ariehlflyer
New member
This is one of the best kits I have seen in a while. So much so that I bought it! I usually use plans from sites such as Outerzone and haven't built a kit for a couple of years.
I got this kit from Penn Valley Hobby , but they are closing down this month. The kit is available from Peck-Polymers for about $18.
Caution, due to this being a old plan, you should have a couple of newer kits done first. Ones from Peck, like a stick model are better first models.
Okay, opening the box this is what you get, and it is a lot.
You get contest wood, decals, wheels, prop, rubber, Esaki tissue, and plan. The tissue is in orange, green, and white.
Here is the wood. It is light, I'd guess about 5 or 6lbft2 . The only hard wood is the 1/8"x1/8" for the LE, which is good. I wish they would include 4 or so hard 1/16x1/16 for the longerons. The printing is good and clear , but with a few ink smears.
The only place I replaced wood was on the TE, but I wish I did the longerons because I keep cracking them.
The little bits. The decals look good, more on them after I use them.
Prop looks like a good one, and the other bits look like Peck items. I bent the shaft with a winding hook, and with the included washers on it it feels smooth.
The rubber is probably Tan Super Sport, and 3/16 seems a little small, but I'll start with it.
I'm planning on replacing the peg with 3/32 aluminum tube, so it fits my winding stooge.
My only big gripe is the wheels. They are monstrous hunks of plastic, that weigh 4 grams each. Which is a lot, because the AUW needs to stay under 45 grams. I guess I'll turn some from balsa.
The wire looks like 1/32 or so.
The plan is a good one. It is printed on good thick paper, but was hard to get to lay flat. The tissue was rolled up with it, so no wrinkles. It was unclear in some places such as the nose area you can see in the next photo. It is still it is fairly clear for an older plan, but as I said before, it is not for beginners.
Weaknesses of older kits are becoming evident. The rudder outline kept breaking so I laminated it. I used the kit 1/16"x 1/16" balsa soaked in hot water and wood glue stretched around a fence of pins some of which are removed in this photo. I started doing this on most tips and tail outlines and it saves some weight and adds strength. I was too lazy to do the wing tips this time.
Ready for covering at 10 g. for the bare bones.
This is purely opinion based on what I have used in the past.
I got this kit from Penn Valley Hobby , but they are closing down this month. The kit is available from Peck-Polymers for about $18.
Caution, due to this being a old plan, you should have a couple of newer kits done first. Ones from Peck, like a stick model are better first models.
Okay, opening the box this is what you get, and it is a lot.
The only place I replaced wood was on the TE, but I wish I did the longerons because I keep cracking them.
Prop looks like a good one, and the other bits look like Peck items. I bent the shaft with a winding hook, and with the included washers on it it feels smooth.
The rubber is probably Tan Super Sport, and 3/16 seems a little small, but I'll start with it.
I'm planning on replacing the peg with 3/32 aluminum tube, so it fits my winding stooge.
My only big gripe is the wheels. They are monstrous hunks of plastic, that weigh 4 grams each. Which is a lot, because the AUW needs to stay under 45 grams. I guess I'll turn some from balsa.
The wire looks like 1/32 or so.
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