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Global Hobby Super Decathlon .52 - .61

Data
Namn	Super Decathlon 52-61 ARF
Tillverkare	[Global Hobby]
Typ	R/C flygplan
Servo	fem Futaba S3003 servon
Spännvidd	1600 mm
Vingkorda
Dithedral	0 º
vingyta	41,35 dm2
vingbelastning	62-68 gram/dm2
längd	1150 mm
vikt	2600-2800 gram
Tyngdpunkt	27% av vingkordan
styrning	gas, sida, höjd och skevroder
skevroder (3d)	± 10 mm (± 16 mm)
höjdroder (3d)	± 10 mm (± 20 mm)
sidoroder (3d)	±20 mm (± 32 mm)
Motor

media:decathlon.pdf

Forum

• http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=278998
• http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_2212206/anchors_2213851/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#2213851
• http://hobbypeople.net/review1/126515.htm

Introduction

The Super Decathlon has been an airshow mainstay for a long time. You have probably seen one at one time or another and may not have noticed it because it looks like a normal, run of the mill, general aviation aircraft. Not so! The Super Decathlon is rated at positive 6 and negative 5 G's! That's some serious airplane we've got here!

My personal inspiration for this model was seeing Greg Koontz flying his full scale Super Decathlon at Skyfest 2003 in Jackson Tennessee. He specializes in low, low, in your face aerobatics that will make you gasp! His opening has been to roll inverted on takeoff with about twenty feet between the wingtip and the runway. I thought that was just too cool and had to try that with an RC model. You can view photo's at Skyfest's website and view Quicktime Movies of Mr. Koontz, in his "office", at Greg Koontz Airshows.

Kit Contents

The kit contents.

Global's Super Decathlon 52 came with an all built up airframe with iron-on covering. The covering was yellow, black and white in the traditional starburst scheme on top, with black and white "campaign stripes" on the bottom of the wing. It had a good quality fiberglass cowl and wheel pants along with clear plastic windows along with all the necessary hardware for completion.

Extra goodies that you'll need are:

• 2 twelve inch extensions
• A "Y" harness for the ailerons
• A 1.75 inch spinner
• A Pitt's style muffler (if using a 2 stroke engine)
• A fueling valve or fuel dot

Assembly

First things first. If you're even remotely interested in building one of these, download and read the 40 page assembly manual. This was one of the best manuals I've ever seen. It was complete, logically laid out, understandable and very well illustrated. If you want to get to know this airplane, take the time and look over the manual.

Wing

The wing was in left and right halves that were joined with a short wing joiner and then epoxied together to make it one piece. The wing was held on to the fuselage with a centered "tang" in the front and two bolts at the rear. The ailerons were authentic "barn door" style rather than "strip" type. The aileron servos were mounted to hatches which then mounted into the bottom of the wing for a very neat and clean installation. There were four tubular, aluminum wing struts that got attached to hard points in the wing and a cross bar in the bottom of the fuselage. I believed these struts were functional due to the short wing joiner so don't be tempted to leave them off. And besides, they really looked cool!

Tail

The horizontal stabilizer also had the Starburst covering scheme on the top of it, but it was solid yellow on the bottom. It had independent elevators controlled by a "Y" type pushrod. The instructions told me to remove a post from the back of the fuselage, then slide in the stab, and then glue the post I removed back in. I test fitted the stabilizer by sliding it sideways into the slot before the elevators were hinged. The fit was perfect so I chose to epoxy it in this manner rather than cut the fuse and slide it in from behind. This method worked fine for me.

The vertical stabilizer was already built onto the fuselage so all I had to do was attach the counterbalanced rudder after the tailwheel was installed! WOW! That was easy!

Fuselage

This was where it got a little harder. The fuselage assembly was a little more labor intensive than most ARF's I've had. There was nothing very difficult about what was left up to the assembler, it just took time to do it; so I broke the steps into subgroups.

Engine

The engine was mounted on independent beam type mounts that were adjustable. The blind nuts were factory mounted in the already fuel-proofed firewall. The firewall had right and down thrust already built into it. The recommended mounting position was 90 degrees with the cylinder head at the plane's 3 o'clock position. There was a limited amount of adjustment in these mounting beams. Magnum's XL70RFS was at the outer limit of the mount's adjustment range. The manual gave instructions on how to remove the blind nuts and fill the holes with wooden dowels should it be necessary to change to a different engine orientation. I installed mine as the factory set it up. I had to drill my own throttle pushrod hole depending the particular engine I was using. There was plenty of room around the fuel tank for the throttle rod. There was a little bit of good news about the engine mounting beams. There were four holes already made into the mounting beams to attach the engine. The Magnum XL70RFS lined up with two of them. Hey, that was two less holes that had to be drilled. I could live with that...

