i am thinking about getting this kit to be my first bipe. will i be ok with it? i have lots of aerobatic experiance along with 3D. i also have flown fast flying wings. along with a scratch built piper super cub.

so with that said. i have a saito 82 that i would like to use. would this engine do ok for scale aerobatics or should i go to a bigger say a 91 or 100? oh yea i will probobly use 30% heli fuel with it.

Let me put in my $.02 about Midwest kits. I just finished a Midwest Citabria. The kit was very complete, well packaged and had good quality woods. The parts fit together properly, for the most part, the plans and instruction manual were easy to follow and thorough and I had no trouble following them (except as noted below). I don’t have a lot of experience with other kits to be able to make a comparison so I can’t say if what I got was better then something else that’s out there. I would most likely buy another Midwest kit in the future.

I do have a few complaints … I ended up buying some 1/16 sheeting and a couple of “sticks�, I don’t remember what size, because I didn’t go through the plans carefully enough to ensure that I had everything that I needed. My fault entirely. But, had the manual been clear about what I needed it wouldn’t have happened. The manual called for a couple of pieces of 8� X 3� X 1/16� sheeting for the tail feathers yet the kit only contained 10� X 3� X 1/16� sheeting which the manual called out to by used on the wings. I thought I’d been shorted and went out and bought what I needed. It wasn’t until I completed the wings that I realized they had included extra pieces of 10� X 3� X 1/16� … I didn’t care much for the PVC wheel pants and cowling. Fortunately, I found a cowling in the surplus bin at my local hobby shop. I’ll probably replace the wheel pants later or perhaps remove them once I start flying the plane. Fiberglass specialties carries most fiberglass replacements for the kit supplied PVC pieces - http://www.fiberglassspecialtiesinc.com/catalog.pdf

That’s it. Generally speaking a very nice kit and an enjoyable process. I was amazed that the CG came out exactly as called out in the plans when I was done. I ended up having to place the receiver batteries at the CG to maintain it, no added weight whatsoever. Although I was a little less then half a pound heavier then the prototype, with a fiberglass cowl, scale tailwheel and a Magnum engine to a Saito in the prototype.

john

I just finished building the Midwest Stearman. The kit was great. The wood was the right grain for each application.the plans were simple and easy to follow.
They suggest 20 oz of lead in the nose,the fire wall, to balance but I found out that if you place the weight in the front end of the cowl you can get by with half the recommended amount. The extra weight didn't make any difference in it's flying ability.

I used an OS 90 four stroke and it flew very scale like. Be sure and build it with both upper and lower ailerons

My only complaint was they used one sheet of plans. Utilizing both sides. This makes it dificult to work on tail feathers and wings at the same time.

Flies like and angel. It will loop and roll but rather subdued.

do you think a saito 82 will be ok? to my understanding the 82 is almost as powerfull as the 91

Quite frankly-no. To get any performance out of this biplane you'll need at least a Saito 1.50. Preferably a 1.80.
Your best bet would be a YS 1.20-1.40. It needs a lot of weight and power up front, and the saitos are simply too light. I've seen it flown with a YS 1.20. It was marginal at best. The YS 1.40 would do the trick.

Of couse some people enjoy really slow, non-manuverable airplanes. Personally, I need at least enough power to pull a loop without fear that it will fall out of the sky-IMHO.

Rotccapt,

I built this kit some years ago with not too much experience, a very good kit, and flyes well, but must be careful with weight because due to short nose moment is easy to get a heavy tail plane. Also I covered it with solartex+paint, so the weight was too much. With a 91 fx needed a lot of lead on the nose to balance it, and I felt the plane was lazy.

Now I changed all Solartex for Oracover, reinforced Plywood of firewall and landing gear, and made some lightening on tail: changed wood pushrods for sullivan rods for elevator and Cable pull-pull for rudder.
Also installed a saito 150.
I hope this will make my Stearman perfect for flying, I still haven´t finished it so I can´t make any Flying report.

