Even with the absence of rudders, the
Shrike 40 can hold a knife edge fairly well
at high speed. Mark Lanterman photo.
The 1/2-inch black-and-white checkerboard
covering on the bottom offers excellent
visual contrast. Lanterman photo.
IF YOU HAVE been flying for a while
and have built several RC airplanes, you
have probably settled on a certain type of
aircraft you like. Many times we find
ourselves guilty of taking only our favorite
models to the field week after week. But
even if you fly IMAC (International
Miniature Aerobatic Club) sequences or 3-
D Pro Bro style, it’s fun to fly something
new.
I love to fly 3-D—and as close to the
ground as I can without planting balsa
wood—or trying to fly a good sequence or
even the occasional straight line, but most
of us deep down have a need for speed.
Mine was piqued when I was asked to
review the Shrike 40 ARF from Lanier RC.
The Shrike is a twin-verticalstabilizer,
delta-wing sport
model with an elevator
instead of elevons. It looks
like the big brother to
the Shrike 15
that has been
around for a few years. When I built my
15-size Shrike I used a bushing O.S. .25
FP engine, and it was a blast to fly, but it
was a kit that required building and
covering.
Now you can have the fun of a bigger,
heart-pounding Shrike in ARF form, with a
wild-looking trim scheme. You can have it
built in a couple of nights, working on it at
your leisure.
If you really want to get serious about
finishing the Shrike 40, put in a full day
Saturday and you could be flying on
Sunday. All you need for a good
adrenaline rush is a strong .46 engine, a
good radio system, propeller, spinner, and
fuel.
I had to leave the airplane stock for the
initial test flights and photo shoot, and it
flew great. But after having approximately
20 flights on it I wanted it to go faster, so I
made some changes to the setup to
increase its performance. I will explain
that later. For now let’s look at the design.
A few of the major differences between
the Shrike 15 and the new Shrike 40 ARF,
besides the latter being bigger, are that the
40 uses landing gear and a separate
servo on each aileron. This
allows takeoffs and landings to
be like those of a traditional
sport model. With a computer
radio and individual aileron servos,
differential can be programmed in so those
perfect jetlike axial rolls can be achieved.
The 40 looks like a jet and can deliver
all the unlimited vertical aileron rolls and
100-plus mph speed passes you can
handle. It has all the fun of a jet without
the expense.
Rolls on high rate are fast. (Did I write
“fast”? I mean they’re a blur.) You can’t
begin to count the rolls, so dial them down
to the manufacturer’s recommendations
and work on your stick timing until you
get used to them.
On the flip side, the Shrike 40 will also
fly around slowly if you want it to; just
dial in some exponential. Fly it on low
rates and you will think it’s a trainer. But
why would you
want to do that?
Construction:
When I opened
the box I was
The larger Shrike 40 benefits from the original in that it has wide tricycle landing gear that is steerable.
66 MODEL AVIATION
A 2.25-inch spinner is required to complete the front end. A 10 x 6
propeller is good for sport flying, but the APC Pylon-style
propellers provide higher performance.
The interior space of the fuselage is maximized since the wing
halves are glued to the outside. Rudder is used for nose steering
only.
Photos by the author except as noted
Patience with a Dremel Moto-Tool will yield
a nice-looking engine opening. A T-fitting
between the intake line aids in fueling.
Hardwood rails were added to the front of
the firewall for mounting the four cowl
screws. The fuel tank was mounted as
close to the CG as possible.
Inside the Shrike’s fuselage the 4.8-volt battery is located aft,
between the fins. The receiver will be mounted at the rear of the
hatch area.
To accurately fit the canopy to the fuselage, tape 220-grit
sandpaper to the fuselage and run the canopy over the top until
flush.
The included fuel tank provides enough
fuel for more than 10 minutes of flight. It
was necessary to trim the former for
installation.
RC/56 canopy glue was generously applied to the thin canopy
edges to help build a strong joint. The glue will be crystal clear
when dry.
surprised to see how good the covering and trim looked. The trim
was expertly applied with no visible bubbles or wrinkles. The red,
white, and blue covering with the black lighting bolt and
checkerboard accents was striking and the Shrike 40 looked fast
just sitting in the box.
All covered parts were bagged and secured nicely. All
hardware was packaged separately per application, which makes
things easy to find when you need them.
The instruction booklet was extremely good, with pictures
detailing each part of the assembly process. For those of us who
don’t like to read the instructions until after we screw something
February 2007 67
Upon receipt of the first overseas
shipment of Shrike 40 ARFs, Bubba
Spivey of Lanier RC sent me a unit and
asked if I would review the product. I was
elated because this was much different
from any of the reviews I have been
involved with in the past; I designed the
Shrike.
