carden or dalton?

[yoyosmuggler]

I currently fly a h9 330s with zdz80....great plane and flys awsome. I flew in my first imac last year and loved it. I plan on staying in imac and what I have now is good enough for basic and even the next couple of classes but In the future I want to step up to a 40% plane for imac and can't decide which kit to buy. I have never built a giant scale plane but think I can tackle a project of this size with a little help from some experienced builders around this area. I think I have narrowed it down to an extra 260 either from carden or a dalton aviation. Any opinions on which one would be better? People say the carden is built for the long haul but that 42% from dalton looks mighty sweet too. Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks,
The Yo

[SleepyC]

I think either would be an awesome choice.

I have never heard a bad thing about either .

But I have heard that the Dalton is lighter.

AND... this is all hear say, I don't own either.

[bryson]

dude there both awesome!!!

[yoyosmuggler]

I kinda figured the dalton might be lighter but at what cost does the weight savings come? I have heard the carden is built like a tank and can take many years of not so perfect landings and still keep flying. A 40% plane is going to have to last me for years before I can replace it. I'm not saying the dalton is not well built but I dont really know for sure. I know carden has been around for a long time and lots of pilots stick by them. The dalton I'm sure is also a great plane but how does it stand up to the test of time?

[SleepyC]

Well heres one think to get you more informed... Tony has build threads on his Daltons posted here on the site. You can see what goes into his planes and exactly how they are built.

If I remember correctly, ALOT of the IMAC and freestyle guys were cutting BIG lightening holes into the cardens to bring the weight down, and that seemed to work well, but Tonys are designed light from the start.

Once again My 2 cents. I personally want one of Daltons 35% 260's.

But I wouldn't kick a Carden out of bed for eating crackers!!!

In this case go with your gut.... which ever plane makes you smile more , your not getting a bad plane either way....

For me, seeing Tony put together the Daltons made me smile so I'm leaning in the Dalton direction.... for you it could be different.

Let me say one last thing, show up to the field with either plane and your still gonna get the "MAN...nice plane!!

[btomlinson]

Both are great aircraft and on either end of the spectrum. I currently fly a Carden 40% 330. The construction is lite ply with balsa sheeted foam bottom and top decks. Cardens are very well built aircraft. You can add up alot of weight if your heavy handed with the glue on a Carden. You can also mod them and really get the weight down to several pounds bellow stock. My 330 is pro built but built stock. It fly's the box like a guided missile and will float around in 3d all day long with the best of them. I have no clue what the weight is

The Dalton 260 ? What you see is what you get. Laser cut formers and stringers. It would be hard to whittle any more out. I really like the construction and have wonderd which would hold up better. I keep telling myself that neither are made to crash, have rough landings.. etc

IMHO the stock Carden with a GOOD BALANCED PROP will hold up better over several seasons. Im thinking about something different for next year though and It just may be a Dalton 260..

[Benji]

Carden all the way...

[YaKs are BeSt]

Carden!!!!!

[Kiwi]

Get em both. You cant be wrong then.

Kiwi

[yoyosmuggler]

I read the thread from Tony as well and that is what put him and carden in the final running for my new bird. Personally I am leaning towards the Dalton like you but I just wanted to get some thoughts and opinions before shooting my wad on a big project like this. I think the the build thread for the dalton 260 was a very smart thing to do. It will bring in alot of customers like myself. Tony is putting his product out there for everyone to see and from what I see it looks damn good. The carden has its reputation, which is damn good too. My personal opinion is that if you are an experienced builder and can tweek the carden to make it lighter then go with the carden. But like you say, the dalton is designed to be light and a unexperieced builder like myself would probably be better off going with something where all I have to do is follow the directions.
BTW, great job of getting the fly-in at Toby's going! That was my first imac event. Great place to fly..should be awesome.

[Rolling Thunder]

Carden does not use light ply. It is Birch Aircraft Ply. Both are great airplanes.

[SleepyC]

Thanks man!

Good luck with your decision!
Like pretty much everyone said.. either way... your getting a winner!

[yooki]

It sounds like you may be better off with the Dalton because of it's ease of building and light stock weight, like you said. Just make sure you take care of the plane with the normal checks, shake this, rattle that, figure out if anything is loose before it breaks etc. (this is needed on a big gasser no matter what you purchase).

Keep up on maitenence and you will have a plane that should last years and fly great.

[TheTank]

Both are great flying airplanes. I have to give my nod to the Dalton though over the Carden 330. I have heard the Carden 260 is very nice as well, but dont see many of the flying. The Carden Yak is also a performer... but I really think the Dalton is the top of the class right now, especially in the kit build market.

[Cajun]

Dude it's a 40 you know its gonna fly good

I'd give the nod to the dalton, because tony is here to help, and hes more of a mom and pop business if you will.

He can anwser your questions and everything.

Dalton is what i say, but in the end it's your decision, and you can't go wrong.