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The Great Planets Patriot is an easy to handle sport kit also capable of dazzling jet like maneuvers. The Patriot does everything well. It handles easily and offers docile low speed characteristics for easy landings, but also has the potential for fast jet maneuvers whenever the pilot is ready. The styling appeals to jet enthusiasts. It is a traditional Great Planes computer design with interlocking construction and photo illustrated instructions to simplify assembly. It accepts optional retractable landing gear and jet accessories for added appeal. It has the familiar sport plane engineering with front mounted engine and prop so that no advanced skills are needed. It is a fun and fast plane for those who are proficient at flying model planes but it is definitely not a trainer. Construction of the Patriot is very straight-forward. The instructions are very good. The building process begins with the tail feathers. The stablizer and elevator are stick construction with balsa sheeting. The balsa sheeting must be glued down well over the stick structure. It will help in the final sanding and keeping the sections together under high rates of speed. The wing is a standard rib construction. The ribs have a tab built into them so the prescribed washout will automatically be built into the wing. If a retractable landing gear is going to be used, this needs to be planned during the wing construction. There are helpful tips in the plans about how to install the gear and when to build it in. Balsa sheeting was used to make the wheel wells instead of the spray paint cups suggested in the plans. Either method will work well. Hobbico mechanical retracts were used but these do not hold up well to even the smoothest of landings. The Robart mechanicals might be a better choice. The fuselage construction is the standard interlocking parts construction for which Great Planes is noted. The instructions are excellent at this point. If retracts are used, the largest fuel tank that can be used is the 8 oounce. An OS 46-SF engine with a tuned pipe was intalled on the Patriot and it drinks fuel!!! With this combination, flights are limited to about 6 1/2 minutes of flying time. Anyone who is looking for major speed will want to use the retracts and the tuned pipe and consider the consequences on the duration of a flight. The worst part about this model is the amount of sanding required to do and the corners and angles of the airframe that makes covering a bit difficult. The wing and tail surfaces are fairly straight forward, but the fuselage is time consuming. There is sanding that needs to be done to round the nose down to the spinner and under the wing to make the fuse undercarriage. A lot of sanding in these areas helps in saving weight on the plane. The simulated air intakes take some time when covering. MonoKote was used to cover the planes. Plastic film is recommended over painting or fabric, not because of ease, but to save weight. The plane should be as light as possible to give it more speed. The color scheme used is very close to that shown on the box; red, white and blue. The only difference is that the fin and rudder are completely red to give it its own character and better visability in the air. The pilot figure is the Tazmanian Devil which seems very appropriate for this model given its looks and speed. With the OS 46-SF, a tuned pipe from MAC Mufflers and retracts, this plane flies very fast!!! The weight of the Patriot is 5.1 pounds and it has unlimited vertical. Take-offs are within 40 feet. It will build up some speed before it rotates and from this point, it can go straight up. Landings are slow and on grass, it will stop after 15 - 20 feet from touch down. One thing to watch out for on landings is the speed of the plane. After flying at 100+ M.P.H., the pilot may be unaccustomed to the slower speeds and slowing down to 40 M.P.H. seems like it is crawling. If the planed is not slowed down even more, it will over shoot the runway. This plane will glide a good distance and this has to be taken into account on the approach. The Patriot is capable of a number of stunts. Loops are large and even, rolls are very axial and can be either fast or slow with little or no loss of altitude. It will actually gain altitude while doing knife edge. Tail slides are really fun. The plane can be turned straight up and then the throttle is cut and it is allowed fall on the tail for a distance of about 100 feet before pulling it out with the elevator. The plane will snap-roll, but has to be coaxed into it. If pretty aerobatics are desired, a radio system with dual rates is recommended so that large, graceful loops and rolls can be done with ease. If quick and outrageous maneuvers are in order, the dual rates are not needed. The plane is rock solid at any speed and it goes where you point it, even when pushing a power dive at just over 100 M.P.H. There is one excellent feature of the instruction manual provided for this kit and that is a procedure for trimming a plane. These instructions are very well written and helpful. The wing incidence should be checked before flying the model. A proper wing incidence will help to keep the plane from dropping a wing while landing. |