I'm interested in the 20A07 zero 40, is there any kind of expected delivery due date?

Also I noticed that the CMP042 will accept retracks. Does nitro have retracks that fit this plane? If other brand what size or how would I know what to order. Is there any information from CMP to guide me on this

Thanks

I'm not sure if I have the "exact" same plane because there seem to be several of the same size out there. That being said, mine came with retracts but you might want to be sure of that. The retracts I had were sloppy with lots of play and broke off at the mounting flanges on the first landing. I replaced them with Hobbico (metal trunions and set screws to remove the slop) retracts and haven't had a problem since. I put an OS .46FX on it and it flies great. It needed a substantial amount of weight in the nose (can't remember how much) to balance properly and I had to put 3 washers behind the upper motor mount for down thrust (which also necessitated slightly longer engine mount bolts). Perhaps using a .61 engine would reduce the amount of ballast needed - the plane would probably be a super performer with a bigger engine. You should beef up the landing gear blocks in the wings with triangle stock and epoxy and use bolts with blind nuts or screws long enough to go all the way through the mounting rails.

Last weekend I maidened my CMP 54" Zero, I also had a OS 46FX onboard.

I also had a lot of weight up in the nose for ballast, I had to add about 7.5 OZ of lead to balance at 100mm per instructions.

When I took mine off it was way out of trim, one hell of a ride, until I got it trimmed out. After trimming it still flew pretty much like a dog, felt heavy in the air and underpowered.

My 46 FX is well used and very well was not producing full power.

On first landing the entire retract rails tore out of the wing, this one will sit on the shelf for awhile until I finish other projects, I will probably remove the covering on the bottom of the wing and reinforce 6 inchs on all side of the retract mounts.

What was the final weight of yours, mine weighed out at 6.5 LBS, seams kinda heavy for a 54" wingspan.

Hah!

My 40" Falcon .25 has an AUW of over 7.4lbs.

It flies BEAUTIFULLY in spite of the relatively heavy wing loading.

-

The FX is not only a light engine, but does not produce the power of say a .46 AX.

While more powerful than the FX, it doesn't surprise me that you found the plane a bit of a dog with that engine.

You may want to consider removing the lead, and instead move the battery pack forward, installing it in the cowl. Also moving the engine forward even .5" has a rather dramatic effect on the C.G. if the battery pack alone is not enough to adjust the plane.

The half pound drop in weight may transform the plane... I've had similiar things happen with other planes.

I'm still building on this thing. I did get hobbco retracts. I will be using a Magnum 52 4 stroke. Good ideas on the wing build up, moving the engine and battery placement. I think I will go back in and build more stronger gear mount. I'm not that good of a flyer and I'm sure the gear will get a beating. Thanks

any ideas what the paint colors on top and bottom might be. When you cut the plactic gear hole covers the paint just pops right off. If I had known that I would have not cut but only where I had to.

Re: Paint

No not offhand...

Whenever I've run into a similiar situation, I've resorted to not trying to match things exactly, but rather highlighting my ( ahem, ) "mistakes" by making them part of the plane's design.

e.g. if the paint chipped off, paint a larger regularly sized area ( e.g. square or circle ) in a complementary color, then duplicate that for the other wing... it makes the "mistake" look like part of the original plane...

Do apply Top Flight Clear Coat to preserve the paint job when you are done constructing the plane, but before you put any transparent pieces on.