Global stated that the recommended engine sizes were .52 to .61 2 stroke and .70 to .91 4 stroke. Magnum's XL91RFS would physically not fit without mounting it inverted and re-doing the mounting setup. More on this in the concluding statement at the end of the article.

Fuel Tank

The supplied tank was of good quality. I decided to use three lines on mine. Fuel feed, exhaust pressure and a dedicated fuel fill/drain line to be used with a fuel dot. The cowled engine made remote fueling a necessity. A Dubro type fueling valve would've worked just fine with a two line setup. I chose the fuel dot method out of personal preference.

Landing Gear

The main landing gear was an aluminum dural type gear held on with four screws that go into factory installed blind nuts. The landing gear was very springy and felt a little weak. The gear mounted into a recessed slot on the bottom of the fuselage.

Warning! There was bare wood in this slot! The slot was too close to the exhaust stream for comfort so fuel proofing was needed. Rather than mixing up a little alcohol thinned epoxy for this job, I chose to paint this area black to match the covering on the bottom of the plane. The wheels, and wheel pants went together without incident and surprisingly easy.

The tailwheel was a standard wire type that slid into a hole I drilled in the rudder for steering. It had a metal strap to support it that screwed into the bottom of the fuselage. The instructions showed me how to bend the strap to get a good fit. I encountered some binding due to the bend in the strap but have not had any problems from it.

Servo Tray

The instructions had me load the rudder, elevator and throttle servos into the servo tray before it was glued into the fuselage. This was a good thing to do because the rearmost servo screws ended up below the back of the wing saddle. It would be very difficult to get at these screws once the servo tray was installed.

Pushrods

The pushrods were wire and balsa wood. These did not come preassembled. The instruction book was very clear on how to make the "Y" type elevator, and the single ended rudder pushrods. The manual instructed me to use the supplied heat shrink material to retain the epoxied wire to the balsa wood pushrod. I also wrapped mine with fishing line and another layer of epoxy for safety's sake. The supplied pushrod wire was a little on the "springy" side.

Wing Strut Mount

Global included a small strap to mount the bottom of the wing struts to the fuselage. This strap was held in by two screws that went into wood blocks already installed in the fuselage floor. Great care needed to be used in drilling these screw holes. There was a possibility of drilling through the bottom covering if they were drilled too deep. A long drill bit or a pin vise drill would be needed for this job as these blocks were right up against the fuselage sides. There simply wasn't enough room for a standard length bit and drill to get in there properly. To keep from drilling too deep, I used a piece of electrical tape wrapped around the bit as a guide to let me know when to stop. It was a simple method and worked well.

Cowl

The cowl was a little bit of a chore to get right due to the size of the Magnum XL70RFS. First, I opened up the cooling holes in the cowl and roughed in the engine clearance holes. Then I had to shave the upper engine mounting beam to get the cowl to go down far enough to center on the engine's crankshaft. Once I got the engine's clearance holes fitting well, I drilled the holes to mount the cowl to the fuselage. There is tri stock behind the firewall for the screws to seat into. This was by far the single most time consuming part of this model. I removed and re-installed the engine and cowl six times before I got it the way I wanted it. But, I was being very careful with it. I considered the effort well spent on the cowl because, if too much material was removed for clearance, it couldn't be put back. I mounted a fuel dot in the left side of the cowl but, in retrospect, I should have mounted it in the lower front of the cowl where there is a recess molded in for a landing light. I could have even glued a simulated headlight lens on the fuel dot!

Windows

There were four precut, flat side windows and a windshield that needed to be cut out for cabin glass on this model. The side windows simply popped in and had a ledge to glue them to. No trimming was necessary on these windows and the fit was perfect! The windshield was also to be glued in after trimming, but, I chose to mount it with four servo screws instead. I did that in case I ever had to service the pushrods. The only other way to get the pushrods out, if need be, would be to remove the cowl, engine and fuel tank, and slide the pushrods out through the fuel tank hole in the firewall.

