Interested in tow-release gliders
My son (11) and I have been doing RC planes for a while (me 7 years, son 2 years). My son flys mostly small park flyer electrics and does very well with them, I am a builder and flyer of nitro planes. Well my boy has become interested in gliders and wants me to tow one up and release it for him to fly. I am new to this as is he, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I need to learn and what the pitfalls are. Would my Sig 4 Star 60 (with OS .91 FS) be able to tow a glider, and what kind of glider would be best for two newbes to use. Thanks for your help! manks & Son
Posted on: 12/6/2011 2:31 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "RC Gliders, Sailplanes and Slope Soaring"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10846595

RE: Looking for plans
[quote]ORIGINAL: Chuck11 Hey MinnFlyer I am a complete noob this will be my first rc plane and i will fly a pitts biplane I will also repair it each time it'll break Thanks for the tip [/quote] There is a really good chance you will not be able to repair it after the first flight. You have to learn to crawl and walk before you can run, there is a process to learning how to fly these things, it is not hard to do but you need to follow the right steps to do it. Walking into a Pitts would not be your best approach. Take this from a guy who had a Corsair haning up for 5 years before I dared to try to fly it. Listen to the advise you will get here it is generally pretty good.
Posted on: 9/7/2010 10:08 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9987338

RE: First Maiden Flight
[quote]ORIGINAL: MinnFlyer I'll ditto Gene's comment - ''No Flapperons!'' It'll just get you into trouble. That said, the ''tip stall'' you experienced on takeoff was not a tip stall, but a torque roll. Taking off with no enough speed will cause the prop's torque to roll the plane in the opposit direction. It is RARE that you can recover from this, so count your blessings. In the future, get more ground speed before liftoff. Congrats! [/quote] Well I may not be sure what to call it other than one hell of a recovery! At the end of the day I was able to put the plane back in my car with nothing to work on before taking it out again, that is always a good sign - can't say the same thing for my belovid 4 Star .60 which needs some minor work - covering on the right wing was coming off in flight. Still a few flights and only about 15 min work to get everything back to 100%, I will take that any time!
Posted on: 9/7/2010 8:10 AM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9985598

RE: First Maiden Flight
[quote]ORIGINAL: Gray Beard That's a big NO on the flaperons, if it tip stalls on you now it's telling you something and theFlaperons will make your problem worse when you try to land. By being at slow speed and gassing it too fast will cause the plane to want to roll left, happens all the time. You roll on the throttle to avoid this. Any of the warbirds I have flown require a bit more air speed when landing and you fly them in close to the ground then cut power and they will settle down and land all by themselves. Do a search with the key word Flaperon and see what everyone has to say about them. It's been a topic all the last week or two and it comes up about every month. They have there place but it isn't on a warbird. Good that you were able to maiden your own plane. I used my advanced instructor for a long tim until he had a stroke. Then I figured I was as good on the sticks as any of the other pilots so I may as well do my own. It's worked out pretty well for me over the years. [/quote] Thanks for the advice, I am not sure I like the idea of flaperons either, I think it will make the controls a bit more sloppy at the slow speeds, best advice may be to use the power the plane has and fly a bit faster, I will have to make some adjustments on my approach as our field is not all that long and has bush and trees at both ends, trying to land short is always a challenge. It was great to do my first maiden, I figured I built it, it looks ok, every plane I have ever built flies great and I am a decent pilot, so just go for it. The fact that I got into real trouble twice and made really good recoveries tells me I am ok to test planes out.
Posted on: 9/6/2010 10:24 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9985009

RE: First Maiden Flight
[quote]ORIGINAL: noveldoc Would it help to convert to flaperons? Tom [/quote] I could try to do that, I have 2 aileron servos attached to a Y connector, I could lose the Y connector and do the flaperons, but not sure yet. I was a fun little plane to fly for sure. I am building the new one with full three part flaps and 100 degree retracts, it will be a far more scale plane - likely taking me another 5 years before I dare to fly that one!
Posted on: 9/6/2010 4:54 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9984337

