Show Us Your Twisters

[Juan Valentin]

                  Here is mine,I enjoyed very much before it went to the big green circle in the sky.
                                                                                                               Juan

[Steve Thornton]

My first attempt at a flapped plane.  Tom Neibuhr made the graphics for it.  Byron Barker LA 40.
Steve

[Avaiojet]

I was hoping to see a Twister turned into a crop duster. Must be one someplace?

[Dan McEntee]

I was hoping to see a Twister turned into a crop duster. Must be one someplace?


 https://lafayetteesquadrillecl.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/img_9303.jpg





     

[Avaiojet]

I was hoping to see a Twister turned into a crop duster. Must be one someplace?

Dan,

I've seen a photo of this model before and I was told you built it.

I didn't know it started out as a Twister?

Great job, outstanding! 

[RknRusty]

Dan, I'm glad to see you put the control linkage on the inboard side. I thought of changing mine, but out of laziness, left it outboard where it can collect more grease and grime.

I slotted for the hinges today on my Twister, it won't be long now. I'm stealing Jim Roselle's red, white, and blue color scheme.
Rusty


                          Jim's plane R.I.P.

[Dan McEntee]

   Rusty;
   The main reason the pushrod is on the inboard side of the fuse is because the bell crank is reversed to the down line is in back. Keeping the push rod and all the slots and openings out of the exhaust stream is a good reason also.
    The model is based on the Twister wing and moments and started out as a Cessna Agwagin by Larry Kruse, but morphed into a C/L profile scale/stunt model of the full sized "Dusty" operated by Rusty's Flying Service out of Texas and was built in conjunction with the movie. This model was built in 4 weeks time, got a top five finish in profile stunt at the Paducah contest with only 6 or seven flights on it, and a second place finish in it's first scale contest, only seven points behind first place which was a nice American Hustler with flaps and retracts! I need to add some more surface detail this winter and spring. It pretty much flew "right off the board" as they say. When good lfying weather returns, it will get some more flight trimming also to fine tune for both scale and stunt.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Mike Lauerman]

My Twister has been a very very long time in the re-build shop. But here it is currently with some mods.  Can't believe how time "flys" by.

I've got to swipe that cheek cowl for my twister! (and an 'opened-up' one for the engine side!)

Sheer genius. And, time...yes, it flies.

[Geoff Goodworth]

Mike, et al.

In Oz, we make the inboard cheek cowl active by opening the front and adding a former at the back of the engine cutout. The cowl picks up air and directs it over the crankcase.

I've never had fuel foaming issues with Brodak Shoestrings or the Shoestring 40 that Bob Reeves and I designed.

A Dare Profile Smoothie on the other hand...

The Smoothie is in the shop at present after I had a line snap. I'm tossing up whether to add a cheek cowl to it.

[RknRusty]

   ...This model was built in 4 weeks time, got a top five finish in profile stunt at the Paducah contest with only 6 or seven flights on it, and a second place finish in it's first scale contest, only seven points behind first place which was a nice American Hustler with flaps and retracts! I need to add some more surface detail this winter and spring. It pretty much flew "right off the board" as they say. When good lfying weather returns, it will get some more flight trimming also to fine tune for both scale and stunt.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

Dan, good work. I didn't realize you were that advanced in your flying. I'm still stuck in Intermediate. Building that fast is not possible for me, I spend too much time thinking about it and scratching my head, second guessing. But I've only built a couple of big stunters, so I learn a lot each time. I've spent a month on the wing alone... but it's a good wing. I'll probably speed up when I get used to the process.
Rusty

[TigreST]

I've got to swipe that cheek cowl for my twister! (and an 'opened-up' one for the engine side!)

Sheer genius. And, time...yes, it flies.

Couple of pics to share re: Cheek Cowl.

[Mike Lauerman]

Tony...and Geoff, Thanks for the response...Tony's design says it all. Built up (wheras most were carved previously) is the way to go here, and the nose sculpting behind the spinner is out of the park!

Geoff's idea of laminar flow on engine side is interesting, both lend 'depth' to an otherwise 'mere profile'.
Just what I was looking for.

There are quite a few great 'imposters' in this post, many I hadn't even imagined. (way beyond Mustang, T-Bolt, Hellcat, etc.)
All in all, a great 'platform': when I bought my first one, I thought of a Agwagon. Did mine up that way, (Piper Pawnee) flew it some, traded it for another Twister kit. Noted there was a beauty done up that way earlier in this thread.
Local contests (Bay Area) used to bring out lots of 'kit bashes' into interesting profiles, with clever paint schemes, landing gear, hardware, and detail...Most ran in 'Air Race', (WAM) them morphed into Foxberg, which stifled the creative juices...Shoestrings, Cosmic Winds and Busters dominated what was previously a 'design free-for-all!
My 'Sport Flier' colors showing, I'll just tout everyone on here with 'Twister mods' that have re-juvenited my 'creative juices.