Warning! Leave the windows out of the model until after everything is done inside the plane. The window holes offer extra access to the inside of the plane.

Radio Installation

I mounted my switch and charge jack on the left side below the side window for ease of access. The switch and charge jack could have been easily camouflaged if installed on the black part of the covering. I then hooked up all of the fuselage servos and electronically centered them and adjusted the servo arms. At this time, I marked and bent the servo end of the pushrods at ninety degrees. I removed the pushrods to do this. It was easier, trust me.(A quick tip on getting the pushrods through the slots at the rear of the fuselage.) I slid some spare plastic pushrod tubing through the exit holes toward the front of the plane, then I slid the threaded end of the plane's rigid pushrod into the plastic tubes, then slid everything to the rear. The plastic tubing acted as a guide and took a frustrating job and made it easy. I routed my receiver antenna out the bottom of the plane behind the landing gear. At this point I left the battery and reciever loose in the plane to do a "pre-balance" on it. This was done to determine the final location of these components so as to be able to shift them around to achieve proper balance without adding lead weight. The center of gravity was achieved by mounting the battery under the front edge of the servo tray and the receiver immediately in front of the battery. I then secured battery and receiver with some scrap balsa sticks.

Completion

The center of gravity was 2-7/8" from the leading edge of the wing. Mine balanced perfectly! Dead on it! That's never happened before.... I set up triple rates on mine with low rates as recommended by Global.

Low rates:

• Ailerons: 3/8" up/down
• Elevator: 3/8" up/down
• Rudder: 3/4" left/right

Now guess what? The payoff! It's time to fly!

Flying

This flight session had two "firsts" going for it and one against it. The first flight on the Super Decathlon 52, the first time flying at the field in Dyer Tennessee, and the first time I've ever flown a plane into a tree! (No, it wasn't the Decathlon!)

Pre-Flight

After taking photos of the plane, I checked the control directions, fueled it, and fired it up! The plane handled well on the ground but the slightly weak landing gear let it rock from side to side. It tracked very well on the ground even through thick grass (but it did need some throttle to get moving.) And it looked just fantastic!

Taking Off

The moment of truth... I had a few butterflies... I had heard horror stories about planes like this... Well, it was time... I fed in the throttle slowly to be sure it didn't ground loop on me and gave it a little burst of speed when it was solidly tracking down the runway for insurance. A beep of up trim and two beeps of left were all that it needed. I had those butterflies for no reason. Take off was tail high and easy!

Aerobatics/Special Flight Performance

The flight characteristics of this plane were very, very good. Stalls were straight forward with no tendency to drop a wing. Any increase in airspeed and it was flying again. Very nice. At speed it flew like it was on rails. It went anywhere I pointed it. It was one of those planes that didn't have a mind of it's own, meaning it didn't wander around making you chase it. The plane "felt" light. Flying at the recommended control rates was very docile, relaxing even. On higher rates, the Decathlon perked right up! Rolls were not wobbly but did have a little bit of altitude drop. Loops were tight, but not funfly tight. They looked right for the plane. Inverted flight required some down elevator but not overly so. It was easily controlled while inverted.

Snap rolls were this plane's bag. This plane really got wound up! Getting it to stop didn't require you to either have excellent timing or use the controls to stop it. If left on it's own it would stop snapping in about 1/2 of a revolution. Single snap rolls were very cool and lose very little altitude if any. Left snaps were quicker than right snaps.

Knife edge

Knife edge flight had some coupling toward the wing but was easily controlled. The rudder was extremely powerful on this plane and climbing while in knife edge flight was actually easy.

Spins were scale like at about 45 degrees nose down, either upright or inverted. The plane did take some time to come out of a spin on it's own, so be aware of your altitude. Flying out of a spin was no problem at all.

Slow flight was very relaxing even on high rates. This plane flew at a trainer-like pace with full control.

There was one thing that this plane has done for me. It taught me how to do a proper main gear tail up landing. I've never been able to do that. The Decathlon did not like three point, full stall type landings. The angle of attack made it too high for three pointers. It could be done, but it made you work for it. I'm so tickled that I can now land on the mains, properly, that I don't even attempt the tail down landings anymore with this plane. The plane really made it easy. The weak landing gear was not an issue unless I really bounced it hard. I've only had to straighten it once because, in the failing light, I landed about a foot above the runway. PLOP! It was no problem to bend it back and has retained it's shape just fine.

Is This For a Beginner?

