Great Planes Matt Chapman
Cap 580
1/3 Scale Aerobatic Airplane

Some of you who read this might question why a scale modeler for the past 26 years was chosen to write an article on an ARF Giant scale model. Well, I guess I was just in the right place at the right time. As many of you know, the art of building a good flying scale model may be dying. There are not as many people who are willing to dedicate two or three years to designing and building an exact scale model. I have enjoyed this facet of modeling for many years; however I also love to fly. On occasion I even like to compete in local IMAC contests and most of all show off a new scale aerobatic plane at the local IMAA fly-in. The Cap has filled the bill very well for the past three months.

The Arrival
My wife Barb was on her way out of the driveway one afternoon just as the UPS truck was pulling in. She asked the driver if the package was for her or for me. If the package was for her she would have headed back up to the house immediately, however “It’s for Michael Barbee” the driver said. Then Barb asked the driver if the package would fit under the garage door that was slightly open for the dog. “No way” he replied. “There are two huge boxes to house this model.” Barb then returned to the house to help get the delivery into the house. She did not totally inspect the boxes for damage, but called me to tell me that my airplane had arrived. “Great”, I thought, “I’ll get a head start on the project; the article is not due until August.”

Opening the Treasure Boxes
After some rearranging a few projects that I had in various stages of construction in my shop, I had room to open my new delivery. One box, which was slightly damaged, contained the fuselage and most of the hardware, cowl, and landing gear. Close inspection of the fuse showed that it was broken in a couple of places; however this was not going to stop my building or flying of this airplane. It appeared to be an easy enough fix. So a bottle of Thick Zap, some Zip Kicker, and a realignment of the broken sections would do the trick. The monocote wasn’t even wrinkled, and the clamp and sleeve took just about an hour.
I then began inspecting the rest of the parts; the wings, stab, rudder. They were wrapped in Styrofoam in the other box. All the components were laid out and inventoried using a well detailed contents page in the instructions. “Wow, what a great color scheme, and all monocote; my favorite covering,” I said to myself. I have always been partial to yellow airplanes, remember my Waco and Tiger Moth? The trim is great and should add a lot to the visibility of the airplane. One section in the manual even gave the monocote numbers for all the colors. There are a total of nine on the plane!

Let’s get Building (Or Assembling might be a better term)
I began by reading the instruction manual all the way through. This is very well written and the illustrations are very precise and well done. “This is going to be done in a snap”, I remember saying to myself, and “I will be in the air by this weekend.” I then decided that because this is the first ARF that I have ever built, I would track my time from start to finish. Some of the scale planes that I have started never have gotten totally finished, so this will be a treat. I followed the manual just as it was written. I always used the monokote iron to check all the seams and the predrilled hinge holes. I felt it was important that all the seams be sealed tight. The hinge points supplied were slightly different than others that I have used. These had small plastic spades on each side that needed to be pushed into the trailing and leading edges of the part. These worked great as they were to be inserted on a straight line. All the hinges were this type, which was perfect. The servo arms supplied were metal, which is a great feature for good solid control of this 1/3 scale model. The arms came with inserts to match the four radio manufacturers’ output shafts. I used Futaba 9252 servos for the elevator and ailerons. Two giant scale high torque 55050 servos were used on the rudder. This was recommended by Great Planes as a result of flight testing. All control horns were supplied; they were all the proper size for the large plane. The location of the horns was well documented in the manual. I installed the landing gear, which I believe was about half of the assembly.
Total time thus far, just 14 hours.

Engine Installation
I chose the 3-W 106 engine for this plane. In the past, I have had excellent service from Aircraft International, so why mess up a good thing. Engine mounting was spelled out nicely in the manual; however the template given was for a DA-100. I was impressed with the aluminum stand off for the engine to fire wall spacing. It made for a nice set up and a close spinner to cowl fit. You know that we “scale guys” like those tight scale fits. The thrust directions were built in, which was another time-saving item. There was ample room for the ignition system, battery, and wires, directly behind the engine. Some foam and those great Velcro ties from my buddy Steve at Vel-Tye hold it all together.
Total time thus far, 17 hours.

More to do
The next few assemblies went fast. The throttle servo, all the linkage, and nyrod were included. Nothing to chase down at the hobby shop. The tank comes complete, only the assembly was needed, and a great mounting place close to the center of gravity was provided. Again, Velcro was used even though there were lugs to attach number 64 rubber bands to hold the tank. Well, I used both. They include instructions for a servo mounted kill switch. I chose to use the Electo-Dynamics optical switch. I have used this in many of my large scale planes. The cowl mounting was a bit tedious. I had a difficult time sliding the one piece cowl over the 3-W 106 engine. With only a slight amount of stretching and twisting, I got it on and mounted. It is a great paint job, and the finishes on the fiberglass parts are great also. Even though I have a TV in my shop, I couldn’t stand to watch it or do anything else, I was terribly anxious to get this good looking plane to the field to fly.
Total time thus far, 19 ½ hours.

