flyin' King! I'll have to look into that! I also like the looks of the Telemaster 40. The Sr looks cool, but that has a 96" one piece wing. A little cumbersome maybe.

In case ya need it here's the link to Bruce Tharpes Flying King [link]http://www.btemodels.com/flyin_king.html[/link]
You guys caught my curiosity, so I had to look it up
Joe

How bout a Big Lazy Bee?

Senior Telemaster or Telemaster 40. Also, a great airplane is the Dynaflite Butterfly. Very slow, gentle and majestic. I love motor gliders.

Here's one a lots of folks may or may not like. It's called the Classic By Checker Board Air. They have been producing a couple of small electric models, but I believe the trainers are still available. I have a Classic Sport in storage. The kit is super. It's not that pretty, but if you like to build it's very good. Check it out at;
www.checkerboardair.com
[&:]

I wouldn't worry about looking into getting the BTE Flyin' King. They are out of stock with no currently planned date to come back in stock. (just checked out their website)

Not that pretty! [] I still think the Classic is the coolest looking trainer I've ever seen! It's not a .60, so maybe that disqualifies it, but it certainly meets the condition in the subject: Unique.

Another thing about the Classic: it is rugged. I flew it before I started flying Spads, and it's about the next best thing. I cannot tell you how many times it crashed without significant damage.

In my mind, the kit is still the gold standard for laser cutting. All the pieces fit perfectly, with just enough friction that they hold together by themselves.

Mike in DC ! I agree with you. It is very unique, and I think it's pretty as well. But some of my fellow club members think differently.
There was one at a swap meet last year in our area. Had a little time on it, but it was still in good shape. Hadn't been crashed. I walked up to the guy and asked how much he was asking for his Classic. His jaw about fell off. He told me I was the first person who had approached him that day who new what model it was. He sold it later that day and got what he was asking.
Bob Holman did all the laser cutting for the kits. And I'm surprised that more weren't sold. ARF's has gotten the best of them.
[&:]

Hi,

Are you looking to build a trainer with a .60 motor, or are you looking for a trainer that is a ".60 size" (72" wing)? If it is a 6-foot wing that you seek, then definitely take a look at the Big T from www.JKAerotech.com. This company sells foam/coroplast combat planes, which are incredibly durable (ask me how I know...see my name?). This is a trainer that is made of the same material, and is EXTREMELY light...manufacturer claims 4-4.5 pounds. Can you say light wing loading??

I modified the plane a bit by adding ailerons, as it was designed as a rudder/elevator only plane. I also fiberglassed the wing center section, and added yardstick spars into cutouts in the wings. With these additions, she still feels incredibly light. Best of all, JKAerotech recommends a .25 to power her, but I used an old OS 40FP, and she is very overpowered! I use this as my camera/spy plane too, as she can easily haul herself and the camera in to the sky with just a .40 bushing engine.

You can add as much dihedral as you want by sanding the root of each wing panel before joining them. On high rates (which I enjoy on all my birds), she will roll axially, loop insider herself, and fly inverted more easily than any trainer I have ever flown (I instruct).

I highly recommend her. Below are pics of mine....done up in a Super Decathlon scheme for enhanced visibility.

-Dan

unfortunately the kit is not made any mre... The Altech Tamecat was a NICE ARF or ARC.

Has the looks of an F-14 from profile. Very distinctive in the air.

Fortunately... its not hard to "bash" a GP PT040 or PT-60 (or several others) into a look-alike.

There is an effect of the super-wide fueslage to be aware of in the kit-bash... the shape of the fuselage inherantly pulls the rear of the airplane DOWN. to counter this, the main wing is at 0 deg, the horizontal stab is at +3 deg (thats right ... angled UP at the front) and teh engine is at a whopping 9 deg downthrust.

Works best with a flat bottom airfoil so you don't have to play with a contoured wing saddle. But if you want to do the work for the semi-symetrical wing... go for it.

The wide body is easy... the fuselage sides are cut down with a straight line from top of the original firewall to the tailpost. They stay parallel to each other all the way back. 1 inch wide (.40 size) or 1.5 inch wide (60 size) foam blocks are attached to the outside for shape. (The angle of the fake air inlets is cut prior to affixing the foam...) You can sheet the foam or just cover it. (heavier but sturdier if sheeted I recommend 1/16 light balsa sheeting)

I'm going to try to get my scanner to work and post the 3-views from the kit instructons. (I have my original Tamecat ARC fuselage right beside me NOW. My plane needs some wing repair from a mid-air. Probably easier to make a new wing)

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can't get the blasted scanner to scan. [:'(]

do a web search on TameCat and you can see some pictures of them. Turns out that the AMA has the plans for it available. Published the construction article in June 1990. Plan number 654 (E) (E is the price code... $22.50[X(])

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Fixed the scanner... was a corrupted driver (newer item's driver overwrote the scanner's Twain file)

where can i buy a lazy bee in the uk