I recently aquired a control line plane by Sterling Models, Stearing PT-17. The wing span is 32 1/4 ", Length 24", for .19 to .35 engine. It is a Bi-plane with a monocoupe fuselage. I'd like to convert it to an RC plane. I thought I could just hack the upper fuse, which I did already, tear out the control line stuff, and put the fuel tank back in the front w/ the flight pack and servos behind it.
However, I talked to a guy that said that "a .15 to .20 would be plenty enough engine for a conversion." He said "I might run into problems in with the wings. Since it is a c/l kit, the wings are FLAT and you would need dihedral to make the plane more stable. Also you would need to add down thrust and maybe change the incidence of the tail. When the kit was designed, installing a radio in it was out of the question as the radios were HUGE".
Well, I've removed the covering, chopped out the top for the servos and now I'm stuck. I don't know if I have to lengthen the tail a couple inches, change the engine mounts, or what. I've built several planes but never anything like this. I dont know how to post pics here to show what it looks like but I have a bunch to email if it would help.
Any help is appreciated. Matt Trickey