Back Into C/L, Moving up from 1/2A

[VA Flier]

Glad to have found this group!

After intermittent 1/2A C/L activity over the decades, I'm getting back in, reading up, and considering a Flight Streak kit - not much experience to draw from, but I liked my old Baby Flight Streak just fine. Is this an overall good choice?

What are some other proven alternative planes in that same ~400 inch category? Priority factors for me may come down to: low to moderate cost, ease of building, ease of learning to increase my flying skills, durability, ease of repair.

Considering my experience and time available to build, and covering with Monokote or similar, I don't expect the build to come out especially light. Would the OS 25LA-S or the 46LA-S engine be a better match for the Flight Streak? Or should I be looking for a used OS 40LA, or maybe a new 35 to 40 of similar type, different brand? Any other engine brand/model recommendations in the same type, cost and popularity range as OS LA and suitable for the Flight Streak?

A few days ago I was seriously looking at the Fox 35 - am really attracted to that "classic" engine aspect - but, considering the different fuel need and other quirks, will wait til later on that...

The SIG Twister also has caught my eye so having an LA46 on hand later might be a good thing, but not if it’s a bad match for the Flight Streak (or whatever plane I build next)...

A Skyray kit is already on the final to-buy list. Have a couple Norvel 061 stored away somewhere, and plan to recover the old Baby Flight Streak with film (built with tissue/dope ~20 years ago). Should be great fun mentoring my nieces, nephews and a 12 YO neighbor kid who hangs around, and my wife is a good sport and would likely enjoy starting on the Skyray as well.

Any comments, advice or wisecracks will be much appreciated.

[jim gilmore]

Baby flight streak, baby ringmaster<one with built up wing> are overall very good models to fly intermittantly. Their tough why you cover them with nylon or rayon.

[Paul Taylor]

VA,
Welcome to the Hangar!
You will get all types of advice. Pick out what you feel works best for you.

I still consider myself kind of new and learning stuff all the time. Here is what I would suggest.

Get the Twister. Simple, and cheap to build. Build it as light as you can. You can build it stock or bash it into a F-Twister. Either way it is a good flying plane. I would say get a LA .46 if you can. It runs better then the LA .40 and is suppose to be lighter, with more power. For some reason most folks have problems getting a good run with the LA .40.
Now if you get the LA .46 you can move it to any 40 size plane.

If you get a Flite Streak, the 40/46 might be a little too much power. A LA 25 would be the best match for that plane.
As for a SkyRay, if you are talking about the 35 Ray, they are OK but the Twister would be a better choice IMHO. The SkyRay35 flys better if you put a Flite Streak wing it it and turn it into a Streak Master. Again IMHO.

And above all keep asking questions.

[Tim Wescott]

Listen to Paul:

Pick out what you feel works best for you.

Everything I say here is assuming that you're flying stunt.  If you're going for "rip the wings off" sport flying, or combat, or something, then it means nothing:

I recently asked if an LA 25 was a good engine for a Twister, and got answers that ranged from "yes, absolutely", through "maybe, if you build light and fly well", to "no -- it's too small".  At least one of the "yes absolutelys" came from a guy who I know builds better than me, and flies better than me, too.

IMHO, an LA 25 is a good fit for either the Streak or the Skyray 35 -- in fact, until you crash a Skyray enough times that the fuselage has more epoxy than wood, an FP 20 is an excellent engine: you only need to move up to an LA 25 to haul the freight when the plane is really too heavy anyway or if you can't find an FP 20.

I'm currently flying a slightly stretched Streak (with an LA 25), and have relegated my now-overweight Skyray 35 (with an LA 25) to "if everything else is crashed" status.  Either is a good plane if you're still in beginner/intermediate territory.

[VA Flier]

I still consider myself kind of new and learning stuff all the time.

Get the Twister. Simple, and cheap to build. ...F-Twister. ...I would say get a LA .46 if you can. ...most folks have problems ...with the LA .40.

As for a SkyRay, if you are talking about the 35 Ray,

Thank very much!

Yeah, the day i don't seek to learn something is the day I'll be dead.

At 490 in^2 the Twister seems kinda big, but that's what moving up from 1/2A means, I guess. So, a SIG Twister and .46LA-S it is! (Maybe was kinda hoping someone knowledgeable would suggest that combo as a good thing...) 

The Skyray I mentioned above is the 1/2A version, not the 35:
"Sig's most popular C/L airplane of all time! ...the Skyray features ultra simple all-balsa construction... an ideal first-time C/L trainer for the beginner"

Still only $20, $15 if you shop around. Fun to buy for a kid and help them build it, then when they crash it, no big deal.

Built one in the mid-90s with my daughter, w/ a Norvel 061, and taught her to fly it. Flew it with her friends, and various of my friends and their kids. After numerous catastrophic crashes, it became affectionately known as "Frankenplane" for its many protruding and unfinished glue seam "scars" (CA and kicker is a great innovation!). In fact, that plane may have been more glue than wood when I finally discarded it as a too-heavy, fuel-oil sodden fire-hazard. 

[VA Flier]

Everything I say here is assuming that you're flying stunt...

