Quote from: Michael LeGate on Yesterday at 09:31:10 AMGood suggestions all. Thank you. Next trip into civilization I'll pick up a thumb drive, check out print shops. Tonight the computer and I will argue over tiling. Computers are not my strong point

This guy will print your plan at 100% or any other scale you desire, and mail it to you.  You can email him the file so no cost there.  He specializes in model airplanes.  Tons of positive reviews, plus his own 100% satisfaction guarantee:

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?4830301-Large-format-plan-printing-and-enlarging

.

They say even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.  I just spent two hours trying to find .3mm x 6mm CF strips for spar reinforcements and gave up.  Then I asked AI and they returned the best search verbiage.  No 6mm but I found a package of five .5mm x 5mm.    Close enough.  $1.07 including shipping and tariffs.
I got the last one.  If I actually get it, I will be amazed.

Ken

Quote from: FlightRiskMK on April 10, 2026, 06:52:27 PMI am just getting into this sport at a nice young age of 66.  I am looking for a plank-type ucontrol that can teach me how to fly before I move on to the Ringmaster S-1 I am getting ready to build. 

Plank-type models are difficult to fly in my experience. When we were kids, we flew them at max speed and minimal control.
My ringmaster survived several crashes. Just build it the same way as when you were a kid: just enough finish to get it flying. By the time you learn to fly it, that model will have more glue than balsa. Good times!

I would guess most of us started on 1/2As.   But for many that was 50 or 60 years ago.   They are a lot to keep up with for seniors.  More so if you have a hint of vertigo issues.  It may be better to go with something larger with longer lines and slower lap times.   My slab trainer flies with a Green head Torp .23 on 60 ft. lines and has been pretty comfortable for most all who have flown it,  ages 8 to over 60.  In most cases about two minutes of dual flight then they are on their own.

Dave

Two useful calculators are the Web site https://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_da_rh.htm and the iPhone app "Air Density and RAD meter PRO". The Web site includes formulas so you can see how things are calculated. The app gets data from nearby airports and other stations, so is pretty handy. Both give you air density, relative air density (= density / sea-level-standard-day density), and density altitude.  Air density is a function of pressure and temperature and a weak function of humidity.  Air pressure varies with altitude.  Density altitude is a function of density alone: a given density corresponds to a density altitude.  People use density altitude to give them a feel for density changes, but you can't calculate anything from it.  I prefer to use density or density ratio, from which you can calculate stuff.  Minimum loop radius, for example, is inversely proportional to density or density ratio.   

Quote from: Dennis Toth on Yesterday at 10:19:40 AMOne thing I noticed was the lap time seemed very close as the temperature increased from day at 65 to a 70 degree day but pulling through up top got a little softer.

Density at 70 degrees and 2300 ft. is equal to that at 65 degrees and 2558 feet.  I don't think I could tell the difference for electric stunt.

Quote from: Jim Hoffman on Yesterday at 12:45:05 PMI recommend you adjust RPM and shoot for the same lap time as your baseline.  If the plane sinks in the corners to a level you cannot accept, increase the air speed or soften the corners.

I think the reason that increasing airspeed helps for a given loop radius is that lift, the force accelerating the airplane toward the loop center, is proportional to the square of airspeed.  It is balanced by "centrifugal" force, which is proportional to the square of inertial speed.  Gravity is independent of speed, but is a lesser portion of the force sucking the airplane toward the ground in a maneuver-bottom corner the faster the airplane is going. 

I flew an electric airplane here Wednesday that I hadn't flown since November, 2024 at Las Vegas, elevation 2000.  My local field elevation is 207 feet.  I added 1.5 grams of tip weight and didn't change anything else.  It flew dandy.

Hello

Sure looks weird and I have not seen damage to Spectra like that. My oldest set of lines has lost all its yellow colour and is nearly clear and has been cleaned with detergent a number of times in its 10 years but still passes the pull tests fine. Some of my Fines lines ball up with tuffs but never had problems with my Power Pro or Shimano lines.