Its history encompasses an interesting
evolution I would like to share—somewhat
on a soapbox, but I will try to be humble.
It all started in 1993, when MA
published my White Electrician design that
was powered with an AstroFlight Cobalt
05 motor powered by seven 800 mAh
battery cells. Many modelers who built it
nudged me for a nitromethane version.
Thus I addressed the possibility and
designed one that I tested for .10-.25 cu.
in. two-stroke engine power.
Recognized for the design’s
outstanding performance, it was published
in the August 1993 MA as The Wet
Electrician. Soon in the field it was flown
with engines as large as .40 cu. in.
In 1996 Lanier RC recognized the
model’s character, expressed interest in the
design, and sought to produce a builder’s
kit of the nitro version. However, the
company was sensitive to the “White
Electrician” name since electric-powered
RC models were in their infancy and not
very popular at the time.
Understanding Lanier’s concern I
changed the model’s name to the “Shrike.”
The star was born, and a kit was produced
and marketed successfully with an initial
wingspan of 35.5 inches. Soon thereafter it
was scaled up to 43.25 inches and released
as the Shrike 40 for 40-sized engines—the
size reviewed here.
In 1998 I designed a reduced-sized
electric-powered version of the model for
a Speed 400 motor or nitro-powered
Norvel .061 engine. Flying Models
magazine published it in the February
1998 issue as the “Shrike 400.” All the
Shrike versions to that date were basically
hand launched since the front wheel was
not steerable.
In 2005 a compatible Tri-Pod-type
landing-gear dolly was designed. It could
be left on the ground to separate at takeoff
or remain in flight strapped to the model.
That version was published in the August
2005 R/C Report magazine. Using the Tri-
Pod landing gear for takeoff enabled one
to fly the “Ducted Fan Shrike” powered
with the Nitro Toki .18 ducted-fan engine.
I went on to enlarge the design by
scaling it up to a wingspan of 78 inches;
the “Giant Shrike” was born. It was
initially flown with a two-stroke 1.20
nitro engine and subsequently flown
successfully with a RAM 750 turbine.
You can see this version in flight
at www.rcairgallery.com.
My review of Lanier’s offering of my
design confirmed that it was well
manufactured with close tolerances
between all parts, making it easy to
complete. All hardware supplied was of
good quality. The instructions gave full
details on control-surface setups.
Oversights are minor, such as the
spinner diameter required. The Shrike 40
ARF provides incredibly good flight
characteristics for sport or aerobatic
performance. MA
—Joe Beshar
[email protected]
Model type: Sport delta-wing ARF
Pilot skill level: Intermediate
Wingspan: 43.25 inches
Wing area: 455 square inches
Overall length: 33.25 inches
Fuselage length: 28.5 inches
Flying weight: 4.75-5.75 pounds
Engine: Two-stroke .40-.46 glow
Radio: Four channels with five standard
servos
Construction: Built-up, all-wood frame
and wing
Covering/finish: Premium iron-on
covering in red, white, and blue with
black lightning bolt trim and checkerboard
vertical tail tips and bottom
Price: $124.99 street
Specifications
Engine used: O.S. .46 FX
Propeller: Master Airscrew 10 x 6 and
APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Spinner: Red Du-Bro 2.25 inch
Fuel: Approximately 8-ounce tank,
Power Master 15% premium
Radio system: JR 9303 transmitter, JR
NES 517 and Expert Electronics SL571
servos
Ready-to-fly weight: 4.25 pounds
Flight duration: Exceeds 10 minutes
Test Model Details
+
• Built-up, all-wood frame and wing.
• Aluminum wing tube through fuselage
and wing makes extremely strong
structure.
• Prepainted fiberglass cowl.
• Hardware and fuel tank included.
• Clear plastic canopy.
• Designed with landing gear (tricycle
type).
• Striking trim scheme.
• Assembles in just a few hours. -• Spinner not included.
• Engine cowl was too small to fit over
fuselage as instructed. (Modified to fit.)
• Canopy is hard to install as instructed.
• Instructions omitted for securing tri
stock to bottom of stabilizer up
against vertical fin.
Pluses and Minuses
Another Shrike to His Credit
Joe Beshar with his Shrike that used a Toki
.18 ducted-fan engine.
up, the pictures are so good you might
think they are all you should need for
assembly. It’s best to follow the text. How
do I know? You guessed it.
The fuselage is a box design with the
horizontal stabilizer built into it. The wing
halves mount to the side of the fuselage
with an aluminum wing tube that passes
through the fuselage and wing root spars
extending through the load-bearing part of
each wing panel. Each panel then bolts in
place at the root and pins in place with a
dowel.