Spanishflyer

I am not one who subscribes to the idea that lighter is always better. On some applications-sure, but for the Stearman or Waco, there is a lot of wing area there. Don't worry about the weight. Just keep a bit of power on until you're ready to set it down and all will be well. You'll find a heavier aircraft will cut through the wind a lot better .

so what you are saying is that it is a very nice flying plane with the right power setup. now say i wanted to use an os 120 in the nose would it fly?

2 stroke or four stroke? The OS 1.20 AX would be VERY nice- power wise. You'll still have to add some lead to the nose, but I think that would be a very nice match. I'd do it.

As a matter of fact, I'm considering that very motor for my 1/6 scale Pica Waco.

i like 4 strokes so that is what i will use. gotta love the sound and that way i can spin a more relistic prop

OS 1.20 4 cycle will be sufficient, but I still don't think you'l be happy with that combo in the long run. It will be good until you get comfortable with the stearman, but you'll be sweating for more power at times. It will just barely be enough to pull it through a loop. The experience I had with the stearman had a YS 1.20 on it, and I still thought it was not enough.

Four strokes are not always equivalent to realistic sound. That is an expensive choice if that is what your going for. If you go with the bigger 2 strokes, you have a deeper, or more throaty sound ( with a pitts muffler), you'll be using less throttle because you won't need it, you'll be swinging the bigger -more scale-prop, it will cost you less money, and you'll have the reserve power you'll want, as opposed to the OS 1.20 4 stroke.

Don't get me wrong, OS 4 Cycles are wonderful engines, nice and strong. But it will simply be marginal for this stearman.

I have seen people have good experiences with the OS 1.60 twin.

i see i guess i like the 4c because i use them in my 3D planes and i have never had a problem with any of my saitos. now if i was made of money i would get one of the 4c radials and stick it on the nose but i dont have that kind on money just lying around.

I agree, Saito is a great engine.

Can anybody give me the dimesnsion on the cowl and some finiched weights? I have a Saito 170 radial that might work for one of these.

I have a Zenoah G-23 in mine and it did not require any additional weight-I guess because it weighs like a boat anchor already, I have been flying it for three years now and really enjoy it.

plane jim how well does the g23 fly the plane does it fly with authority or more scale like?

i cant seem to find the g23 all that i have found is the g20ei and the g26 which would be a better choice? i think the g26 a little extra power not much weight gain and a little cheaper

It flies in between actually-faster than scale but not a speed demon, it is built with four ailerons with four standard servos, it will slow down and fly scale but on high rates it has a fairly quick roll rate. The G-23 pulls it nicely and burns pennies compared to dollars-another question was asked about the G-23 and it was replaced by the G-26 which has just a bit more power. The plane lands nicely doing wheeled landings on the main but it is awkward for me to try to 3-point the landing but I am not as a great a pilot as some people. The only word of advise I can tell you is too make sure you use some nice ply on the wing strut mounting plates-I built mine first out of light ply and they broke when assembling on the 2nd flight and it was a pain in the as>. I went back with some aircraft grade 3/32nd and it works well.

thanks for the info. now next question regarding the g26 do gassers smell more than glow even if the tank is dry? i ask because i store my planes in my room. fuel would stay in the truck

I would say yes, similar to storing a weed eater in a confine area-you may smell gas

one more idea/question. would this plane be a good candidate for a ryobi 31 cc conversion?

since the plane comes out tail heavy i could use the nose weight

sure-would be a little hotter

well i think i may do that then will come out cheaper and would be fun

What does this plane weigh complete? I was planning on a Saito 90 radial! From what everyone is saying it will be woefully underpowered. Is that the case? Please let me know what you have experienced and especially your finished weight.

most people that i have talked to say to run a 100 up to a 150 on this bird. i am planning on doing a painted fabric covering so i imagine a final weight of around 12-13 pounds running a ryobi 31 gasser