Hello All,
Is a Brodak 40 too much engine for a Skyray 35? Or is an LA25 a better choice? I plan on using this plane on 60 ft lines, as a trainer to practice wingovers and loops.
This is my first post on SH, thanks Sparky for letting me in!
Darryl W
A 25LA is a better choice, but the Brodak is certainly not too powerful for it, based on helping a bunch of different people with them. Some of them seem to be only marginally stronger than a 25LA once you get the venturi to a usable dimension (some of which are .308 - far too large - on depending on when you got it), and the LA allows you to run a better prop.
If you have a Brodak 40 that you know runs well, the I would say use it, instead of seeking out a 25LA. Either combination is perfectly adequate for primary training.
I would also note that the straight-out-of-the-kit Skyray will fly well enough if you have the right engine on it, but is both heavy, and *extremely fragile*. All that plywood and spruce is a little stronger than balsa, but much heavier. So in any given crash, the forces are much higher, and thus much more prone to self-destructing. Mine originally had a 20FP, and weighed 36 ounces, which is heavy, but flew extremely well. It just shattered to irreparable bits in the first significant crash.
I rebuilt it (in a single afternoon...) with all balsa parts in the wing, very small balsa spars, etc. and all I had on hand was 5-lb wood. So it ended up 7 ounces lighter. This made little difference in the performance, but it subsequently survived upwards of *40* crashes , minor and major, and has only required significant repair once - when the monokote shattered like glass due to extreme age and UV exposure over 20 some odd years.
I don't wish you ill, but reality is that you are very likely to crash multiple times if you are pushing yourself to learn. What you don't want is to be at a dead stop for a month afterwards. I would suggest that as soon as you finish your first airplane from the kit, *start another one*, using the kit plans as a guide, replace the spar with medium balsa, replace the lite ply ribs with medium 3/32 balsa, and the half ribs with full ribs, also of 3/32 medium balsa. The rest is OK as is. I would also replace the single-wheel gear with two-wheel gear on all of them, far less prone to disaster on takeoff.
Take them both with you to the flying field every time. Fly one and repair minor damage on the spot but when it gets too bad, just grab the other airplane out of the car and *keep going*. The worst thing you can possibly do is encounter one problem, give up, and go home to try and fix it for a week. It's the old "get back on the horse" plan, don't lose time doin a few flights, then leaving, just grab the other airplane and keep going. It's not like they are expensive, you can probably put a Skyray together for $20 worth of material.
Brett