New to Flying Giants and large gassers

[Love2Fly]

My name is Jay and I am new to this forum and new to giant scale models. I found a deal on an AeroWorks 29% KatanaS at the swap meet in Perry, GA. This is my first gasser. Before that, I was flying a Hangar9 ShowTime50, which I still have. Also at the swap meet, I found a 51cc engine called the Area 51, made by JC Engines. I just changed all the servos in the plane to HiTec 7955. I have been flying the KatanaS since May. I enjoy it, but its heavy. Ready to fly, less the fuel, it weighs 19 pounds. According to my research, this is quite heavy by today's standards. By the end of the year, I would like to have a new 50cc plane. I enjoy pattern-type flying. I enjoy watching others fly 3D, but I have no desire to fly like that. What airframe do y'all suggest? I like the Extra 260 and the Edge 540. I want a high-quality, light plane. I did hear that AeroWorks build quickly, but they're a little on the heavy side. Any help will be appreciated.

[yellowman2513]

first of all, WELCOME TO THE GIANTS!!!!!!! I honestly just started up in this hobby too, and well, i have been very busy with my first plane, a four star .60. I do not know much about what you should get, but id say to get a warbird!!!! those are very fun!!! there fast too. good luck and welcome to the giants!!!!!!

[Al Lewis]

Welcome to FG!! I have the SD Extra 260 but it's at 18.5 pounds take-off weight. I just run a DL-50 with a Vess 23A and over power the thing.

[smokin]

the greatest all around 50cc plane i have had personal experience with would be the Extreme Flight 88" Yak 54. their new 50cc 88" extra 300 is pretty awesome too. from the construction to the pure size of these 30% class birds, the quality and flight performance is just "plane" tough to beat! that yak presents itself like a 100cc size plane and is just as clean in it's performance!

anyway, if you take the time to search out several opinions on this site you'll find many terrific possibilities. i just bet though, that this particular yak will be the most highly accredited 50cc airframe!

just my $.02

[Love2Fly]

Thanks for the warm welcome and help. My new pair of Xoar 23x8 props came in today. I have been running the Troy Built Models brand props at 22x8. I can't wait to see what the Xoar 23x8 does. The next prop experiment will be the Xoar 20x10 three blade. What do y'all think?

[yellowman2513]

awww. the three blade 20x10 will look sweeeeeet!!!!!!!

[MrKiwi]

Eh, I wouldn't use the 20 inch prop. Maybe a vess 23A or B.

Also, I second the extreme flight! Biggest and lightest in their class. As for the engine, stick with a name brand engine like ZDZ, DA, or 3W. Part of it is, you're not just paying for an engine, but also GREAT service. You should always give a new company some time and see if any issues arise. Because this is you first gasser, you don't want to get stuck fiddling with an engine that was made by some one who cant tell a piston from a prop. Good luck!

[Al Lewis]

Buy yourself a Vess 23A for that engine. Reports are that it is spinning the Vess 23A at 7200 out of the box. It also would seem to be quite a nice little engine. If you have any problems with it you may want to PM rcign or Tired Old Man about it.

[jdearduff]

Stay away from the 3 blade prop. You will get no benifit out of it. The Xoar, TBM, and NX props are all the same. Try the Vess or a Mejzlic.

[Tweaker]

The aeroworks planes would be an excellent choice, the extreme flight planes are nice and the one I would pick over any other would probably be the 3D hobby shop 50cc Extra. Mostly because it's long (great for nice tracking) and it's light. The way you described what you want, I'm thinking an Aeroworks fits your needs quite well.

Welcome to the Family!

Scott Gaines

[Krogers77]

Welcome to the world of gassers & big birds. I don't think you can go wrong with the Aeroworks 260. It's a top notch plane (construction/ performance / and looks). I'm running mine with a DA50, carbon fiber Mejelik (23x10), CF spinner, CF wing/tail tubes and landing gear. I shifted to Titanium axles and titanium micro adjusting connecting rods for the control surfaces. I left out the smoke tank and reduced the 25oz fuel to the 16oz size and still get 20 solid minutes of run time on one tank of fuel. Throttle management allows for me to make a solid 15 minute flight doing 3D with fuel to spare to shoot a few approaches.
My all up dry weight after shifting to carbon fiber was 15.66 pounds, and let me tell you, this plane is stable even in heavy cross winds, no tip stalls, and it will hover endlessly at 4-5 clicks above idle (depending on winds) and the vertical is limited only by the amount of gas in the tank. I would easily provide a sound recommendation for Aeroworks, the weight can be reduced with some forethought to make a phenomenal plane.

[reyn3545]

Aeroworks and Extreme Flight both make great planes. You are in Newnan, so not too far from Cumming, where Extreme Flight is headquartered.

My first gas plane was the Aeroworks Extra, it weighed in at about 17 pounds, and was absolutely the straightest flying, easiest landing wood plane I've ever owned. I didn't know how lucky I was until I bought a few more planes, and had to learn about trimming out problems on the fly! I sold the plane to a buddy at the field who was getting into IMAC.. he wanted it because he saw how straight the plane flew.

I've owned some Extreme Flight planes also. Very capable, light weight planes. Great for 3D. Not great if you bounce a few landings! That's not a knock on the planes, they are made light so they can be great 3D planes. In my experience, they haven't been the straightest flyers, with minor warps in the wings, but again, there are trade-offs for any flying style.

If you're looking for a DA-50... I have one that has less than 10 flights on it, with a canister muffler... I'll sell the combo for $500. It was in a Composite-ARF Yak that had an unfortunate demise. I was able to kill the motor before the crash, so its unharmed. The header (goes between the engine and the canister muffler) did get bent a little, but it probably wouldn't fit the Aeroworks Extra anyway. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[FENWAYFLYER]

There are alot of good used planes kicking around. I bought my first plane used and still use the engine today. Coarse it is a Da.

[smokin]

the EF yak i am used to runs a DA 50 on a KS pipe and a Vess 22b. GREAT COMBO!!! man, those vess props are just bolt on h.p.