Introduction
Specifications
First Look
Assembly
Photo Shoot
Flight Report
Video
Summary
Contact Information

Great Planes
Model Distributors

2904 Research Road
Champaign, IL 61826
www.greatplanes.com

Manual

We start out by making sure the covering is well adhered, especially around the servo and stab openings.

Now the three rear servos can be installed. Be sure to apply THIN CA to any screw holes throughout the entire build! This can get to be redundant at times, but it is necessary to ensure that these holes will hold up!

Not only is the covering removed from the stab opening in the fuse, it has also been removed from the center of the stab (another time saver!). The stab is now epoxied in place and aligned.

Once the epoxy had fully cured, I added the CA hinges with pins to center them.

The elevators are slid onto the hinges, pins removed and (making sure that the control surfaces will move the required 2 1/2") Thin CA is applied to both top and bottom of each hinge.

The rudder is attached in the same manner with the addition of using epoxy to hold the tail wheel bracket. With the control surfaces attached, they can now get control horns added.

You must measure and cut the 4-40 pushrods to length and solder a clevis to the non-threaded end. I used long servo arms on all three servos.

The landing gear is the newer type which I have seen on Great Planes models and I really like them. They are made of solid fiberglass, they are very strong, and they look great! They are also practically effortless to install.

Two plywood rings are glued to the rear of the firewall before the tank is installed. To align the rings with the hole in the firewall, I rolled up a piece of waxed paper and inserted it through the rings. The tank is held in place by a rubber band which attaches itself to some hooks built into one of the fuse formers (Pretty cool!).

Once the tank was in place, I got a little creative with the plumbing because I wanted to use one of the new DuBro fuelers, but I also wanted to mount it in the fuse so it would not hinder cowl removal.

I made some cardboard templates to locate the holes that would be needed in the cowl, then I used tape to locate the mounting holes. After the holes were drilled, thin plywood "donuts" are glued behind the holes to reinforce them.

It was a little tricky getting the cowl over the Pitts Muffler, but I found that I could unscrew the muffler, place the exhaust through the bottom of the cowl, attach the cowl and then bolt the muffler in place. It was a little more work, but it made for a nice, clean installation.

The aileron servo installation is a bit unconventional in that they have you drill the servo blocks and mount the servos before gluing the blocks in place. They also supply a set of smaller blocks in case you are using mini servos like the S3102s that I am using.

Now the servo leads can be pulled through the wing with the installed pull string and the hatches screwed in place - and as always, hardening the screw holes with thin CA.

Since the ailerons are already hinged, all that's left is to add the control horn, measure, cut and solder a link to the pushrods and hook everything up (and of course, do this three more times for the other ailerons).

Next, you need to insert blind nuts into the strut tabs and epoxy the tabs into the bottom wing - immediately followed by attaching the struts and fully seating them.

Once the epoxy has set, you can add the wing bolt plate.

Two alignment dowels are glued into the top wing which will fit into the fiberglass wing brace, but the manual made no mention of the fact that you will need to drill a hole in the wing brace for the servo wires.

The wing brace gets epoxied into the fuse, then four more strut tabs are inserted into the top wing, and the top wing is installed (making sure the tabs are fully seated).

A tray is supplied for the throttle servo (for those of us using glow power) and due to the high current draw of the servos, I used a heavy-duty switch and a 2000MAh, 5-cell battery pack.

The rear of the compartment was a perfect fit for the battery and receiver. Velcro is supplied for securing them and I glued two pieces of pushrod tubing at 90 degree angles for the antennas.

They give you a template for marking the CG on the underside of the top wing and there is a nifty little jig that you assemble for doing the final balancing.

I found that I needed to screw the jig down to a long board to keep it from tipping once the weight of the plane was on it, but it worked well. What really surprised me was that the Reactor balanced perfectly without having to change a thing!

Time to add a few decals and bring her out of the basement!

I maidened the Reactor Bipe at the Paynsville RCer's "Blue Sky Fun Fly". I got there early, so I pretty much had the sky to myself for a while. She tracked extremely well as she rode down the runway and lifted off effortlessly. I literally did not need a single click of trim anywhere, so I immediately started putting it through a few gentle maneuvers. It handled them VERY well, but I thought the low rates were a bit too slow for my liking, so I decided to land and increase the throws a bit.

As I landed, I couldn't help but notice how easy it was to land. I remember thinking, "Was that a fluke, or did it really land that nicely?"

With the ailerons cranked up a bit I was really enjoying it now! Loops, Cuban 8's, Hammerheads, etc were all excellent. There was a slight pitch to the belly in a Knife Edge, but noting I couldn't handle. When it came time to land again, I paid particular attention - Wow! I did about 5 or 6 touch-and-goes just to enjoy the fun of landing this plane. You just throttle back, turn to final and it will start to sink. Now add a little power to cross the threshold, pull the power back, pull some up elevator to drop the tail and she settles into a perfect 3-point landing every time!

Now I turned the transmitter over to Paul Hollermann who, along with his brother Ross took first place in Team Airplane at XFC this year. Paul flew a few laps to get the feel for it, then he flipped on the high-rates and wrung her out! 3D performance is excellent and the roll rate is absolutely crazy! Paul's only "less than stellar" comment was that he would prefer a little more power, so I'm thinking an OS 91 Surpass, or better yet, the new OS 110 Surpass would be killer!

Just a few days later, my friend Josh Moen blew into town from Denver. Josh is another outstanding 3D pilot, so I met him at the field and let him have his way with the Reactor. Same thing - Excellent performer, but Josh also wished for a little more "oomph" in the power department.

Check out the video to see her in action!

Wow, I really like this little bipe! It is so smooth that it will make an average pilot look great. On regular rates, this thing is an aerobatic wiz and on 3-D rates, it's crazy! It's rock-solid, tracks very well and landings are my favorite part!

You have the option of using mini or standard size servos and if you're not looking to fly 3-D, you could even use good standard servos.

It builds easily and has no bad habits in the air. I am slightly awed by its performance. I remember what I thought the first time I landed it; quietly, under my breath, I said, "wow", not "WOW!", just a nice quiet,

"wow"