FT Storch Owners Thread

[Gazoo]

Sure is. They work great! Sometimes you have to grind them down a touch to make them fit, but that's now my go to way to keep the wheels on.

Jim

Well Jim...It's genius. What other tips and tricks am I missing out on?

I was just asking aloud. not really the place to discuss this. I think that there is a nice thread on the subject. Thanks for the idea tho

 

[Swimjim]

Well Jim...It's genius. What other tips and tricks am I missing out on?

I was just asking aloud. not really the place to discuss this. I think that there is a nice thread on the subject. Thanks for the idea tho

I am a relative NOOB when it comes to flying. Ha. But I have been in business as a hardwood flooring guy on my own for close to twenty years. Because of that, it seems I can fix almost anything and that's a good thing. My Horizon Sport Cub is on it's third year. There's an awful lot of hot glue holding her together, but she still flies!
Sometimes after a bad crash you have to think outside the box a little. Sometimes you think your plane is done for, but with a little creativity, it may be able to fly again. That is for me the most interesting part of the hobby. And believe you me, I am good at crashing! Lol.
The best tip I can give you is patience. Yeah, you could not pull out of the dive and you had a serious crash. Game over? Nah. Just like the FAA, piece the plane together. You will be surprised at how you are able to resurrect seemingly totally destroyed airplanes!

 

[Gazoo]

I accept the challenge!

I have access to a lot of cheap foam board unlike those in some other areas. At 4 to 5 dollars for an air frame and the fact that I really like to scratch build...I mean it's like a zen thing for me...I seem to have too many air frames and not enough electronics.

I will now see how long I can keep one flying. I just snapped the elevator of of my Pietenpol. I guess it's toothpick and glue time!

 

[attila123]

Hi guys!

I finished my scratch build FT Simple Storch. It flies very good, I love it. I'm looking for next Flite Test plane to build.
I installed Turnigy D2836/8 1100kV motor, Hobbyking blue series 30A ESC, 10x5 APC prop.

 

[themistocles3]

I had issues with the wing buckling as well. I punched some holes just after the bottom plate on the wing. This one is not the Storch but I did the same on it and it works pretty well. Same concept.

I did that same mod. Works great but it is a bit harder to mount the wing.

 

[Mach_3]

Funny Story: Last flying season I had a Storch. It was one of my favorite planes to fly, it was so slow and maneuverable! And it glides forever! The receiver that I had in it was crapping out, and we had problems with it before, and I would sometimes get brownouts if the TX battery level dropped below about 60%. This didn't happen with any other RXs so I figured it was just the RX. Anyway, I was flying one day, and I lost control. The Storch was probably about 100 feet off the ground. I tried to regain control for about 5 seconds, but it didn't work. I noticed that the plane was descending at a very slow, controlled pace at a great glide ratio. So I ran over to my field bag, switched out the batteries in the TX, and regained control before the plane even got close to the ground. Although I'm pretty sure that if I didn't do anything it would've landed better than I could land it. I love the Storch!

 

[Ronsplanes]

I did something very similar to this. I initially added a popsicle stick to the top of the trailing edge in the center of the wing to keep the rubber bands from crushing the foam. However, I noticed after a couple of flights that the wing was actually buckling under the pressure since the foam is only 1 layer thick for the last 2 inches or so. I built up the space with additional foam and popsicle sticks to keep the wing from buckling. It was bad enough that the angle of attack on the wing was affected. I also added popsicle sticks to the fuselage on both edges so that the dihedral wing would seat flat and not rock back and forth on the flat fuselage. I've also reinforced the landing gear area and areas where the BBQ skewers run through the fuselage to keep the foam from tearing. With these mods the Storch flies great, looks great, and is an overall joy.

did this raise the trailing edge of the wing

 

[tamuct01]

did this raise the trailing edge of the wing

The Storch wing has a single layer of foam for the trailing edge. In short order, the rubber bands will cause this foam to bend and give the wing a negative incidence and cause flight issues. I resolved this by adding a wedge of foam between the trailing edge and the fold-over point of foam and then gluing popsicle sticks on the bottom to prevent this foam from being bent by the rubber bands. No issues since!

I also added popsicle sticks on the edges of the fuselage to form a wing saddle. The top of the fuselage is flat and the wing has dihedral. That's trying to make the point of a triangle balance on a table. The popsicle sticks take up this space on the sides and prevent the wing from rocking left to right on the fuselage.

The Storch is a great plane and with these mods will make a great trainer. It does require near-calm conditions because the wing loading is so low it tends to get carried by the wind very easily.

 

[Foamforce]

Here’s a 3d printed version of the fix. It’s for the Cub, but I’ll bet it will fit the Storch.

FT Cub Rear Wing Support by jjohnson98

Upgrade part for the Flite Test Simple Cub RC airplane When built to the plans the back of the wing that sits on the fuselage does not have a lot of support. The force that the rubber bands exert on the wing can fold the back part of the wing and mess up the wing angle. Two of these supports...

www.thingiverse.com

 

[tamuct01]

Here’s a 3d printed version of the fix. It’s for the Cub, but I’ll bet it will fit the Storch.

FT Cub Rear Wing Support by jjohnson98

Upgrade part for the Flite Test Simple Cub RC airplane When built to the plans the back of the wing that sits on the fuselage does not have a lot of support. The force that the rubber bands exert on the wing can fold the back part of the wing and mess up the wing angle. Two of these supports...

www.thingiverse.com

That's the general idea, yes.