This model is built like many
removable-wing designs, and I was tempted
to keep it that way. The instructions have
you securing the wings and using epoxy for
a permanent installation.
I fired off an E-mail to the people at
Lanier and asked what they thought about
keeping the wings removable; they
advised against it. They recommended that
I follow the instructions and epoxy the
wings on.
The instructions also guard against too
much speed and use of throttle control to
prevent structural failure, but I wanted to
push the airplane for as much speed as I
could get, so making the wings permanent
was probably a good idea anyway.
The vertical fins attach strongly to the
fuselage tail area using a slot-and-notch
design with triangle stock underneath for
added support. The instructions omitted
the installation of the tri-stock
reinforcement, so don’t forget. The angles
are already set in the notches of the fins,
so just check to make sure they are
installed correctly with left and right sides.
No extra fitting was required.
When I tried to install the engine cowl
I found that it had been molded too small
to fit over the firewall and the front of the
fuselage. I tried pushing the rounded
corners in on the fuselage to get the cowl
started on, but the fiberglass started to
crack. Even if I could get it slightly over
the firewall, there would not have been
enough surface area to mount the screws
into the fuselage.
I mounted a couple pieces of hardwood
to the front of the firewall for the screws to
attach into and inlet the bottom of the cowl
so I could get the top and sides covering
the front edge of the fuselage. This worked
out well and allowed a good-looking
installation that was strong enough not to
rip out from vibration and other forces.
The top of the fuselage where the
canopy needs to mount is flat but tapers
nose to tail. The canopy has nothing
sticking up or around to attach to the
fuselage. The canopy must be cut out and
shaped to fit the top of the fuselage tightly.
I laid a full sheet of fine sandpaper (grit
side up) across the top of the fuselage and
sanded the canopy down to fit. Then I used
a razor blade to trim off all the plastic that
melts and balls up around the bottom edge
on the canopy.
After a final fitting I cleaned
everything off with alcohol and laid a bead
of canopy glue around the inside bottom
edge of the canopy. When I laid the
canopy on the fuselage, the plan was for
the glue to flow down around the bottom
edge, making a uniform joint all around
the inside edge to the fuselage. It worked
well, with minimum excess glue to clean
off.
I taped the canopy down and left it to
dry overnight. The joint looked good, but
for added insurance I placed a piece of
narrow blue electrical tape I found at a
local hardware store around the canopy-tofuselage
joint. This gave me a custom
look, and I felt better that the canopy
would stay on at Mach 10.
I finished by following the remaining
instructions and set up the CG and control
throws as recommended, with plans to
make the control throws higher later.
Take some time and go over all the trim
with a hot trim iron—especially at the
front edges. All the trim started blowing
off the review model after several flights,
but because everything looked so good out
of the box I did not go over it like I should
have.
Flying: I had to wait quite awhile after
finishing the build for decent enough
weather to get great photos that would
show off the Shrike’s trim scheme. The
weather finally broke, and I was ready to
get this baby into the air, so to the field I
went.
With the O.S. .46 FX, 15%
nitromethane, and a 10 x 6 Master
Airscrew propeller, the takeoff roll was
short. After a roughly 20-foot rollout to
see what ground handling was like, I hit
the throttle and the Shrike leaped into the
air.
Acceleration and climbout were
impressive. I banked right and turned
around for a trim pass. Everything looked
good, so I dove down to the runway for a
full-speed pass. The Shrike screamed past
at a speed that must have exceeded 100
mph, and then I pulled up into a rolling
unlimited vertical climb. Woo-hoo!
Stability was good, with all control
inputs effective. The one thing I missed
was the rudder (the Shrike doesn’t have
one), so I couldn’t correct for a true
vertical line. Not having that input will
throw you at first if you use the rudder for
more than landing correction, but after a
few flights you won’t miss it too much
except in a crosswind.
If the Shrike’s wings are level when
you enter a vertical line, it will continue
straight up until it’s a dot in the sky. Slow
flight and landings are completely
uneventful; just throttle back on the
downwind leg, make your turn, allow for
any crosswind, and settle in for a nice,
shallow glide path to touchdown.
After several flights, and some egging
on from the pits, I started wanting more
speed. I did not want to put out the money
for a high-dollar Pylon engine, so I
tweaked what I had to get more
performance.
I removed the landing gear to get rid of
drag (and to increase the cool factor). I
installed wire skids made from scrap out of
the junk box. It looked close enough in
diameter to the original, so I put it in a vise
and bent it to match the OEM gear less the
axle portion and the wheels. There was no
need to get out the custom benders or the
micrometer; close is good enough.
