duraplane 40 tainer

Do yourself a favor. Got to

Boo

Yup it's a little heave and harder to put together at the field due to the servo being in the top on the wing. The rubber bands have to go under the control rods. I didn't know there was another fast Eddy. But I've been fast Eddie for years. Have fun. Eddie Fulmer AMA 63713

It's heavier than it should be, not as rigid as it needs to be, and about as pretty as a toad taking a dump. Generally it doesn't fly very well, compared to a lot of other things that you could fly. And it isn't anywhere near as durable as advertised.

Other than that it's not bad.

The DuraCRAP is NOT a trainer. It's too fast and too heavy. It's also hard to repair when you crunch it. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"

That was my impression many moons ago when it first came out and I put one together for the shop I was working for at the time. You think over the years they would have improved the design. Of course here in Colorado we are a wee bit above sea level and perhaps at sea level it might be a manageable trainer. Anyone have experience with the duroplane at lower altitudes?

Bob Ruth AMA 720565

No, it pretty well sucks at see level, or at least at 12' ASL. It's got to be a real pig up in CO. It's my all time least favorite to train on, followed by the Airmadillo. Build em to fly, not crash. If your trying to teach yourself, go electric. There are many durable little electrics that don't have enough mass to hurt themselves unless punched in hard.

Wow, I had the complete opposite experience with both the Duraplane and Airmadillos. We're at 666' MSL (about a mile from a small airport) so it's not like we have special air that makes 'em fly differently.

The biggest problem with the Airmadillo is lack of wing area. They drop like stones when presented with an engine-out situation. Otherwise, I think Airmadillos fly fine, and IMHO make suitable trainers for the PlayStation2 generation with good hand/eye coordination. My fondest Airmadillo moment is when I brought one in and landed it on the runway with no elevator control.

To my eye, Duraplanes don't appear to be flying any faster than any other trainer, and they can be slowed right down for landing.

I have not had the pleasure (!) of flying a Duratrainer but have seen them fly. They do seem a bit fast for a rank beginner and did land a lot faster than something like a LT-40.

I HAVE flown an airmadillo! It was just about the most awful handling thing I have ever tried. Maybe I am spoiled because I like the Kaos, Ugly Stick and Ballistick type of plane. I even liked the handling of my Top Flight P-51 and P-40 (early versions) over the Airmadillo.

It was what I trained on. It is heavier than the norm trainer and needs to fly a little faster because of that, but you can learn on it. I have actually had mine in a mid air collision @ 40mph and it destroyed the other guys plane, all I did on mine was bend back the fuselage and put on a new wing. You can train on it, and if you have a tendency to pick things up quickly you should be fine. I was able to solo on it after 10 training flights. I go back to it every now and then to warm up my skills and it suits me just fine.