Below are photos of R/C airplanes I have or have had.
The first one is the Chief Aircraft Katana 1.40 ARF. I bought it from Chief Aircraft for $199.00. At the time, it was the best deal going for an ARF of this size. Assembly was a little bit difficult as the fiberglass tube going through the fuselage was too tight for the aluminum wing tube. It took hours of sanding the fiberglass tube to make it fit. Even so, the Chief Aircraft Katana 1.40 ARF turned out to be my favorite. I put a MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline motor on it with the MVVS tuned pipe. I did not want to spend $15.00 or more for nitro-methane (glow) fuel for an engine of this size. I put a Hitec 6 meter FM receiver in it and Tower Hobbies High Torque servos. I originally tried a Futaba RDF127 6m FM receiver, but it went crazy as soon as the engine was started. The Hitec receiver never glitches at all. The Hitec receivers have always worked better for me than the Futaba receivers. Total weight is around 14lbs. with the MVVS tuned pipe and header. I ended up making my own header since I couldn't find the header pipe anywhere. I made it out of electrical conduit and welded a flange on it to fit the MVVS engine. The conduit is a little heavy for this purpose, but it works. The header to pipe coupler is a piece of automotive heater hose. I have had no issues with that either. My 26cc MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline turns an 18" x 8 Mejzlik carbon fiber propeller at approx 7200 rpm and an 18" x 8 APC propeller at around 7800 rpm. Since I guessed at the header dimensions, it's very possible my header length was wrong so I didn't reach the claimed RPM. My 26cc MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline will also turn a 20x6 APC around 7200, but ground clearance became an issue. On the field, the plane leaps off in about 15 feet. It can't quite hover with it, but I'm not good at that anyway. Knife edge is pretty good and anything else I know how to do. By the way, this engine is now sold under the Evolution Engines name. The replacement version is here Evolution Engines 26GX. They are claiming it can swing a Mejzlik 18x6 prop at 8700 rpm.
Another favorite of mine is the Tower Hobbies Uproar 40 kit. It flies great and is easy to handle. I flew this plane for years until, unfortunately I had a receiver failure and it got demolished. Some day, I will build another one or get the ARF they have out now.
My experience with the ARF Chief Aircraft Passion 3D 60 was not good. On the first flight it disintigrated. I made a few mid speed circle patterns to get the feel for it and when I went to full throttle the tail fell apart. The plane is a total loss.
The first one is the Chief Aircraft Katana 1.40 ARF. I bought it from Chief Aircraft for $199.00. At the time, it was the best deal going for an ARF of this size. Assembly was a little bit difficult as the fiberglass tube going through the fuselage was too tight for the aluminum wing tube. It took hours of sanding the fiberglass tube to make it fit. Even so, the Chief Aircraft Katana 1.40 ARF turned out to be my favorite. I put a MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline motor on it with the MVVS tuned pipe. I did not want to spend $15.00 or more for nitro-methane (glow) fuel for an engine of this size. I put a Hitec 6 meter FM receiver in it and Tower Hobbies High Torque servos. I originally tried a Futaba RDF127 6m FM receiver, but it went crazy as soon as the engine was started. The Hitec receiver never glitches at all. The Hitec receivers have always worked better for me than the Futaba receivers. Total weight is around 14lbs. with the MVVS tuned pipe and header. I ended up making my own header since I couldn't find the header pipe anywhere. I made it out of electrical conduit and welded a flange on it to fit the MVVS engine. The conduit is a little heavy for this purpose, but it works. The header to pipe coupler is a piece of automotive heater hose. I have had no issues with that either. My 26cc MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline turns an 18" x 8 Mejzlik carbon fiber propeller at approx 7200 rpm and an 18" x 8 APC propeller at around 7800 rpm. Since I guessed at the header dimensions, it's very possible my header length was wrong so I didn't reach the claimed RPM. My 26cc MVVS 1.60 petrol/gasoline will also turn a 20x6 APC around 7200, but ground clearance became an issue. On the field, the plane leaps off in about 15 feet. It can't quite hover with it, but I'm not good at that anyway. Knife edge is pretty good and anything else I know how to do. By the way, this engine is now sold under the Evolution Engines name. The replacement version is here Evolution Engines 26GX. They are claiming it can swing a Mejzlik 18x6 prop at 8700 rpm.
Another favorite of mine is the Tower Hobbies Uproar 40 kit. It flies great and is easy to handle. I flew this plane for years until, unfortunately I had a receiver failure and it got demolished. Some day, I will build another one or get the ARF they have out now.
My experience with the ARF Chief Aircraft Passion 3D 60 was not good. On the first flight it disintigrated. I made a few mid speed circle patterns to get the feel for it and when I went to full throttle the tail fell apart. The plane is a total loss.
MY RC AirCraft
At Markham Park
At 2001 Top Gun in West Palm Beach
