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(6.5 cc 2 - stroke) |
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The Hobbico Superstar 40 with Monokote was selected as a weekend project. The decision was made based on previous experience with a Hobbico Avistar. The local flying field is relatively bumpy grass and so most of my planes are built as bush planes, which involves reinforcing the bottom of the fuselage with plywood, converting them to tail draggers and making them sit rather high to accommodate the grass which is sometimes high. My first impression of the kit was that it was nicely done. The covering job is excellent and needed very little shrinking to make it perfect. The nose gear was already attached along with the motor mount. With very few exceptions, the instructions were excellent. The plane went together quickly. The manual indicated several steps that were already completed at the factory, such as installing the servo tray, nose gear, and motor mount. Hobbico did a good job building the plane and the quality of materials was excellent. I fiberglassed the joint in the center of the wing to add strength and the before mentioned tail dragger conversion. I was a little skeptical of the motor mount as well as it is aluminum and utilizes a clamping system to hold the motor in place rather than screwing through it as is customary. I did use it and it has worked well. It turned out to be nose heavy and no matter how far I moved the inboard gear, I could not get it right. A hatch was installed in the tail for some weight. Final weight came out to 5.9 pounds. I loaded everything into my Pathfinder, anxious to take the Superstar to the field, and check out its flight performance. The next day turned out sunny with a light wind blowing down the runway. I started the engine and did some taxi tests. It tracked very nicely and required little rudder to keep it straight down the runway. I lined it up at the beginning of the runway and advanced the throttle. The tail came up nicely in about 5 feet and about 10 feet later, it broke ground. The plane requires very little throttle to maintain level flight. In fact, with the throttle pulled all the way back and with the throttle trim at full up, it could still climb, albeit slowly. With a little altitude, I checked its slow flight and stall performance. Into the wind, it would slow down to almost a walking pace before it would stall, and the stall was barely existent. It basically dropped the nose and descended slowly. With the wind to the side, stall performance was the same, it just happened at a slightly higher speed, still at just above a walking pace. Loops, Rolls, Stall Turns, Cuban 8s and Split Ss were performed with ease. Rolling maneuvers were not very axial, (as could be expected with a plane of this design) but the ailerons do have enough authority to perform them. Landings were great, the plane could be set down just about anywhere you want, and on my grass field, rollout was only 5-10 feet. This is by far the easiest plane to land I have ever flown. I would highly recommend the Superstar as a trainer. Its flight performance emphasizes good rudder, aileron, and elevator coordination in order to turn smoothly, so you will learn valuable skills with it. It is also a great plane for those of you who want something relaxing to fly that can still perform all the basic maneuvers. I look forward to trying it on floats and on skis this winter. Its excellent slow speed performance and slow takeoff and landing speeds should make it great in those capacities. I will probably mount a camera in it as it definitely has enough power to handle it. |
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