First Maiden Flight
So I am not a real beginner, I have been flying for 3 seasons and part of a forth, but until today I have never dared to maiden one of my planes. That changed today. About 5 years ago I got into the building side of the hobby, the second plane I built was a Great Planes .40 Corsair, my all time favorite fighter. For five years it has been hanging up in my house. I started on a PT 40, mastered that, then moved to a 4 Star .60 with OS .91 FS in the front. I was always told that a Corsair is a third airplane at the earlest, so after feeling very good with a low wing tail dragger it was time to get the Corsair in the air. I started couple of failed attempts with the Cosair, found some basic problems with construction the first trip to the field and had to pack it in, the second time I could not get the engine to keep running for more than a minute or so. I changed the motor, changed the fuel set up and all fuel lines and had it ready to go for today. It is a bit damp up in Toronto today, but zero wind and moderate temps, as good a day as you can get to maiden a plane. A bit of light rain held me up but once it cleared it was time to go. Engine (OS 46 FX) jumped to life right away, tuning was easy, did a complete check of the plane and took it to the runway. There was no wind so I had my choice of take off direction, I started down bringing the power up slowly, the tail lifted off, then after a few more feet I touched the elevator and she jumped into the air. Did not need much trim, but got it set up doing a few circuits and some approaches, the plane flys well, it needs some rudder turning to keep the nose on the right line - that will take some time to get used to. First landing approach is solid, no problems getting the plane on the ground and up in the air again. My second approach was not as good, the plane went long on the approach, I needed to power up fast and go around, when I hit the power the plane veered to the left, and was headed in the direction of spectators, not in the best of my control, I made the decision to ditch the plane in a split second and took the power right off, hoping that I would be able to crash softly in the light brush at the end of the runway, the plane veered on me again doing what the spectators called a knife edge about 6 inches from the ground - not a move a Corsair is known for. Then somehow it got into the right orientation and I was able to apply power and pull out of a disaster, did a circuit and landed with no issues. Thinking about what happened I think I may have done a tip stall just before I put the power up to do my go around, and I was very lucky. Second flight: Take off was a bit premature, the plane tip stalled, I over corrected and barely kept it flying. I ran a few circuits as the wind started to pick up, did a solid approach and landed, the plane nosed over on the landing, but no dammage at all. Overall it was fun to do my first maiden! Analysis of the plane: 1 - I am ready to fly it, but it will take some time to get more comfortable with it. 2 - much faster turning plane than I have every flown and much more twitchy 3- need to learn how to use coordinated rudder when turning 4 - Plane has a tendency to tip stall, need to take off and land with more speed 5 - I wish I had built the wing with flaps 6 - Great intro into warbirds! 7 - Looking forward to my next project a Top-Flite Gold Edition Corsair .60 - I will build that one with flaps! 8 - Don't be afraid to fly a new plane. 9 - Every plane I have built has flown well, I don't know why I worry so much that they won't!
Posted on: 9/6/2010 3:45 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9984208

RE: Why do most blame everything but themselves
Personally I chalk any crash up to one of two things: Pilot Error and Builder error. Since I am the only one who built my planes and am the one flying, fault is pretty easy to assign.
Posted on: 9/6/2010 3:11 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Crash & Rebuild"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9984148

RE: prop for a 46AX
I swing an 11 X 6 on my .46 FX, love that combo. Good luck.
Posted on: 6/10/2009 10:22 AM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8840916

RE: Starting engines in cold weather
[quote]ORIGINAL: TROUBLED 61sf I dont seem to have any of these problems? Ive been flying all winter with out lighter fluid. But proper engine tuning seem to be a must! I started MY WEBRA 120 when it was -5 . I dont use a electric starter i think they could be rough on flood engine. I have seen a con rod bend and it was cool when it happen. use a good plug/ hot ignitor. best of luck when in dout give little up and hammer the gas and turn left [/quote] my planes have sat all winter so far, really since October, I am not sure they are well tuned right now, I have reset to factory settings and will try to get them going again. I will check my glow plugs and starters as well. These are all OS engines that have never been a problem for me, I am sure they will be fine in short order. Thanks for all the help
Posted on: 2/24/2009 9:06 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8514871

RE: OS FS .91 Surpass
thanks I looked on line for the manual and did not see it. The answer is 3 - 3.5. Maybe that is why it would not start, I had it at one turn. manks
Posted on: 2/24/2009 3:58 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8513646

Starting engines in cold weather
I had some time today and took a couple of planes out to the garage to get them started and run a bit of fuel through them. One is an OS FS .91 Surpass that I have about 10 flights on. The other engines are OS .40 LAs that i just bought from a guy. I was not able to get any of the three engines started today. I tried different glow starters, flip starting, hand starting and using a electrical starting, nothing on any of the three. It is cold here today, maybe 25 degrees, they planes were in the garage over night, the fuel was also cold. My question is this, is the cold my problem or do I have do look for other things? Please let me know your thoughts, I have a bunch of OS engines, none have ever given me a problem, I am assuming the cold is the issue, but would like all of your thoughts. Thanks! manks
Posted on: 2/24/2009 3:46 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8513617

OS FS .91 Surpass
Does anyone know what the factory tuning setting would be for this engine? One turn, two, 2.5? Thanks! Manks
Posted on: 2/24/2009 3:42 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8513607

RE: Great Planes is GREAT read this
very good example of good customer service - nice work GP! Just an fyi, you can get Aileron stock from the LHS for a couple of bucks, if that is easier for you, or you want to move forward with the build. Ailerons are one of the last things I do on a build. I had 2 of the same planes (still have one, the other is a sad story!) you will love it, I hope you did not build the A wing, the B wing is more than enough. Good luck! manks
Posted on: 2/24/2009 3:39 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8513593

