Jim trust me it won't be in bits. Mine still flies very well and I have beat it to death.

Originally Posted by jimbo320

it looks a bit more flimsy than the CY. In fact the wings look way skinnier. Im going to have to go easy with this one or itll be in bits with my flying.

You might be surprised.

The Pitts is just one of the almost indestructable planes from TH. Took mine out for a little romp at the post office. All the soccer fields were crowded so the field by the post office was all I had. These planes can really take a beating.

Tom

Thanks Guys, thats lucky, i need all the help i can get...

Was flying mine on the loading dock at work the other day and I think I smacked it into just about everything out there, walls ceiling forklifts. Lol. Yeah not a very large area but it was a riot. Didn't even have to repair it which surprising.

10 batteries thru it this morning in front of the house as well only had to pull it out of 1 tree hahah. Did manage to "land" it on the side of the house. Wife thought I was crazy.

I had trouble with mine for a while as well - it would rock side to side when I put it in a hover. I eventually figured out the inner hinge line near the aileron horn was torn a bit (hard to see) and apparently was causing the rocking.

I tried some Welders on it first but it would not hold well. Eventually I put some blenderm tape and welders on it and that did the trick - no more rock.

Doc

Build going well here. wings/lower fuze done.
Do any of you have issues with the wing-fuse joins breaking loose over time? There doesnt appear to be a lot of contact area with the lower fuz and upper fuz.

Any strengthening required, bearing in mine that i usually land on the wing tip...

Thx.

Only thing I did to mine was add some welders to the ends of the hinges just to strengthen a bit from tearing.

Originally Posted by jimbo320

Build going well here. wings/lower fuze done.
Do any of you have issues with the wing-fuse joins breaking loose over time? There doesnt appear to be a lot of contact area with the lower fuz and upper fuz.

Any strengthening required, bearing in mine that i usually land on the wing tip...

Thx.

I think as long as you get the ply plates and the foam tongues through the wing fitting well and glued well you should be good to go. I found I had to work the foam tongue a little from the other side to get them to come through flush with the other side and give the right gluing area. I think I put a fillet of UHU around all the mating surfaces as well just for good measure.

jimbo, I'm with Avi -- I worried about the 'structural integrity' of the joints and supports, and wasn't really satisfied mine was as squared up and in contact as I wanted it, but in the end, after having flown this every day for many weeks now, I see that they have the design down mighty fine -- it's kept light, no frills or extra weight, the double wings keep loading light, and it is not going too fast when you smack something, and usually you have a pretty good surface area when you hit... bottom line is that as flexible and slow as this craft is, don't sweat reinforcing and such -- just do a good job of clamping when you bond, and take your time, it will all come out great!

I was told the only repair kit I would need is Welder's,. but honestly, I haven't even had to break out the tube yet -- I beat my around pretty good as a noob, but it's held up fantastic.

Another question, should I of bought the gear? I didn't realise that the wing was on the bottom of fuz and will hit the ground every time on landing!

I'll second these thoughts, about the durability. I thought it looked/felt a little flimsy too. But I learned on this plane. Crashed it numerous times, still do, just not as often. I have even broken the top wing completly in two from about as bad a crash as you could have with this plane, spar and all. But she is ready to fly now just as good as new.

Originally Posted by jimbo320

Another question, should I of bought the gear? I didn't realise that the wing was on the bottom of fuz and will hit the ground every time on landing!

I bought the gear when I did mine and at this point the gear is there for looks. Lol. Usually just catch it on landing. You can fly it so slow Jim that if you plop it down on the grass even on the wing you aren't going to hurt it. Especially if you mean to plop it down on the grass. Hahah. Even when I land on the ground on the gear it's just a slow slow harrier till it stops moving. Wouldn't worry about it unless you want the gear for the look.

Originally Posted by stuball56

I'll second these thoughts, about the durability. I thought it looked/felt a little flimsy too. But I learned on this plane. Crashed it numerous times, still do, just not as often. I have even broken the top wing completly in two from about as bad a crash as you could have with this plane, spar and all. But she is ready to fly now just as good as new.

Hehe yep I've torn both wings in half, broken one spar, torn the elevator half off, torn the fuse along a seam 6 inches back (damn telephone pole and hitting it square on the prop hub) and with a little welders it's back as good as new. It always glues back nice and straight and I never even worry about smacking it. Mine probably has about 300 flights on it at this point. Put another handful on it tonight in the 15mph winds before it started raining. Loved every minute of it.

My take on the gear depends on where you're flying the plane. Fly my planes at work so I have both a smooth surface and grass. Most the time I fly over a grass area so gear wasn't needed. Plus there is a bit of weight savings not having gear on.