Hi everyone! I just picked this up at a yard sale for $80 for everything in the picture...not sure if I did good or not...needs a new set of batteries in the TX and RX.

Not sure what gas plane this is either...it has a Fox .25 engine and is a 3 channel...guy said he got it for his young son for $300 a couple of years back but it was to fast for him and he got a slower elec. plane for him....Plane has a 43.5" Wingspan and is 37.5" long and has a metal u-beam rod from one end to the other with the front radio box made of plastic has a futuba 7 channel FPR127DF receiver and three futuba FP5148 servos.

Came with a Hitec Digital Proportional 4-Flash FM 72.910 radio....I need a manual for this...anyone? Powers up ok but the batteires are very week and are Nicad type...recommend a charger for both packs??

Came with the battery box with Thunder Tiger Super IC Delux MarkIV Power Panel, Varicom Magnum Starter, MarkX elec fuel pump and a bunch of tools and extra parts. Needs a new main lead acid battery as it will not except a charge.

What do you guys think? Would this make a good gas trainer?...I've already flown my Elec Piper Three times by my self and landed it safely.



Ken
Hemet, CA

Looks like I got a DuraPlane Trainer 20


http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE585&P=0

Ken

Yep.. its a DuraPlane... makes a decent trainer but flys faster than the average .40 class ARF (such as the Tower Trainer 40)

Overall... looks like $80 was a good deal. The engine and airframe are easilly worth that if the engine is good (the airframe looks like its good and you gotta really beat on a duraplane to make it no good)

Manual for for radio can be found here: http://www.hitecrcd.com/nsupport_SFS.htm

Hobbico Sturdy Bird II looks like that too.

The main problem on the S-B is that if you give hard rudder, the boom bends, and you may wind up with down elevator effect. Bolting/gluing a balsa strip the same ID as the boom helps some. A bit of downthrust in the engine also makes it fly better.

Mine was fun for awhile, but it doesn't fly very consistently.

A sheet balsa body to fit the wing and tail makes it lots more fun.

howell

Originally Posted by gwinhh

The main problem on the S-B is that if you give hard rudder, the boom bends, and you may wind up with down elevator effect. Bolting/gluing a balsa strip the same ID as the boom helps some. A bit of downthrust in the engine also makes it fly better.

Mine was fun for awhile, but it doesn't fly very consistently.

A sheet balsa body to fit the wing and tail makes it lots more fun.

howell

Good info! What about securing the servos? Looks like they are wedged all three in a row with stran packing take holding them down! Would it not be a good idea to put a block on the front and back so they can't slide in the rail?

Also has anyone every installed a Duraplane 40 wing on a 20 model? This would change the wing load from 25oz to 20oz! How wide is the 40 model wing? My 20 is 9" wide.

Ken

gwihh, thanks for the info. I build a SPAD version of the sturdy bird and have noticed from the beginning that rudder makes the tail boom flex a lot. It hasn't been much of a problem since I expect it to happen, but it would be nice to solve that problem. Its a blast to fly that plane though.
As for installing the servos, I applied adhesive silicone to the U-channel and pushed the servo into the channel. That worked fine for a while except the elevator servo came loose after a while. I then reatached it in the same way, then drilled four holes in the U-channel for each servo so that I could use zip ties to hold them down for good. I haven't had a problem with that since.

kctrading,
If that is the receiver antenna wrapped around the boom remove it from there. staple a peice of fuel tubing to the *top of the Vertical Fin* and push it through that. it will slip out of it if you were to crash, making sure that you dont rip it out of the receiver like when its wrapped on the tail boom. it has saved mine + it it gives it a cooler look.

RX antenna wrapped aroun aluminum boom is asking for interference anyway.. so definitely move it. (good call)

Originally Posted by P-38J-Lightning

kctrading,
If that is the receiver antenna wrapped around the boom remove it from there. staple a peice of fuel tubing to the *top of the Vertical Fin* and push it through that. it will slip out of it if you were to crash, making sure that you dont rip it out of the receiver like when its wrapped on the tail boom. it has saved mine + it it gives it a cooler look.

Will do...thanks!

Ken

I'd grab new rx and tx batts. Look on ebay for them. I just bought (2) 4.8 volt 2100 mah nimh's for a whopping $16 that included shippiing. You can also find the same deals on tx batteries too.

Dave...

Originally Posted by LuckyArmpit

I'd grab new rx and tx batts. Look on ebay for them. I just bought (2) 4.8 volt 2100 mah nimh's for a whopping $16 that included shippiing. You can also find the same deals on tx batteries too.

Dave...

Yeah not to sure about the old Nicads holding up....

Yesterday I got both a RX and TX Nimh coming from http://www.cheapbatterypacks.com for $33

Ken

No Problem man. anything to help a fellow pilot.
Happy Flying

a .25 on a .20 sized plane that is already natrually (sp) fast? I would get help from an experianced piolet...



But Good Luck!