I have recently felt the need, for a big "pump gas" airplane. Most common conversions seem to be the ryobi 31cc 2 stroke, however some have been testing the 31cc honda four stroke (which I prefer) can anyone recommend an airplane suitable for a 4-1/2# motor, thats not to hard to build? Not looking for 3d stuff.. just a basic sport plane. Thanks for any replys
I understand your need. I just got a Great Planes Reactor 1.60. It is a 3d capable plane, but I think it is going to be a real smooth flier, too. Most people have been coming out with a weight of 14.5 lbs on the stock components, but the thing has a wing area of around 1600 inches. I have made a few mods to mine, and I should be well under 13.5 lbs....which is only going to make it better. Don't let the 3d name on some planes scare you, many are as docile as trainers with reduced control throws and a conservative CG placement. I'm putting a DL-55 on my plane to get the 2 to 1 thrust to weight (more actually) , but you could pick up that TGY-52 for around 175.00 and have plenty of power to do what you want ( 1.5 to 1)....and then some. You can always limit throttle and control throw if it feels too much. Most 50cc planes have much heavier wing loadings than the Reactor....so keep that in mind if you would like slow easy landings and short take-offs. Good luck
When it comes to wing loading, larger airplanes can fly well with much heavier wing loading than smaller ones. It has to do with a concept called wing cube loading. Check out these two sites to see if they help you any. www.ef-uk.net/data/wcl.htm and www.flyrc.com/calculator.shtml
To take the cube loading concept to the extreme; Randy Schneider explained it like this: a full size Cessna would have a wing loading of many pounds per square foot. If you built a .40 size model with the same wing loading it'd only fly if you watched it fall after heaving it off a cliff. Based on the above concept, even if the wing loading is higher, especially with flaps, your landing speeds and behavior could still be very good. That assumes that you don't use 3 bottles of epoxy to build it.
That plane looks like it'd make a good tug for sailplanes. You might get roped into that if you aren't careful. We need a good tug.
Yep, I agree with all that.....but if you take a large plane with a 25oz per ft loading and are able to reduce it to 20, it will fly much better, slower, and easier. Given the choice, I will fly a lightly loaded plane....but a light wing loading on a 32" span plane is not the same (in oz per ft) as a light wing loading on a 84" span plane.
Thats nice Mike! Im still just looking around and watching videos at this point, havent ruled out anything. Getting a little concerned that no one has flown a four stroke weedeater, just bench testing them, maybe they are to heavy no power or both lol. Regarding wing loading (for a moron) if we take the giant big stik for example. 80.5 wing 1518 wing area 13-15 pounds 20-23 oz loading is this good bad normal?