Thanks to one and all...Beauties here, from fertile minds. http://stunthanger.com/smf/Smileys/classic/huh.gif

Hmmm...Of all the 'Twisters' not one has the image of Chubby Checker! The mind boggles.

[RknRusty]

Ah Chubby Checker! It's not too late, mine hasn't been finished yet. And I'm from SC, the home of the late great Chubby Checker, maybe I should have thought of that. Great idea, Mike.
Rusty

[Fredvon4]

I seem to be the only SH guy who has NOT built a Twister of any version....

Also the primary Force has not added any glue drops to my building board

But I guess like having at least one S-1 Ringmaster, I need to put each into the "some day" building que and revisit these threads to see what mods I need to consider

behind the times FRed

[john e. holliday]

I wish I had the pictures now, but a few years ago I built three Twisters per Fancher's article.  They were scratch built using the plans from a previous kit I had built.  All flown with Fox .35 Stunts on 60 X .015 cable, center of handle to center of plane.  I may still have one in the shop amongst the rafters.  Have to remind my self to look for it.

[Geoff Goodworth]

Mike, like Tony's, ours are all built up. The Brodak Shoestring that I refered to is the re-engineered Goldberg model. For the 40-size model, we just scaled up the external dimensions from the Brodak model and retained the 1/4" sheet construction. However, using 1/4" sheet we just used the two formers per the Brodak kit and added a 1/8" baffle to direct the air behind the engine.

[Elwyn Aud]

Here are some examples from various contests, but mostly from Brodak Fly-Ins.

[TigreST]

Mike, like Tony's, ours are all built up. The Brodak Shoestring that I refered to is the re-engineered Goldberg model. For the 40-size model, we just scaled up the external dimensions from the Brodak model and retained the 1/4" sheet construction. However, using 1/4" sheet we just used the two formers per the Brodak kit and added a 1/8" baffle to direct the air behind the engine.

My cheek cowl was a product of the "scrap box" and as such I pieced together 1/4" bits to come up with it.  As per normal it's over engineered perhaps.  My first Twister was built back in 1983-84 while I lived in Fort McMurray Alberta.  I don't remember the actual reason for the inclusion of the cowl other than as an aesthetic piece to somewhat fill that smooth flat side void on the inboard side of the forward fuselage.  It does, I suppose, triangulate the nose to the wing leading edge and perhaps take some of the flex out of the front end.  My brother and I built a S-1 Ringmaster back in the day and it had a cheek cowl which dress up the nose.  I took my cue from that build (circa 1975) for my Twister. I guess I like the look enough to include it yet again on my Scratch built Super Tucano profile.  

[RknRusty]

Great job Tony, that's really nice detailing, making a plain slab o' wood look like something special.
Rusty.

[TigreST]

Great job Tony, that's really nice detailing, making a plain slab o' wood look like something special.
Rusty.

Rusty,
 I used the Tucano as a platform to try some new to me finishing techniques.  Sadly, the "Miss Shelby" was ..(how do they say it?)...."re-kitted" some time ago.

[Rich Perry]

Here is my latest Twister.  It is my 3rd one in my flying career.  I had the Fancher mods from the AMA mag on all of them.  Flies great.  40oz. with OS .40 FP. Not sure if that is a good weight or not, but it flies better than the first 2 did.

[Rich Perry]

With little blue Akromaster

[RknRusty]

Rich, on my Walter Umland plans, 40 oz. is the optimum weight. Yours looks good, with a little different shape to the vertical stab and turtle deck than mine. I have an fp.35 on it, and in it's pre-maiden form weighed 39+ oz. But since adding decals and a patch of checkered trimkote and a heavy spinner it's gotten a little porkier.

I am curious about everyone's CG. My plans show it almost an inch forward of where my plane is comfortable. I'm just a tad ahead of the spar right now. I'm not going to move it because everybody's is different, but since I'm still trimming it's something to keep in mind.

I maidened it the last weekend of July, and it probably has 35 or so flights on it. I need to get some more pictures under the sun instead of the dim shadows of my workshop.

The shop pics are pre-maiden. Notice the arrangement of the rods on the flap horn. The plans had the BC to flap in a lower hole than the elevator rod, so I flew it that way. But it had more flap throw than elevator, so I swapped positions to tame it.

[Walter Hicks]

White Ultrakote on wings and stab, wing trim painted with Omni Basecoat ,as well as fuse, Omni Auto two part clear coat .

[Fredvon4]

OK I got the bug

Meager flyer here, no completion flight , just fun/sport flying locally by myself

I see the Sig kit for $53 ish and the Walt Umland Fancherized Twister version for $150ish

I am inclined to get the Sig kit for my first Twister and build as to plan

Is there any compelling reason I should reconsider and save my hobby $$$ for the BuiltRight kit ?

