John,
So sorry to see that the new plane got damaged. I have a couple carbon rods here waiting to go into the wing. Good to know about the motor mounts not being glued on so well. Will definitely put on my builders hat when the plane gets here. What kind of battery were you using on this plane? I am at 157' elevation so I may not have the same power problems that you are running into but it may still be beneficial to know what type of battery you are using. I have zippy 2200 3s 25c batteries I plan on using in mine. As for CG and down thrust, put a washer behind the motor mount and see if it gets any better. If you find the happy amount of washers be it 1 or 3, let us know. I may take the time to do a fix before you fly list for everyone so that we can prevent damage from out of the box building.

Orion

Originally Posted by Orion Pax

John,
So sorry to see that the new plane got damaged. I have a couple carbon rods here waiting to go into the wing. Good to know about the motor mounts not being glued on so well. Will definitely put on my builders hat when the plane gets here. What kind of battery were you using on this plane? I am at 157' elevation so I may not have the same power problems that you are running into but it may still be beneficial to know what type of battery you are using. I have zippy 2200 3s 25c batteries I plan on using in mine. As for CG and down thrust, put a washer behind the motor mount and see if it gets any better. If you find the happy amount of washers be it 1 or 3, let us know. I may take the time to do a fix before you fly list for everyone so that we can prevent damage from out of the box building.

Orion

Thanks, but these new EPO planes are such a breeze to repair, it's hard to see the damage. The flip side of the EPO foam is that perhaps the manufacturers are relying so much on it's inherent strength, they are neglecting that a super structure is still needed in critical points like the wings. I can't think of a plane, full scale or model, that doesn't need a spar through the fuselage!

My recommendation to all is to embed something next to the existing plastic "reinforcements" from one side to the other to "connect" them. You can find them running through the little rectangular holes in the bottom of the wing. Also, replace the hot glue on the elevator joiner with epoxy, and check the bond of the motor mounts.

I was using a new Flightmax 3s 2200 20C (not room for much more!). I'm probably going to change the ESCs to accept 4s along with some 2-blade props to hop it up a little. I'll be flying it again this Sunday doing a hand launch and belly landing on grass. I'll put some down thrust in it first. Expect a report Sunday evening!

Originally Posted by Allelectric

Thanks, but these new EPO planes are such a breeze to repair, it's hard to see the damage. The flip side of the EPO foam is that perhaps the manufacturers are relying so much on it's inherent strength, they are neglecting that a super structure is still needed in critical points like the wings. I can't think of a plane, full scale or model, that doesn't need a spar through the fuselage!

My recommendation to all is to embed something next to the existing plastic "reinforcements" from one side to the other to "connect" them. You can find them running through the little rectangular holes in the bottom of the wing. Also, replace the hot glue on the elevator joiner with epoxy, and check the bond of the motor mounts.

I was using a new Flightmax 3s 2200 20C (not room for much more!). I'm probably going to change the ESCs to accept 4s along with some 2-blade props to hop it up a little. I'll be flying it again this Sunday doing a hand launch and belly landing on grass. I'll put some down thrust in it first. Expect a report Sunday evening!

I look forward to the flight report with the down thrust added.

Wheres the VIDEOS guy's!!!! I'm with most of you, I keep waiting for Grayson to get them in, but I can't wait much longer! From what I here PW-RC may be the way to go? In fact I'm going to look them up right now. Maybe I"ll be posting my build more sooner than later. I also like the fact that they will supply and install the flaps and retracts.

HBPD

John,

Thanks for posting. Something I noticed on my plane in the same location where your wing split but on the port side.

I have a small hole in the foam there. The foam seems thin in that area. If you put it up to a light and run your finger across that area while looking through the precut slot (for the wiring for optional retracts) on underside of the wing, you can see it is fairly thin there. I don't know if it is enough to create a weak spot in the wing, but just more reason to run a spar across the area the way you have.

Aside from that, this is one beautiful plane.

Originally Posted by HBPD

Wheres the VIDEOS guy's!!!! I'm with most of you, I keep waiting for Grayson to get them in, but I can't wait much longer! From what I here PW-RC may be the way to go? In fact I'm going to look them up right now. Maybe I"ll be posting my build more sooner than later. I also like the fact that they will supply and install the flaps and retracts.

HBPD

I should have mine from PW-RC in a couple of weeks. Philip there gave me my tracking number today and it went out yesterday. Philip is a good guy and he has excellent communication for any questions you might have. He answers your emails personally. That says a lot in my book about a guy half a world away.

Also, I love that fantasy racer R3. I saw it about 2 hrs after buying this plane and my heart sank. I have been wanting one since HL discontinued theirs. Maybe I will get one after the new year.

Originally Posted by BacknRC

John,

Thanks for posting. Something I noticed on my plane in the same location where your wing split but on the port side.

I have a small hole in the foam there. The foam seems thin in that area. If you put it up to a light and run your finger across that area while looking through the precut slot (for the wiring for optional retracts) on underside of the wing, you can see it is fairly thin there. I don't know if it is enough to create a weak spot in the wing, but just more reason to run a spar across the area the way you have.