I installed the skids in the same place as
the stock landing gear. I had to put
something out on the bottom of the wing to
protect the servos hanging down; if I
wanted to put the gear back on, everything
was there for a quick field changeover.
I played around with propellers. I knew
I could easily come down in propeller
diameter and go up in pitch or stay with the
6 pitch and get more rpm. I tried a 9 x 6
and things improved slightly, and then I
tried a buddy’s APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Racing propeller. Everyone on the
flightline saw a big jump in speed—
especially in the turns.
Before the Shrike would slow slightly
in the turn and start to catch up to the
models with racing engines on the
straightaway. With the Pylon propeller it
pulled the same speed all the way around
the course and looked great without the
gear hanging down.
I changed out mufflers. I ended up
using a Macs one-piece pipe-style muffler
(manufacturer’s stock number 6590) that
gave me roughly 1,200 more rpm, and it
looked good. A tuned pipe or a hotter
engine would have been another option,
but I wanted to get more performance out
of what most of us would have laying
around.
Give the Shrike 40 ARF a try, and you too
could take care of your need for speed. If
you love it as much as I do and a few
friends catch the same itch (as mine did),
every day at the field could turn into race
day! MA
Nick Schriefer
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Lanier RC
Box 458
Oakwood GA 30566
(770) 532-6401
www.lanierrc.com
Products Used in Review:
JR and Expert:
Horizon Hobby Inc.
www.horizonhobby.com
O.S. Engines
www.osengines.com
Du-Bro
www.dubro.com
APC Props
www.apcprop.com
Master Airscrew
www.masterairscrew.com
Macs Products
www.macspro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 65,66,67,68,70
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 65,66,67,68,70
Even with the absence of rudders, the
Shrike 40 can hold a knife edge fairly well
at high speed. Mark Lanterman photo.
The 1/2-inch black-and-white checkerboard
covering on the bottom offers excellent
visual contrast. Lanterman photo.
IF YOU HAVE been flying for a while
and have built several RC airplanes, you
have probably settled on a certain type of
aircraft you like. Many times we find
ourselves guilty of taking only our favorite
models to the field week after week. But
even if you fly IMAC (International
Miniature Aerobatic Club) sequences or 3-
D Pro Bro style, it’s fun to fly something
new.
I love to fly 3-D—and as close to the
ground as I can without planting balsa
wood—or trying to fly a good sequence or
even the occasional straight line, but most
of us deep down have a need for speed.
Mine was piqued when I was asked to
review the Shrike 40 ARF from Lanier RC.
The Shrike is a twin-verticalstabilizer,
delta-wing sport
model with an elevator
instead of elevons. It looks
like the big brother to
the Shrike 15
that has been
around for a few years. When I built my
15-size Shrike I used a bushing O.S. .25
FP engine, and it was a blast to fly, but it
was a kit that required building and
covering.
Now you can have the fun of a bigger,
heart-pounding Shrike in ARF form, with a
wild-looking trim scheme. You can have it
built in a couple of nights, working on it at
your leisure.
If you really want to get serious about
finishing the Shrike 40, put in a full day
Saturday and you could be flying on
Sunday. All you need for a good
adrenaline rush is a strong .46 engine, a
good radio system, propeller, spinner, and
fuel.
I had to leave the airplane stock for the
initial test flights and photo shoot, and it
flew great. But after having approximately
20 flights on it I wanted it to go faster, so I
made some changes to the setup to
increase its performance. I will explain
that later. For now let’s look at the design.
A few of the major differences between
the Shrike 15 and the new Shrike 40 ARF,
besides the latter being bigger, are that the
40 uses landing gear and a separate
servo on each aileron. This
allows takeoffs and landings to
be like those of a traditional
sport model. With a computer
radio and individual aileron servos,
differential can be programmed in so those
perfect jetlike axial rolls can be achieved.
The 40 looks like a jet and can deliver
all the unlimited vertical aileron rolls and
100-plus mph speed passes you can
handle. It has all the fun of a jet without
the expense.
Rolls on high rate are fast. (Did I write
“fast”? I mean they’re a blur.) You can’t
begin to count the rolls, so dial them down
to the manufacturer’s recommendations
and work on your stick timing until you
get used to them.
On the flip side, the Shrike 40 will also
fly around slowly if you want it to; just
dial in some exponential. Fly it on low
rates and you will think it’s a trainer. But
why would you
want to do that?
Construction:
When I opened
the box I was
The larger Shrike 40 benefits from the original in that it has wide tricycle landing gear that is steerable.