Regards Gerald

Quote from: 944_Jim on Yesterday at 07:21:42 PMHi Dave,
I like 1/2A too. Things get cheap and easy to haul around at that size. I do recommend bench-testing your Babe Bee before deciding to build a plane around it. If you decide to do that, place the engine at about 45 degrees to the outboard side so the tank runs dry. Once you have the engine running as expected and able to start it with ease, only then transition to mounting it to an airframe.

Now if you are dead set going to fly smalls first, then consider building a stooge for it. Some stooges are "bathmat-on-barstool" for wing-holding. That is, insert outboard wing into folded over rug...pull out from center of circle and hope it doesn't flop to the ground. This is good for combat wings with no landing gear. Or with landing gear, some are plywood squares held to the ground with nails (or cinder block in my case) with a pull-pin securing the tail skid (loop) until the pin is pulled from the center of the circle (hint: pick up control handle first).

Jim that stooge idea is genius.  My stooge was my little brother!

Ken

Those lines were murdered.  It has to be a chemical of some kind.  It is a synthetic fiber.  Something altered the chemistry.
I have burned ends to see what happens like you would do with nylon rope and got no color change from the heat. With a woven line to have all of the strands break at the same point is strange.  Hope you find the cause.  I think everyone using Spectra wants to know what caused it.

Ken

Just for fun I asked AI what chemicals damage Spectra.  WD-40, Bleach, Detergents., Alcohol.  They recommended ph neutral dish soap to clean.  I am just using water which it only considers "Generally Safe"
 

Hi Dave,
I like 1/2A too. Things get cheap and easy to haul around at that size. I do recommend bench-testing your Babe Bee before deciding to build a plane around it. If you decide to do that, place the engine at about 45 degrees to the outboard side so the tank runs dry. Once you have the engine running as expected and able to start it with ease, only then transition to mounting it to an airframe.

Now if you are dead set going to fly smalls first, then consider building a stooge for it. Some stooges are "bathmat-on-barstool" for wing-holding. That is, insert outboard wing into folded over rug...pull out from center of circle and hope it doesn't flop to the ground. This is good for combat wings with no landing gear. Or with landing gear, some are plywood squares held to the ground with nails (or cinder block in my case) with a pull-pin securing the tail skid (loop) until the pin is pulled from the center of the circle (hint: pick up control handle first).
Landing 1/2A is not so entertaining unless the plane has wheels and you fly over pavement.





Common coroplast trainers are out there. Consider the ManWin, or Keith Morgan's PT-19. However, switching to balsa can really open up your possibilities. From Australia is the Stunt Chimp, which is very much like the Stuntman 23. These are just two examples.

https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=4338
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=14386
There are also lots of other flat plank wing/profile fuselage jobs if you switch to balsa...but I'm sure any of them could be done using coroplast instead of balsa.
https://outerzone.co.uk/plan_details.asp?ID=4435

But if you want to fly a bit less hectic, and re-use the flight gear for your larger plane, then I recommend building a smaller plane than your full-size Ringmaster, but bigger than 1/2A. Consider a SIG Akromaster with an OS-LA .15 or similar engine. The glow plug ignitor will work the engine on this plane and your bigger one. The wing construction will be similar to the Ringmaster, so the building experience will be transferable. SIG may not have these in stock anymore, but I know someone who has patterns of this kit (easy built-up rectangular wing). PM if you wish for contact info.

I get the frugal position...you already have the Babe Bee. If you run I to trouble with it, go over to CoxEngineForum.com. Also go find Paul Gilbeault's Race Prep guide...not for the race prep, but for the "blueprinting" guidance.
 https://coxengines.ca/public/files/MRP.pdf

Welcome to the hobby. Have fun!

Interesting thread.  I wonder how many of the folks joining in here actually started out (and I mean absolute 1st flights) on anything other than a 1/2a?  There are two things I think you need to learn before you get into the planes that break when you hit the ground.  Not getting dizzy and enough hand-eye coordination to control the elevator without panicking.  It really only takes a couple of flights over some grass, and you learn both.  Now you can move on to the ones that break when they find the ground but to your surprise, they are so much easier to fly.

Coroplast is a great idea.

Ken