The Final Steps
The final assembly started with the stab tubes. I did install a cardboard tube in the fuse for the elevator and rudder servo wires. I attached the stabs and made them removable. However, there is a suggestion in the instructions to permanently attach them. Transporting this plane with the others in my trailer requires the stabs to be removable. I check the C.G. next and found out why there are two wing tubes installed in the fuselage. The plane was very tail heavy at the rear location. So I move the tube to the foreward location, just about 3 ½ inches. At this location the balance was perfect. Good thinking on the designer’s part. Next I installed Matt, the pilot, and the dash. Both of these items really set off the cockpit area. At Toledo this year, I met a gentleman named Kregg Wright. He is a photographer and has a cockpit graphic for the inside of the Cap. This item arrived after the cockpit area was complete. The canopy was clean with no scratches or dents, and good packing in this area.

Radio installation and set up was the next and final step. I chose the new 14mz Futaba radio. As a member of Team Futaba, I received the radio a couple of months ago and took some time to familiarize myself with the radio systems. I am very pleased with the ease in programming this radio to fit the model. The ability to change the frequency from the transmitter to the G-3 receiver, which means there will be no waiting time at the field to begin the flight testing. My batteries of choice are Duralites. I used a 4000ma on the receiver with one of Duralites’ switches and 6 volt regulator combination. The ignition system is powered with a 2400ma and a 6 volt switch regulator. Battery placement in the plane was slightly forward of the wing tube. This put the Cap right on perfect balance, and measured 3 ½ inches from the leading edge at the wing tip. The instructions suggest balancing the model laterally, as well. We did this.

At this point of assembly I now check the control surface throws. I set the plane exactly as shown in the manual for both high and low rates. I have the luxury of three position switches on the 14mz, so the third position was set for the 3D or Full Throw on each surface.
Twenty two hours total time so far.

Finishing Touches before the First Flight
Usually I wait until after the first flight to put the final markings on the plane. In this case, it looked so good, and the trim was really done well to mirror Matt Chapman’s full scale, that I had to go ahead and get it finished. The last of the color markings all supplied, was the red bulls-eye for the bottom. Wow, this really added great visual ques for the orientation in flight. Just about 1 ½ hours more invested in this plane.

To The Field
With the frequency posted on the board at the field, the first radio checks were made. All throws look good and my buddy Phil Wessinger double checked for right/left and up/down. Everything looked good. Fuel was added and after the proper choking the 3-W 106 popped into life. The break in prop was a Fuchs 26/10. At this time, I did another radio check with the engine running. With thumbs up from me, Phil released the Cap and I taxied to the center of the runway. I advanced the throttle and at about ½, with a very straight track, the big 580 Cap was airborne. I performed some mild aerobatics, with the timer set for 10 minutes. Loops were true and at just over ½ throttle, easily performed. The 3W-106 was plenty of power. There were very few times that I was at full throttle on the first flight. At about 7 minutes into the flight, I decided to bring it in and check for any loose parts or items that had been vibrated loose inside. Most of my first flights are limited to between 5-7 minutes, just to be safe. What would this landing bring? I brought it over the threshold at about ¼ throttle, then all the way back to idle holding pressure on the elevator so the nose gently comes up, followed by a perfect three point landing.
My next flight consisted of more of an IMAC aerobatic sequence. Again, about a 10 minute flight with plenty of fuel left in the 32oz tank. We put three flights on the cap in the first outing and everything went great. Phil got to drive it around the patch on the next flight. He agreed the Cap is a good flying airplane.

Competition Proven
The next couple of weeks yielded more pleasurable flights. Phil had some bad luck and lost his number one competition plane. The AMA IMAC Nationals were only a week away. I was ready, so I decided to give Phil a chance, to fly the 580 Cap in the sportsman class. He accepted my offer and practiced for two evenings, about seven flights. He did very well and finished in 7th place. I think it was great for a 14 year old to do, with very limited experience with the plane. Oh, one more thing about Phil, this is only his second season flying R/C. Just a natural, or was it his instructor?

Conclusion
What do I think after the first 50+ flights? For my first ARF plane, I enjoyed the assembly and the good instruction booklet. I was impressed with the total hardware package. I like the color scheme as it is very visible and always gets attention at the filed. The flight characteristics were superb. So all things considered, I would give Great Planes an A for both design and construction. For the price, you can’t beat it. However, like all things there were a couple of things that fell short. The top of the tank seam broke after the 14th flight. Maybe from vibration, I like a seamless tank. The wheel pants cracked in two places. Not from the landing but from the wheels touching on the inside of the fiberglass. Use care in mounting the pants, have plenty of clearance between the wheel and the inside. The cowl was a tight fit. It has been real hard to pry the transmitter out of Phil’s hands lately. To sum up the flight characteristics Mike likes the Great Plains Cap 580 and Phil really likes it. Flying is a real joy.

Feel free to visit my web site and see our new projects. www.monsterhanger.com or email me at Mabarbee@aol.com

Manufactures mentioned

Great Planes
Futaba 14mz
Vel-Tye Velcro
Zap Adhesives
Aircraft International

Specs

Model 1/3 Scale 580 Cap
Manufacture Great Planes
Wing Span 99.5 inches
Wing Area 1885 sq. inches
Weight 26 lb
Length 95 inches
Radio 14 MZ Futaba
Engine 3-W 106 gasoline
Price $749.99