cfircav8r

My Feedback: (1)

My all time favorite was an old Sr. Falcon with a K&B .61. I blunted the nose like a Stik and did it up in olive drab, ugly as sin, but was rock solid in the air and on the ground. I flew it in the desert from small dirt roads, at night with chem lights taped on and from the worst possible fields you can imagine. It had 3" wheels and I could strap a 2lb. brick sized camera box under the fuselage with only one click of trim needed to counter the drag. It would do anything you could ask as long as it didn't require a tight spin. It would take of with three clicks of throttle and would fly 45min. on a 10 oz. tank at just over 1/4 throttle. Full speed was achieved at half throttle and it would climb out of sight at full. I know what your thinking "its too big," but I brought it to the flying field in my old '68 Beetle.

tony0707

HI MY ULTRASPORT 60 SLIGHTLY MODIFIEDMY SUPER CAHOS VERY MODIFIEDMY TIGER TWO VERY MODIFIED ALL FLY ON RAILS

Teymour

My Feedback: (15)

I guess each pilots expectations of what a sport flyer is denotes what their personal preference is. To me a sport flyer should be a plane that can be toned down for an easy sunday flight or hopped up to put on a real show and test the pilots abilities. There are a few planes that are capable of this , but my favorite would have to be the Flying Machine that was designed by Don Muddiman. I don't think there is a plane mentioned here that can out perform it when you want to get crazy in the sky. Cut the throttle back and it will tame down to an easy flyer for a peaceful afternoon. The second preferred would have to be a Super Hots. A great afternoon flyer, but not quite as nimble.

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

I still like my Sticks however your post has intrigued me so I googled Don Muddiman and came up with this web site that sells his plan.
http://www.eagle-i.us/fm/
Thanks for the post.
John

karolh

I have been lucky to fly so many great flying sport models over the years that I can't really come up with a 'best', but will list those that have made a big impression on me and in no particular pecking order.

Goldberg Falcon
Birdi Super Kaos
Sig Kougar
GP Super Sportster
GP Big Stick
Goldberg Extra 300

Karol

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Those are good ones

mikekosatka

My Feedback: (7)

The Goldberg TIGER 60. The only thing that keeps it from being the perfect plane is it is a little pricier than some of the others. You get what you pay for. I also love a nice stick/stick... just without an oval vertical stablizer ...that just looks silly.

blw

My Feedback: (3)

The Sig Kavalier is a solid design too.

TimBle

is there really a Best sport plane?

I doubt there is one ultimate winner here.

The formula is good:

Constant chord wing
asymetrical airfoil
longish tail moment
a bit of dihedral for a low wing or flat for a high wing.


plnty fall into this category.

But if one plane has to be mentioned that nearly every RC pilot should own at least once in their time in the hobby is an Ugly Stik or at least a replica.

they fly wel, are versatile easy to fix modify and the ARF's are cheap.

Want to turn it into a fully fledged aerobat, make a symmetrical wing and add an airfoil tailplane and stab. It will knife edge till it runs out of fuel.

Its may not be the best but it's certainly the benchmark

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

I certainly agree with the Ugly Stick type planes.

I taught a guy to fly with a Ultra Stick 40 tail dragger. It took longer but then he seemed to be able to fly most anything. I let him fly my LT-40 tail dragger from starting it up and he seemed to not have any trouble with it being different from a Ultra Stick. He then flew my Slow Poke and seemed to handle it well also.

scubajohn

i have had a kaos and loved it and my friend let me fly his ugly stick much fun But my all time fave was the ace 4-60 with a super tiger 75 we play on our grass strip when the crowds wher light could get in ground effect and have a ball chaseing each other around the feild then roll on the power and up and away flew it to death ii have been wanting to find one is any one building kits now?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Laserworks has the Bingo which is more or less an updated 4-60 from Mathews - look under RCM

http://lazer-works.com/rcm.html

DustBen

My Feedback: (3)

What an interesting thread!
After building over 225 models and flying 500 or so, I would suggest that there're several "best sport model" ever.

All the folks picking the Kaos and Ultra-Sport are onto a great design that might have actually started with the Daddy Rabbit series. The designs are rock solidbut I can think of better designs that fly fast, but have a much larger performance envelope at slower speeds.

For my money, three designs have consistently stood out. All three can turn inside out, but allow themselves to be saved easily.

1) A well built and light Goldberg Ultimate Bipe 300 can do a lot. It'll groove like a pattern ship, roll better'n a Kaos, knifedge forever, but do slow snaps and soft entry spins predictably.

2) Several people listed the 4-Star series and Sportsters. Of the genre of low wing taildraggers that are simple to build, the best might be from a former Sig designer named Bruce Tharpe. His Venture 60 is the simplest to build, strongest, and most potent of all listed above.

3) The Morris Hobbies, Jerry's Big Boy can do more than enough inside a small size box. With a powerful but light piped motor, it'll make hacks lookbrilliant (isn't that what sport flying is, anyhow?).