Aside from that, this is one beautiful plane.

I don't think that thin area is going to cause any more weakness then what the area already is. I will advise to those in the reinforcement stage that when you put in the spar to run the center that it extends a good distance beyond the spars already in the wing. For example, if you are putting a spar in right up against the existing wing spars then you want to make sure it overlaps by about an inch. If you move it out away from there then for every 2" back you move you will want to add an inch of overlap. It may not be a big deal but that's how I have done mine to keep wing flex down.

Orion

ORION PAX...
The FANTASY RACER is a great plane and fun to fly, also a great looking plane typical of the ART-DECO look of the GEE BEEs only this one is extreme!

The 310 is a whole different ball game, more of a scale flyer type even though its able to do most aerobatics and has plenty of power. They are two different aircraft and for that reason I think you should have both!

HBPD

Originally Posted by HBPD

ORION PAX...
The FANTASY RACER is a great plane and fun to fly, also a great looking plane typical of the ART-DECO look of the GEE BEEs only this one is extreme!

The 310 is a whole different ball game, more of a scale flyer type even though its able to do most aerobatics and has plenty of power. They are two different aircraft and for that reason I think you should have both!

HBPD

Oh, both will happen. Its a matter of dollars right now. I have to sell some more of my F4F retracts for Parkzones Wildcat before I can plunk down for that one. It is definitely on my next to buy. I have loved that plane since I saw the huge ones. Then I saw the HL GeeBee R3 and it was discontinued at that point because of copy right laws from the designer. There is a huge write up over it somewhere but I am glad to see this plane come back to the foam world. Hopefully no one will have copyright issues with it and it can stay on the market. It is a beautiful plane and I love the videos I have seen of it. I fly mostly twin engine warbirds but the Cessna 310 has been a long favorite and the Fantasy Racer I have always wanted. It is sexy. I love the lines. They beg to be caressed.

Nitroplanes has these in stock again including the ARF one.

Originally Posted by Orion Pax

Oh, both will happen. Its a matter of dollars right now. I have to sell some more of my F4F retracts for Parkzones Wildcat before I can plunk down for that one. It is definitely on my next to buy. I have loved that plane since I saw the huge ones. Then I saw the HL GeeBee R3 and it was discontinued at that point because of copy right laws from the designer. There is a huge write up over it somewhere but I am glad to see this plane come back to the foam world. Hopefully no one will have copyright issues with it and it can stay on the market. It is a beautiful plane and I love the videos I have seen of it. I fly mostly twin engine warbirds but the Cessna 310 has been a long favorite and the Fantasy Racer I have always wanted. It is sexy. I love the lines. They beg to be caressed.

I know what you mean, theres always something new out there to take our dollars.

I have to keep my wife out of the garage or you guy's will be sprinkling my ashes over some airfield!

HBPD

Originally Posted by HBPD

I know what you mean, theres always something new out there to take our dollars.

I have to keep my wife out of the garage or you guy's will be sprinkling my ashes over some airfield!

HBPD

LOL!

I guess I am lucky. My wife is glad I have the hobby and usually doesn't care what plane I bring home. Her only hang up is when I have several planes in different stages of being built. She always wants me to finish one before I start another. Can't say I blame her on that one.

Here are some Cessna 310 videos for you guys.

Yes I am stalling till someone puts some video of their plane flying.

Cessna 310 High Speed Pass (0 min 39 sec)

Take-off and high speed low pass by Cessna 310 (0 min 42 sec)

TopFlite Cessna 310 powered by Hacker B50s (9 min 18 sec)

This mutha truker can fly.

Ryan Evans Cessna 310 Flight (3 min 7 sec)

Orion,

Thx for the vids. Love the low passes!!!

I'm going to be putting lights on mine. Does the Topflite model have the lighting correct or is the lighting different in different years? I thought I saw a 310 with the landing light on the nose gear strut.

From what I can see, Topflite has standard red/green on wingtips, flashing red beacon on vert stab, landing light starboard side in nose and white tail light.

The Top Flite Cessna video has the correct lights on it. I don't think it comes that way but the guy did an excellent job on it. I will be doing lights on mine eventually. Just another $70 I don't want to spend right now.

Originally Posted by BacknRC

John,

Thanks for posting. Something I noticed on my plane in the same location where your wing split but on the port side.

I have a small hole in the foam there. The foam seems thin in that area. If you put it up to a light and run your finger across that area while looking through the precut slot (for the wiring for optional retracts) on underside of the wing, you can see it is fairly thin there. I don't know if it is enough to create a weak spot in the wing, but just more reason to run a spar across the area the way you have.

Aside from that, this is one beautiful plane.

My wing broke on both sides, one side was just hidden by the fuselage in the first pictures. The breaks are filled in now, but they both made their way through the wheel wells. I thought all of you might like to see what your wing looks like without the inserts. When you exclude the flap area, there's not a whole lot of meat left in the remainder of the cord!