This item is discontinued.

GREAT PLANES RYAN STA 1.20 ARF
PRODUCT TEST REPORT
By George Jenkins

TYPE: ARF Fun Scale
MANUFACTURER: Great Planes Model Mfg. Co. 1610 Interstate Dr. Champaign, IL 61822
DISTRIBUTOR: Great Planes Model Distr.
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $379.99
WING SPAN: Advertised 80"
WING AREA: advertised 1002 sq. in.
AIRFOIL: Symmetrical
WING STRUCTURE: Built up balsa and hardwood
WING JOINER: Plywood brace and two hardwood dowels.
FUSELAGE LENGTH: Advertised 60", Measured 58 3/4"
FUSELAGE STRUCTURE: Built up balsa and lite ply
REC. CONTROLS: 4 (Ail, El, Rud, Throt)
PUSHROD TYPE: Wire in plastic tubes
PUSHROD PRE-INSTALLED: Most
HINGES: Included, not installed
REC. ENGINE: 61-19 2C, or .91-1.20 4C
ENGINE MOUNT: Plastic, not pre-installed
FUEL TANK INCLUDED: Yes
WHEELS INCLUDED: Yes
COVERING MATERIAL: MonoKote
FUEL PROOFING REQUIRED: Yes
ESTIMATED ASSEMBLY TIME: 12 hours
ESTIMATED SKILL LEVEL: Experienced
DRILLING REQUIRED: Regular hand tools
ADHESIVES REQUIRED: CA and Loctite
REC. WEIGHT: 10lbs. 3oz.
INSTRUCTIONS: 27 illustrated pages
PLANS: None needed
HARDWARE INCLUDED: Universal motor mount w/hardware, wire pushrods and sleeves, pre-painted fiberglass cowl and wheel pants, pre=formed landing gear w/hardware, axles, wheels, fuel tank, clevises, machine screws, plywood cowl mounting ring, tail wheel assembly, steering cable, ABS fairings, spinner, windshield materials, wing struts, servo tray, and miscellaneous nuts and bolts.
ITEMS NEEDED TO COMPLETE: Engine, propeller, fuel line, 4 ch radio w/six 80 oz. servos, and some adhesives.

COMPLETED MODEL
FINISHED WEIGHT: 13 lbs. 8 oz (216 oz.)
WING LOADING: 31.04 OZ SQ. FT.
ENGINE USED: RC showcase 1.40 (approx. 2 lbs.)
PROPSHAFT TO GROUND: 10 1/2" (held level)
FUEL TANK USED: As supplied (w/gas stopper)
RADIO USED: JR 10 w/ six Hitec 605 servos
COVERING/FINISHING USED: Precovered
SPECIAL ITEMS: Lite Flyte Products 8 oz struts, CB Associates 2 1/2" spinner, Sullivan 3 1/2" wheels, Big decals, and Carl Goldberg 1/16" black trim tape.

CHEERS - Immaculate pre painted fiberglass cowl and wheel pants; great illustrated instructions; classic looks on the ground and in the air; pre construction well down; very aerobatic; flies well even with the heavier wing loading resulting from the gas engine; can be dolled up with more scale details (flying wires, decals, etc.)

JEERS - Original kit's landing gear wires were too soft; tail wheel too small; poor method of retaining wheel pants (see text); poor quality foam wheels; narrow landing gear causes poor ground handling.

I guess you get a better perspective of an airplane when others in your own club build the same kit and have the same experiences. Also, after living with an airplane for longer than a normal kit review, you get a better idea of how the model holds up after 40+ flights. Such is the story of my Ryan STA kit, purchased as soon as it hit the shelf at my local hobby shop. I've admired this classic ever since Maxey Hester designed a kit produced by Sig. My only fears were about the narrow width and tall height of the landing gear when the model sat on the runway.

The Great Planes model is built well, but as with all ARF kits, you should check every glue joint you can get to. Many ARF's are assembled with hot glue guns for speed of building, which is not the best for long term strength. Glue it properly now and save yourself some heartache later.

The wing fit perfectly and the stab fin lined up at a perfect 90 degree. I elected not to use the plastic fairing for the stab and fin, since they're an off white color that doesn't match the white UltraCote on the model. The black checkerboard pattern on the bottom of the wing and stab are all hand done, and what a nice job, too! The rest of the covering was also done well, but a heat fun for touch up was still needed after extended exposure to the Florida sun.

After ordering a set of 3 views from Sig, and their decal set for their old Ryan kit, I added the 1/16"pin striping on the model about 1/16" back from the red leading edge color line. What a nice finishing touch this and the decals added. I'm a scale nut, so it has to look right before it flies! You can even "go all the way" with this kit if you want, adding the flying wires and wheel struts. But the kit is a real looker as it is, and earns lots of compliments even if you add no extra detailing at all.

Radio installation was as per the instructions, using my JR 10 with Hitec 605 servos for all the control surfaces. One additional servo was needed because the choke and throttle are located on the back side of the engine due to the remounted carburetor on the RCSC 140. I also used Harry Higley's servo arm EZ rod connectors on the heavier Du-Bro servo arms. It is important to file a flat on the wire and use blue Loctite on the threads when using this method for protection from vibration. This is also a good idea for all metal threaded connections on the model.