66 MODEL AVIATION
A 2.25-inch spinner is required to complete the front end. A 10 x 6
propeller is good for sport flying, but the APC Pylon-style
propellers provide higher performance.
The interior space of the fuselage is maximized since the wing
halves are glued to the outside. Rudder is used for nose steering
only.
Photos by the author except as noted
Patience with a Dremel Moto-Tool will yield
a nice-looking engine opening. A T-fitting
between the intake line aids in fueling.
Hardwood rails were added to the front of
the firewall for mounting the four cowl
screws. The fuel tank was mounted as
close to the CG as possible.
Inside the Shrike’s fuselage the 4.8-volt battery is located aft,
between the fins. The receiver will be mounted at the rear of the
hatch area.
To accurately fit the canopy to the fuselage, tape 220-grit
sandpaper to the fuselage and run the canopy over the top until
flush.
The included fuel tank provides enough
fuel for more than 10 minutes of flight. It
was necessary to trim the former for
installation.
RC/56 canopy glue was generously applied to the thin canopy
edges to help build a strong joint. The glue will be crystal clear
when dry.
surprised to see how good the covering and trim looked. The trim
was expertly applied with no visible bubbles or wrinkles. The red,
white, and blue covering with the black lighting bolt and
checkerboard accents was striking and the Shrike 40 looked fast
just sitting in the box.
All covered parts were bagged and secured nicely. All
hardware was packaged separately per application, which makes
things easy to find when you need them.
The instruction booklet was extremely good, with pictures
detailing each part of the assembly process. For those of us who
don’t like to read the instructions until after we screw something
February 2007 67
Upon receipt of the first overseas
shipment of Shrike 40 ARFs, Bubba
Spivey of Lanier RC sent me a unit and
asked if I would review the product. I was
elated because this was much different
from any of the reviews I have been
involved with in the past; I designed the
Shrike.
Its history encompasses an interesting
evolution I would like to share—somewhat
on a soapbox, but I will try to be humble.
It all started in 1993, when MA
published my White Electrician design that
was powered with an AstroFlight Cobalt
05 motor powered by seven 800 mAh
battery cells. Many modelers who built it
nudged me for a nitromethane version.
Thus I addressed the possibility and
designed one that I tested for .10-.25 cu.
in. two-stroke engine power.
Recognized for the design’s
outstanding performance, it was published
in the August 1993 MA as The Wet
Electrician. Soon in the field it was flown
with engines as large as .40 cu. in.
In 1996 Lanier RC recognized the
model’s character, expressed interest in the
design, and sought to produce a builder’s
kit of the nitro version. However, the
company was sensitive to the “White
Electrician” name since electric-powered
RC models were in their infancy and not
very popular at the time.
Understanding Lanier’s concern I
changed the model’s name to the “Shrike.”
The star was born, and a kit was produced
and marketed successfully with an initial
wingspan of 35.5 inches. Soon thereafter it
was scaled up to 43.25 inches and released
as the Shrike 40 for 40-sized engines—the
size reviewed here.
In 1998 I designed a reduced-sized
electric-powered version of the model for
a Speed 400 motor or nitro-powered
Norvel .061 engine. Flying Models
magazine published it in the February
1998 issue as the “Shrike 400.” All the
Shrike versions to that date were basically
hand launched since the front wheel was
not steerable.
In 2005 a compatible Tri-Pod-type
landing-gear dolly was designed. It could
be left on the ground to separate at takeoff
or remain in flight strapped to the model.
That version was published in the August
2005 R/C Report magazine. Using the Tri-
Pod landing gear for takeoff enabled one
to fly the “Ducted Fan Shrike” powered
with the Nitro Toki .18 ducted-fan engine.
I went on to enlarge the design by
scaling it up to a wingspan of 78 inches;
the “Giant Shrike” was born. It was
initially flown with a two-stroke 1.20
nitro engine and subsequently flown
successfully with a RAM 750 turbine.
You can see this version in flight
at www.rcairgallery.com.
My review of Lanier’s offering of my
design confirmed that it was well
manufactured with close tolerances
between all parts, making it easy to
complete. All hardware supplied was of
good quality. The instructions gave full
details on control-surface setups.