RE: P-38 Info needed
I don't know much about the P-38 other than the full scale version was a great plane, but very difficult to fly. I strongly suspect that this plane will be a handfull, especially with an engine out. I am just getting into twins, but am pretty sure that if you are not already into multi engine planes, the P-38 would not be a great first one. Good luck, hope it all goes well for you, would love to see some pics! Manks
Posted on: 2/8/2009 9:05 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8454527

RE: cuting the dihedral
[quote]ORIGINAL: wzak29 I need to cut thr dihedral of my PT-40 MKII I need to cut the LE, TE, Center spar there are two ways to do this I can lay the wing flat and tilt the saw or I can stand the wing on the LE and TE and cock the saw to the left and right to make the cut what would be best hardest part of my build. [/quote] I did this a while ago with a PT-40. I cut mine with a jig saw, table saw would be better. Once it was cut I sanded it and made 4 centre braces - LE, TE and two around the spar. I used good solid ply for this, the best I could find. I fitted the braces and made it as tight as possible, using 30 min epoxy - lots of epoxy! Once dried I filled in any gaps with balsa stock, again lots of epoxy. I sanded everything down, and filled in any remaining gaps with expoy and micro balloons, then sanded again. Once that dried I put on a nice wide and think fiberglass cloth with epoxy. The plane flew very will with the new wing. I put a OS .61 on it and it was a real missle. Sadly I made some other alterations after I did the wing, extending the elevator and rudder, I lost a control surface in flight and the plane went in, I never found it, but I am pretty sure the wing held together in the middle! Good luck!
Posted on: 2/6/2009 5:23 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8446205

RE: Nexstar 46 maiden today, Whew close call!!!
[quote]ORIGINAL: 6inarow Took the nexstar up today, flew 4 tanks through it, all great fun and without incident, charged batts for a couple hours and filled up, did range check and control surface checks, Taxi out and take off! flew for great for a bit and then....................... no elevator control, Oh crap no elevator! flew around and kept trying elevator, all the while featering the throttle to try and keep it level, finally decided that something must have broke on the plane and set up for landing, everytime i would try to slow down to come in the nose would drop hard, power up and climb nearly vertical, came around again and dropped altitude much sooner, finally landed at nearly 1/2 throttle cut the motor as soon as the wheels hit the ground, it bounced up a couple feet and then came down pretty nose hard, I figure I tore the whole front off, got to it and just broke the prop..................thats it! CAUSE.......nylon clevis broke at elevator horn.............. .50 cent part nearly cost me an airframe. No more flying till I get a better clevis, should I replace the horns too? Great day of flying, just a little more stress than this newbee wanted! [/quote] Why did'nt you just throw it into a knife edge and bring it around that way, and right before touchdown flip it on to the main gear. I have seen it done a dozen times on the internet.
Posted on: 1/22/2009 7:43 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8389410

RE: Nexstar 46 maiden today, Whew close call!!!
I had a similar problem last year, all 4 hinges on my PT-40's elevator came loose - construction error I imagine (since I was the builder, as always it comes down to pilot error). I had a tiny bit of elevator input as it was still attached by the throw rod, but it was hairy! I first thought it was a trim problem, that did nothing, then tried to control with throttle and whatever elevator input I had, got it down in one piece, very lucky! It is rare for new pilots to be able to save a plane in that kind of position. Lessons - check all your control surfaces before taking her up!
Posted on: 1/22/2009 8:44 AM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8387231

RE: Bomb bay on my tower Hobbies Trainer
Aside from the issue of hitting someone with a real golf ball, I think the little plastic ones would be better, just because of the weight, real golf balls are pretty heavy and dropping them would make a significant change in the c/g of the plane.
Posted on: 1/18/2009 2:08 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8372438

RE: Beginner. Some doubts... Need some help!
You are a long way from flying that Extra. The Extra is a big gasser, I would guess the rig would cost well over $2000 US to get in the air. You will need very high quality High Torque servos in a plane like that and I would suggest that you progress from classic trainer to a 4 Star (.60 or 1.20 size as you want to get to bigger aircraft), then move to something like a smaller Extra before you move to the 50 cc gasser. That is a lot of plane! I have been flying for two years and moved to a 4 Star 60 at the end of last season, moving to a smaller war bird along with the 4 Star in the spring, then on to a twin. The Extra is easily a third or forth plane. good luck!
Posted on: 1/6/2009 4:45 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8326429

RE: Where are all the great New Years sales?
I put an OS .91 FS Surpass in mine, it is perfect for the plane. You will love the 4* 60!
Posted on: 1/6/2009 4:38 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8326396

