Hi All,

Would like your opinion on this please.

Has anyone built and flown the GP Old Timer 40? And can you please give a rating of the building aspects and the flight dynamics on this?


My Daughter's boyfriend is building one and would like to know any and all opinions.


Thanks,

RSprinkel, I asked this question about 2 months ago and never recieved a response from anyone who had built or flown the Old Timer. Once your daughters boyfriend gets his done could you post pics and his opinion about it? I got a Slow Poke instead of the Old Timer but I would still like to get it at some point and it would be great to get someones fead back on it.

spd37, Well since he is building it in my attic which is our workspace I will definitely get some pics for ya. From what he has said being his first plane/kit he thinks it is pretty simple to build. He has only got the wing assembly, and fin/fudder and stabilizer complete so far. But will keep you very much posted on the process.

RSprinkel,
The updates would be great! You said this is his first build is he also just learning to fly? I am just learning myself and would like to know from a beginers point of view how easy the Old Timer is to fly. What does he plan to power it with? I will be keeping an eye on this message for your future updates.
Thanks

Hey, can I get in on this?

I too like the looks of the Old Timer and am considering building one. But as you said, spd37, there doesn't seem to be anyone out there who has built one yet.

I think it would be neat to build one with ailerons, but since it would only be my third kit, I don't think I'd attempt that without first getting feed back from anyone who has at least built and flown the 3-channel model.

I'll keep watching for those updates...

fever

I'm not familliar with the kit, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that if it's by Great Planes, it will be an easy build.

I will combine the replies in just one post here so as not to take up alot of space, LOL.

spd37 - Yes this is his first kit and he has not learned to fly just yet. As soon as I get my trainer back in shape I am gonna let him have at it for awhile. I think he is gonna power it with the OS46 FX, but please do not quote me on this.

flyingfever - Yes you can get in this as well as anyone. I think it is a sharp looking plane and have read a good amount of GOOD stuff about this plane. Also our LHS had highly recommended this as a good starter/second plane. Myself, I feel he should have started with a Trainer, but he chose that one. I also think he is gonna do it with the ailerons as well, but don't quote me on this either. I will let you know what he is gonna do as far as the ailerons are concerned as soon as I find out myself.

Minnflyer - I cannot agree with you more. I am building a G/P Extra 300S and it is fairly simple. But I have talked to a few others and said that is kinda of tricky when doing the fuselage. But have not had any trouble so far, but we will see here shortly. I am about to start the fuse here soon as soon as I finish the final repairs on my trainer. I have heard nothing but GREAT compliments on the Great Planes products and would love to have ALL Great Planes aircraft, but there are a few other aircraft I want that I don't think G/P makes.

I will keep all posted on the process of this plane and will definitely let you know how it flies as I would want to fly it myself, hehehe.

Any update on the Old Timer?

spd37,

Sorry no new updates to date. He has taken a break as he has been working on his house the last couple of weeks and we have also been doing alot of work on our field to get it ready to open up a new club. But I will not forget to post any new changes. I have looked at the plans and it looks real simple and AWESOME plans/Instructs.

Will keep you posted.

I just received a GP Old Timer (birthday gift) - my first attempt to build. I didn't have any trouble with the tail/rudder and just started on the main wing. I'm excited to get this puppy built so I can "earn my wings". I too would be interested in seeing pictures of the complete product. I'll keep my eyes open to this forum and check in...

straight & level

Hi, all!

I sure like the appearance of this plane.... Love that sexy looking wing! But I've only seen GP website info and Tower Hobbies' ads in teh mags.

I've been looking at this plane for some months, now. What is your impression of the kit? Materials? And Instructions (This will be my second build)?

Are any of them flying, yet? Pics available?

Grateful for any input... before I place the Order! lol!

Dan ---> (Old Dog ~ New Tricks!)

Here are a few pictures of my Old Timer I built last winter and flew all Summer. It was my first airplane, and obviously then my first kit. To me it seemed a bit of a challenging kit, although I've seen others say it was an easy build. I received lots of help from guys in my flying club, and even ended up having to reorder wing parts because the build method seem to cause the wing to warp. I believe since then GP has updated the build method/parts to prevent this. I really like flying the plane, and was an excellent springboard for me to really dive into this hobby! As shown in the pictures, I even added floats.

Sparkee Boy -

BEAUTIFUL Plane! Nice Job!

Thanks for the great pics! I Hadn't thought about floats.... Are they built-up or foam? Source?
What was your opinion overall with the kit? And materials?

I'm hoping to do an electric conversion..... Did wood seem un-duly Hard or Heavy?

Thanks for taking time to post those Great Pics!

