• Wing Span: 55 in (140 cm)
• Wing Area: 550 sq in (3548 cm²)
• Length: 47.75 in (121 cm)
• Weight: 5.0 lbs (2.3 kg)
• Engine: .40 - .46 2 - cycle
  (6.5 cc - 7.5 cc 2 - cycle)
  .40 - .70 4 - cycle
  (6.5 cc - 12.0 cc 4 - cycle)
• 4 Servos required

The Great Planes Super Sportster can be flown by fliers needing low wing experience or veteran pilots wanting to tune aerobatic skills. The Super Sportster is available in a variety of sizes. With a smaller engine and with the CG forward, the Super Sportster provides stable, forgiving flight. With a hot engine and with the CG aft, a Super Sportster are great aerobatic performers. A thick, symmetrical airfoil provides excellent wind penetration and slow landings.

The Super Sportster that was built was not the newer Mark II version but was bought as a new kit which had been sitting around for several years. The plans are clear and the Instruction Book easy to follow and very helpful.

Building begins with the fin, rudder, stab and elevators which are all sheet balsa construction. The balsa sheets are simply joined together to form the stab and rudder. Then the leading edges are sanded and the rudder and elevators are beveled. The elevators are joined together with pre-shaped wire so that only one pushrod activates both surfaces. The process took one night to complete.

The wing is the next component to be built. The wing halves are built over the plans but only one half of a wing is shown on the plans. One section is built upright and the other is built upside down. A Great Planes wing jig was used since the ribs are pre-drilled to accept it and it ensures a straight wing. There is nothing overly challenging about the construction. The decision must be made on whether the airplane will be a tail-dragger or tricycle type landing gear. In this case, the tricycle configuration was chosen for the added control during take-off. Fitting the undercarriage mounting blocks was straightforward and well explained in the instructions. The wing tips take a bit of work but if the instructions and plans are followed, the wing tips will turn out right. In some cases, the instructions call for the use of scrap balsa but there is no extra balsa included in the kit.

The wing is joined using a wedge of balsa which extends from the leading edge to the trailing edge. This wedge sets the correct dihedral angle. Both wing halves butt up against this wedge, so re-inforcing with the supplied fiberglass tape is an absolute necessity. The supplied 6 ounce tape was far too small to cover the joint but this could be due to some of it being used by the previous owner of the kit. Three (3) layers of 2 ounce cloth were applied with 30-minute epoxy. The joint appears to be very strong and has not failed yet.

The fuselage is built next. It went together fairly easily except for the 3/8" pieces of balsa making up the cockpit sides. These have to be wetted and twisted about 25°. Another significant detail of the fuselage construction is the amount of wood that needs to be removed from the nose section in order to align it with the spinner. Without a razor plane, this job can be a lot of work but a Great Planes razor plane makes the job relatively easy. The balsa stringers making up the turtle deck are attached to three formers, however no slots are cut to accept them. Instead, templates are provided to mark the positions where the stringers are glued to the formers. All that is required is a straight edge and some quick drying CA. Although this technique is different from other kits, it does not present too much of a challenge.

Since the Sporster was built with a tricycle landing gear, it involved the problems associated with a steerable nose gear. Some wood removal is required in the engine bay floor in order to accept the spring nose wire and steering mechanism. This is not a big job, but one which requires careful measurement to avoid removel of too much balsa. Wheel pants were added to all three (3) wheels to add to the overall good looks of the plane.

The engine, an OS 46FX was mounted and a trial balance was done with the radio gear fitted according to plans. The plane came out tail heavy, so the battery pack was mounted forward of the cockpit floor. This balanced the plane out perfectly, without any need for additional weight in either the nose or tail. Overall dry weight is 5 pounds, which is about what it should be. The fuselage is covered with yellow Monokote and the wings with metallic teal Monokote. The OS 46FX was new out of the box and was fitted with a Zinger 11x6 wooden prop.

The engine was broken in with one tank of 15% nitro fuel at the field. The first flight was made in less than perfect conditions, with a 5-10 knot breeze blowing across the runway and the temperature about 36° Fahrenheit. The engine was set to rich, per the manufacturer's recommendations and full power was applied for the first take-off. The plane tracked nicely down the sealed runway, despite the crosswind, and lifted off in about 50 feet. No trim adjustments were required as it flew straight and fast. Pitch was a little sensitive, but otherwise the plane was rock solid in the blustery conditions. Rolls are crisp and axial, loops effortless and inverted flight a non-event. This little plane is fast and should satisfy the pilot looking for a little more speed than standard sports planes offer. The plane also handles slow flight well and has no tendency to drop a wing when stalled. Slow approaches are easily handled and touch down is positive, while not severe. It does not float as much as expected making landings quite easy to execute. The OS 46FX is a great choice for the Super Sportster, providing plenty of power for vertical maneuvers.

This is a very nice airplane, which can be built rasonably easily and flies extremely well. The new Mark II kit is supposed to be even easier to build but on a scale of one-to-ten, this kit would still rate a seven for building and a nine for flying characteristics.