| Flair Cub |
 |
This was my first plane, and a thoroughly
interesting learning experience it was too! I have written about how it came to me in the how I started flying section, and something of the trials and
tribulations of re-building much of the fuselage and tail. The photos show the finished model sitting on the runway at Llandow, ready for the first flight. Derek Rowe, our club instructor did the honours for me and performed the maiden flight. All went well, although the Magnum 25 was a little short on power for authoritative flying. For learning purposes however, the Magnum was just right. The model is a very nice flyer - several people in the club have them, just as a nice relaxed model to fly when the mood takes them. |
| The plane is covered in Solarfilm for the
white and yellow parts, and Solartrim for the blue. The pushrods for the rudder and
elevator were missing from the kit when I got it, so I used some Dave Brown fibreglass
items. This plane lasted pretty much intact through the year that it took me to learn to fly well enough to pass my 'A' test. The wingtips were quite fragile though, and I managed to break them at least a couple of times during this learning phase. In later years, I replaced the Magnum 25 with a Thunder Tiger GP42, and this made a big difference to the flying enjoyment. While the 25 had provided adequate power for circuits etc, the 42 made reasonable loops, stall turns etc possible. |
 |
 |
This picture is testament to the durability
of the plane. I had a wing to wing mid-air with a VMAR Apache trainer, and this was the
result. The foam wing of the Cub had a one inch gash in the leading edge, while the VMAR
lost enough of its wing to spiral in. A bit of tape over the gash enabled me to carry on
flying all day. I flew this plane until it became a bit tatty, and then passed it on to my neighbour who is a heli flyer. He is looking to fix it up and then learn fixed wing with it. I have bought another one, but the kit is still in the box, awaiting its turn in the building programme. |
This page was last updated on 24/06/03
Copyright Jonathan Mead 2002