[Dan McEntee]

OK I got the bug

Meager flyer here, no completion flight , just fun/sport flying locally by myself

I see the Sig kit for $53 ish and the Walt Umland Fancherized Twister version for $150ish

I am inclined to get the Sig kit for my first Twister and build as to plan

Is there any compelling reason I should reconsider and save my hobby $$$ for the BuiltRight kit ?

     Hi Fred;
     There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of Walter's kits, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the SIG kit either. If built according to plans, and built straight, it is still a really good flying model in stock form. It  builds light as is, and with proper attention to detail and trimming you should have NO problems.  If youlike the stock version enough, you can always build the Umland kit or scratch build one from the SIG plans and the Fancher article in Model Aviation. I think it's also pinned here on Stunthanger some where also. If you fly the stocker, then you will have an idea of how the modified versions fly, and quite honestly, for some flyers the stock version will fly more than well enough. I have a stock version under way that will be painted up like Mike Gretz's original, and powered by a Fox .35 as a tribute to him and his airplane design.  Good luck with what ever you choose.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee
   

[Will Hinton]

This thread brings up memories of my Twister, which met with the "This thing isn't safe to even start an engine on anymore" syndrom.  I won it at Sig in '95, built it and flew it for a while, then when I went to full stunters I would take it to contests just in case a beginner needed it.
Several did just that, and I insisted they fly mine for their second flight.  Nearly every one blasted the tarmac with it at some point, all felt bad until I reassured them that was it's purpose, and a couple even won beginner with it if I recall.
By this summer when, during moving, I decided it was "time", I bet the thing weighed a third more than the original weight!  Epoxy, ply scabs, etc. seem to really ad up when a ship is repaired quickly at the field!
Mine paid good dues returns in happy beginners!

[RknRusty]

This has been a good thread. I'm glad I got in on the Twister madness back about January when they became a popular topic.

We're really out-doing each other in this thread, with all sorts of different styles and concepts.
I feel like my Walter Twister could fly me deep into advanced if I can get to be a good enough pilot. I'm not nearly there yet though. I've been mired in Intermediate for a couple of seasons now, usually scoring in the mid 400s.
Rusty

[Dan McEntee]

This has been a good thread. I'm glad I got in on the Twister madness back about January when they became a popular topic.

We're really out-doing each other in this thread, with all sorts of different styles and concepts.
I feel like my Walter Twister could fly me deep into advanced if I can get to be a good enough pilot. I'm not nearly there yet though. I've been mired in Intermediate for a couple of seasons now, usually scoring in the mid 400s.
Rusty

    Hey Rusty;
      I think that ANY model can get you deep into advanced. You just have to pick one and stick with it, no matter what it is, even if it's just a Ringmaster or a Twister. Find the model that makes you comfortable, and comfort breeds confidence, and confidence breeds consistency. You need to observe how it flies when you fly it, have others observe it also, and maybe at least once, have an expert level flyer put up a pattern with it just so you can see it from outside the circle, and maybe that person can offer any more trimming suggestions that may help you. What ever model you fly, your Twister or Paul Walker's Predator, you still need to practice, and hopefully have some one to coach you through the areas that you need or want to improve on.
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[Dwayne]

My first Twister started life looking like pic one, then I used it to make my first electric and now it looks like pic 3
Great plane 

[Fredvon4]

I went back in time (searched SH and SSW) and see that there are a LOT of seasoned pilots usually recommending to do the Sig  kit first and have fun...learn things, and then do the Ted Fancher research and decide to morph Sig Kit or get the well done Umland kit

That said I have a fairly broad variety of engines to choose from for the Sig Twister Kit I just ordered
OS .20 FP ABC
OS .25 FP Iron
OS .35 max S
OS .40 LA..NIB
OS .40 FP
Fox .35..NIB with Muffler (no burp plug)

I am inclined to build it around the OS .25 Iron engine but open to suggestions

I usually place GRW 3 oz Uniflo hard tanks on the profile planes and use Aluminum LG along with my version of small diam Arrow shaft linkages

Thought, opinions

I value the great advice I get here. So far my retreading has followed much of the advice and many many hours of frustration and broken models averted

[Dan McEntee]

I went back in time (searched SH and SSW) and see that there are a LOT of seasoned pilots usually recommending to do the Sig  kit first and have fun...learn things, and then do the Ted Fancher research and decide to morph Sig Kit or get the well done Umland kit

That said I have a fairly broad variety of engines to choose from for the Sig Twister Kit I just ordered
OS .20 FP ABC
OS .25 FP Iron
OS .35 max S
OS .40 LA..NIB
OS .40 FP
Fox .35..NIB with Muffler (no burp plug)

I am inclined to build it around the OS .25 Iron engine but open to suggestions

I usually place GRW 3 oz Uniflo hard tanks on the profile planes and use Aluminum LG along with my version of small diam Arrow shaft linkages