The fiberglass cowl and wheel pants are a work of art, but mounting them is another story. The wheel pants present the biggest challenge since the instructions suggest drilling though the flange on the landing gear fairings, and then using screws threaded into the hardwood landing gear mounts. This is a sure-fire recipe for broken fiberglass. I first tried gluing the fairing and pants combinations with PFM glue, but they were too rough to remove for replacement or repairs. My suggestion is to mount the gear with added 3/16" dowel rods into the hardwood, by gluing them inside. You can then use small screws for mounting into the hardwood on the side of the fairings which should work. This gives them a more rigid mount and is less likely to be damaged by nose overs or side loads from crosswind takeoffs and or landings.

The Ryan has a bad habit of tipping over onto its wing tips, so install some Goldberg wing skids before your first flight. This can happen during taxiing, takeoffs, and landings. It's hard to taxi in a crosswind, and sharp turns are to be avoided at all times.

The landing gear problems are primarily due to the extra long hear needed for this model to mirror the full size STA. Great Planes worked long and hard to come up with an affordable system for this plane. In order to get the wheel pants gear fairing on, they had to have the axle and wheel mounted as the last step. The first set of gear in the kit was replaced after calling and talking to Don Anderson and his R&D engineer. It seems they do not have spring steel wire (music wire) in China, so they provided soft wire gear dipped in black paint to prevent rusting, in the first run of kits. The gear was so soft it bent back on the very first landing, and the axle swiveled around on the gear wire even though I had already filed a flat for the socket screw to tighten against. The results included two split wheel pants and a busted cowl from the resulting nose over. Also, the "bolt on" axles were too short for the wheels to be mounted with wheel collars.

I did not use the foam wheels provided in the kit, choosing Sullivan's 3 1/2" foam core style instead. If you have on of the first kits like I did, just call Great Planes and they will be happy to replace the gear and the axles for you.

I added a second set screw to the bolt-on landing gear axle, and added a second flat filed on the wire, but I wasn't really satisfied with this either. I decided that I like the plane well enough to keep it, but it needs some shock absorbing qualities to make it stick on the runway while landing. This plane is so sleek and fast, higher than normal landing speeds can be expected. As a result of the extra speed, you may experience a lot of bouncing on the runway with the fixed landing gear system provided. I contacted Lite Landing Gear and had Ray make up a pair of spring loaded landing gear struts. It seems that he had already run into the same problem, and quickly provided a set for me to try. They work great, but some minor medication is required in order to install them, and a good 1/4" wire bender or heavy duty vise is required.

The first order of business is to get a piece of 1/4" ball to rout out the existing landing gear slots to 1/4" diameter. Then drill out the landing gear torsion blocks to 1/4" as well. Remember to relieve the inside of the corner to make room for the 90 degree bend. Be careful to make the forward angle of the new 1/4" wire to match that of the original wire, so the wheel will be in the center of the wheel pant opening (the length can be determined by the stock landing gear, but I suggest that you make it a bit wider, since the ground handling is much improved on landings). Now bend a second 90 degree angle and cut it off about 1" long. This is the end you will use to mount the $99 landing gear strut from Lite Landing Gear.

The hardest angle to bend and get right is the back brace wire which I made out of 1/4" wire, as well. There is a bolt-on attachment provided by Lite for this back brace. You will have to measure twice and bend once, though. A good wire bender and torch are called for to bend this stuff! This may take more time and money than you are willing to spend on an ARF, but the reward is worth it.

After reading a magazine review on the RC Showcase 140 gas engine, I decided to order one. It's smaller and lighter than a G-23, my first idea, but much more powerful when using an APC 16x8" prop as suggested. I used medium sized aluminum beam mounts from Du-Bro, but removed the rubber mounts and replaced them with 1/2" dowel rod for a hard mount. The medium mount fits the angle cuts on the engine mount extension. I also used a CB Associates spinner to take the higher power from the larger engine. You can use your favorite power plant since there is truly a lot of room in the cowl for any engine.

One key to a successful first flight is having the correct CG. I had to add some tail weight to compensate for the heavier and extra battery for the electronic ignition. Remember, nose-heavy airplanes may only fly poorly, but tail-heavy airplanes may only fly once!

Luckily, my first impressions were correct, and the model flew great. It can do anything in the book as far as aerobatics, but it's a bear to handle on takeoffs and landings...and crosswinds make it even worse! Even though the Sarasota R/C Squadron has a 100x500' runway at our new field, it was hard to land on the first try due to the speed, and the fact that I was diving toward the runway, accumulating unnecessary speed before landing.

We have two other Great Planes' Ryans in our club, and we're all having the same experiences. You need to fly this baby all the way to the ground like a warbird for best results, cutting the power completely only when the wheels touch the runway. It's good to have someone like Mike Winter as an observer to help you see what you're doing wrong, as well as taking the in-flight photos.

Many flights have now passed, and I still like the airplane, but I make sure never to fly it in a 90 degree cross wind.

Trip Galasso, a very good scale builder and flyer, bought the Great Planes kit, but out a second cockpit hole, and then stripped off the original covering, replacing it with UltraCote (silver for the fuselage and yellow for the wings). He added the stars with red centers, and painted the tail feather fairings, wheel pants, and cowl with Rustoleum silver paint. Voila! An IMAA legal warbird resulted! He was the first to widen his landing gear to make it handle better on the ground. This, I believe, is an idea worth copying! I took pictures of our planes side by side, and showed them to Don Anderson, of Great Planes, in hopes that he will come out with this version.

In conclusion, this is not a beginner's airplane, but you shouldn't be afraid of it either, as long as you heed the lessons I've learned and shared, and are willing to try flying something besides traditional ARF's. Large scale ARF airplanes fly great, and look even better since Great Planes began introducing their classic line of airplanes.