ejohn

Anyone have one of these and if so, what is your experience with it.

Oregon Craig

I'm wondering myself, but I don't think they are out yet.
Hobby-People site says "soon"
Tower and Omni both say August.
They look pretty cool.
Anyone have anything to say about Sportsman ARFs in general?

ejohn

Actually the Ryan's are in currently at Hobby People. They just received them this week and are now shipping. I have one on the way but was just curious if anyone had one and what their experience might have been. I have no experience with any of the Sportsman Avaiation ARF's. but looking forward to the Ryan.

gnirwin

My Feedback: (25)

I have owned 4 Sportsman Aviation planes. The only complaint I've really had with the ones I've owned (the first 3) was the covering material. The last one which was a Paramount the covering material and covering job both were very good. I think Sportsman now uses "name brand" covering material on their planes. The hardware you get with them are average ARF hardware, some you use some you don't.

old bird

Ejohn, it looks like you know more than the rest of us about shipping dates. I have one ordered also, a birthday present from my wife. I hate it when the big brown truck goes by and does not stop. I will post more when I know something. Members of my club tell me that the Ryan STA scales down to a good flying model, and I have always liked the looks and lines of the prototype. I'm trying to decide on a four-stroke, or a two-stroke with a pitts type muffler so as not to butcher up the cowl too much.

So many airplanes, so little time.
Best regards from old bird.

ejohn

Old Bird I am with you when the big brown truck does not stop. The tracking info tells me that the brown truck will stop at my place on Thursday, July 28th with my Ryan STA on board. I am looking forward to it and I plan to use an O.S. .52 4-stroke on mine. After receiving the Ryan and getting it in the air I will post the results.

Oregon Craig

I don't know what I was thinking when I said Omni/Tower were getting these. I obviously was thinking of another plane. Think I'll check my LHS for this one, for a change. Keep us updated on the quality of these when you guys start receiving them.

Woody 51

Their Corsair and FW-190 are quite good. So is their Paramount.
I agree with gnirwin, Hardware in the kits is average ARF.
Use some, junk the rest and replace with Dubro etc.

old bird

The big brown truck stopped today and the Ryan STA is here. Nice surprise after a good day at the field. On first inspection, everything looks good, no damage from shipping. I have not inspected all of the hardware, but peering through the plastic bag tells me that some things we can use, and somethings we will toss.. The covering material looks real nice, but there are some wrinkles that will respond to the heat gun, I tested a few spots already. The lines of the airplane are real good, I've had the opportunity to see some full-scale ones up close. The landing gear looks nice, but is wider spaced than the prototype, but this is a good thing in my view for a sport-scale flyer. The cowl is fiberglass, the wheel pants appear to be plastic, but the halves are already joined nicely. A bit oversize I think. Nice color and the covering material actually looks like it has a weave to it under a strong light.

This is a small and clean airplane model, I think over powering would be a mistake. It is light and compact and I think a .46 2-stroke would be ideal. Just like the distributer advises, can you imagine that. I wanted to put our Saito .72 in it, but I think now that it would be overkill.

I really like the looks of the ARF, it will make a very nice looking sport-scale model. Let us hope there are no nasty suprises down the line as we get them flying, but everything I see (like the firewall), looks pretty good.

Best regards from old bird.

snooptalian

My Feedback: (7)

Anyone get one of these puppies up in the air yet? I'm gonna pick one up tommorrow along with a Magnum 52 4-stroke for it. Hopefully it flies as good as it looks...

