I ran across the ARF Flight Streak while surfing Tower Hobbies site and thought the price{ compared to the Brodak:gotta build it and order 20 to 30 bucks of extras to finish it!}, was too good to be true....49 bucks aint bad..anyway, I ordered one as well as an LA-S 25. I know there was an older thread talking some about this combo and am wondering if anyone has any pertinent info for me before I dive into it. I think what would be most helpful would be engine/ tank setup and any weak areas on the plane to be a concern. Thanks in advance guys..Im sure Ill get all the "skinny" needed from you!..Bob

I thought we had a review on the TF FLite Streak Arf over at SSW. It may have been lost (like the TF Nobler Arf review) in one of the crashes the board suffered occasionally back in the "good" old days. Anyway do a search on it --the SSW search engine is working now too.
I have one that I fly on-and-off with a Fox15BB. Until I added a little nose weight, it was really twitchy. Since I am using such a small engine, I didn't change anything on the ARF itself. With a 25, I might revisit the leadouts, they were pretty thin on the first generation Flite Streak Arfs--I have one of those. Oh, the 1st generation tank was junk (it was rusty), but just replace it with a clunk tank. I use a 2oz Sullivan and it gets me thru the pattern on 52 foot lines. Actually it is a pretty good deal at $50.

  Flew mine for a couple of years then gave it away.  Flown with a LA 25 and GRW 3oz Uniflow on muffler pressure. Very good flying model.  Everythng was stock, even the ca hinges and controls

Carefully trimmed and with minor upgrades, the ARF Flite Streak is a potent contender around here.  At the Palmer Memorial contest, Stan Tyler walked off with the BARF (Best ARF) award with a 507point flight in Profile 40 - Competitor.  He has won the event in the past with the same plane.  Mine with a Saito 30 was a real delight to fly.  Dirty Dan has the combo worked out to a readily reproduced perfection.

One major modification that will drastically improve the flight characteristics is to go to a much larger, high aspect ratio tail.  We add about 4" span to the stabilizer, keeping the same look, and 1/2" chord to the elevator.  The model can now be tuned to turn very tight without any exit bobble.  The nickname for this is the Doodle Streak, since Bill Netzband suggested that high aspect ratio empennage with a low aspect ratio wing is a good thing for unflapped models (A technique he uses in his Doodle Bug design, thus the name).  He even gave me the correct area to use.

On my Saito model, I shortened the nose about 1.5" and put a plastic clunk tank housing on the inside of the nose.  I didn't use the usual plumbing, I used a floppy balloon.  Never a worry about air bubbles or foaming with that system, and the fuel "head" generated by centrifugal (centripital? I never can get that straight) force provides reliable fuel draw in spades.  In fact, it results in what I call a 4/4 break.  The engine is set full lean on the ground, and goes slightly rich in the air.  When you go into a maneuver, and especially overhead, the power comes on strong.

  I agree with Andrew,use Skyray moments and you'll end up with something you want to fly.I rebuilt a FS arf that way for a RC member and it flies great. He has an older Os .25(rc version) and it really gets with the program.60' lines and 15% nitro calmed it down(he was using 30% and 52' lines).Ex combat flyer from the 60's,found out that R/C has a tendency to slow your reflexes(NOT AGE!!!).

Steve

I shall reiterate, for someone else here, get ahold of Dirty Dan,, I have seen his FS fly and it has scored very well in EXPERT with competative flights, he has the whole skinny available I think for an email, Its a very comprehensive peice well written and worth the read even if you elect not to go his route.

Hi Mark,

I have read Dan's set up.  It is clearly marked out just what to do to get the FS turned into a pretty darn good profile.

As far as I know the Arf is a faithful reproduction of the original kit. So in that regard, changing the moments to a Skyray represent something of a "travesty"  to the old bird!!!

I believe the ARF Flite Streak already has a fuselage that is around an inch longer(wing to tail) than the kit.

It (the Arf that is) is a reproduction as far as any classic rules or even "old time" with regards to the airfoil and moments (although I might be wrong as someone mentioned above in the wing to tail length).
There is certainly nothing wrong, in principle, with making a hollow fuse---that's internal--and can be good-it's lighter, or bad---it's flimsy.

However my Fox15bb certainly works well with it.

But a Flite-Ray certainly isn't a reproduction of anything poor old George had in mind when he designed the Streak  . Oh, the humanity......

Elwyn's post got me curious, so I just went out and did some measuring.  The authentic TF kit has a tail moment an inch shorter then the current ARF Flite Streak.  The Skyray 35 is 1-1.25" longer yet, and has a 6" nose length which allows for a stubby 4oz tank.  The longer dimensions make the plane more user friendly.  What George created, what TF kitted, and what TF produces as an ARF now are three different things.  Cutting a new fuselage that will last more then a few days and improve flight characteristics isn't going to make an ARF less of a Flite Streak.  Put the wiggy tips and rudder on anything you choose and people will assume it's a Flite Streak. The average person buying and flying the ARF Streak is more likely to crash, and crash often, then they are to campaign it in Classic stunt. 

There's a ARF, a vintage kit built Streak, and a TF kit wing in a Skyray spec fuselage in this pic, and most people would never see the difference.  The ARF is by far the worst flying of the group.