The only really crappy stuff on the TM was the struts. They would be merely ok, if they werent prone to a banana arc bend in them. The wheels are made for indoors imo and the flying wires are mandatory for all but the mildest flying.
Even with those faulty items, the plane flies great and is a terrific product. With the mods, it is a durable, extremely pleasing airplane. The GWS line is progressing very nicely and many of our complaints have been heard and addressed with the later offerings. Keep up the good work Mr Lin!
I think his description of the kit as junk was inaccurate, but I do recall feeling some of the components were cheap - wheels & struts. The rest was great imo. And the cheap stuff worked very well, even if they are shameful in their craftsmanship. Ahh, and about the foam servo tape, I htink it is not a good idea as it can come off i time, heat or huimidity and cause a plane to crash, so I do wood or balsa rails and screw em in all my planes. I did make a 5 oz staggerwing and used foam tape, but totally trapped the servos in foam so they didnt have a place to
'fall' - when, not if, the tape failed. I trust a friction fit over the tape.
My tape is cheap, so better tape will probably hold more securely, but... the wood rails offer rigid servo position and the resulting loss of slop on the control surface is worth the minor hassle of screwing them into a wood rail.
I have learned it is best to read the boards regarding any plane I buy so I can factor in the 'mods' before deciding on the next purchase. Not many planes will end up 'mod free' and I think I like that :P Sorta like keeping the design open for individual weightings on design parameters.
With the TM, 3 things should be addressed by GWS to reduce the complaints:
1) Diagrams & material (even simple nylon monofilament) for flying & landing wires
2) Straighter and still light strut material
3) Any other wheels! (except those that look like GWS clones, such as DuBro flimsy styrene types) NE Sail's, DuBro foam, and tons of others are superior. Wish GWS would hurry up and release the new ones so we can check them out too.
TM strutted wing:
________________ __(_________(___
...but she flies :P
-- Derek_TX
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