Walkin the plank

[Doozer]

It's done. I picked up a PZ Stinson Reliant SR-10 BNF brand new in the box for $25 at a garage sale today. It seems it was a getting divorced garage sale. The plane brand new from Horizon is $225. Anyway.... It went together in 30 minutes and I plan to maiden it tomorrow.

[Solitaire]

"Walkin' the plank" eh? Give it up.

Helluva deal on the Stinson. Great one to have in the collection. Yes, I said collection. You won't be stopping at one. Guaranteed.

You sure you didn't want to try a cheapie foamie before taking the plunge?

[Doozer]

I don't normally hit garage sales, but I was on my way to work early Friday morn and I saw a home made sign that said it had R/C stuff. When I got there I saw a bunch of crap, but then sitting upright on it's end was the Stinson box. It had 50 bucks on it. All I had was $25 cash and I showed the lady my wallet... she said "Fine, it's yours." I mean brand new in the box... all the tape was on it and the manual was taped to the bottom of the Styrofoam.

I guess her husband picked up and left her for another woman, and now she's selling his stuff. To tell you the truth I wasn't sure how much it was worth until I got to work and looked it up. I felt like one of those Auction hunter dudes.

I've been flying fixed wing in the sim a bunch over the last several months. I'm hooked on Bipes and that's going to be next. As soon as I get landing down outside of the sim.... that's my next purchase.

[Gabe]

Killer deal!

The only issue you may have with that plane is the landing gear. Parkzone isn't know. For making them durable, so you may want to buy a few extra nose and main gears. I'd bring some ca glue and activator to the park too.

Get those landings greased on the sim and glide her in slow in real life. Let us know how you do!

[19000rpm]

Congrats on the Stinson. A great plane for a first one. +1 on Gabe's comments. Get a spare prop or two.

[Gabe]

Oh yeah - definitely get some props. Good call 19k.

[Doozer]

I decided to hold off the maiden until I got spare parts and some extra sim time. I use Real Flight and I found the/my Stinson's .rfx file on their downloads page. I'm hearing a lot of the same old stuff I heard when I first started flying helis. About spares mainly. Park Zone also uses different connectors and I want to fly more than 10 minutes. So I'm toning down the enthusiasm a bit to listen

I'm debating a bit about installing the optional flaps. The sim plane has them installed, but to tell you the truth I don't seem to need them much with this plane... in the sim that is. I can tell the difference when they are extended, and I feel a little disconnected... Like the plane wont do what I want it to do... less control. I know they are supposed to provide more lift with less power... do you guys use them? I understand there's a difference between sim conditions and live flight, so if you fixed wing vets think I should install them, I'll probably do it. I don't like the idea of using the gear channel though. I'd rather use a dial so I can control the amount of throw better.

Anyway... might take sol's advice, and go the cheap foamy route first (can you see my feet getting cold?). However... this was a cheap foamy. Just not so cheap to repair. Something with the same characteristics that I don't have to throw to take off and I can land sounds good... Just thinking out loud here.

Thanks for the advice. Know that it will be taken. Good lookin' out.

[19000rpm]

You need more batteries so you can fly longer, definetly not PKZ, Thunderpower, Hyperion, or HK packs or Tenergy, I'd suggest, and convert the stock batteries to Deans. The EC3 connectors that come with them aren't fun.

You won't "need" flaps on the Stinson. Either for take off or landings. The flaps can be fun though for STOL (Short take offs and landings) or just for the more scale like look and performance.

OK, you are going to crash. Everybody does. You have a 225 dollar plane for 25 bucks. So whats to lose? Foam is very repairable. Gorrila Glue or Epoxy. Lots of part availability. Just go out, relax, and have some fun.

[Doozer]

thanks 19. Kind of ahead you on changing out the EC3's. Went with these www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9572. My LHS was carrying them so I decided to give them a shot. I'm not a huge fan of deans just because getting them together and pulling them apart can sometimes be a huge pita.

My LHS carries a bunch of spares for the Stinson so I took your advice and got a few props, and Gabes advice and got spare landing gear. I've got a few Hyperion 3S 2100's that are still in good condition so I'm rotating them into the flight box.

I'll probably put it in the air tomorrow. I think I'll cruise it around the first flight, then I really want to start working on landings. Once I feel very comfortable doing touch and gos and landing, I'm jumping to gas power. Probably a few months down the road. I still love the helis, but I figured I'd give fixed wing a shot.

[Solitaire]

Those XT60 connectors are great. I've pretty well converted everything over to them other than the really amp hungry stuff. A no-brainer since 90% of my LiPo's come from HC.

Now for the vids of your runway and maiden.

[Gabe]

Yup, you do lose a bit of your maneuverability with flaps. Like 19k said, you won't need them though. That Stinson should have a slow glide slope with next to zero throttle. Give her the smallest bit of throttle right before landing and slightly flair the nose. You should be good.

10 min is a long time to fly anything. I guarantee you'll want to land around that time and take a breather. I'd also get used to the deans connectors. As you get into
more powerful planes you'll need them. They handle high amps well and the 6S batteries can draw into the 100amp ranges - but that's later

Ready for that flight report!

[19000rpm]

Yep, me too, looking forward to the flight report.

For me, planes like the Stinson beg for repeated take offs and landings. IMO, they are the most challenging to get just right and at their most beautiful in those moments. Oh, and the fly bys. Hard to beat those.

Tomorrow, I'll be test flying a buddy's Stinson to check out the trims for him. I'm looking forward to that along with some sorties with the PKZ Spitfire. We'll be flying at a Polo Club. The grass is immaculate and not a tree or even a shrub for a quarter mile in all directions. Life is good.

[Doozer]

I'll put the Flight report up in the "did you fly today' section.

[Dave]

$%@( I go with the wife all the time to yardsale and not the first rc item have I seen.
Look at you drive by, stop, pull out twenty five and now your a planker.....cool

[Evan]

I change all hi batteries deans. I run deans on cars and helis