Finished my Fancherized Twister

[gene poremba]

 I have been working on my Fancherized Twister build for a few weeks & finaly finished it up this week. It has an OS 46 engine on muffler pressure for right now. It is covered with silkspan & Brodak dope. All up weight is on the heavy side @ 50oz. We'll see how it flies as soon as i get some good weather......Gene

PS, Thanks Robert for your videos, I tried to apply alot of your methods to my build......Gene

[RC Storick]

It looks like it worked. Your model looks great! Keep building

[Tim Wescott]

Mine weighs in at 53 or 54 ounces, depending on the mood of the scale at the time.  It's good enough that I'm regularly breaking 500 points with it in local contests.

Trim it out per Paul Walker's article and keep the wing warps out of it, and it should serve you well.

[Avaiojet]

Tim,

Looks really good.

Robart hinges?

[ron young]

    Great looking plane i like it ,let us no how it flies
RON

[gene poremba]

 I'm really anxious to fly this one. Tim, glad to hear theirs hope for it @ 50oz! Aviojet, I use Robart hinges alot, but i also work on them individually to get them free enough for my likeing. I'll let ya know how it flies once i get it in the air.....Gene

[Dan McEntee]

   Hello Gene;
      It should fly OK at that weight. If you have it benched trimmed pretty close, and initial flights show few problems, start thinking about propellers. That is a key element on airplanes that are a bit on the heavy side. Research what people are using in OS LA.46s and get some samples of each. Once your flight trim is pretty close, start experimenting with the different props. You'll have more than enough power with that engine, you just need to use the right prop and it will make all the difference. I'm gonna guess that 62 feet from handle to center of the fuselage will be a good starting point for line length, and a 5.2 to 5.3 lap time. APC makes an 11.5-4 that works well in the RPM range you will be operating in, say 9500 to 10,000 RPM at take off. Some have been using the APC 12.25-3.75, but you may not need that much prop. Don't be affraid to cut props down, just be careful with having equal blade lengths and with balance. Jim Lee makes a neat tool for marking up props for cutting them down. He's in the vendors section. The model looks good, and if it's straight,  trimming will be pretty easy.
   Good luck and have fun,
    Dan McEntee

[Tim Wescott]

I'm really liking the Thunder Tiger 11 x 4.5 on mine.  They definitely need balancing as they come from the factory, but they work nice.

[gene poremba]

 Thanks Dan & Tim for the prop information. My longest set of lines are 60', so i may fly it on those for the initial first few flights until i can get a longer set. I'll order a longer set today, along with a new handle. I have been useing an EZ just since forever!. .....Gene

[Perry Rose]

Whip up a handle with adjustable line spacing. I've found 62 foot lines eye to eye work good on .46 LA planes.

[Tim Wescott]

Brodak's sells a decent "Fancher style" hard-point handle.  The adjustable spacing makes a big difference, at least for me.

[gene poremba]

 Tim, i was on Brodaks web site today looking at their handles. I need to put together an order for some more paint items also and try & order everything at one time, since they charge $9 shipping. I May even get a longer set of lines too from them while i'm at it.....Gene

[Tim Wescott]

I use a non-adjustable hard-point handle, along with a line clip bender and a bag of different-length line clips.  That's kind of diving off the deep end unless you're really serious about things, although I think it's where you'll end up if you get all the way up to expert.

You may want to start with this http://brodak.com/handles/brodak-large-adjustable-handle.html or this http://brodak.com/handles/brodak-small-adjustable-handle.html.

[gene poremba]

 Tim, i ordered the C-5 handle from Brodak along with .015 X 70' lines and large & xtra large connectors. I'll cut the lines back once they get here. I'm going to probably hold off flying the Twister until i get my lines and handle set up. I'm currently flying my Shoestring & Akromaster til then.....Gene

[Dan McEntee]

Thanks Dan & Tim for the prop information. My longest set of lines are 60', so i may fly it on those for the initial first few flights until i can get a longer set. I'll order a longer set today, along with a new handle. I have been useing an EZ just since forever!. .....Gene

     If the ines are 60 feet eye to eye, that will put you about 62 feet from handle to airplane center. That is how I always refer to line length. If you were to ever have your lines check for lenth at a contest ( I have seen guys that were well over the 70 foot limit, which is handle to airplane center) that is how they check them. Same for any timed speed even, so it's a good habit, I think, to start thinking in those terms. Having them a bit long is better that a bit short, they haven't invented a line stretcher yet! Some guys keep extra sets of lines in one foot increments longer and shorter than they normally use, just for test purposes. When they decide on a specific length, then they make up a new set of lines for that airplane. This is a good spot to mention that I have a set of lines and handle for every airplane I own and fly. I never take the handle off the end, so once you have nuetral set, you only need to inspect the lines and handle each flying session.
   Good luck and have fun,
    Dan McEntee

[gene poremba]

 Thats a good point Dan. Right now i'm moveing my single handle from model to model & changeing lines too. I'd really like to learn the pattern over the next year & really need to get myself set up right, so i appreciate the input from everyone. I'll most likely set up my Twister on the new lines & handle & keep it there. I ordered an assortment of props today also, so i dont have to wait to start trimming my model out. Now its just a waiting game til everything gets here. I love to build and am contemplateing on building my Skyray in the mean time. I seem to  have a need to allways have a model on the bench started!....Gene

[Randy Cuberly]

Hi Gene,
Fancherized Twister looks great and should be an excellent flier!
One caution about the Brodak Dope...keep raw fuel off of it it really isn't very fuel proof.  Fill the tank carefully and keep the overflow away from the paint.

Residual exhaust doesn't seem to bother it much just the raw fuel.  I watched it take the dope completely off mine and run onto the ground with just a few drops from the overflow line.

Look carefully at the nose of my GEO XL in the photo.

Randy Cuberly

[gene poremba]

 Thanks for the heads up on the raw fuel getting on the paint Randy. I try and keep the frontal areas well waxed, but i've been there myself! ....Gene

[john e. holliday]

Remember guys/gals,  max line length is 70 feet, center of handle to center of plane.