Thought, opinions

I value the great advice I get here. So far my retreading has followed much of the advice and many many hours of frustration and broken models averted

    Hi Fred;
      Pick from either of the OS.35S, or the 40's, or even the Fox .35 if you are confident in running them now. The .25FP will fly a Twister, but right on the ragged edge of having enough reserve power. In calm conditions, it will do, but if it gets breezy, you will want the extra ooomph. Either of the .40's with a smallish venturi, and 11-4 prop will run fine in stock form. Might have to add a thin head shim, but I like the stock LA.40 on my profile Dusty. I think I have a .250" venturi and standard needle valve when I have it in that configuration. Lots of stuff written here and on SSW on getting OS.40's to behave, but I have always had decent luck with them stock, just don't try to run it like a Fox.35.
   Good luck and have fun,
    Dan McEntee

[Jim Carter]

   What the heck?  Here's mine.  It's got an old Enya 30 for power and it flies okay but I'm looking to part with it at some point in the near future  .

[john e. holliday]

Better hang on to it for those days you don't want to fly the world beater.

[Chris Fretz]

I built it back in the early 90's. I've been having a lot of fun with it lately.

[Steve Helmick]

Looking through my model picture folders, I found this Twister. All I remember was that it was built in the UK. The graphics appear to be done with colored tissue of some sort...really looks great to a free flighter's tired old 20-20 eyes!    Steve

[jjorgensen]

Here is one of my Twister bashes

[Fredvon4]

I have been waiting on the mail man  for the Sig Twister kit and no joy so I called Sig. One thing in my order was back orderd so I asked them to send me the "in stock" items and they are finally on the way.

Based on Dan's recommendation, I plan to build it around the NIB OS LA 40.

Off to research care feeding and props for this engine....jazzed

[TigreST]

Here is one of my Twister bashes

 


Ah yes...the Bf-109T  :-)


Tony

[jjorgensen]

and another Twister bashed into a Navy Kingfisher

[Fredvon4]

Many very good looking twisters

Ok
Got my kit

Questions:
I think Dan McEntee convinced me to built around the OS LA 40

To date all stunt plane my flying is sport/fun and no serious attempts at learning a pattern or proper shapes

I am too beat up and too old to consider traveling great distances for competition--- but will ====JUST for fellowship and fun

To date all my combat and stunt models have been simple, NO flap models

I have several kits designed for flaps... Since I do not care about competition stunt, is there any compelling reason to NOT take (as example this Twister) and set fixed flaps and use elevator only controls

I am asking  to be talked into or out of the complication of flaps...

I TOTALLY SUCK at first flight trimming, and exceptionally happy when a model flies " good enough" right off the board

I realize MY good enough is subjective.... for me...meaning I can control it... do simple maneuvers, and land the model without running around looking like "Shug on stage with three chain saws and a poodle"

[RknRusty]

...I have several kits designed for flaps... Since I do not care about competition stunt, is there any compelling reason to NOT take (as example this Twister) and set fixed flaps and use elevator only controls

I am asking  to be talked into or out of the complication of flaps...

I TOTALLY SUCK at first flight trimming, and exceptionally happy when a model flies " good enough" right off the board...

Fred, I'd say build it with the flaps. If all is built straight, they shouldn't introduce any difficult trimming issues. Of all the things I trimmed, both at the bench and in the air, the flaps needed no tweaking. I did move the control rods from the radical position on the plans to the traditional arrangement with the flap rod in the top hole and elevator rod to a lower hole in the flap horn. Walters drawing had that reversed, and it had way more flap throw than elevator throw.

But the Twister has such great potential, I vote for flaperizing it.
Mine flew in its first contest this weekend and did as well as I'd hoped.

Rusty

[Olli-Matti]

I got one finished today!

[Fredvon4]

That sure are a good looking Twister Olli...me likes !

[RknRusty]

Yeah, Olli, that's one to be proud of. Nice work. It's a damn good pattern plane too.
Rusty

[James Holford]

Heres mine for now. Work in Progress!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[RknRusty]

As soon as I saw that picture, I said, "Damn, that looks just like Jamie's!" Lol  Future Intermediate stunt ship.

[Mike Keville]

Not really a build, but rather an acrylic-on-canvas that I painted several years ago and was presented to Mike Gretz at a Sig contest.

[Chancey Chorney]

Here's mine. Bought it a couple years ago, but never got it out and up yet. Had some work to do on it so removed teh engine and have to re-install it after bench running it. It is a stock Fox .35. The plane was built as per the plans. However, I don't think he had heard of sandpaper.....

[Brett Buck]

Heres mine for now. Work in Progress!

   It's going to fly terrible with a fluorescent light stuck on the bottom! Easy to see, though.

    Brett