Basic construction. Big enough for a 1.60 gasser.

The Ultra Sport 1000, if you can find the kit, is still my favorite.
Sugest for more fun, make rudder and ailerons, 50% larger.
I really enjoyed this plane with ST 3000.
Mine now has two ST 90's, but that is another story.

Big Chaos

http://www.bridiradiocontrol.com/acb..._ID=28&CATID=5

Big Dirty Birdy

http://www.bridiradiocontrol.com/acb..._ID=39&CATID=5

Killer Bee

http://www.bridiradiocontrol.com/acb..._ID=27&CATID=5

And a couple of others at the Bridi site. Good prices and high quality kits. Instructions are not that great, no photos.

Balsa Nova - See Avator to the left.

Hmmmm? Lets see, Big Chaos, clip wing to 72", add a turtle deck and "normal" canopy, could be pretty sweet. My humble little Chaos .40 taught me how to do turn-around. Very straight and forgiving design.

Balsa Nova? who, what, where?

If my LHS had a Ultra Sport 1000 on the shelf, I'd probably buy it. Still a little too big for a 1.60 gas, isn't it?

Happy flying

Balsa Nova - Morris Hobbies.com. Price is 150 bucks. Can be built as 72in or 80 in. Mine is powered with a ST2300. It's the best flying plane I have. It's kind of a cross between a pattern plane and a big fun fly. It does beautiful knife edge loops. It can be a little sluggish on snap maneuvers because of the high fuselage.
I sure wouldn't turn my back on a nicely dressed up big Chaos though. In my experience a Chaos in any size is a clean sweet flying airplane that'll keep a smile on your face. The only thing I didn't like about the Chaos is for many years they were like Mustangs, there were 5 of them at evry flying session.

Is the Balsa Nova a semi-profile model? The fuse looks very narrow with a slab side turtle deck. Sort of like the construction used on the "Hots". It's also very tall toward the vertical fin.

If it really flies like a cross between a fun-fly and a pattern plane, it would fit my needs perfectly. It's exactly the right size for an MVVS 1.60 gasser too.

Cool.

djlyon ,

Thought I'd sneak in a few more Balsa Nova questions:
Does it have a fiberglass cowling?
How does the wing mount?
How wide is the fuselage?
Is the canopy faked onto the side of the turtle deck?
What kind of hardware does it come with?
Is the landing gear robust?
What engine do you use?
How heavy is yours?
How many flights do you have on it?

ilikeplanes
I just spent about 45 minutes preparing good answers and comments for you. When I was about to hit the send button Bill"billionaires" Gates's programs froze and I lost every thing. I'll put something together again in a safer environment and send it in the next day or two. First I gotta sue Gates again for causing me extreme frustration.

Some quick answers
yes ordered extra
4 bolts
4.5 inches
Canopy/turtle deck are integral part of fus. structure.
Some good some bad
yes but LG installation is not
Super tigre 2300(1.4ci)
10lbs 10oz
about 150

Denis

Ah yes, the most unreliable machine man has ever built, the P.C. Why do we simply accept the way that industry works. If an auto manufacturer produced a product with equal quality and reliability, they would be out-of-business in a few days. As a design and project engineer, It completely baffles me how an entire industry has produced such poor reliability.

Anyway, I eagerly look forward to your comments. I am on the verge of ordering this plane.

