I'm an experienced builder of competitive FF and RC models but just starting my first 2 builds in CL since a Stuntman 23 back in the 70's. I've watched over 100 of Windy's videos and can build light. What recommendations do you have for my long-term build, the Magnum?  I'll be starting with a Banshee to learn the basics again, of which I've already noted the wing should be moved forward since I'm not using a Fox 35. TIA for the suggestions.

   The Banshee should give you no troubles, and you know about moving the wing forward, or you could shorten the nose also, depending ion what you want for a tail moment. Just build it as per instruction, as straight and aligned as possible, then go fly. I don't think there is much sense in doing too many modifications or "improvements" to a model, since you are basically going to be relearning how to fly, and this airplane will be taking some punishment. Make templates of the key parts so you can scratch build more if desired. The landing gear can be upgraded with sheet metal landing gear, and the original wire gear can be improved by beefing up it's mount. Start by gluing in a hardwood block or large round wooden dowel where the end of the wire will plug into the fuselage from each side. The next thing is telescoping a length of 5/32" brass tubing inside a similar length of 3/16" tubing, and then cut this slightly shorter than the fuselage width. Drill a 3/16" hole where the landing gear will mount, and then glue in the stack of brass tubing. The landing gear takes a lot of stress and the way it is made tends to flew the gear legs in a twisting motion, and will work against the fuselage as it's designed, and become sloppy in a short amount time. This little improvement will just help you keep flying.

   As to the Magnum, this airplane, and many at this level just require some planning for power plant and fuel tank. Go through the wood in your kit and replace any that may seem heavy, especially the wing sheeting. Don't use the control horns that come with the kit. Search out on the forums here for current suppliers of control hardware or plan on making them yourself. The fuselage is where a lot of attention will go and if the Magnum has a weak point, it's the fuselage. If you desire a tuned pipe type power plant, you will need to make the fuselage deeper and make plans for the engine and required tank capacity. If using a "standard" side exhaust engine, you may have to adjust the engine bearer width. I would add balsa block glued in between the bearers t o help with vibration damping. The fuselage is pretty short in height, and the plans call for cutting a section out to install the wing. Almost all Magnums I have seen through the years that are built stock develop cracks in the bottom of the fuselage where the forward glue joint is for this piece. You can make the fuselage sides a bit deeper, or at a minimum, provide for some doubling up or re-enforcement at this joint, with maybe some fiberglass or carbon fiber inside and out to help out here. The airplane as it is flies pretty well and was very popular at the time. I had one that was set up for a ST-G.51, as did a lot of other people, And I did pretty well with it. Or fit in a ST. 60. Any of the current available side exhaust engines in the .5o size range or bigger will just have to be fitted. Tank a=compartment gets tight if you need an 8 ounce tank, so plan accordingly. I don't think anyone has built an electric version et, but I would imagine shortening the nose a bit will be in order for an electric model. Again, the key here is to choose your power plant, and then plan from there. Try not to exceed 70 ounces in finished weight for the best flying model, Mine did OK at 72 ounces with my ST-G-.51, but I have heard of finished examples in the high to low 60 ounce range. If you search the forums here I'm sure you will find hours of reading material on other Magnum builds and flying experiences
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

One of the things that helps the Magnum is to build the nose with the cross grain balsa between the engine mounts. Second mod is to increase the stab/elevator size to 25% of the wing area, I also moved them back 1/2" for a little longer tail moment. On the two I build I change the gear to fuse mount with flat Al from Brodak, mine were both take-a-part using the Paul Walker Impact approach. 

Quote from: Dennis Toth on March 02, 2026, 08:17:10 AMOne of the things that helps the Magnum is to build the nose with the cross grain balsa between the engine mounts. Second mod is to increase the stab/elevator size to 25% of the wing area, I also moved them back 1/2" for a little longer tail moment. On the two I build I change the gear to fuse mount with flat Al from Brodak, mine were both take-a-part using the Paul Walker Impact approach. 

    The landing gear is an area that I forgot about. I don't think that the kit comes with the plywood clips that some foam cutters put in to help hold and re-enforce the wing landing gear mounts. They can be scratch made, and slits for the cut into the core before sheeting them. Mine were stock, but and I flew off grass a lot with it and never had mine come loose but I was probably lucky. Make the vertical block for the wire torsion leg taller also and make new landing gear with a taller leg. I would also install the re-enforcing blocks I mentioned before but incorporate a plywood mount for the fuse gear also, just to give you an option. It's worth the effort and few grams of weight. To me, part of the attraction of the Magnum is the way it sits  on  it's gear. The fuse mounted gear is more practical, but just not the same to me. With the wing mounted gear, the airplane starts to look like a Focke-Wulf 190!! Take some liberties with the fuselage and tail outlines and it gets even closer! The 190=D model is what I would shoot for!!!
   Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

Dan and Dennis, thanks for the lengthy response. My local field is grass and I thought about making both wing and fuse gear for the model. Fuse for early flight ls in my career and when I get better I can go to the wing mounted gear as it definitely adds a "I know what I'm doing" air to a model.

I have a Ro-Jett 60 with pipe that I plan on putting in the Magnum and I'll modify the fuse sides as needed to make it fit. I also know about adding both a floating bellcrank and adding a block on the upper skin for the wing mounted gear. I also have my own G10 control horns. I also plan on a take apart wing at least and maybe the tail. I've only seen Windys way but it's probably similar to Paul's.

