Hey All,

I skimmed through the searches and whatnot and only found one thread regarding GP's Pete N Poke. I was just wondering if any body else is out there that is sanding there butt off to complete this kit??

A friend of mine is building one, he also said he has never had to do so much carving and sanding, and had some problems getting the struts right for the proper incidence. But he is persistent. I think the "parasol" planes are pretty neat looking.

Don't give up

BO

My father just started covering his, I thinnk he sanded a whole weekend away.

I bought a GP power plane and went through a set of blades [8D]. The ad says "mimimal carving"

Still a fun plane though and it does fly well.

Bob

Yeah, I believe they downplay the whole craftmanship side of this plane, but boy is she worth it. One of the purtiest planes out there IMO - and a fine flyer too

I've yet to build mine but I just had to have one
Keep up the good work and post some pics of the little lady when shes all ready to maiden

I.F.

I also have one just about ready to cover. The only construction I have left to do is to set up the struts.

I still haven't figured out yet out to apply finish to the area around the struts. I can't see an easy way to do it with iron on covering after the struts are installed without having a lot of "cut" marks. I'm leaning towards covering this section of the fuse with silkspan, fill and then paint, although I may take the easy route and cover the fuse with iron on before installing the struts .... I would be interested to hear how others are doing this and if they are happy/not happy with the approach they took.

OK, I'm thoroughly biased, and I'm also putting together a Pete 'N Poke. Carving, sanding....none of those have ever bothered me. There's something very satisfying about taking a piece of raw material and making an airplane or airplane part appear. You can reach a sort of Zen meditative state as you move the plane across the wood, making those nice, curly shavings.

Since I've been building balsa models for the past 50 years or so, it's the end result that I want. Carving, sanding...it's all part of the journey. Just like the view from the top of the mountain is the end result. The problem is that you have to climb the thing first....but the view makes it worthwhile.

Just take your time, and see each step as one more towards the end result.

bax

Regarding the covering around the struts. According to the manual, the model should be covered before installing the struts. That said, my plan is to apply stain to the struts and then apply poly urethane before gluing them into the fuse. Haven't done it yet, but that's my plan.

DaveB

Don't get me wrong I am really liking how this plane is turning out (finished up the wings last night on to the fuselage). I was just wondering if I got a kit that was boxed on a Friday at 4:30 in the afternoon. It probably dosen't help that I am so picky with getting everything right either. I will post some pics shortly, and thanks for the comments.

W.

Conntex,
I really enjoyed building my Pete 'n' Poke. I don't remember any inordinate amount of sanding or carving. I really liked the way the kit went together.
I covered my kit with Monokote before installing the struts. I just painted the exposed part of the struts with fuel-proof paint and then gave them a coat of clear Lusterkote. They look fine and have held up well. Make sure you get an incidence meter to set the wing incidence. It's easy to do by shimming the top of the struts.
Flying this plane is the best part. It looks great in the air and is easy to handle. It's one of those that everybody else will want to try once they see it go. Best of luck to you!

papermache

Hey, thanks for the encouragement. I am slowly working through this kit, an I think it will be a kick in the pants when its all done. You are not the only one that has suggested a incedence meter, so I think I am going to invest in one prior to mounting the wings to their struts. Thanks for the encouragement....I'm off to sand some more...

W.

just finished mine, I thought it was kinda a pain too, but its very pleasing to look at once its covered, you just dont see parasol planes that much. If this works here are some pics i took as i was covering.