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RC Poll, favorite and least favorite plane

I'm a proponent of neutral stability in a trainer. "Self-righting" trainers such as the PT series actually fight the pilot. I live in a windy part of the world and the PT's just don't hack it in the wind. The ailerons lack authority, to put it mildly, and the three-channel high-dihedral versions blow over real easy when taxiing. To me, it's just a lousy flier. The Goldberg Eagle and its ubiquitous ARF copies seem to do much better, but the Sig Kadet LT-40, the Hobbico Avistar, and the many "Stick" planes do best. Around here, that is.

Very good manual and kit. I'm a fan of the Great Planes manuals.

I think they were, especially the reduced dihedral. Put some bigger (wider, like 1" wide) ailerons on it and you'll be all set. You shouldn't let mine or anyone else's personal preferences psych you. Get an instructor and go have fun!

Texas Pete AMA 59376 ================================= Thanks for the input. We had a 3 channel PT-40 at our field and it looked like a flying V; which was the driving reason for me to reduce the dihedral of mine. This one blew over on takeoff pretty often.

I'm currently flying a Global Right Flyer 60 with an instructor. It's a trainer with a semi-symmetrical airfoil and very little dihedral.

Unless I crash my current plane, I really don't need another trainer, but thought it would be best to build one as my first kit. Everything other than a trainer seems to assume you know 'something' about building.

Even though I hope I don't need the PT-60, I'm anxious to fly something that I actually built. I've made my share of mistakes on it, and hope wood filler and sandpaper can hide the cosmetic errors. I think I've done a good job of keeping it straight and strong.

I wanted to build an Astro Hog, but that is too much of a "builder's kit" for a first attempt. I had the Hog built; so, when I'm ready for another plane, it will be ready to go.

Reply to
Carrell
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A guy gave me a Cox Cessna when I was a kid, around 1980. I thought I was going to have a new hobby, flying model airplanes around. But then he took the engine and radio and gave me the airplane. I was very disappointed. Funny thing about it was that his Cessna seemed to fly great. I wonder why all of you guys had such a problem. My favorite airplane would be hard to decide. I build a lot of RCM plans and I have had some great ones. The Whimpy, Miss Bikini and Terrier come quickly to mind. Built nice and light with lightweight engines, these planes fly beautifully. And I can't forget the Big John biplane. What a beauty! I need to build another one.

Least favorite: All those stupid Extras and Extra clones (Giles, Lazer, etc). Geez louise, haven't we all had enough of them already? They're about as interesting and distinctive as grains of sand on the beach. And while we're in the "least favorite" category the Duraplane cannot escape mention. What a piece of crap. How can a plane that heavy be so flexible? The only thing with a worse rigidity to weight ratio is Jell-O. Or maybe Anna Nicole Smith.

Reply to
Robbie and Laura Reynolds

Hi, I have built a PT20 and recently the PT40. The PT20 was built according to the plans with the full dihedral and ailerons. I learn to fly using this but it was a challenge. I agree with the statement about blowing over and the smaller size makes it much harder to fly. The PT40 was built with about 3" of dihedral and flies like a charm. it is very stable but responsive enough for a trainer. I would recommend the larger plane with minimal dihedral and the larger plan helps. I like Great planes building manuals but they are to conservative in their recomendation for stability. I am now starting to fly the Tiger 2 from Carl Goldberg. It is a nice plane to fly. ken

Reply to
ken

Hi All,

Here is my list:

Favorite trainer: Sig Kadet LT-40 All around sport plane: Hanger 9 Ultra Stick - 40 size

I have only been flying about 3 years, so I haven't flown a lot of planes to have an opinion on.

Later,

Jay

Reply to
Jay Bickford

In hindsight, I think the wing was warped on mine. The packing wasn't all that great. I didn't know any better back then. Even so, this plane had a lot of shortcomings. Best part about it was the radio. The Sanwa 8020 came with about the smallest servos around for their day. Damn, I spent a fortune on Duracells when I got the glider. I could just toss off the hill in the back of the house.

Reply to
John Alt

My favorite is the one I am about to finish, and the least favorite is the one I crashed yesterday, that is awaiting repairs. :-)

Reply to
The Natural Philosopher

Well said! Burt Rutan's answer to the question about a favorite plane was "the next one."

Reply to
Morris Lee

Early flying years, late 70's: Most favorite was the Sig 1/2A cessna. Foam wing. Least favorite the Cox 1/2a centurion. All Foam. Most Most favorite large airplane at that time was all foam Cox sportavia RF-4. 1/2A foam glider. TD.051 6 foot wing. I had the Astroflite all wood version and it was a POC. Most favorite bipe at that time was the .10 size wood All star bipe.

Reply to
jim breeeyar

I flew a friend's Cox Sportavia several times. What a wonderful flying model.

Ed Cregger

Reply to
Ed Cregger

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