One question currently, what do you mean by fuel tank planning on the Magnum?  As for the Banshee, I understand the problems with the landing gear and will deal with during construction.

I appreciate the comments so far guys. Keep them coming.

Quote from: gavoss on March 04, 2026, 07:38:43 AMOne question currently, what do you mean by fuel tank planning on the Magnum?  As for the Banshee, I understand the problems with the landing gear and will deal with during construction.

I appreciate the comments so far guys. Keep them coming.

    Sometimes people just start building a model and aren't sure what they will power it with, but knowing what you will use before you start helps a lot. You can make the engine mounts in a "crutch" fashion and get things aligned more accurately and then allow for any type of metal pads that the engine will sit on, which is recommended. It's easier to put the balsa block between the bearers at this point also. As far as tank planning, If you know what the engine will be, then you need to have an idea of fuel consumption for do the pattern safely. It's a royal pain trying to figure out how to extend the flight a minute or two if you need it after you have finished and flown the model and you don't have room for a bigger tank. Research a bit on fuel consumption. You can start with where you bought the engine, and ask them, and even searching out here in the engine section. If you discover that you you will need an 8 ounce tank, then you can see how that will fit against the plans. You may need to relocate the rear bulkhead, and I have heard of some having to notch out the wing leading edge in order to get a longer tank that is of the normal 1" thickness. An option is to increase capacity by increasing the thickness, and then you may have to make some changes to the engine mount crutch to get the tank aligned with the engine correctly as far as being aligned with the spray bar height. That is much easier done when building the crutch and you can mock up the whole assembly on the bench, then work on how the header fits in that arrangement along with the pipe also. Pipe length and room for adjustment fore and aft can be accounted for also ands noted.
  Type at you later,
  Dan McEntee

Quote from: gavoss on March 01, 2026, 08:12:03 AMI'll be starting with a Banshee to learn the basics again, of which I've already noted the wing should be moved forward since I'm not using a Fox 35. TIA for the suggestions.

I'm currently building a SIG Banshee. And I'm moving ahead with 2 basic mods. Moving the wing forward 1.5" and also increasing the tail area to 22% of the wing area with a 60/40 stab/elev area ratio (aspect ratio 3.7). My planned power is an OS Max 35.

I decided to move the wing forward vs shorten the nose to increase the tail moment which should offer improved turning.

As for the landing gear, I don't care much for simple wire gear. I'm using profile alum gear from Brodak for the 38 Special.

I'm also upgrading to a 4" bell crank, adjustable lead out guide, and adjustable wing tip weight box.

Colin

I agree. Both are excellent suggestions which I'll include.

I would suggest not using the tank that has the long tubing up the side of the fuse. The chances of a small crack in the fuel line tube where it enters the tank are high. Windy has a lot of great tips like this in his Basic Stunt Motor videos.

Quote from: Kevin K on March 18, 2026, 08:02:05 AMI would suggest not using the tank that has the long tubing up the side of the fuse. The chances of a small crack in the fuel line tube where it enters the tank are high. Windy has a lot of great tips like this in his Basic Stunt Motor videos.

  I concur, unless you secure it with some sort of bracket mount up near the top. It can act like a tuning fork if not supported, and transmit vibration to fuel in the tank, causing it to foam. I like going through the fuselage side with the tubes and connect to the tank with fuel line, myself.
   
  Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

Quote from: gavoss on March 04, 2026, 07:38:43 AMMy local field is grass and I thought about making both wing and fuse gear for the model. Fuse for early flight ls in my career and when I get better I can go to the wing mounted gear as it definitely adds a "I know what I'm doing" air to a model.

That's what I did.  I haven't gotten around to the wing-mounted gear yet. I don't think I could get away with putting on the air that I know what I'm doing, because too many people know that I don't.

The problem with wing mounted gear on grass is if its not mounted good it will break and damage the wing.. especially if its not mounted far enough foward

I'm not 100% sure because it's a long time since I built my Magnums, but isn't there only 1 rib per wing to support the landing gear blocks..? It's better to have 2 if you want it to be strong. L

Quote from: Lauri Malila on March 22, 2026, 01:33:22 PMI'm not 100% sure because it's a long time since I built my Magnums, but isn't there only 1 rib per wing to support the landing gear blocks..? It's better to have 2 if you want it to be strong. L

    I just took a peek at the plans to refresh my memory, and there are no ribs attached to the LG block. It glues into the foam core up against a 1/8" light ply spar. I remember some adding in two "clips" from at least 1/16" ply by cutting a slot in the leading edge of the foam where the clip was epoxied in to help hold it against the spar. The clip is cut to be flush with the foam and them the wing panel gets sheeted. The vertical block that the torsion arm anchors in is pretty short and one that is twice as long can fit into the wing. All of that greatly strengthens the wing mounted gear with really negligible weight involved. Most just install fuse mounted gear, but I like the look of the wing mounted gear and just a little work makes it much better.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

   

Quote from: Dan McEntee on March 22, 2026, 08:57:00 PMI just took a peek at the plans to refresh my memory, and there are no ribs attached to the LG block.

Oh, even better!
Thanks for checking.
L