Piper Review

     Wingspan:  90"   ~~~   Wing Area:  1123 sq in   ~~~   Length:  57"   ~~~   Weight:  9-12 lbs

I'm presently building the Great Planes Piper Cub .60 and, so far, the kit is living up to the quality that I have come to expect from the folks at Great Planes. I have finished the tail feathers and wing, and the only modification I've made so far is changing the wing hold down plate. They have you put a thin plywood plate on the top rear of the wing. The hold down bolts then pass through this plate. I didn't like the idea of seeing this plate on top of the wing -- kind of ruins the scale appearance of the finished plane. Instead, I bored two 1" diameter holes where the bolts go and glued two 1" dowels in the holes. This way, the top wing surface will be smooth and I'm even thinking of using some type of flat head screws instead of the typical round head type.

This plane will be powered with an OS .91 two stroke fitted with a Slimline muffler. Sure, I'd rather put a four stroke on it, but Mama wouldn't be a happy camper if I shelled out the cash for one of those babys right now....

The fuselage is going together very well. The interlocking parts in this kit make alignment very easy. It's REALLY hard to build the thing incorrectly! Excellent photos, plans and step-by-step instructions.

I'm getting ahead of myself here, but I will be using 21st Century Coverite to give it a more authentic appearance.

UPDATE:
The structure is finished. Again, Great Planes did a wonderful job fitting the pieces together in this kit. The windshield fit perfectly! This was a tough shape for them to get right, and it was a real pleasure seeing it slide right into place!

I fiberglassed the struts to give them a bit more protection, and provide a nicer surface to paint. They look great! After using 21st Century Paint, I can't emphasize enough that it MUST be applied over a WHITE primer. Their primer is fine (but expensive); Krylon white works just as well at 1/3 the cost. After priming, let it dry, sand lightly, then spray on a THIN coat of Cub Yellow. Wait a minute and spray on a wet coat. Follow this in five minutes with another wet coat. A third wet coat may be applied in another five minutes. It's excellent paint if USED AS DIRECTED! It'll make you crazy if you use it like normal spray paint.

Stay tuned for more exciting developments!

 

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