Exactly the same gear as in the Catalina. Sorry I don't know about price or timing yet.

Here are some pictures of the real one i think they modelled after . . .

Bart,

Certainly "inspired by." Note this one has the McKinnon mod with the flat Lycomings instead of the original inline Rangers.

Thayer

does anyone know when its gonna be available and what the price will be??

I still don't have info on timing, but I did find out the price today.

Expect a street price of $179.99

http://www.seaplanes.org/mambo/index...k=view&id=1159

Current issue of WaterFlying has an article about this plane getting your Multi Engine Rating...

Here are some pictures from WATTS over Owatonna

Even though the release date is unknown, I reserved the first one that arrives at my great LHS, Roy's Hobby Shop in Hurst, TX. They promised me a nice discount below the suggested street price...

The model i go to said the release date for the U.S is going to be September , europe unknown

End of Sept would be good news...you would think Tower would have it advertised by now, with the possible release just 6 weeks away.

Seems like most new ARFs run at least a month past first delivery expectations these days, though.

Doing a little early planning for the model.

I will not mount the aileron servos as shown, screwed to the bottom of the wing. Will make a proper servo hatch and bury the servos in the wing. Planning on a lttle watertight pushrod bellows so the inside of this wing will stay dry.

Alos planning on a silicone seal at the hatch and at the wing saddle, plus silicone around the wing screws. Silicone grease in the rudder and elevator exits. A couple of narrow brush coats of clear lacquer along the seams of the heat shrink covering and careful attention to the control surface hinge slots to make sure that it is hard for water to get near the balsa wood.

CorrosionX on the speed controls and motor wire, battery wire and servo wire connections. Will seal up the RX in a baggie with some silica gel tablets.

Will likely use some 1000 Kv BP motors (might go 1400Kv motors and switch to 8x4 props, which worked perfectly in the GP Catalina), some 25 amp ESCs I already have on hand, Spetrum AR600 RX and will figure out what servos later. Alread have a 3S 3200 battery, so minimal extra expense will be incurred when the kit arrives.

Thomas,

I think you are overthinking things a little. GP did a good job sorting this one out.

The aileron servos are mounted on hatches and the wing is sealed as designed.

The wing saddle is sealed and the wing screws seal when you snug them down.

The hatch is not sealed, though making it so will be easy.

You shouldn't need to seal the covering. The control surfaces should be well sealed with the thin CA used to bond in the hinges.

If you have a power system that worked in the Catalina you should be fine, though do note that the Widgeon specs out about a pound heavier than the Cat.

My review in Fly RC will be off press by the end of this week so subscribers should start to see it by the end of next. The newsstand onsale date is right after Labor Day.

Thayer

Availability of GP G44 Widgeon: Tower sent me an e-mail indicating it will be available mid October.

Originally Posted by Thayer

Thomas,

I think you are overthinking things a little. GP did a good job sorting this one out.
.....

Thayer

Good to know they appear to have fixed some of the Catalina issues. Leaves less to correct by the builder.

However, I will still do a better job on hiding the servos. The photos released clearly show the head of the aileron servo protruding outside the surface of the wing. I do not care to look at the top of the servo during a flyby. Will look much better fully buried in the wing. Plus, it will be easier to make it more waterproof with more of the servo inside the wing.

My Catalina had a few covering issues and the covering seams on the wing and tail tend to lift and expose balsa, so I will stick with my plan for better sealing. I have seen AF coveroing quality slip from early review models to the first production run, and even more later.

My power system created around BP outrunners made more watts with zero weight increase than the stock and much more expensive power system in my flying buddies GP Cat.....we did side by side wattmeter tests. So, not worried at all about the alternative to the stock system.

A mass produced ARF can always be improved here and there by a modeler with good skills and careful attention to details.

If you really want to waterproof all of this plane I'd think about stripping off all covering on the wing (and control surfaces if covered) and apply sanding sealer, dope or water based polyurethane. If the plane were accidentally flipped upside down in water you could just about guarantee the wings would fill up with some water. I know it would be a real pain to recover and or paint. One could even finish it with dope and paint and it would be as close to waterproof as it would ever get.

I have to admit, GP got the outline of the Widgeon pretty darn close to scale. I believe I viewed the full size version of this plane at EAA Airventure. Before I purchase I'll wait to hear Thayer's final thoughts.

Fast Freddy, if you like what you see I would definitely place an order sooner rather than later, especially if you live in the northern half of the country. It would be a shame to miss out on the first wave and be forced to wait until spring to fly it.

Thomas, I guess it all depends on what you mean by the head of the servo. Yes, the entire output arm is exposed, and yes you can see the top of the servo case, but only right around the arm and not the entire case. This is not the typical deal where the servo mounting lugs and screws are on the outside of the model. Instead a plywood shim is glued to the inside of the plywood hatch plate and the servo is reverse-mounted on the inside of that. The exposed part of the servo case protrudes less than 1/32 of an inch from the wing surface. You are going to have to squint pretty hard to see that in flight. The manual is on line and the aileron servo mounting instructions with illustrations are on page 8. Mounting the servo on its side and having just the arm exposed will make it a lot more difficult to waterproof the wing in that area. Trust me, they did it right. Of course that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to spend an extra hour or three trying to improve it. Were I really troubled by the current install I would simply paint the exposed parts of the servo cases and pushrods white and move on.

By all means going over the model to confirm that the covering is good is an important step, and the first one in the manual. I have seen issues there on other models as well and flying from the water is definitely a hostile environment. You will want the covering to stay on.

Sounds like you have the power system all sorted out.

I agree that an attentive and skilled modeler can always improve a mass-produced ARF. I am known to be rather picky as well and yet found very little to snipe about with this model. It is very well designed and the sample I was provided was also built very well. I obviously can't judge what number 1,000 will look like based on what I have seen but I would expect it to be similar to mine.

I wish you all the best and hope it is everything you can reasonably expect. The more of these they sell the more likely we are to see additional similar subjects.

Thayer