Dan

To all, I gave this kit to my father for Christmas '02, and he built it the rest of the winter and flew it all summer long. I wasn't really involved, but talked to him a lot about it, so here's my impression:

Building:
- He's built a bunch of kits (including 1.5 royal kits) so he's a pretty good builder, but it's my impression that by reading through the instructions, thinking things through before hand, and taking your time it's really straight forward and easy.
- He built it almost exactly as per the instructions. Only change that I'm aware of is that he enlarged the whole in the rudder to for the elevator travel.
- It's a decent sized plane so it's easy to get everything together and has plenty of room for anything you'd ever want in it - he added a cockpit this winter that really adds to the overall look.

Flying:
- Depenind on how you like to fly this plane is perfect. He flies at 1/4 - 1/3 throttle and it'll fly all day. It tracks very well in the sky, is very stable and turns very easily with no ailerons. Takeoffs are real short, and landings are very easy, with my only comment there that it will probably land slower than you think...

Equipment:
- His has an O.S. FS52 which is more than enough power, an FS40 would work very well.
- three standard servos are more than enough for this plane

overall definately a very well thought out and designed plane...

a couple of picture before the canopy and cockpit were on it...also without the wheel pants....only negative from my point of view is the wheel pants...he's since bought some fiberglass ones that are a lot easier and nicer to work with.

Great Post, Zepp!

Enjoyed the build/flight comments and the pics, too!

Mine is soon to be ordered.... (C'mon tax refund!)........ and I be around to ask the inevitable newbie-build questions.

Thanks, AND thanks in-advance!

Dan (<---- Old Dog - New Tricks)

Dan and Zepp,

Floats: They are gel coated fiberglass floats from ESprit Models ([link=http://www.espritmodels.com]www.espritmodels.com[/link]). I ordered the 36 inch sized ones. They look great and are easy to work with. If you get them, you will definitely want to check for leaks in the fiberglass seal (both mine and another guy's had leaks).

Building: Like I said, this was my first kit. To me, the kit directions were definitely straight forward and easy to follow. But I still had troubles, like I said. As far as I know, the materials were fine. I do agree about the wheel pants Zepp. I still have not finished them. If you have information on the ones your dad used Zepp, I would like to check them out. For the most part, I built per the plans. There were a few things I changed. First, I filled in the area of the former that the wing dowels fit into. This really cleaned up the look of that area without having to paint the canopy. (see picture below) Second, I added a hatch to the bottom of the fuselage. (see picture below) This allows me to add in things like cameras, parachute drop mechanisms, etc. All I do is make a new hatch with the function I want. I think I also opened up the hole in the rudder. Another thing I did was add some reinforcement to the cockpit area (triangle stock in the corners, etc). I added reinforcement to the stringers on the fuselage (the butt joint isn't quite good enough). I used a different tail wheel mount (Dubro I believe).

I wanted to add in a pilot. My first choice is Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. I've had a hard time finding an action figure in the stores.

Equipment: I used a O.S. .46FX engine. This engine definitely has enough power for the plane. You said you might go electric Dan, and I think you probably can, as the plane seems to be light for its size, as far as I know. I too am only using 3 servos.

Flying: I really enjoy flying this plane. Zepp, your assessment is right on. Some of the guys in my club thought it should land a little slower though (being a 3 channel plane). I thought it landed just fine.

Future Plans: I plan on building a second wing with ailerons. I'm going to hold off though, as a guy in our club is already doing that. I want to see how his version flies before I build mine.

Anyway, enough for now.

Sparkee:

I really like the look of yours, and I like the addition above the cockpit, ours was just all painted the same color to try and blend together

http://www.fiberglassspecialtiesinc.com/

That's where we got the wheel pants from....I will email and ask as to the specific ones, but we just matched the dimensions as best we could.

my comment about landing was just that it took us a few passes to get the speed right because the plane floats really well in ground effect, and doesn't really want to come down, but that's just my opinion because i usually like to fly much higher wingloading planes....

future plans are that I'm still working on this years ('03) christmas present for my father which are some scratch built floats for the Old timer....

I will post again when I find the wheel pants information.


Zepp

Sparkee and Zepp ~

Thanks for your comments and your build ideas/improvements....... Photos were a nice touch!
I like hearing, Zepp, that she's a Floater! Comments like that encourage E-Conversion!
Appreciate, too, the info on source for floats. Bet she'll look Great on the water/Leaving the water/In the Air!

Dan (<---- Can't Wait to get-started!)

Ok, so it wasn't a perfect match, but the wheel pants we went with at number 81

http://www.fiberglassspecialtiesinc.com/catalog.htm


Zepp

Zepp,
Thanks for the info. I think it would be pretty hard to match the wheel pants that come with the kit. They have a very different shape than any other I had found.
Sparkee Boy

Just wanted to post the address for a website I put together for my Old Timer. Lots of pictures and details on mods. Here is the link: [link=http://www.wperreault.net/RC/old_timer/]www.wperreault.net/RC/old_timer/[/link]

Sparkee Boy