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

I have been looking at threads involving Sportsman Aviation stuff to see if this is the case; apparently so. I just finished their .60 size WACO, same experience with hardware; I hardly used any of it, but the basic airframe I thought is pretty nicely built. Good planes for someone with some building experience. I'd hate to have one as a 1st ARF, though.

stryker_20

My Feedback: (3)

Alright guys, I got one and heres what I think about it. I ordered mine from hobbypeople on 5-19-2005 and finally recieved it on july 26th, 2005. The plane right from the box, was a show stopper. Let me tell you, there wasn't hardly a rinkle in the covering at all when i first recieved it. The main pieces of the plane went together great and true. No problem. Now the hard part. Finishing up. The fuel tank was crap so i ordered a dubro 8oz er to fit in there. it fits fine. I ordered an evolution .46 for the power plant. The included spinner is crap also so i ordered a greatplanes red nylon/aluminum spinner. The wheels that come with it are a little small so i ordered dubro low bounce treaded 2 3/4" wheels. However the way the wheel pants should mount on the wing requires more mounting blocks than are built into the plane. I have a problem with the landing gear, it has no spring action or flex. I don't know how well the wing will take a less than perfect landing. We'll see. The other gripes i have about the arf kit is the little plastic coverings that go over the wing struts. These are more than difficult to put on and make them look good. Now to my biggest gripe. The control rods! Man, I don't know where they got these things but they're so hard, they're brittle. Made bending them a real chore. Infact, I had to bend one with my acetylene torch (get it red hot and bend it.) The radio compartment is jammed. I made the cockpits removable so getting fingers and screwdrivers in the jammed compartment is easier cause you can get to it from the top and bottom. I haven't flown it yes, as I just finished the plane last night. In all, it looks great, but its too small to accept .46 engine with pitts muffler without major modification to the cowl. overall, i think it is a good looking plane and went together well. It was a little nose heavy so i added some lead to the tail. I hope it flys well.

Richard Say

I just finished putting the Sportsman Ryan STA together. I didn't put the L.G. fairings and wheel pants on as I felt they were too flimsey and would make taking off and landing difficult at our (STARS) grass field. I guess some military versions flew without the fairings/pants anyway. Also, I used a pushrod to the rudder. I am going to test it tomorrow and take it to a meet on Sunday. I put my old reliable Magnum .52 four stroke in it for power. It seems to balance OK. I strengthened the box extension that the engine mounts on. It seemed a little weak and flexible.
I will post the results of the test flight tommorow (Saturday 8/13) evening. Wish me luck.
Richard Say

gnirwin

My Feedback: (25)

how about some pictures....

Richard Say

I will take some at the field and post them Saturday.

Richard Say

Hi Folks,
Well, I tested the Ryan STA today and was very pleased. The old Magnum .52 four stroke was more than adequate power. The plane tracked well on the ground and take off was straight and entirely under control. The landing gear placement is perfect. It flys a little fast but you can slow it down with throttle to a sensible near scale speed. Handling is great. Controls are very responsive. When landing, just reduce to a medium idle when you come in over the "fence" and as speed falls off feed in a little up elevator for a 3 point greaser! None of the plastic parts fell off and I was happy about that There are pics of the plane in my album.
Hope you all enjoy your Ryans
Richard Say

Richard Say

Hi Folks,
Here is an update on the Ryan. I flew it at a fun fly in Jamestown NY on Sunday. Windy, but plane flew fine. Today I installed 3" wheels, lengthed the pants cut outs and installed the fairings/pants! It looks great. I will fly it in this configuration on wednesday afternoon 8/17 and take pictures. I will get back to you after that.
Dick Say

Richard Say

I posted pictures in the gallery of the Ryan with 3" wheels and wheel pants. Still flys great.
Dick Say

ClarkFlyer

Well, I have this plane and I'm less than satisfied. As far as its flight characteristics, perhaps my expectations were too high. It fies well, very stable, easy to take off and land, but I did expect it to be a bit more aerobatic ability. Pretty weak. But again, maybe I expected too much. As far as construction, I observed this:

1. Wheel pants are very flimsy. Made of lightweight blown plastic. Promises to rip off on the first bad landing. I cut out the wheel wells with my dremel so that a bit more rubber would show. From the kit, maybe 1/4 " showed. When you mount them to the wing per the instructions, they don't fit very well. Kinda wavy.

2. Only one screw holds the wing on. Should be 2.

3. The wing wires..you wrap them around little wood screws. Seems a cheesy way to do it. I mounted tie down points to the wing, and then used light cable with small turnbuckles.

