Brodak Flite Streak Trainer.

I just bought a Brodak Flite Streak Trainer and have to decide what engine would be best for this plane. Things to consider: balance of plane without adding weight, power level being proper for the airframe.
I would like to hear from those who have this plane and what engine is being utilized (along with prop size, fuel, and line length). I intend to keep this plane around the field when I am flying just in case someone wants to give C/L a try.

The engines I have on hand and are immediately available for this project are:

Fox .15 steelfin
Fox .15 slant plug
Fox .19 stunt (50's model)
Fox .19 4 bolt backplate
McCoy .19 Red Head
O.S. Max .20 (stunt series version from the 70's)
K&B Torpedo .19 Green Head
Enya .19 (4002 model from the 50's)

I also have an O.S. Max .20fp, but I think it would be too much engine for this plane.

So,........... what are you using and what would you recommend for this trainer?...............TD

Go with either of the Fox .15s.

I have a Streak Trainer that I built in about a week (just something to build/fly...way past the need for a trainer) that presently has a OS Max .15LA-S on it. Plenty of power and flies like a pussycat.

It really is a fun plane to fly and would do well for racing, balloon bust, or some other such event where stunting isn't an issue.

BTW, it balances perfectly with the .15LA-S and a SS-2 2oz. Sullivan clunk tank. Master Airscrew 8-4 prop (one of the teal colored ones) on about 52' lines. Real fun way to spend 5-7 minutes.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-19-04 AT 06:47 PM (CDT)
 
If you’re just thinking about having a trainer around for others that might be interested in CL, I’d strongly suggest a Coroplast (SP?) Manwin trainer. I can’t find the link right now but I’m sure somebody can post it.

I made my own version of the plane. I took the basic outline of an old “Halfast” combat/stunt wing and shrunk it down to approx 23” wingspan by approx 9” long, to fit in the Manwin Trainer footprint. Cut it out of the corrugated plastic stuff, mounted a Cox Golden Bee and all the hardware. Entire construction took about a half-hour.

The weather was beautiful this weekend so my son and I gave it a try. Our engine was giving us a hard time but when it was running ok it really flew nice. Very maneuverable, loops lazy eight’s, inverted flight, right off the board. My boy crashed it pretty hard on one of his first flights and the only damage was a broken prop. We flew it on 42’ 8 pound Berkley Fireline.

Ours flies great on an Enya 15. I reckon any of your 15s or one of the lighter 19s would work fine. The McCoy and Enya would likely be too heavy and fast, although flyable.

>Ours flies great on an Enya 15. I reckon any of your 15s or
>one of the lighter 19s would work fine. The McCoy and Enya
>would likely be too heavy and fast, although flyable.

Not so. Charlie Bruce had a beautiful one he built for one of his daughters in the late .60s. It had a .19 Redhead on it and flew VERY nicely, not overly fast either.
I put a Cox .15 on one of mine, again it flew well. I later a put a Fox .29 (I'm serious) on the same model and it still flew well- REAL fast though. A lot of guys used to buy these kits back in the days before the pan Rats arrived and modify them for Rat Race when they needed a spare airplane or one in a hurry for an upcoming contest. A highly modified FS Trainer won the first ever official NATs Profile Navy Carrier competition in the late .60s. It had a Super Tigre .35 for power and a wing mounted trike gear, flaps, etc.

J

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-04 AT 08:56 PM (CDT)
 
We have built a Brodak FST. Great Trainer. We fly it every chance we get. Knock on wood, we have only had it do a few tumbles on the landing. Broke off the tip of the rudder, but it did not keep us from flying.
Ours was NOSE heavy due to the McCoy .19. (It is a heavy engine.)
You may want to beef up the landing gear. Ours is starting to get a little lose. Over all it is a fun fly.

Thanks
Paul

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-04 AT 10:40 AM (CDT)
 
I have a Fox 19 with a 4 bolt backplate on ours. It is a little too much engine, but We have proped it down (crapy master airscrew prop), and set it real rich. It does fine, not too fast, and there is extra margin in the wind. A little nose heavy though.

I would use one of the old fox 15's or a .09 even. Pick the motor that you don't want to use on anything else, it should be there for a while.

I modern 15 or 19 is too much. The nose is long enough that light motors will work.

Dave
forgot

52' lines, 2oz tank and an master airscrew 8-4, or told top flite nylon 8-4, muffler. Beef up the gear and the rudder and stab.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-04 AT 10:38 AM (CDT)
 
>I would use one of the old fox 15's or a .09 even.
>
>I modern 15 or 19 is too much. The nose is long enough that light motors will work.
>
The tail is also quite long. The ones we had balanced perfectly with five 1/2 to six ounce engines -- which makes me believe you would need nose weight with the old light weights like a Fox, K&B, or Max-III 15.

Modern 15's are what is currently available, so we just have to prop them with 8-3's or something similar! But even those may need added nose weight if you don't use the little mufflers (I just weighed a modern 15, in the form of an FP-S with remote. 4 1/2 Oz -- add on just exactly one Oz for the smaller type straight through muffler.)

P.S. The FP 15 I've weighed was formerly Patrick Rowan's. He enclosed one of the larger (multi-piece model) RC-type mufflers with it -- I haven't weighed that one, though.

.