Oversights are minor, such as the
spinner diameter required. The Shrike 40
ARF provides incredibly good flight
characteristics for sport or aerobatic
performance. MA
—Joe Beshar
[email protected]
Model type: Sport delta-wing ARF
Pilot skill level: Intermediate
Wingspan: 43.25 inches
Wing area: 455 square inches
Overall length: 33.25 inches
Fuselage length: 28.5 inches
Flying weight: 4.75-5.75 pounds
Engine: Two-stroke .40-.46 glow
Radio: Four channels with five standard
servos
Construction: Built-up, all-wood frame
and wing
Covering/finish: Premium iron-on
covering in red, white, and blue with
black lightning bolt trim and checkerboard
vertical tail tips and bottom
Price: $124.99 street
Specifications
Engine used: O.S. .46 FX
Propeller: Master Airscrew 10 x 6 and
APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Spinner: Red Du-Bro 2.25 inch
Fuel: Approximately 8-ounce tank,
Power Master 15% premium
Radio system: JR 9303 transmitter, JR
NES 517 and Expert Electronics SL571
servos
Ready-to-fly weight: 4.25 pounds
Flight duration: Exceeds 10 minutes
Test Model Details
+
• Built-up, all-wood frame and wing.
• Aluminum wing tube through fuselage
and wing makes extremely strong
structure.
• Prepainted fiberglass cowl.
• Hardware and fuel tank included.
• Clear plastic canopy.
• Designed with landing gear (tricycle
type).
• Striking trim scheme.
• Assembles in just a few hours. -• Spinner not included.
• Engine cowl was too small to fit over
fuselage as instructed. (Modified to fit.)
• Canopy is hard to install as instructed.
• Instructions omitted for securing tri
stock to bottom of stabilizer up
against vertical fin.
Pluses and Minuses
Another Shrike to His Credit
Joe Beshar with his Shrike that used a Toki
.18 ducted-fan engine.
up, the pictures are so good you might
think they are all you should need for
assembly. It’s best to follow the text. How
do I know? You guessed it.
The fuselage is a box design with the
horizontal stabilizer built into it. The wing
halves mount to the side of the fuselage
with an aluminum wing tube that passes
through the fuselage and wing root spars
extending through the load-bearing part of
each wing panel. Each panel then bolts in
place at the root and pins in place with a
dowel.
This model is built like many
removable-wing designs, and I was tempted
to keep it that way. The instructions have
you securing the wings and using epoxy for
a permanent installation.
I fired off an E-mail to the people at
Lanier and asked what they thought about
keeping the wings removable; they
advised against it. They recommended that
I follow the instructions and epoxy the
wings on.
The instructions also guard against too
much speed and use of throttle control to
prevent structural failure, but I wanted to
push the airplane for as much speed as I
could get, so making the wings permanent
was probably a good idea anyway.
The vertical fins attach strongly to the
fuselage tail area using a slot-and-notch
design with triangle stock underneath for
added support. The instructions omitted
the installation of the tri-stock
reinforcement, so don’t forget. The angles
are already set in the notches of the fins,
so just check to make sure they are
installed correctly with left and right sides.
No extra fitting was required.
When I tried to install the engine cowl
I found that it had been molded too small
to fit over the firewall and the front of the
fuselage. I tried pushing the rounded
corners in on the fuselage to get the cowl
started on, but the fiberglass started to
crack. Even if I could get it slightly over
the firewall, there would not have been
enough surface area to mount the screws
into the fuselage.
I mounted a couple pieces of hardwood
to the front of the firewall for the screws to
attach into and inlet the bottom of the cowl
so I could get the top and sides covering
the front edge of the fuselage. This worked
out well and allowed a good-looking
installation that was strong enough not to
rip out from vibration and other forces.
The top of the fuselage where the
canopy needs to mount is flat but tapers
nose to tail. The canopy has nothing
sticking up or around to attach to the
fuselage. The canopy must be cut out and
shaped to fit the top of the fuselage tightly.
I laid a full sheet of fine sandpaper (grit
side up) across the top of the fuselage and
sanded the canopy down to fit. Then I used
a razor blade to trim off all the plastic that
melts and balls up around the bottom edge
on the canopy.
After a final fitting I cleaned
everything off with alcohol and laid a bead
of canopy glue around the inside bottom
edge of the canopy. When I laid the
canopy on the fuselage, the plan was for
the glue to flow down around the bottom
edge, making a uniform joint all around
the inside edge to the fuselage. It worked
well, with minimum excess glue to clean
off.
I taped the canopy down and left it to
dry overnight. The joint looked good, but
for added insurance I placed a piece of
narrow blue electrical tape I found at a
local hardware store around the canopy-tofuselage
joint. This gave me a custom
look, and I felt better that the canopy
would stay on at Mach 10.
I finished by following the remaining
instructions and set up the CG and control
throws as recommended, with plans to
make the control throws higher later.