4. Wing struts. When I started my engine to tune it, after about 10 minutes both wing struts broke from vibration. I replaced them with aerodynamic aluminum tubes and mounted them to the fuse with blind nuts and small bolts. Now they actually add some strength. Maybe helping the problem with only one wing mounting screw.

5. Cheesy fuel tank. Uses plastic caps. When I tightened the screw, the screw head went through the cap. I made up a new cap using metal pieces from another plane.

6. I would have liked to see the landing gear with a little spring to it. These are rigid and may have a problem on a hard landing.

Overall, I think it has a lot of weak points. I emailed Sprtsman with my observations. This is such a cool looking plane that I hope they correct the deficiencies.

I plan on flying it just to watch it go by slowly...looks great. I have an OS .52 4 stroke on mine and it seems like a nice combination.

ClarkFlyer

Hey there,

Well, I took my Ryan out yesterday. On my first flight, I had a hard landing....not bad, but enough to flip it on its nose...on grass with the stock wheels and fairings. The wheel pants are history....just shattered them. Broke the ribs where the rear landing gear mounts....Now, this WASN'T a real hard landing. I've had the same landings with my 4* and all I had to do was brush the grass off.

So, I decided to reconfigure the landing gear. Threw the pants away and made some gear using 5/32 wire, just a single strut. Put larger tires on it. Epoxied up the cracked/broken ribs. At least now it'll have a bit of spring.

Interesting thing......after my flight, another member mentioned that the wings were kinda flapping up and down. Didnt think much about it. But on the bench, I was messing with the wing wires and discovered theres a ton of flex in the wings. I didnt measure it but I'm guessing I could pull the wing tips up maybe 1-1.5 inches. The flex point was about in the middle of the wing. Feeling around, I can't find a very substantial spar. I am really afraid now that these wings are just gonna let go in flight.

Anyway, very pretty airplane...very poorly designed. Sorry I bought it when I think of some of the great arfs I've built.

Richard Say

Hi Folks,
I flew the Ryan several times with the larger wheels and pants and it was OK until finally the pants caused a nose over. The pants came loose in flight and interfered with the wheels. They are just too flimsy and a definite trouble spot. I finally removed them . The nose over may have caused wing damage. I say this because the wing skin is wrinkled! Yes there is a lot of flex in this wing design. Perhaps the best remedy would be to put a dummy radial on it and fly it as a PT-22(?) which didn't have pants. Whatever else I probably won't reinstall the pants.
Dick Say

ClarkFlyer

Dick, I'm kinda glad to hear you say that your wing has a lot of flex in it also......it was nagging me that maybe I did some damage that I didnt catch. As the flex seemed equal on both wings, I didnt think so though. Anyway, I'll keep this plane for a slow Sunday flyer. I'd be afriad to do anything very dramatic with it.

Richard Say

Hi Folks,
More on the Ryan STA saga. I made mods to the wheel pants and gear, used 3" wheels, repaired and reinstalled the pants and flew the aircraft this (wednesday) afternoon. THE PANTS STAYED ON!!! If I have time this winter, I am going to do some re-engineering to the wing. It is so flexy. Also I will make a better mount for the wheel pants installation. Right now I am afraid to do anything with it (that is more stressful to the wing ) than a roll or slow loop. Flys fine though.
Dick Say

ClarkFlyer

Isnt it heck when you have to re-engineer a plane? I fixed the landing gear and am going to fly it today. At least now I have a bit of spring when I land. I'm thinking about ripping the covering off and beefing up the wings but my skills at covering are pretty weak.....maybe I can ask a fellow club member to help me. If the wings were strobger, I think I could be satisfied with it. Like you, Dick, I'm afraid to try anything beyond a loop or roll.

doug52

I was afraid this thread had run out. I have just started building the RYAN. From what I've learned so far I bought some larger dia. low bounce wheels and now I am questioning the choice of the Magnum .52 four stroke as it seems a little heavy for this aircraft. what say you guys?