PRIMARY FORCE short-kit is Ready To FLY!

[Doug Burright]

I posted some pictures in Mikey's Models, in the Vendor's Corner, however, I think if I put a picture of it with all it's trim colors onto this topic, people may see it easier.

The Short-Kit arrived very complete, for a "short-kit". I needed only the leading edges of the wing, and the top and bottom 1/16th inch LE and TE sheeting. I supplied the bellcrank and hardware, landing gear and hinges. The kit's plan sheet and instructions are good, and I had no problem following along, during construction. Good work, Mikey!

I made wheelpants like the ones pictured in SIG's advertisement of the ARF, that was easy. Power is a Big Art O.S. 35, with muffler. engraved on the side of the head fins is : Dryer, in cursive writing. I built a Uniflow  3 oz fuel tank, and painted it white. All the covering is Ultracote, the two purple colors are Krylon spray paint. Black trim tape is Goldberg and Great Planes. I "artfully" designed my AMA number, and cut them from a Monokote trim sheet. The kit-name letters on the plane were magically transferred to decal sheets, and applied with water. All the applications on the plane were sealed with Minwax Poly-Crylic  clear sealer, to improve resistance to fuel and exhaust oil. I know what it weighs, now, but am wondering if mine came out anywhere near the recommended weight. I'll reserve the weight of mine, until I hear of some others.

I hope you enjoy seeing it, and hope you can urge Mikey to produce more of these, because the ARF versions that I've seen fly- are great! When the weather straightens out, this one is getting some air-time!

Oh- Here is a picture of the underside of the airplane: It's kind of a nod to the SIG version. I removed the wheelpants after the 2nd flight, and weighed it again today... Now it is 39 ounces!

[Larrys4227]

Very very nice!  Love that plane, but couldn't get my hands on a short kit.

I'm SURE she'll fly beautiflly!!

[Avaiojet]

Doug,

Looks like you do good work.

Nice job and nice color combo. Graphics are different, but I really like the look. Different is great!

You made the tank and all!

Outstanding!

Get back with the weight?

I don't have that model, but my ARF Pathfinder at 55" weighs 55 oz. Built right out of the box with no changes.

[Perry Rose]

What did you use for the landing gear?

[MikeyPratt]

Hi Doug,
Very nice!  It is unique and striking.  It should be a great performer with the OS 35 stunt.

Mikey

[john e. holliday]

The Primary Force looks great.  If it flies as great as mine does, you will have a winner.   Mine just needs a decent pilot on the handle.

[Doug Burright]

I was able to get four maiden flights on it, this evening. The plane flies great! It feels like I'm gonna be cheating if I fly it in contests! It is super, right off the board! Terrific! Good job, Mikey! Thanks!

The aluminum I made the landing gear from, was purchased from The Yard surplus store. Wichita is a big aircraft manufacturing town, and this place sells material they have acquired from the aircraft plants, and wherever. The piece I bought- 6 feet long x 3 inches wide, and about 1/10th inch thick, was $3.00. A friend cut the aluminum to the 1/2" width I needed, and I bent it as described in the kit's instructions. It is unknown what exactly the aluminum is: 2024, 6061, 7075, not sure, but it seems to be stiff enough to hold the plane well. Oh- the Primary Force DOES NOT BOUNCE when landing- that's cool! The tailwheel strut is 1/16" music wire.

My plane weighs 41 ounces with the wheelpants installed. I took them off after the 2nd flight: the CG changed a little bit, and it cornered better. I need lots of practice, but now I can do what actually looks like square loops!

Be sure to attend the Wichita contest on August 8th! It is a one-day event this year, and hopefully the weather will be as good as it was last year, when it stopped raining at 9 AM, or so.

[Serge_Krauss]

Hey, Mikey. I see you've changed the leading edge from the original design. Have you noticed a difference in performance? Doug, your plane looks "mighty fine!" Mine weighed 41 oz with an FP-35, a bit heavier than Mike's and others, which I'd heard came in at 35-37 oz. 'glad it's flying great right off the board.

SK

[MikeyPratt]

Hey, Mikey. I see you've changed the leading edge from the original design. Have you noticed a difference in performance? Doug, your plane looks "mighty fine!" Mine weighed 41 oz with an FP-35, a bit heavier than Mike's and others, which I'd heard came in at 35-37 oz. 'glad it's flying great right off the board.

SK

Hi Surge,
Yes it now has some L/E sheeting.  No there is not much if any improvement in performance but it is easier to cap strip the wing ribs with the sheeting.  Like most designs, updates happen and the P-Force is no exception with the release of newest kits.   Also, the newest version shows how to install a C/F push rod and soon the will include the electric conversion sheet.  I'm not surprised Doug's model weighs in at 41 ounces (nice weight weight Doug).  The original P-Force weighed in at 38 ounces (I still have it) and now it's up to 42 ounces with years of flying (a little oil soaked).  The weight between the LA 25 and the OS 35 stunt are very close so I don't see any reason it shouldn't fly great.

Doug is a very good builder and the finial proof is how well it flies right off the board (I'm sure he followed the bench trimming  guide to a tee).  What are you working on Buddy?  Hope to see ya soon.
Later,
Mikey

[MikeyPratt]

Very very nice!  Love that plane, but couldn't get my hands on a short kit.

I'm SURE she'll fly beautiflly!!

Hey Larry,
I've got them in stock.

Later,
Mikey

[Serge_Krauss]

Hi, Mike-

I'm back to finishing up a plane built with the wing from my oft-damaged P-Force. The fuselage took too many hits. Since I came in a bit heavier than others were reporting, I've built a new fuselage with less wood plus trusswork to stiffen and lighten it. Unfortunately, I wasn't weight conscious when I first built the wing and used heavy wood; so I'm making up the difference elsewhere. I had too much sag and have added stub ribs too. I do understand what you said about cap-stripping, because I unwittingly bought heavy/stiff wood for the strips and had quite a time installing them ('haven't had THAT problem since!). Anyway, I've tried to make up the difference through moderating fuselage, engine, and finish weight. It looks as though I won't get the rest of the paint on until late August, when I return from a month-long orchestra job. BUT, it will fly this year.  I build slower than I fly! 'glad to see so many P-Forces being built and to see their popularity. We have one ARF that comes to our contest each year, and it has survived a long life and does well.

SK