Take some time and go over all the trim
with a hot trim iron—especially at the
front edges. All the trim started blowing
off the review model after several flights,
but because everything looked so good out
of the box I did not go over it like I should
have.
Flying: I had to wait quite awhile after
finishing the build for decent enough
weather to get great photos that would
show off the Shrike’s trim scheme. The
weather finally broke, and I was ready to
get this baby into the air, so to the field I
went.
With the O.S. .46 FX, 15%
nitromethane, and a 10 x 6 Master
Airscrew propeller, the takeoff roll was
short. After a roughly 20-foot rollout to
see what ground handling was like, I hit
the throttle and the Shrike leaped into the
air.
Acceleration and climbout were
impressive. I banked right and turned
around for a trim pass. Everything looked
good, so I dove down to the runway for a
full-speed pass. The Shrike screamed past
at a speed that must have exceeded 100
mph, and then I pulled up into a rolling
unlimited vertical climb. Woo-hoo!
Stability was good, with all control
inputs effective. The one thing I missed
was the rudder (the Shrike doesn’t have
one), so I couldn’t correct for a true
vertical line. Not having that input will
throw you at first if you use the rudder for
more than landing correction, but after a
few flights you won’t miss it too much
except in a crosswind.
If the Shrike’s wings are level when
you enter a vertical line, it will continue
straight up until it’s a dot in the sky. Slow
flight and landings are completely
uneventful; just throttle back on the
downwind leg, make your turn, allow for
any crosswind, and settle in for a nice,
shallow glide path to touchdown.
After several flights, and some egging
on from the pits, I started wanting more
speed. I did not want to put out the money
for a high-dollar Pylon engine, so I
tweaked what I had to get more
performance.
I removed the landing gear to get rid of
drag (and to increase the cool factor). I
installed wire skids made from scrap out of
the junk box. It looked close enough in
diameter to the original, so I put it in a vise
and bent it to match the OEM gear less the
axle portion and the wheels. There was no
need to get out the custom benders or the
micrometer; close is good enough.
I installed the skids in the same place as
the stock landing gear. I had to put
something out on the bottom of the wing to
protect the servos hanging down; if I
wanted to put the gear back on, everything
was there for a quick field changeover.
I played around with propellers. I knew
I could easily come down in propeller
diameter and go up in pitch or stay with the
6 pitch and get more rpm. I tried a 9 x 6
and things improved slightly, and then I
tried a buddy’s APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Racing propeller. Everyone on the
flightline saw a big jump in speed—
especially in the turns.
Before the Shrike would slow slightly
in the turn and start to catch up to the
models with racing engines on the
straightaway. With the Pylon propeller it
pulled the same speed all the way around
the course and looked great without the
gear hanging down.
I changed out mufflers. I ended up
using a Macs one-piece pipe-style muffler
(manufacturer’s stock number 6590) that
gave me roughly 1,200 more rpm, and it
looked good. A tuned pipe or a hotter
engine would have been another option,
but I wanted to get more performance out
of what most of us would have laying
around.
Give the Shrike 40 ARF a try, and you too
could take care of your need for speed. If
you love it as much as I do and a few
friends catch the same itch (as mine did),
every day at the field could turn into race
day! MA
Nick Schriefer
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Lanier RC
Box 458
Oakwood GA 30566
(770) 532-6401
www.lanierrc.com
Products Used in Review:
JR and Expert:
Horizon Hobby Inc.
www.horizonhobby.com
O.S. Engines
www.osengines.com
Du-Bro
www.dubro.com
APC Props
www.apcprop.com
Master Airscrew
www.masterairscrew.com
Macs Products
www.macspro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 65,66,67,68,70
Even with the absence of rudders, the
Shrike 40 can hold a knife edge fairly well
at high speed. Mark Lanterman photo.
The 1/2-inch black-and-white checkerboard
covering on the bottom offers excellent
visual contrast. Lanterman photo.
IF YOU HAVE been flying for a while
and have built several RC airplanes, you
have probably settled on a certain type of
aircraft you like. Many times we find
ourselves guilty of taking only our favorite
models to the field week after week. But
even if you fly IMAC (International
Miniature Aerobatic Club) sequences or 3-
D Pro Bro style, it’s fun to fly something
new.
I love to fly 3-D—and as close to the
ground as I can without planting balsa
wood—or trying to fly a good sequence or
even the occasional straight line, but most
of us deep down have a need for speed.
Mine was piqued when I was asked to
review the Shrike 40 ARF from Lanier RC.
The Shrike is a twin-verticalstabilizer,
delta-wing sport
model with an elevator
instead of elevons. It looks
like the big brother to
the Shrike 15
that has been
around for a few years. When I built my
15-size Shrike I used a bushing O.S. .25
FP engine, and it was a blast to fly, but it
was a kit that required building and
covering.