But anyday I come across the following kits, I'm on them like white on rice:
1) A .60 sized Goldberg Tiger
2) The .60 and .90 size, original Ace Cloud Dancers
3) Sig Astro Hog. Like a good woman, she'll never let you down
4) XL+2
5) A good Uproar built lightly with a piped .32 on it will cause painful grinning!
6) The .60 size Hots
7) any scratch built project using Ringmaster C/L wing platform!

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

DustBen,
I should be a happy camper then as I have the Kaos. I just bought a BTE Venture 60, a CG Ultimate and the Ultra Sport 60 kits. I'll get a Tiger II just for the fun of it before they are discontinued. I've got plans for the Cloud Dancer 60 and its cut out. Now if I can ever get through my honey do list to get some flying done.

What is a XL+2? I'm familiar with a Bridi XLT?

John

davebart

My 2 cents ... if I may.

I have the Sig 4 Star 60 and 120. Either, off land or water are wonderful flying sport planes. I have been practicing my IMAC with the 60 while the Yak 54 is on the bench getting new landing gear.
Bruce Tharpe from BTE http://www.btemodels.com/venture.html is now doing a limited run on his Venture 60. Bruce designed the 4 Star 40 and 120 while at Sig. He is on his own and the Venture is his improved 4 Star 60. I will be getting one of the kits when I get back home at the end of the month and look forward to getting the Venture 60 in the air.

Eganwp

My Feedback: (1)

I'm tempted to buy one of the Venture 60 kits. They look really great!

As another input to the best sport plane, while not being new or a kit, the best flying sport plane other than my giant scale gassers is the new Great Planes 70" Revolver. After having both the Ultra Sport 60 & a Mini Ultra Stick (might not be fair comparison) and flying the Revolver, IMHO the Revolver is the better plane. Just be sure to step up in engine size over GP's recommendation and you'll have one truely amazing plane.

[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kATVaXwez88]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kATVaXwez88[/link]

jcvt

My Feedback: (2)

I am very happy with this modified 4 * 60, i am planning to do the same with 4 * 120.

TimBle

After spending my last 11 flights with my Escapade, I have to confess I like it more than I liked my Stik.
Stik is a wonderful benchmark but the Escapade just does many things so darn beautifully and it looks so Avant Garde

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

This reminds me of my Pulse XT 40 (w/55AX). I have a stick and it just sits mostly after flying the Pulse XT and the Pulse XT is much designed like the Escapade just slightly larger. I just don't think the stick compares.

I have really wrung the Pulse out every which way it could be done. Broke it up a few times now from extreme flying, but it has become my fav flyer. That may change but after about a 120 flights now she is the go-to flyer for all out fun flying.

There are times that I am thinking 'this thing is gonna fly apart in the air one of these times...I have got to start flying it easier' but I never do. I just keep throwing it to the wall. The only thing I won't do is dive it straight down at full throttle and put full up elevator on it. I believe she would just break apart! [X(]

I think I may even have to replace the UltraCote at some point because the covering just won't shrink back much anymore I just wished the Pulse was as low priced as the Escapade. Since the Escapade is such a deal I think I may have to get that instead if my Pulse gets thrashed again...cannot put much more epoxy on it.

pecapen

Hello
I'm looking for a roadrunner 90 plans somebody knows where I can get?
Thank You
Regards

Pedro
Brazil

davebart

I have a couple friends who may have a set. Let me check.

Leroy Gardner

I think when it comes to choices it becomes personal, there are a lot of really nice sport planes out there, I like the kit ones because a skilled builder can modify them and make them better. My choice is the Goldberg Tiger 60 from Tower, I'd like to think you can still get it. The tiger 60 is easy to turn into a, super sport plane, I mean a do anything while in the air, a total blast to fly.

I built mine to be that kind of plane and it didn't disappoint me. I saw something in the plane kit that said it was the right one for a complete bash, I like the sound of modify better. I don't like nitro, I wanted a gas engine for power and chose the DLE 20cc engine and in some ways built the plane around it. I removed all but a total of 1" dihedral ? in the wings, made them 2 piece mounted on a single aluminum tube, they were sheeted with 3/32" balsa planks. Ailerons size were increased and flaps were added, thought it might need them for landing with what 16" prop on it.

Tail group was redrawn larger for performance and it got tail dragger gear, plane is covered with ultracote.

I raised the forward upper deck and cockpit 1" to access electronics and what-not plus allow a larger fire wall for the engine and the custom fiberglass cowl, the canopy length was cut off 3" I built it here a few yr's ago, I can dig it up if any one would like to see the build.

Doog-meister

Stik, Goldberg Tiger (both 40 and 60), and the 4* are all great fun.

Hands down my favorite was a Cloud Dancer I scratch-built from RCM plans.

From the looks of things, I need to build the US from the plans I have in the basement . . . .

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

+1

carlgrover

Best sport plane ever: The astro hog.


Nothing flies like a hog.

Had a 15 year love affair with mine until some idiot flew it though a telephone pole and cut it into 3 easy pieces.


carl