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Just wait 'til you flt it, Mike.You just may totally give up scratchin'.
<P>Mike Hester wrote:
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<FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>What
the heck.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>I just built
one of these for a friend who needed a plane in a hurry. I had mixed feelings
on it, but keep in mind this is coming from a scratch builder who is very
picky.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>When I got it,
I was very impressed with the overall quality. I've seen a few ARFs in
my time, this is definitely on the upper end as ARFs go. The covering,
while a little plain, was excellent and smooth.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>Alignment
of the tail and wings was effortless. It didn't take mich tweaking to get
it right in a hurry, a big plus. I found both ailerons and the horizontal
stab a little warped, but not serious enough to abort. The stab warp was
in the tips, and little heat took care of that. Same thing for the
ailerons. In fairness, it had been sitting for a while so who knows if
it really came like that or not. Not a big deal either way.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
wing roots don't fit perfectly, but again it's not a major problem.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
engine box was very simple. However, special attention had to be made as
the cowl had already been drilled up by the previous owner. It looked right
on, but after taking a measurement, I found that with an FAI spinner and
NO gap between the cowl and spinner back plate, the plane would have been
79 1/4" long. No big deal, I cut the mount, moved it back and redrilled
the cowl. Problem solved.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
landing gear is another story. The stock gear is heavy, and the mounting
plate is inadequate. I replaced the standard gear with a bolly F3A large
swept gear and reinforced the gear plate. Looks good, it's strong, and
we'll see how it holds up. The supplied "axle" screws were a little too
short. Again, no big deal.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>Many
additional steps were taken to lighten the plane. A lot of grinding and
knee deep in balsa dust later, I'm sure it took a few ounces off. The wings
are a little on the heavy side, but not too bad.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
tail wheel assy was replaced with an MK version. I love those things, they
weigh nothing.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
elevator pushrod...I hate this thing. It's heavy and sloppy. But there's
a lot of these out there, and it flies ok, so I guess it's fine for what
it is. I would much prefer another setup personally, and it could be done.
But my instructions were "use what ya got", so I did. Bottom line is it
works, so I digress.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>I
am also not very fond of the bottom entry access. Basically, you have to
remove the pipe tunnel every time you want to get inside, which means removing
the pipe as well. I'm spoiled with a removable canopy/hatch, so this is
understandable. What I don't like is the seal at the firewall. The OS 1.40RX
and factory header tend to slop a little fuel around the engine compartment,
and there is/was a nasty gap where the tunnel "seals" against the firewall.
I solved this with some high temp silicone as a seal, I just ain't real
fond of it. (Yes the tunnel is mounted right, the shape of the tunnel was
a little pinched). It remains to be seen if this is an issue, so far it's
fine just not attractive.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>There's
plenty of room for equipment inside. I mounted the battery next to the
throttle servo in front of the tank for balance.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>There's
a few more minor details, but nothing worth mentioning.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>Now
for the bottom line. For the money, this is a great 2 meter pattern plane.
It flies great. Time will tell how well it holds up to flying 40-50 flights
a week. It has some issues, but all of them can be attributed to being
a $600-700 ARF. Price dictates certain things.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>The
finished plane came in at 10 lbs 9 ozs. That's a wee bit heavy as pattern
planes go, but the OS doesn't care, and neither would the Webra or DZ.
It's legal though, which is more than can be said for a lot of "professionally
built" planes out there. A hyde ARI mount was used, but there are much
cheaper alternatives.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>It's
a simple plane that flies great, and for the money, it's a great way to
go if you need a plane in a hurry that will fly with the best. With just
a little attention you can easily and cheaply get around all of it's minor
shortcomings. It's a good answer for the gaping hole in the market it fills.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>I
intend to fly it some myself this weekend, the owner just doesn't know
it yet <VBG>. He could make a POS look good, I want to feel it for myself
before I give a blanket stamp of approval. But from what I saw, it didn't
need much trim and the alignment worked very well.</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>I
think I like it, but I'm not trading in my scratch built planes just yet!!!</FONT></FONT> <FONT FACE="Arial"><FONT SIZE=-1>-Mike
Hester</FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE>
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