Well, this get's a yes and a maybe.

The yes

The flight performance was very suitable for an advancing beginner who could handle flying a tail dragger. The rudder work on takeoff and landing was not excessive at all, but it still needed some input. Once it was in the air on even the middle rates, it was easily controlled. It flew so solidly that it actually inspired confidence. The only non-trainer flight characteristic it had is a lack of self recovery. It wouldn't just roll upright and keep flying on it's own. The ease of flying this plane outweighed the self recovery issue in my book.

The maybe

The assembly process had a lot of items you have to do that may cause you to get frustrated. It was a time consuming plane to put together. As I said earlier, there was nothing very difficult about any of it other than the effort you have to put into it. Having an experienced modeler to assist you would help a lot. Read the assembly manual and if you're comfortable with all of the steps then the assembly process could be for a beginner as well.

Recommendations

After flying this plane extensively, only two problems have shown up.

The wheel pants had no anti-rotation provision as supplied. One of mine rolled over and turned into a mini-float after the twentieth flight. I recommend drilling through the main gear and the wheel pant to mount a 4-40 blind nut in the wood reinforcement on the pant and bolting it to the main gear as well as the factory set up.

The wing struts loosened up at the wing even after hardening the mounting block with CA. I would recommend actually using epoxy to keep the screws in place on the wing side of the strut connections. I also replaced the lower strut mounting nuts (at the cross strap) with nylon lock nuts.

The good stuff

• Great covering scheme.
• Easy to see in the air.
• Wonderful flight.
• Classic looks.
• Assembly manual.
• Does not need the power of the Magnum XL91RFS.

The not so good stuff

• Tailwheel.
• Labor intensive assembly.
• Magnum's XL91RFS will not physically fit without reworking the mounting style.
• No anti-rotation provision for the wheel pants.

Conclusion

Overall, Global has done a good job on this ARF. The wide flight envelope far outweighed the assembly time. In plain English, this plane was worth the effort!

But assembly WAS tedious. Even I got discouraged at the time involved to assemble it...it took me around 25 hours. Admittedly, I am slow, but not that slow.

Those that were with me at the first flight can attest in my "attitude adjustment" towards this plane after I landed. It flew so much better than I expected that I was amazed. It flew light, straight and true. Global had recommended the engine sizes up to a .61 2 stroke and a .91 4 stroke. These large engines were simply not needed. I believe it will perform well with a .40ish bearing engine or a .52 4 stroke. Magnum's new XL.70RFS is already more than it needs to have unlimited vertical and it continues to impress me every time I fly it. This plane's characteristics will ensure a long hangar life exploring scale, pattern, barnstorming and relaxing flying styles. As long as you are not a 3D die hard, Global's Super Decathlon 52 is a plane for all seasons.

It's a keeper!

On a personal note

In the introduction, I stated that I wanted to do Greg Koontz's full size show opening move. I have successfully done it and it feels good! I am now attempting to duplicate his entire routine. What fun!

Special thanks to Don Sims, Donny Lyons and Woody Workman for video, camera duties and support. Thanks guys!

RCM

The Super Decathlon is the latest iteration of a line of great performing aircraft originally developed by the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The Bellanca Company closed its doors in 1980, but owners and pilots who still fly the Champs, Citabrias and Super Decathlons consider them very special, fun aircraft. The Super Decathlon is stressed for +6 and -5G's and highly prized as the perfect aerobatic trainer. As a point of reference, most general aviation aircraft are stressed in the +3 to -1.5G range. At 6G's, that means my 190 lb. frame would weigh 1140 lbs. That's a bit more than I would care to experience but it would be comforting to know my ride would hold together. As one pilot put it, this airplane will do anything you ask of it, without fear. American Champion Aviation bought the type certificate of the Champion line of aircraft and currently produces these aircraft at their Rochester, Wisconsin, facility. I had the opportunity of watching Bobby Younkin perform at the EAA Air Ventures 2003 in one of these new Super Decathlons. I had to keep reminding myself that there was a human being in that Decathlon. It wasn't being slammed around the sky by someone standing on the ground with a radio transmitter.

