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Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor Product Video

Product Review:
Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor

Perspective By:
Sleepyc

Manufacturer Contact:
Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021 ◊ Champaign, IL 61826-9021
Telephone: 800-637-7660 ◊ 217-398-3630
E-mail: gpinfo@gpmd.com


Manufacturer Website:
http://www.greatplanes.com

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Introduction

Highslide JS       Highslide JS


Great Planes has a history of producing very nice ARF kits. In the past few years, GP has introduced a line of planes called the Performance Series. This series has really taken off (Pun intended). The series includes a Yak 54, Extra 330S ,SU-31,  Ultimate Biplane, Cap 232, and Edge 540. These planes were all designed around large glow motors, or 50cc gassers and are all 3D capable.

 

The latest offering in this series in the Giant Scale Reactor, and I believe it is the most 3D capable model of the entire series. With aggressive looks and almost 1600 sq inches of wing, this plane was designed for one thing....... FUN!

 

Out of the Box:

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The plane arrived in a large brown box, with the actual kit box protected  inside. UPS did their best to destroy the package with several footmarks, dings on the outside box. Fortunately due to the well thought out packaging, the kit was completely unharmed.

Upon opening the box, we immediately noticed that Great Planes has included a ton of quality hardware to make this ARF truly ALMOST READY TO FLY! This is a huge bonus, and is standard with all Great Planes ARF kits. Nothing makes building an ARF more pleasurable than being able to follow directions and build the kit with the provided hardware.

We laid out the parts from the box, and took an inventory. Everything was present and accounted for. We also laid out the equipment that we would be installing into the plane. To move the flight surfaces we went with Futaba S9155 digital servos. At 190+ oz of torque, they would be more than adequate for this plane and would provide the precise centering needed for agressive 3D flying!  Also used was a traditional 4200 mAh  NI-MH receiver pack, and a 1200 mAh  NI-MH ignition pack. Both batteries were run through standard heavy duty Hobbico switches and servo extensions. For the motor we chose the popular DL-50. This motor has a low price and and great performance.

Product Specifications
Wingspan: 84.5 in (2146 mm)
Wing Area: 1556 in˛ (100.4 dm˛)
Weight RTF: 14-17 lb (6.35-7.71 kg)
Wing Loading: 21-25 oz/in˛ (63-77 g/dm˛)
Length: 85 in (2159 mm)
Requires: 5-channel radio (6-channel recommended); 7 servos with 100 oz.-in. (7.2 kg-cm) torque minimum (7 Futaba® S9155 and 1 Futaba S3004 recommended); 2-stroke 1.6-2.2 cu in (26-36 cc) or 4-stroke 2.0-2.2 cu in (33-36 cc) glow engine; or 43-50 cc gasoline engine

The Build.
Great Planes includes a very detailed instruction booklet that makes assembly of this kit very straight forward.  In fact, during the build we never really had one of those "What do they mean by this" moments. Everything went together just as it was designed to.
 
We started by attaching the landing gear to the fuselage. You may want to trim the plywood support that sits above the landing gear just a tad. (see pic 1 below) This will allow unobstructed access to the landing gear bolts.
 
Next we started on the flight surfaces. We started by attaching the horizontal stab. This kit has a "glued in" permanent horizontal stab. So take the extra time to make sure you have it centered and straight. This will make all the difference when it comes time to fly this bird.
 
It never hurts to have a helper or two when building a plane. And although Greg and I were fully capable of taking on this challenge,  we  assigned my son Devin the task of inserting all the servo grommets and he did his task with precision, and skill. THANKS D!
 
 


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The wings, stabs and rudder all go on/together effortlessly.

After we glued in the horizontal stab, we glued in the supplied hinges to all of the control surfaces. Make sure you lubricate the center part of the hinge so glue doesn't get inside the hinge and  cause binding. Some like to use light oil, some like petroleum jelly, both work, so please use what your comfortable with.


After the surfaces were hinged,we started to install the wing servos per the instructions. After the wing servos were in, we moved on to the stab servos and rudder servos. After cutting the covering away, we were able to install the servos right into the servo boxes without any further modifications. The servos slid right in. NOTE: To avoid cracking the servo boxes, make sure to pre-drill the servo screw holes. And then harden the wood with some thin CA. It takes a few extra seconds, but it is really worth it in the long run.


BONUS:  When attaching the servo extensions to you servos, make sure to use the INCULDED shrink tubing. This will make sure that during high G maneuvers your extensions stay in place! It was a very nice touch nice that GP included this.

 

The control horns are next to go on the plane. They are large sturdy  plastic horns that use a four-screw system to hold the horn to the flight surfaces. Again, make  sure yo  pre-drill the holes, and use CA to stiffen the wood! Once all of the servos and control horns are in place, it's time to make the control rods. You will need to get out a soldier gun to complete the rods. This does take a little time, and some patience, but the  end result is very solid control  rod that provides a very stable surface movement. (If you have never made "soldier to length" control rods, the Reactor manual  includes very detailed instructions on how to correctly make them. Just follow the step by step instructions and your all set!)
 


