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Built-up models take a long time to build and set up. This presents a problem for those whose lifestyles simply includes little or no time to build. It is hard enough to just find time to go to the flying field on a regular basis. The lack of building time is why ARF's are so popular today. ARF's may never be a consideration for some die-hard builders but over the past several years, pre-built models have become pretty impressive alternatives to kit or scratch built models. ARF's may never completely over-shadow other models but they sure do get modelers to the flying field quickly. Bhe Super Quality ARF Series of pre-built models from Kyosho is a good example of what ARF can mean, good quality and value. This high-performance aircraft comes, as do all the Super Quality Series aircraft, 90% assembled and factory-covered in the only licensed trim scheme version available of the popular full-size Breitling Cup competitor. When the box is first opened, it is obvious that this CAP is much more than just another ARF. There are 10 pre-covered, built-up wood parts for the CAP 232: the fuselage, two (2) wing halves with aileron slots cut but not mounted, the rudder and fin, the horizontal stabilizer and elevator halves, all pre-slotted for hinges. The engine cowl and wheel pants are made of high quality, durable plastic and come painted to match the finish. Also in the kit is a complete hardware package, an instruction manual, a formed canopy and Breitling stick-on decals. Hardware items include aluminum landing gear, wheels, engine mount, fuel tank, control horns, clevises, and control rods. Assembly of the begins model by gluing the furnished CA type aileron hinges into place. Five or six drops of thin CA are wicked into the hinge slots on either side of each hinge. While the glue soaks into the wood, the control surfaces should be slowly worked back and forth as the glue sets. A 1/16" gap should be maintained between the root end of the aileron and the trailing edge of the wing. After the ailerons are in installed, the wing panels are joined with the supplied dihedral brace and some 30-minute epoxy. The brace did not fit tight, so a wedge was used to provide a tighter seal. This made it so the brace was unable to move around, creating a more solid connection to the other wing half. Joining the wing panels is next. They did not fit together tightly so some sanding was required to make the seal tight. This produced a strong wing-panel joint. Again, 30-minute epoxy was used and the wing panels were held together with masking tape while the epoxy cured. There is nothing difficult about gluing the tail feathers to the fuselage. The fin and stabilizer fit precisely into the slots. The horizontal stabilizer required no trimming to align properly with the wing. The stabilizer was placed in the slot and the excess epoxy that had squeezed out of the assembly was wiped away. Once the fin and stab were glued into place, the rudder and elevator halves were installed and the hinges were glued into place. The wire tail wheel assembly that came with the kit was not used. Instead, a leaf spring assembly was bolted to the bottom of the fuselage. To hold the tail wheel assembly in place, two (2) wood screws and a small amount of Goop were used. The tiller arm is attached to the rudder with small springs. If the stock tail wheel assembly is used, the instructions show installation in detail. Holes are already provided in the fuselage bottom for the bolt-on landing gear. The landing gear assembly appeared too weak for this model and needs to be built up. Triangular stock was added in the inside of the fuselage around the landing gear blind nuts to aid in preventing the landing gear from stripping out when landing too hard. The landing gear also appeared too flimsy for this model. The wheel pants are held to the landing gear with the standard axle, nut, bolt, washer setup. Sullivan 2.5" wheels were used to ease the burden of a grass field. This required drilling new holes in the wheel pants so the wheels would fit. The bottom openings were enlarge to accommodate the larger size wheel. The inside of the wheel pants were fiberglassed to add strength. This should help prevent cracking, and keep them in good shape for a long time. A Great Planes engine mount was used as a guide for drilling the four holes in the firewall to secure it in place. Four (4) #8-32 socket head screws were used to secure the mount to the firewall. The epoxy covered firewall was sanded lightly and red Monokote spray paint was used to blend the firewall in with the rest of the fuselage. After the engine mount was secured, a Magnum .61 4 - stroke engine was installed. Mounting requires that the instructions be followed closely to ensure that the correct distance is achieved. Done incorrectly, this will result in a difficult task of mounting the cowl correctly. The stock muffler was replaced with a steel piece of tubing tapped to screw into the supplied header, and some flex pipe purchased separately. The steel tubing also received a pressure fitting for the engine and the muffler was by-passed altogether. The supplied fuel tank was replaced with a round Sullivan 10 ounce and installation was very easy. The top of the tank was removed, the tank was passed through the opening in the firewall, and the cap was replaced. Tightening the screw secures the tank to the firewall and makes a very tight fit. The tank was surrounded with foam, which provides additional tightness, assuring the tank stays in place. The bottom of the cowl received special care and was cut out to accommodate airflow and the flex tube from the engine. The corners were rounded to help prevent stress points at which it might start cracking. An in-cowl fuel fill line was added to make filling and emptying the tank easy. The paint is extremely well done, and matches perfectly to the fuselage. A Futaba 8UAPS radio was installed with S3001 servos on all control surfaces and the throttle. A 4 - cell, 600mAh battery pack was used to power the radio and was secured next to the fuel tank to aid in balancing the airplane slightly toward the nose. A simple Y - end pushrod actuates the elevator and a standard pushrod actuates the rudder. The control throws were set as shown in the instructions but low-rate settings should be used during initial flights. Once the model was completely assembled, it was balanced inverted. The recommended CG from the leading edge of the wing at the fuselage side has proven perfect. Bhe Kyosho CAP 232 first took flight on beautiful evening with a slight breeze. After some clicks of the trim for 'hands free' flight, the model proved itself to be a good, stable and predictable performer. With its exceptionally long rudder, the CAP is undemanding and a pleasure to fly off the ground. When throttle is applied, the tail comes up very quickly, and little rudder correction is needed to keep the model straight. Keeping full up elevator apply throttle and as speed builds, the model slowly lifts itself off the ground as less elevator is applied. Climb out is smooth and predictable. Landings need some speed but are undemanding. Final approach is set and throttle is maintained at about 1/4. The throttle is cut to idle when the airplane is heading for the runway. It is then allowed to gently settle to the ground as up elevator is slowly applied while maintaining level flight with the ailerons. When the airplane settles just off the ground, flaring continues ever so slightly until it settles to the ground. Once on the ground, full up elevator is applied to keep it from nosing over as it rolls out. When set up with the recommended control throws, the CAP is sensitive to control inputs. The low rate recommendations were used for high rate, and those throws were reduce by 40 percent for low-rate settings. On the recommended high-rate settings, stalls are gentle with no surprises. Due to a lack of experience in 3D aerobatics, no comments can be made on those control settings. Learning how this model flies is the biggest key. Once familiar with its characteristics, it is a joy to fly. Bhe CAP 232 does all maneuvers with authority and looks and feels good doing them. Loops are big and flow smoothly and rolls are very near axial. Inverted flight is easy with a very slight amount of down required to maintain level flight. The minimal time required to assemble this model, coupled with its high quality, makes the Kyosho Breitling CAP 232 an excellent value. Anyone looking for a sport scale model that fits the budget will not go wrong with this model. |
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