stuka

[cmccrackan]

hey guys, im a noob so dont go hard on me. im 13 and i just bought a series 500 stuka. any ideas on building?

[Phugoid]

to fly or display?

I hate to sound harsh or patronising but If to fly, put it in your cupboard for a while and buy a better kit for a newbie........

I would reccomend something with a high wing and slow flying perhaps a bird dog or something like that, or perhaps one of the series 4000 models.

The problem is that the real Stuka was designed to be fast (relatively) and manouverable (thus unstable). The problem is that free flight models want to be the opposite of this, ie they need to fly slowly and be stable as there isn't anyone at the controls.

This all sounds a bit boring I know. When I was 13 I wanted to build a Spitfire (still in my opinion the most beautiful aircraft ever built), The guy in the model shop said that I'd best be building a model of a small private plane like a Cessna or Piper but I did not listen and guess what? yep my spitfire flew....like a brick! Eventually I listened (a little bit at least) and I bought a "boring" kit (an Ercoupe i think) and it flew, not for long, and not very well but it flew......

[cmccrackan]

ok, thanks for the advice, but i have built a plane before and it was really easy, so i think im ready for somthing a little more challenging. but i respect your decittion and i may just take your advice.

[Phugoid]

Hey! I thought yor said you were a newbie?! te he.

Building them is real easy, trimming them to fly, and fly well isn't.......

There's not many 13 year olds I know that could tackle one of these little beasts, so good on yer mate......

Andrew

[cmccrackan]

i meant i was a newb on the forum. what kind of glue should i use and how do you get it so that the balsa dosent show through the tissue? my last build the balsa was visible and i dident like the look. and when i fly, the testors wood cement in the brown tube dosent even survive landing i would also like some pics of a stuka that i can use for paint design. THX

[Phugoid]

I don't know about the testors Cement as I'm in the UK and we can't get it here. I just use white glue (PVA) it gives very strong and rigid joints and normally the wood splits before the joint does.

Painting the model will hide the balsa to a certain extent, however the denser the colour, the more weight will be added, there is always a trade off.

As for braking lumps of your model, this goes back to my original point, a slower high wing model will almost certainly turn out lighter built and will require less nose weight. The combinition of the weight and speed all add up for heavier landings and broken parts reardless of the glue being used

If you continue with the Stuka do not make the lading gear as it suggests on the plan (assuming this is like other 500 series kits), it will break off just looking at the ground however well you glue it. Either make it removable for flight or make up a wire one.....

[cmccrackan]

ok, thanks, that really helps.