This 288 sq. inch, 10 ounce park-flyer biplane is advertised to fly 4- 6 minutes, NO WAY! With the right battery it goes for 15 to 20 minutes and I saw Gordy up for over a half hour using thermals! And no greasey kid stuff to wipe off afterwards!!
Grand Wing Servo-tech Company has done a nice job making the plane easy to build and rig for flight. I suggest that you NOT USE the glue provided in the kit, rather use five minute epoxy or similar. The GWS glue is not a two-part epoxy and it will pull loose after awhile. This is the only negative comment I have for the plane, after flying it awhile I have some "make it better" suggestions.
After we flew the plane the first time, the wings started to fold up in a hard turn, so I put a single "down wire" on it. I rigged it to the upper cabane strut at the rear, down to the bottom wing at the fuselage side, running it under the bottom wing and up thru the other side at the same point of entry and then to the top cabane. The reason I wanted to rig it this way is so the "wire", ala fishing line, could slide back and forth, allowing the wing to recenter itself after high "G" turns ! Also, I could still remove the wing "set" if needed.
Another way to get the same effect is to put a dihedral brace into the lower wing, like Gordy did - the result is the same- no more "V" shaped wings.
The other suggestion is to use one of the 7-cell 720 ma NiMH packs that Hobby Lobbys' little electric Picolo helicopter uses - it's an alternative power source for them and it works great in the Tiger Moth. Used with the recommended 280 motor and flight system you can literally fly out of sight in one of the thermals at the field. Use the Rx with the 40 inch antenna - this is not a "within 100 meter" airplane - at least at CVA we've been routinely out at 1000 to 2000 feet!!
Balance seems to be best about 1" back from the leading edge of the lower wing and you can slide the 720 pack a little to optimize this.. Control throws are VERY adequate and the little PICO servos operate smoothly and quickly- if a gust of wind comes by sometimes you have to "firewall" the controls to stay level. Still, I've flown in 10-15 mph winds with no problem - you just don't go fast upwind ! Downwind a different story!
In summary, this is a good beginner plane - at least as good as the Wingo or Soarstar, and you can learn to fly quickly with it, now if we could just get the guy who mows the grass to cut it lower we could ROG it, rather than hand launch - oh well, enjoy!
