Carden 300 or Dalton 260?????

[Neil4]

Hi guys,

I am in the process of ordering a new plane and I need some of your guys opinions because I can't seem to decide.... I want to get a top notch IMAC performer but that will also do freestyle, and as you can see from the title of the thread I am debating between a Carden and a Dalton. I want to get a Carden but I am a little scared about how long it will take to build it all up. So that's why I have been thinking about a Dalton because i can get the pre-sheeted kit which is less work.

Sorry if this got alittle long but i would appreciate anybody's help.

Thanks,

Neil Westdorp

[SleepyC]

Both planes are AMAZING.


One thing to consider. a Carden kit you will have to do a lot of mod's to get a light plane, the Dalton has all that built into it.

BUT you can't go wrong with either!

[jmiracle]

Cardens don't take any more time or effort to build than any other kit. The only real negative (if you can even call it a negative) is the motor box on a carden is not inter-locking. Personally, I hate interlocking parts cause it's a real PITA if one part is cut a hair off...then you've got all these notches to sand and fit when all you need to do is glue 2 edges together.
On a Carden, it's just a box....no real effort involved in glueing 4 pieces of wood together to form a box.

The fuse sides are easy...just balsa stick....build 'em flat on the bench. No harder than building a Sig Kadet trainer. Think of the construction as being modular...build a box, build the sides, put 'em together, slap some foam parts on it and you got yourself an airplane.....easy as pie.

As for lightening....even that isn't much. Doing the 'standard' lightening mods most of the guys are doing now will land you a finished airframe in the 37lb range. Yea, it takes a few hours to cut out all the lightening holes. But that's only as complicated as you make it. A few good hole saws and a scroll saw makes it easy.

I'd go with the Carden....easy to build, easy to "make it your own" with some mods, it's as tough as a tank, and IMO are the best looking airframes out there!

[SleepyC]

	Quote:
	I'd go with the Carden....easy to build, easy to "make it your own" with some mods, it's as tough as a tank, and IMO are the best looking airframes out there!

So ahh.. why don't you let us know your true feelings.

(Jason is also a Carden Mark, meaning that he has built 10 billion Cardens and LOVES THEM! He is 99% correct. But........ the Dalton is just as nice! )

[yakwrecker]

Im building a carden300. Awsome kit. the only problem is that the manual only has about 4 pages of real instruction and 1 and a half of them are pictures for the shheting anyway. Certainly not a kit for someone who doesnt know exactly how they want everything because you have to be able to plan ahead and build to the level that you want. Go FOR THE CARDEN

[jmiracle]

the guy wanted an opinion...i gave him an opinion....don't mean it's the right opinion or the best opinion....



........but....anybody who doesn't agree with my opinion is just flat wrong.




........and anybody who doesn't pick up on the sarcasm here.....well.....nevermind....





ps....Sleepy, what's this crap about being only 99% correct????

[jmiracle]

Yakwrecker makes a good point as well....Cardens are BUILDERS kits. You're not going to get one of those bound, professionally published construction books with photos of every step and little check boxes to mark off what you've done.

The ability to read blueprints and understand them is very helpful.

On the other hand...there are also tons of guys out there who are very knowledgable (almost as knowledgable as me! ) and can talk you through just about any part of the process. Dennis is also a great guy who will explain any area you need help with.

[Neil4]

Thanks alot guys, i mean I only put up this thread like 10 minutes ago and I alredy how like 10 replies...thanks.

I really like the idea of a Carden, it just I am so used to building arfs..well actually that's not building it more like put you radio equipment in and you ready to go. As of right now I am strongly leaning toward the Carden it's just the thought of having to spend like 600 man hrs some times starts to push me back toward the pre-sheeted Dalton.

Thanks alot for all your guys help,

Neil Westdorp

[jmiracle]

Neil,

....I'm sure I'll get catch some crap for this one, but what the hell. I don't feel like you'd really save that much time with a pre-sheeted kit. Maybe 15-20hrs work. (less if you've done it a couple times) The key here I feel is having the right tools and a good understanding of the process.

Start-to-finish, I can skin all the foam in a Carden in a week spending 1-2 hours a night working on it. The only reason it takes me a week is because I have to wait for the glue to dry and my vac-bag setup can only do 1 wing panel at a time.

The wings and stabs are the most complicated foam parts in the kit and thats only because you have to cut out the servo bays and the extension tunnel. (which, btw, you still have to do that on the pre-sheeted kit...please correct me if I'm wrong here)

I typically spread the wings out over 2 nights (spending maybe 2 hours on them each night)....first night I'll lay out the servo bays, tunnel...glue in the phenolic and stub-rib. The next night I make up the skins and get one wing in the vac bag. 8-12hrs later, I put the 2nd wing in the vac bag.

[Wayne]

I have a lot of time on both. You wont go wrong with either.
Pick the one you like the looks of better cause thats basically what it comes down to.

[as722]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Neil4
	Thanks alot guys, i mean I only put up this thread like 10 minutes ago and I alredy how like 10 replies...thanks. I really like the idea of a Carden, it just I am so used to building arfs..well actually that's not building it more like put you radio equipment in and you ready to go. As of right now I am strongly leaning toward the Carden it's just the thought of having to spend like 600 man hrs some times starts to push me back toward the pre-sheeted Dalton. Thanks alot for all your guys help, Neil Westdorp

I think a lot of people are under the impression that it takes twice as much to finish a carden when in reality is just a few extra hours on the fuse (engine box). The wings and stabs are built the same way and as far as engine boxes go, if you wait a little dennis will have laser cut engine boxes with lighning holes done. It takes me an afternoon to do all the ligthning and after that it builds like any other plane.

The truth is that they both fly extremely well so take a hard look at both of them and decide which one looks the best to you and go with it. BTW I know I'm bias since I have a carden 300 but in my opinion it has the best lines of any 300 out there. Good luck with your decision.

Albert

[Neil4]

jmiracle, you are probably right but to save 15-20 hrs is alot for me. I just turned 14 so school, homework, chores all play a role in the amount of time I can spend on the airplane. But as you said saving 15-20 hrs really isn't much when you are talking about a 400-600hr project but any time I can save is a plus, and since this would be my first Carden kit it will take a longer than let's say you building it.

Neil

[SmoothFlying]

jmirale is right on the money. He knows what he is talking about. I second the part about a Carden is THE best looking airframe out there. Every piece just flows with the plane. You dont have these oversized surfaces that just look out of whack. Go with the Carden. You'll never turn back. Plus they are durable as hell. Come check mine out. You cant even tell it went through a tree at Nall!!!

[mmcconville]

Both are great airplanes. Tony Russo at Dalton is a great guy too.
All that to say, Dennis and Caroline are also great people and personally, I am a Carden guy and have had great success with several Carden airplanes since my first Cap in 1998.

I havent had a Dalton model and from what I've seen Tony's models are made well.
But I will say that I had a TBM 260 and it weighed in 3/4 lb heavier than my prototype Carden 260 did with the exact same gear in both.

[SleepyC]

Cardens are PRETTY.

Their Extras (300, 330 260) and Edge540 are the best looking planes out there. They have that "Slink" to them.

i personally own 2 Cardens and 1 Dalton... both are very nice planes.

Its like asking should I buy a Porsche 911 or a BMW Z8...