RE: PT-40 Maiden (barely!)
The A wing is really designed for flying with three channels (no ailerons). I had a PT 40 built the A wing, found it too difficult in wind, so I rebuilt with less dihedral and the plane flys great.
Posted on: 1/5/2009 3:17 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8321933

RE: Out of Alignment !!!
I think you are driving yourself crazy. The fuse looks fine to me. Mount the wings and move on.
Posted on: 1/4/2009 7:49 AM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8316463

RE: squeaky wheel?
[quote]ORIGINAL: skeeter_ca The front wheel on my GP Trainer 40 has started to squeak like a banshi when taking off or landing. I probably have 100 flights on it and it just now started to squeak. I was wondering if just taking off the wheel and cleaning it and sanding the axle would be enough. What is the best way to make it stop? Should i use some WD-40 or grease when reassembling it? skeeter [/quote] Simple answer, retire the PT-40 and get yourself into a 4*. As an alternative you could just replace what ever is making the noise, the wheel, gear or engine mount. All fast and cheap, but not as fun as a 4*.
Posted on: 1/3/2009 7:45 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8314686

RE: Out of Alignment !!!
I would band the whole fuse together then take your measurements. I would be willing to bet once you have all parts together the fuse will be fine.
Posted on: 1/3/2009 7:40 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8314658

RE: Graduation from Trainer
4* 60. Put an OS .91 FS in the front and go crazy. The plane is very much like the Goldberg Tiger II, I like it better because it is a tail dragger, and I am working my way up to a .40 Corsair, so the tail gear is perferred for me. I don't think you can go wrong with either one of those planes.
Posted on: 1/3/2009 7:32 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8314618

Engine Question
I have a couple of .25 engines, one is a royal the other is an older OS .25 (also have one OS. 30 that runs great). I am new to twins and wanted to know is it possible, or reasonable to put the royal .25 and the OS .25 on the same plane? I am guessing that I cannot put the OS. 25 and the OS .30 on a twin, that would be asking for trouble. Thanks
Posted on: 12/31/2008 6:40 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8303459

RE: How to reinforce a firewall?
Build it as per the plans. These planes are well designed and are engineered to be strong enough. Build your plane to perform in the air, not to survive a crash. My experience is that if your hit hard enough on the nose wheel to break loose a firewall, the break likely absorbed part of the impact that would have done a lot more damage to the airframe. I would much rather have to repair a fire wall that popped out than repair a fuse that snapped. As for bolt down wings, if you are an experienced flyer, then yes, if you are learning go with the elastic bands, they are much more forgiving when you crash - and you will. If you do pop the firewall out, or it becomes loose, use the triangle stock and 30 minute Epoxy, that will help shore up the repair.
Posted on: 12/15/2008 3:57 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8248509

bought my first twin, now what (Gulfstream Cougar)
I have wanted one for a long time, and a guy getting out of the hobby sold me a wonderful Grumman Cougar Twin, it is built from old plans from an RC mag, I would guess 15 years ago. Twin Royal .25, retracts, flaps and even landing lights. Like I said a great little plane - loaded with 7 servos for $200 CDN. (he has a Twin Cessna with a 10 ft wing and twin OS 120s that I am still thinking about). So I am a three+ year flyer. I fly well, I can throw my old trainer around like crazy, and I have a 4* .60 with a OS .91 FS that I feel really comfortable with. I use the rudder a bit, but not a ton. I love this plane I just bought, there is some work to do to get her flight ready, but not really all that much have to set up the retracts and one of the motors is a bit tighter than I would like. But most of the work is clean up stuff. I am wondering, is this a plane I can jump into now? What do I need to learn to be able to fly this bird? Did I bite off more than I am ready for at this point in my flying? Any one have a Gulfstream (Grumman) GA-7 Cougar?
Posted on: 12/14/2008 5:57 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8245492

RE: Second Plane recommendation
Sig 4*, get a .60 size and put the .91 engine in it That is what I have, it is a PERFECT second plane
Posted on: 12/13/2008 9:45 AM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8241126

RE: A club isn't always available to a beginner
If I HAD to learn on my own - knowing what I know now, this is what I would do: 1) Buy the best simulator I could find and use it. Get a bunch of hours on the sim, flying in all kinds of weather, focused on a plane as similar as possible to what I was going to buy. 2) Buy the most rugged trainer I could find - US Air Core .40 trainer to me fits that bill pretty well. 3) Find a very flat open space to learn 4) Do a TON of research on how to tune a motor and set up a plane. Run a few tanks of gas through the engine on the ground to break it in 5) Start easy, doing taxi tests and then once comfortable let 'er rip. The other thing I would suggest is not to spend much money up front, go cheap, the gear you will buy will be destroyed by all the trial and error.
Posted on: 11/11/2008 7:56 PM by Author "manks7477" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8138074