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After all the flying surfaces were finished, we moved on to installing the motor.  GP does a great job of  including all the info you would need to properly install your choice of any of three power systems. We were using a Gas motor, and went forward using those instructions. We started by cutting out the  pre-made motor mount template for the DA-50.(The DA-50 template works perfectly with the DL-50 which is the power choice we used for this plane.)
With the included template , to drill the motor mounting holes, you simply line up the center marks on the template to the marks on the firewall  and drill away! By GP including these templates and marks, they ensure the proper motor alignment, and save countless amounts of time.  Another nice feature is that GP includes the additional aluminum motor standoffs to ensure your motor has the proper spacing off the fire wall. Another feature to note is the mechanism for adding a choke rod . With most 50cc planes, you want to keep weight to a minimum. And adding a choke servo goes against this thinking. GP solved this issue by providing a way to use a simple choke push-rod. The ingenious use of the included  bell crank makes the choke linkage pop out of the bottom of the model, which makes the choke operation  very safe and simple to use all while saving a few ounces of weight! (Hey.. it all ads up!)

Next we installed the Gas tank, which again GP includes a few well documented options. ( Glow , Electric and Gas options are in the manual, so whatever choice you decide on, you are covered)
In our case,  we chose  a gas motor,so we simply followed the gas motor instructions. This had us adding a support panel for the fuel tank in the rear most open section of the fuse helping distribute the fuel weight  around the CG. All the parts for this modification are included and well documented again making the installation effortless.

Installing the rest of the gear was fairly straight forward, and really will depend on what your going to install into the plane. We used a 4300 mha ,6 Volt  four cell NI-MH  pack for the reciever. We ended up mounting it just in front of the gas tank. We then mounted the ignition pack just behind the fuel tank, helping us achieve the recommended CG.

After the installation was complete, we took our time to make sure everything was snug and secure, and then began the process of programming the airplane and getting it ready for flight..
 



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Getting it in the air!

When we finally arrived at the field, there was absolutely no wind blowing, the temperature was 74 deg F, the sun was blazing.... it was a perfect fall day in every way.

 

After the cranky motor  finally woke up, we range checked the plane, checked the flight surfaces and throttled the motor up and down a few times  check the tuning. After a few adjustments, the motor was spinning the prop at a nice clip. After the radio range was double checked, we took the Reactor up on it's maiden flight.

The plane only needed a few clicks of up and around 2 clicks of left to get it flying straight and level. Once the plane was trimmed we proceeded to do some 45 deg up-lines to see how the CG felt. We both confirmed that the plane was a bit nose heavy .We landed, adjusted the location of the main battery pack.  After checking again, we saw that we started off at the front side of the recommended CG. A more conservative setting, and probably great for precision flight.  Once again we took off. The roll out on this plane is very short. With the HUGE wing area, the plane LEAPS into the air. Again we check the trim and the CG, and everything seemed very nice. After a few more shake down laps we landed and double-checked all the bolts and connections' making sure everything was set so we could give the plane a good wringing out. We fueled the Reactor  back up and took off for another flight.  The plane's 1600 sq inches of wing really let it float. The plane feels very light in the air. I weighed the plane on my digital postal scale when I got home later that day and it came in at 14.7 lbs. RTF -dry. This very light weight coupled with the generous 1600 sq inches of wing, makes the wing loading spectacular. "Foamie-ish" really isn't going too far.

 


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We had several more flight through the day, and as they progressed I could see that this plane had a LOT of potential and ability. The airplane was easily more capable of insane 3D maneuvers than either of us could handle. We both enjoyed the ease of the upright harrier with this plane, and hovering is a breeze. And with the DL 50, the plane has plenty of pull out authority. I was even able to fly some very nice slow rolling harriers which seemed quite easy to do on this plane compared to several others I had the opportunity to fly.


As we checked the flight envelope, we noticed that knife edge flight did have a tiny bit of pitch coupling, but nothing to sever, a tiny bit of mixing took that right out.We simply added around 4% of a up elevator to rudder mix,and the plane would knife edge with one hand. Inverted flight was an non event. The plane is just as stable inverted as it is upright.


We honestly believe that this airplane can and will help many a mediocre  pilot become a much better  3D pilot. And if your lucky enough to be an expert pilot, you will simply have a ball with this airframe.

My personal flight experience with this plane  left me with the feeling that this airframe seems to assist in difficult maneuvers. I was able to accomplish a few maneuvers on this first day out that took me weeks to learn on other planes. This airframe feels very BIG, and it is a large plane, but  it flys much bigger than it is. It is simply  a great size. It's large, easy to see and impressive looking, and yet  it is compact enough to be the "take along" plane on a day by day basis.