The ARF kit supplied for this review, the Global Super Decathlon 52, arrived in a 37-1/2" x 12" x 9" box adorned with a large color photo and lots of specifications describing the model enclosed. Also supplied for the review was a Magnum 52 engine. Both of these products are imported by Global Hobby Distributors. I must admit that I have watched the developing trend toward ARF as opposed to BIY with some trepidation. Contrary to some of the earlier offerings of almost ready to fly models, the current fleet is vastly improved in quality of design, materials and construction, and include some excellent performers. If you still have any doubts, they will dissolve away as you inspect the components of the Global Super Decathlon 52 ARF.

On opening the box, you will find the wing panels above a cardboard separator. Sandwiched between them is the horizontal stabilizer assembly and the rudder. The ailerons as well as the elevator halves are temporarily hinged in their final positions, requiring only the application of some thin CA. Below the separator are the remaining components including the fuel tank, a splendidly painted fiberglass cowl, wheel pants and everything else you will need except the radio, engine, and the required adhesives.

Simpe wing attachment method eliminates the need for doweling and assures exact centering of the wing. This root rib extension engages a notch in the forward cabin former.

The first thing that struck me was the quality of the iron-on finish, including the flaming comet design elements. There wasn't a wrinkle or bubble to be found. Looking beneath the covering, I was pleased to find more quality work such as hand-carved wingtips and built-up empennage components. No vacuum-molded or slab wood shortcuts were taken here. The quality of construction throughout is absolutely first class.

Engine

My first order of business was to break-in the new engine. I like to do that on a test stand as opposed to in the aircraft as it is easier to make any adjustments that may be required. The Magnum 52 gives you the option of mounting the needle valve either on the carburetor or remotely on the engine backplate. I chose to mount it remotely, which requires mounting the remote assembly and replacing two backplate screws with longer ones provided. The muffler mounts with a thin gasket between the muffler and the engine and a spare gasket is provided. I used the supplied muffler for break-in, although I planned to use the Bisson Pitts style muffler on the final installation.

Assembly

The Decathlon 52 ARF kit is supplied with a very clearly written 40-page manual that breaks each procedure down into the components required as well as the tools required for each step. The last two pages of the manual are dedicated to a squawk sheet that you can fill out and send in if there are any issues you have with your Decathlon ARF kit. I doubt that it will ever get used. For adhesives, I used Zap thin and medium CA and 5- and 30 minute Hobby Town epoxies.

The first step is to center the ailerons in the aileron bays and secure the hinges with a few drops of CA. Then the aileron servo hatch covers are prepared with servo mounting blocks. A piece of string has been conveniently taped inside the aileron servo hatch to enable pulling the servo leads through to the root rib. The servos are mounted and holes drilled to secure the hatch covers with screws. The wings are joined with a short 1/4" plywood joiner and epoxy. The root ribs have tabs that protrude at the lower front of the rib. When the wing is assembled this provides a 1/4" tab that engages a notch in the cabin former at the leading edge.

Next, the elevator halves are hinged with some CA and the wing is attached to the fuselage. The horizontal stabilizer is attached using the wing as an alignment aid. A very minor amount of sanding was required to get a perfect alignment. Next, a hole is drilled into the rudder for the tail wheel wire. Some bending needed to be done to the tail wheel assembly to align it properly with the hinge line. The tail wheel bracket is all aluminum and quite substantial. All supplied hardware is metric but the instructions call out all required dimensions in inches so no conversions are necessary.

As with the engine compartment, the radio compartment offers room to spare. Note the receiver is located directly over the battery pack to achieve the proper C.G.

Next, the gear strut is added and the wheel pants and wheels are attached using the threaded axles supplied. The wheel pants are fiberglass and beefed up considerably at the strut interface. There is an indent molded in on the outside of the pant that provides alignment with the strut and serves as an antirotation of the wheel pant.

The three internal servos are installed into the servo tray prior to installing the tray in the fuselage. The engine mounts are added next. The location of the engine is found, marked and the engine mount holes are drilled. All the blind nuts for the gear and engine mounts are factory installed. The engine is then mounted and the throttle linkage is installed.

The Magnum 52, Bisson Pitts muffler; Du-Bro Kwikfill fueler, and Hayes fuel filter fit very comfortably inside the ample cowl of the Decathlon.

The pushrods for the elevators and rudder are constructed from threaded and unthreaded steel rod and 3/8" balsa dowel. The instructions call for epoxy and heat shrink tubing to assemble these, but I opted for wrapping with carpet thread and CA for a little added security. The fuel tank is then assembled and installed. It fits like a glove in the provided space (i.e., there is no room for padding).