I have both the small Balsa Nova and the large one. They are both great flying planes and my favorite planes to fly. Naturally the large one flies better than the small one. For a high performance plane it is very forgiving and lands better than anything I have. Dead sticks are easy because it maintains good control at almost any speed. This plane never does any thing ugly or surprising even with extreme abuse of the sticks.
There are no foam or plastic parts in the construction. It is built up and completely sheeted with 3/32 balsa. The fuselage is a continues structure from the tail to the spinner. The cowl is built up but then glued to the fuselage. I didn't like that because it's a nuisance for engine installation so I made the cowl a bolt on unit. I use a Super Tigre 2300 (1.4) and it's a tight fit. With the Moki 1.6 I think the fiber glass cowl available as an extra may be a must. The Moki motor mount could be a problem also. Unless it's small in the back it might cause you to have to drop the thrust line a little.
The canopy and turtle deck are an integral part of the structure of the fuselage. As a matter of fact a curved lamented beam runs from the front of the canopy to the to the tail across the top. They did this, I'm sure, because the plane is a mid wing and the part of fuselage under the wing is cut out from the fuselage and glued to the wing. I'm sure the beam is to get the lost strength back and provide a good load path.
The wing has no main spar through the center section. The too panels are built and butt glued together. I didn't like this but went with it because the amount of redesign necessary to change it. I did glass the top and bottom with 2 layers of 4 once cloth and have had no problems even with extreme maneuvers and about 150 flights.
The gear installation is too weak. When you look at the plans you'll see what I mean. I added a piece of 5/32 ply running from the first bulkhead to the firewall and both sides, on top of the built up fuselage bottom plate and gear mount. I didn't like that the first and second bulkheads (front of wing/ back of wing) were only 3/32 balsa so I doubled both of them with 3/32 ply.
The horizontal and vertical and the control surfaces are all built up except the ailerons. They are huge pieces of construction lumber. I was going to throw them away and build up the ailerons but instead I cut 13, 1 7/8 inch holes in each one with a hole saw.
The wing is mounted with 4 bolts. The kit came with 4 nylon 3 1/2 inch bolts. They weren't quite long enough for the front. Only about 3 threads of engagement so I used 4 inch stove bolts in front.
The hardware that came with the kit is so so. I used some and some I didn't. The kit doesn't come with pull- pull for the rudder but recommends it. It's a must.
I considered replacing all the 3/32 sheeting with 1/16 to get the weight down but didn't do it because of the risk of getting a wavy sheeting job. I made liberal use of sandpaper and came out at 10lbs. 10oz. with 2 ounces of lead in the tail. I've heard reports of this thing at 12 to 12.5 lbs. Maybe I just do a lot more sanding.
The ST2300 will pull this thing out of a hover and reach flight control speed going straight up, but not like a rocket. The Moki should make rocket launch out of it. The ground clearance provides plenty of room for big props.
If you get one I'm sure you'll love it

Thanks.
Sounds like quite a stack of lumber. Fully sheeted built-up? That stinks. Why not foam, I wonder. I like foam wings. They always come out straight and stiff.

The wing is close to 3 inchs thick at the root. If it were foam I think you would have 13 to 14lb plane. I much prefer built up wings. Plus the weight would be in the wing. Hard to stop a heavy wing from rotating instantly. Have to keep using rudder to stop snaps on a dime etc. etc.

After reading through these posts again I have no idea where I got the idea you planned on using a Moki. Maybe because I've been thinking of putting the RCS in mine which is really a Moki on gas.

I'm in a schizophrenic state right now. It turns out that my CG Sukhoi is a very nice airplane and I don't really need another big aerobat now. I really want to try a gasser like the RCS but I'm not sure if I'm ready to "tool up" for another fuel system. I also want to build a bi-plane this winter. I already have a Hog Bipe kit but I really want a CG Ultimate like I had 10 years ago. I have very fond memories of that plane. Problem is, my LHS(s) don't have them and are unsure of future availability. Oh yea, I still have a nagging feeling that if I had a proper 2+2 (maybe an all wood almost proper 2+2) I could really concentrate on advancing my flying skills.

I recently bought a Morris Hobbies Balsa Nova 120 kit. When I open the box, I closed it up and took it back to the lhs. The die cut parts were die crunch. It was the most messed up kit I have ever seen. They did not have any quality control when that one was packaged. The Balsa Nove 120 that I was flying had a little mishap. Don`t put to much power on the front. I was flying with a Mokie 210, pulling a 20X10 prop. I was going to make a high speed pass over the field when The aileron flutter tore the right aileron off, and the left aileron flutter stripped the gears on the servo. I lost it. Luckily the plane went away from the flight line and crashed where no one got hurt. Its good advise to reinforce the bottom, and the bulkheads, and to put at least 6" of glass on the center section. It is a great flying plane, and one day I will have another one.