How hard is it to build this model? Do you recommend adding in the flaps and retracts. What engine would you use?

How is it flying? Would it be a good plane after your first glow trainer? Post comments questions. Thank-You

Cessna take the following with a grain of salt. These opinions are only what I have read or heard. The Nobler that GP is selling is a nice kit. It is updated from the original. It flies well but kinda fast. Builds well and has quality contents in the kit. I would probably not use retracts. The plane is not designed for them. Being this is your second plane I would suggest not doing retracts. They tend to be a little delicate. You are going to give the gear a good workout as your second plane. Whatever the reccomended engines are I woud go with one at the top of the range. And I would also like to say that I am not sure that this would be a good second plane. A third or fourth certainly. I would suggest a 4* or a tiger xx. I hope this helps. Maybe someone with experience with the updated kit can chime in. I like the looks of this plane too.

Mark Shuman

Ya on tower hobbies it says you should know how to land a mid wing and fly one good but I wanted more advice. I mainly want it so I get experiance with TF kits so I could get one of there warbirds soon. Maybe I should just build it to see how it is then sell it.

I have made a decision just to build it and fly it in the near future. Do you know anywhere where I could get the manual to have a preview of what I am about to look forward to. The TF website does not have it up to download.

I've been flying a Nobler for a year now. I started it as a second plane after my trainer but it was actually the third plane that I actually flew. I ended up building a 4*40 (RIP) and flying it before the Nobler.

Both of these planes are in my gallery if you want to take a look.

The Nobler is really a great flying plane. But going from a trainer directly to the Nobler would be a big jump. I spent several weeks with my 4* before trying the Nobler and I'm glad that I did. The 4* is very acrobatic but slows down for easy landings. The Nobler comes in a bit hot and you have to keep the airspeed up during landings or it will stall. This took some getting used to.

Flying the Nobler is great fun- one of my favorites. It flys "on rails" like a lot of the bigger IMAC- style birds and does very smooth maneuvers. The IMAC guys in my club are very impressed by this. Unlike the 4* it is a very "pretty" flying plane. Not my first choice for 3-D though. The Nobler is fast if you open up the throttle. I just don't open it up unless the maneuver I am doing calls for it.

As for the build, it is a very nice kit with very good instructions but I would not say it is a simple plane to put together. The Nobler wing is quite involved and installing the servos in the fuse is very tight. I don't think it would make a good first kit, but it would be fine for anyone that already has a kit under their belt.

Skip the retracts. The landing gear location is quite far back making taxiing on grass difficult. I bent new wires that position the wheels forward a bit- this made a big difference.

Do build working flaps. I used a single servo to drive both. This plane responds very well to elevator-flap mixing and engaging the flaps does help slow the plane down during landings.

Increase the length of the rudder by about 1/2". The stock rudder is a bit small for knife-edge and stall-turns.

I have an OS 46FX in my plane and it is a good match. Don't use anything smaller or less reliable! Keep in mind that the motor is inverted, so an LA or other cheap motor will give problems. By the way I just bought one of the new 46AX motors and I am going to install it in my Nobler this week. More power!

Thanks

I still have a few questions. Would it be possible to add retracts in the future after it has been built. I do use a paved runway so that is no problem. I am planing on getting the new OS .46 ax because the fx is discont. I do not plan on doing much 3D. I would like it more to get used to TF kits for when I get a warbird. It says to get 45 oz torque min. Would it be ok to get the standard jr servos 537 40.3 oz on a 4.8 battery. I might get those and a 6v bat. How did you get only on servo for the flaps? This would be my third plane but second glow.

Few more things to add. What covering did you use, and would you recommend using a pitts style muffler?

Retracts would probably work fine off pavement. Just be careful of your landings and don't bend the wires up! Like I said earlier, it is easy to stall the Nobler if you let it get too slow on landing.

Everything is so tight on this plane that it would be tough to add retracts later. But you could probably build for retracts but then rig it for the wire gear just to get started. If you are installing retracts you will need to be careful to build the plane as light as you can, cause it wants to come out on the heavy side. It is built like a tank- no lack of lumber!

JR 537 servos are plenty for the Nobler- that's what I am using with a 4.8V 800mah battery. I use a small battery to keep weight down. If I were adding retracts I would also use a mini-servo for the throttle just to cut down on weight a little more.

The flap servo is located at the middle of the wing sort of like a trainer arrangement but it is connected to a joiner wire that connects the flaps together. The plans show how to do this. Again, using two servos for the flaps would just add complexity and weight.

The new AX motor is awsome! I tested my new one on my LT-40 trainer and the plane was unlimited! Much stronger than the FX that I had on it. It is definitely going to be the right motor for the Nobler.

I don't think there is room for a Pitts muffler in the cowl. The fuse is extremely narrow which makes everything very tight. By the way the tank that is recommended in the plans will not fit. But Hayes makes one that will go right in.

I used Ultracoat on my plane. Covering is pretty straightforward- the wing tips are the only tricky part.

Keep the questions coming and I'll keep on doing my best to provide answers!

Cessna26- I sent you a PM...

I got the PM and sent a reply. The more you talk about the plane the less I want to wait for it. Would a HS-50 Submicro be to small for a OS .46FX or AX. IT has 8oz torque. I am going to get a flight pack then buy two or three different type of servos that have a a little higher torque. What channel would you use for those higher torque servos? Ball bearing or not? I would like a the cheapest for the lightest preformance I can get.

You don't need much torque to drive the throttle and except for the retracts the 537's will take care of everything on the plane with no problem at all. I'd buy a 5 servo JR flight pack for the ailerons (2), flaps (1), rudder (1) and elevator (1) and then a micro for the throttle and a high-torque for the retracts.

I'm not a "special servo" expert so others would best advise you on the throttle and gear servos. But I always use ball-bearing servos for everything.

Remember- its not a quick build if you are going to do it right. I'd get one of the new 4*40 ARFs to thrash around while you are building and by the time you are finished you should be ready enough to fly the Nobler. And you can steal the motor and radio gear from the 4* if you like.

Ya I was planning on maybe getting an inbetween plane. I already have a microservo so I will test that I guess then see if I need a different one. The 4star is a .60 size though from what I saw. Would the .46 ax work? OR is it the kit one?

Until very recently the 4*40 was a kit only, but now you can get it as an ARF as well. The 46AX will make it fast and strong, which is what you want to prepare for the Nobler. After the trainer mine was a handful for the first few flights but I got used to it pretty quickly.

The 4*60 is a very nice aerobatic plane but more docile than the 4*60. (Yes I've flown both). And it would be underpowered with the 46 motor.

BTW the 4* kits are extremely easy to build and cover. They are both great throw-arounds and make excellent 2nd planes and/or first kits.

Be aware, that a 6v pack will give you more torque, but lasts only 2/3 as long for flight time between charges. One of the unfair consequences of life.

I use Hi-Tec HS-605 servos (77 oz) for my rudders where a beefier servo than a Futaba S3004 is called for. Of course, they were just discontinued.