 


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Conclusion

Overall, I think the Giant Scale Reactor  is a well thought out, well engineered, completely purpose built airplane that was designed for full on 3D aerobatics. Since it's not a "scale" airplane, the designers were not held to a specific shape or design, they could make an airplane that is best suited for the task at hand,  Aggressive 3D flying. But, while doing that, the designers  also created  an airframe that can fly very smoothly and can be very docile.


So if you want a large, fun 3D  plane, and your an old pro or an aspiring 3D pilot the GP Giant Scale Reactor should defiantly be on your list to check out. With its aggressive appearance, and its light wing loading you really can't go wrong.


Great planes has successfully added another high quality 50cc airplane to it's line up.

 

Well-done Great Planes!

Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021 ◊ Champaign, IL 61826-9021
Telephone: 800-637-7660 ◊ 217-398-3630
E-mail: gpinfo@gpmd.com
http://www.greatplanes.com
 
Default Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor

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Old 11-19-2008, 11:53 AM   #2 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
Guys video is coming shortly.
I had a catastrophic computer crash that killed the finished video.
I have recovered 2 of the 5 main video files used, and will edit a new video as soon as I get an extra second.
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Old 11-19-2008, 07:35 PM   #3 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
Great review Sleepy! Very nice pictures and nicely written. Can't wait for the video!

BTW, is there an easy way to get to aileron servos to match up since you used the Futaba servos? I know you can program Hitecs, but what can you do for Futaba servos or do you have to just get the servo arms in the same orientation and they won't fight each other?
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Last edited by ferocious frankie; 11-19-2008 at 07:42 PM.
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Old 11-19-2008, 09:24 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
For matching the servos, we simply used the many channels of the Futaba 12Z
You can simply slave the second servo to the aileron channel, and adjust the center and end points, I think it took us 3 minutes. I really think that with the size of the ailerons GP did a smart thing by having 2 servos.
Realistically you can get away with two decent (read cheaper) servos and still have a great flying plane.
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Old 11-19-2008, 10:56 PM   #5 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
Quote: Originally Posted by SleepyC
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For matching the servos, we simply used the many channels of the Futaba 12Z
You can simply slave the second servo to the aileron channel, and adjust the center and end points, I think it took us 3 minutes. I really think that with the size of the ailerons GP did a smart thing by having 2 servos.
Realistically you can get away with two decent (read cheaper) servos and still have a great flying plane.
Thanks!
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Old 11-19-2008, 11:08 PM   #6 (permalink)
Help - I like helicopters
 
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
How was the hovering? Super easy - or a bit of work? Does it snap into a wall manuver nice?

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Old 11-19-2008, 11:17 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
The Reactor did a great wall, into a tight waterfall! We didn't try hovering to low and for long with a new motor! You could hover the whole tank!
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Old 11-19-2008, 11:51 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
very nice steve! nothing like a foamy on steroids hahah, waitin for vids
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Old 11-23-2008, 08:39 AM   #9 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
I've been looking for a 50cc winter project and the Reator might just be the one! Nice Review!

Does anybody know, at this point, what options there are for the muffler for the DL50? There is a bay behind the cowling. Would a canister work with this airframe? Looks like you had to cut away a generous portion of the cowling to fit the muffler you used. Any comments as to whether you would do anything different with the DL50 engine muffler combination?
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Old 11-23-2008, 09:11 AM   #10 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
I would use a pitts style muffler.
I don't think a canister would work unless you externally mounted it. A pitts muffler would be perfect.
I bet you could get away with just a few notches for cooling in the cowl with a pitts.
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Old 11-23-2008, 10:22 AM   #11 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
Your right. After I posted, I did some research on my own. Found various types of pitts wrap arounds that would work perfectly on the DL with this plane. I found another picture that shows how short the tunnel is, and a canister would not work here. Unless, like you stated, you would need to mount it externally.

The more I look at this bird, the better I like it!

To move on to the electronics. Did you do anything special? Expander, matchbox's etc.? I"ll be using a 7ch Futaba 2.4 and am trying to figure out the best method to plug it all in. BTW, I'll be using A123 2300ma cells for Rx (dual switches) and A123 1100ma cells on the ignition.

One more thought....Is there room for smoke? This is my first 50cc plane and it sure would be nice to add it later....
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Old 11-23-2008, 10:48 AM   #12 (permalink)
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Default Re: Great Planes Giant Scale Reactor
sleepyC
I agree with your revue there isn't a thing that the plane doesn't do well what is suprising about the reactor is how slow it will land even with the thin wing and narrow fuse. I don't know how much flying I will get on this bird now that winter is upon us but it gives me something to look forward to .there is one thing I need to add for sleepy [go- steelers]
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