I recently asked if an LA 25 was a good engine for a Twister, and got answers that ranged from "yes, absolutely", through "maybe, if you build light and fly well", to "no -- it's too small". 

Thanks for the info! Basic stunt and just round and round fun with friends and family is my style. Nothing hardcore.

Your Twister thread is one of the first I read here and I learned much there. Good variety of info and viewpoints. Seems to have put me on the right track - never considered the Twister before but it seems like an obvious choice over the Flight Streak now.

[VA Flier]

Baby flight streak, baby ringmaster<one with built up wing> are overall very good models to fly intermittantly. Their tough why you cover them with nylon or rayon.

Thanks for the input.
Is there a particular brand or trade name of these coverings that you prefer or know of?
I'm definitely interested in toughness and durability. I remember back when, getting punctures in my covering just from landing in dried, rough-mown field grass.

[ChrisSarnowski]

If you want to do a painted/dope finish, Polyspan is a synthetic fabric that is pretty tough. You can also paint Corehouse SLC iron-on plastic film covering. I've sprayed Rustoleum paint on SLC and it holds up fine.

The Flite Streak with a .25 on it is a great sport flyer and can do more accomplished stunts as well. The Twister is also a good fun flyer and is great for learning the stunt pattern with a  40 or 46 on it.

-Chris

[Terrence Durrill]

        VA Flier,

                You mentioned you like the classic aspect of the Fox .35 on a classic plane.....so here is my 2 cents worth....I have been flying S-1 Ringmasters with Fox .35 stunt engines/4 ounce Perfect tank and 10/6 Top Flite (paddle design) prop since 1955.  I currently have 28 Fox .35 stunt engines in my engine collection (almost every variation from sandcast to the 50th anniversary model) and have always had at least one or more of this combination ready to fly (1955-2012).  Some fliers complain about the famous Fox burp on outside maneuvers.  Yes, I have seen the burp on the outside maneuvers on occasion but has been a rare experience and has never been a problem for me.  I still recommend this old, but proven combination for the weekend fun flier, especially after a few years out of the hobby.  This combination is a real classic......I truly love the unique sound of a Fox .35.            

[pat king]

I can supply a Flite Streak or a Streak 45 kit. Both are laser cut kits.

Pat

[david beazley]

Welcome VA,
Is the VA in your screen name referring to Virginia?  I checked your profile but didn't list any locations.  I'm located in central VA and we have a coule guys in our RC club that fly CL. We are developing a circle and are all about having fun. 

[Michael Graves]

Welcome Back!! I too have just gotten back into CL after a 22 year lay off. I will be out at the field this sat. flying my Top Flight Tutor with a FOX 35 for the first time in 22 years.

[john e. holliday]

The best thing is to go back and read all you can on this forum pertaining to plane/engine combonations.   If close to a group of guys get hooked up with them.

[VA Flier]

Welcome Back!! I too have just gotten back into CL after a 22 year lay off. I will be out at the field this sat. flying my Top Flight Tutor with a FOX 35 for the first time in 22 years.

Welcome back yourself! I did see your posts - nice to just get out old gear and GO. Cool picture of the dusty plane just out from storage. Have fun on Saturday!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks to ALL for your replies and advice - this is a great group!

I'm in the Tidewater Area of VA and will likely be hooking up with some C/L folks around here.

The Ringmaster/Fox 35 "classic" combo did catch my eye early on. Maybe down the road a little...

So many nice planes to build and fly, so little time.

[Bill Little]

I'm gonna buck the system a bit since you ARE moving up from 1/2A and want a plane that will be easy to repair, fly real good, etc..

Your first idea about the Flight Streak is what I would go with.  Why?  Well is is a bit quicker build and a touch easier, too.  It will be up to repairs easily, and can take some punishment.  The Skyray 35 is another really good choice for you, but do away with all the lite ply ribs, etc., and replace them with balsa.  That is why I would consider the Flite Streak instead, just build it right out of the box.  And definitely go with an OS .25LA on either one.  A Ringmaster flies great on the .25LA.  And people have flown 500+ point patterns in contests with them all so they will do all you ask of them.

After a couple of Flite Streak/Skyray 35/Ringmaster combos I would then go to the Twister and the OS .46LA.  By the way, trace all the parts from which ever you pick and build and extra couple all at the same time so that when you go to the field, one goes down, you have another to get right back up with.  Then repair as needed.

Replace the plastic backplate in any of the LA engines (plenty of posts here on that subject).  Board member Curtis Shipp sells aluminum back plates for all the LA series engines.

Most of all, HAVE FUN!

 BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM

[Russell Shaffer]

Tidewater, huh?  Look up John Tate in the Portsmouth phone book.  Norfolk Aeromodlers - they fly Sunday afternoons at Fentress Naval field.  They are a great bunch and are always happy to see a new face, even guys from Oregon. 

[Scott Richlen]

Also, mark your calendar for our 7th Annual StuntFest in Lorton, VA.  It's Saturday, September 22.  Start flying with the Fentress guys and they'll make sure you're ready by then for our contest.

Scott