I used a sheet of clear acetate taped to the fuselage to locate the position of the needle valve, cylinder head, and DuBro Kwikfill openings that would need to be made in the cowl. I removed the engine and mounts and transferred these locations to the fiberglass cowl. I ended up having to grind off about 1/8" of material from the top forward section of the engine mount to eliminate interference with the cowl. The windshield and side windows were installed using Pacer Formula 560 adhesive. The side windows are cut from flat sheet and simply press-fit into the openings from the outside of the fuselage. The side window openings have a small lip that makes the installation a snap and the window frames have already been painted black. Last is the installation of the wing struts. At the fuselage the struts mount to an aluminum strip that traverses the fuselage and protrudes out both sides. The struts are constructed of very substantial aluminum tubing and only require bending of the flatted ends to align with the wing. The only modification I felt necessary to make was to replace the 3mm bolts and nuts provided for mounting the struts at the fuselage with #4-40 bolts and Nylock nuts. I have had some bad experiences with this mount point vibrating loose on other aircraft with catastrophic results. While the Decathlon wing seems very strong, I believe these struts are functional due to the short plywood joiner used in the wing. The other ends of the struts are attached at the wing with wood screws.

Radio Installation

I used five Futaba S3004 servos for the Decathlon, the installation is straightforward but you will want to install the rudder, throttle, and elevator servos into the tray before installing it in the aircraft. These servos sit side by side rather deep in the aft portion of the cabin section, making access for drilling the servo mounting screws rather difficult. The aileron servos mount to the aileron servo bay cover with the servo arms protruding through the cover. This arrangement makes it easy to install and adjust the aileron linkage. I used a Hitec Supreme 7-channel receiver and an 800 mAh battery pack with a Maxx Products Soft Mount Charge Switch. There is ample room under the fuel tank should you need to get the battery pack that far forward for balance.

SUMMARY

WE LIKED THE: Quality of material, finish, supplied hardware, and flying qualities

WE DIDN'T LIKE THE: Main gear could be stronger

Flying

The C.G. recommended for the first test flights (2-7/8" back from the leading edge or 27%) was achieved by moving the battery pack and receiver to the center of the cabin section. We were ready for our first test flight.

Before proceeding to the flying field I decided to test-run the engine at home and ran into a baffling problem. I could not get the Magnum 52 to operate consistently, after getting the settings where it appeared to run well, they would change. After several hours of fussing, I called the folks at Global Hobbies and discussed it with them. They, too, were baffled and recommended I return the engine to them. A week later I received a new Magnum 52 as well as a new Magnum Pitts style muffler. This engine had been broken-in by their technicians and was ready to fly. I mounted the new engine and proceeded to the flying field, only to encounter the same problem with the new installation.

I recruited the assistance of Dick Tonan, our local MTRCS Flying Club President and local engine guru. It took Dick about five minutes to diagnose the problem and recommend a possible solution. Dick diagnosed it as a fuel draw problem and suggested plugging one of the two exhaust ports on the Pitts style muffler to increase muffler pressure to the tank. This proved to be exactly what was needed; we soon had the Magnum 52 running strong and solid.

Flying

Dick piloted the initial flights while I attempted the aerial photos. Ground handling proved excellent for a high wing taildragger although the rudder seemed quite sensitive. Dick taxied to the centerline and eased the throttle forward. He kept the Decathlon on the mains for about two-thirds of the runway before lifting off. Once at altitude a couple of clicks of down elevator and the Decathlon tracked straight and true. Dick Tonan and Ken Atwood, both accomplished aerobatic pilots put the Super Decathlon through its paces while I clicked away. The Global Hobbies Super Decathlon is a very capable aerobatic performer; it even made some of my maneuvers look good. The Magnum 52 is an excellent power plant for this aircraft, with more than enough power to pull it through any maneuver desired. With the throttle set at just over half, the Decathlon is still a sprightly performer. On subsequent flights and some less than perfect landings, I discovered that the main landing gear distorts rather easily. The good news is that it bends back just as easily but I would prefer something slightly stouter than the gear supplied.

Conclusion

Just like its full scale brother, the Global Hobbies Super Decathlon 52 ARF is a great aerobatic trainer and with a little less throttle it will serve as your Sunday flier as well. The quality of materials is on a par with the best BIY kits and the workmanship is very good. The covering is as professionally done as any I have ever seen; this kit will draw a second look on any flight line. Check it out at your local hobby dealer.