Kiwi

Go with the slant plug Fox 15. Save the Steel fin for a nince small stunter.
The 15 will be plenty of engine for your purposes. The 19s will be heavier and need the right props to slow them down enough.
Bill <><

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-04 AT 10:08 AM (CDT)
 
I agree. The .15 is plenty of power. I have used a 15Fp for a number of years on an old Streak Trainer. An 8x3 prop is probably best with the engine set rich. 52 foot lines are perfect. This plane is virtually indestructable. Most newbies find this much easier to fly than a 1/2A trainer. Lot's of line tension and slower rotational speed.

Mine is currently on the rebuild pile (needs new stab/elevator and fin). I may try a PAW .09 in it. I have an old plain bearing one that just loves an 8x3 prop!

Oh, one more thing......these are fantastic planes in windy conditions. 1/2As will get completely blown out and the Streak Trainer just cuts through the wind.

Fred

The Norfolk Aeromodeler's has a Fox slant plug 15 powered Flight Streak Trainer. Willis Swindell worked with his grandson, Robert on the controls last Sunday. The wind was around 20 knots or more. The worn out Fox had no problem flying the over repaired model. Every control-line club needs a model like the Flight Streak Trainer.
John Tate

My 8 year old son loved the Flite Streak Trainer when he started flying. We used an OS 15FP. Of course I've repaired it many times and made a few changes. Last week I started building another for my 7 year old daughter, also with a 15FP, so I'm building in a few things I learned from the first one...

Make the fin out of light ply. If you fly over grass the tailfeathers will take a pounding on flip-over 'landings'. I covered the top of the wing and most of the fuse with coverite, then doped it for strength. We like using the os muffler so it needed about 3/4 ouce in the tail to balance. On the new one I moved the engine back about 1/2 inch. A big plastic spinner will absorb a lot of impact on those one-point landings. Remarkable how much energy is spread from the spinner to the prop blades. I also made the stab and elevator out of thicker stock, but that's not a must.

We use .012 x 52 lines, but could go a little longer. There's plenty of line tension, and the lap times are a little quick and can induce dizziness in the kids. Usually an 8x4 prop, or whatever I have left after Matthew has broken a bunch..

Good luck -- I think the Flite Streak Trainer is an excellent choice.

LAST EDITED ON Apr-20-04 AT 09:37 PM (CDT)
 
Back in the early 70's each of my three kids built their own. They were powered with a Fox .15 (steel fin), McCoy .19RH, and a Fox .19. They learned many tricks about building and all flew them to pieces in one season. Great trainer, tough, easy to repair. One was converted to a nose wheel and I agree on the thin plywood rudders.

>I would like to hear from those who have this plane and what
>engine is being utilized (along with prop size, fuel, and
>line length). I intend to keep this plane around the field
>when I am flying just in case someone wants to give C/L a
>try.

I'd suggest you want the weight of a .19 up front rather than a light .15 because you truly want it to serve as a trainer.

I did exactly what you're suggesting for many years by hauling this airplane (the Top Flite kit version) to the flying field. Running a McCoy .19 Red Head engine, it taught a bunch of people to fly. I finally left the combo with a 15-year-old kid who got to the point he could fly some mild "combat" with me using this on .015 x 52-1/2' lines - and proved he was serious by joining the AMA.

Good luck!

McCoy .19, no question about it. Why? Circa 1988 my wife soloed a Streak Trainer/Mac 19 after two dual flights ... then-13-year-old daughter same. Both then taught their entire Girl Scout troop to fly on that combo, with three of them soloing same day (Whittier Narrows, CA).

Definitely nose heavy with the Mac 19, it's a stable flyer and easy to land. We did beef-up the landing gear by using 1/8" wire and a cross-brace of 1/16" wire.

The old plum-colored thing survived until about 1991 when someone closed the garage door on it. (Not as dramatic as being run over by a Lincoln Mk. VII but nonetheless effective.)

>McCoy .19, no question about it. Why? Circa 1988 my wife
>soloed a Streak Trainer/Mac 19 after two dual flights ...
>then-13-year-old daughter same. Both then taught their
>entire Girl Scout troop to fly on that combo, with three of
>them soloing same day (Whittier Narrows, CA).
>
>Definitely nose heavy with the Mac 19, it's a stable flyer
>and easy to land. We did beef-up the landing gear by using
>1/8" wire and a cross-brace of 1/16" wire.
>
>The old plum-colored thing survived until about 1991 when
>someone closed the garage door on it. (Not as dramatic as
>being run over by a Lincoln Mk. VII but nonetheless
>effective.)
>
>Mike Keville

My late mother once backed her 1966 Ford Galaxie out of the garage and right over one of my Jr. Flite Streaks (it fell off the wall somehow and got under the car in the garage) and smashed it to smithereens. Only the Fox .15, tank and TF nylon prop survived. She was really upset over it...

Jake

LAST EDITED ON Apr-23-04 AT 10:03 AM (CDT)
 
Thanks guys for all the input on the Brodak Flite Streak Trainer. Thanks to your comments, I have narrowed the engine choice down to 1.) the 4 bolt Fox .19, 2.) the McCoy Red Head .19 or 3.) the O.S. Max .20 stunt. I am glad to hear it is so durable and easy to fly. I will replace the rudder with a plywood one (liteply) to minimize field damage in rough landings. I expect to fly it on .015 / 52 foot lines using a 1 1/3 oz Perfect tank and a 9/4 Tornado or Master Airscrew prop.

Any further comments on this plane are welcome.

I have had the kit a week and have not yet opened it. Got to get started right away!.................................TD