Now you can have the fun of a bigger,
heart-pounding Shrike in ARF form, with a
wild-looking trim scheme. You can have it
built in a couple of nights, working on it at
your leisure.
If you really want to get serious about
finishing the Shrike 40, put in a full day
Saturday and you could be flying on
Sunday. All you need for a good
adrenaline rush is a strong .46 engine, a
good radio system, propeller, spinner, and
fuel.
I had to leave the airplane stock for the
initial test flights and photo shoot, and it
flew great. But after having approximately
20 flights on it I wanted it to go faster, so I
made some changes to the setup to
increase its performance. I will explain
that later. For now let’s look at the design.
A few of the major differences between
the Shrike 15 and the new Shrike 40 ARF,
besides the latter being bigger, are that the
40 uses landing gear and a separate
servo on each aileron. This
allows takeoffs and landings to
be like those of a traditional
sport model. With a computer
radio and individual aileron servos,
differential can be programmed in so those
perfect jetlike axial rolls can be achieved.
The 40 looks like a jet and can deliver
all the unlimited vertical aileron rolls and
100-plus mph speed passes you can
handle. It has all the fun of a jet without
the expense.
Rolls on high rate are fast. (Did I write
“fast”? I mean they’re a blur.) You can’t
begin to count the rolls, so dial them down
to the manufacturer’s recommendations
and work on your stick timing until you
get used to them.
On the flip side, the Shrike 40 will also
fly around slowly if you want it to; just
dial in some exponential. Fly it on low
rates and you will think it’s a trainer. But
why would you
want to do that?
Construction:
When I opened
the box I was
The larger Shrike 40 benefits from the original in that it has wide tricycle landing gear that is steerable.
66 MODEL AVIATION
A 2.25-inch spinner is required to complete the front end. A 10 x 6
propeller is good for sport flying, but the APC Pylon-style
propellers provide higher performance.
The interior space of the fuselage is maximized since the wing
halves are glued to the outside. Rudder is used for nose steering
only.
Photos by the author except as noted
Patience with a Dremel Moto-Tool will yield
a nice-looking engine opening. A T-fitting
between the intake line aids in fueling.
Hardwood rails were added to the front of
the firewall for mounting the four cowl
screws. The fuel tank was mounted as
close to the CG as possible.
Inside the Shrike’s fuselage the 4.8-volt battery is located aft,
between the fins. The receiver will be mounted at the rear of the
hatch area.
To accurately fit the canopy to the fuselage, tape 220-grit
sandpaper to the fuselage and run the canopy over the top until
flush.
The included fuel tank provides enough
fuel for more than 10 minutes of flight. It
was necessary to trim the former for
installation.
RC/56 canopy glue was generously applied to the thin canopy
edges to help build a strong joint. The glue will be crystal clear
when dry.
surprised to see how good the covering and trim looked. The trim
was expertly applied with no visible bubbles or wrinkles. The red,
white, and blue covering with the black lighting bolt and
checkerboard accents was striking and the Shrike 40 looked fast
just sitting in the box.
All covered parts were bagged and secured nicely. All
hardware was packaged separately per application, which makes
things easy to find when you need them.
The instruction booklet was extremely good, with pictures
detailing each part of the assembly process. For those of us who
don’t like to read the instructions until after we screw something
February 2007 67
Upon receipt of the first overseas
shipment of Shrike 40 ARFs, Bubba
Spivey of Lanier RC sent me a unit and
asked if I would review the product. I was
elated because this was much different
from any of the reviews I have been
involved with in the past; I designed the
Shrike.
Its history encompasses an interesting
evolution I would like to share—somewhat
on a soapbox, but I will try to be humble.
It all started in 1993, when MA
published my White Electrician design that
was powered with an AstroFlight Cobalt
05 motor powered by seven 800 mAh
battery cells. Many modelers who built it
nudged me for a nitromethane version.
Thus I addressed the possibility and
designed one that I tested for .10-.25 cu.
in. two-stroke engine power.
Recognized for the design’s
outstanding performance, it was published
in the August 1993 MA as The Wet
Electrician. Soon in the field it was flown
with engines as large as .40 cu. in.
In 1996 Lanier RC recognized the
model’s character, expressed interest in the
design, and sought to produce a builder’s
kit of the nitro version. However, the
company was sensitive to the “White
Electrician” name since electric-powered
RC models were in their infancy and not
very popular at the time.
Understanding Lanier’s concern I
changed the model’s name to the “Shrike.”
The star was born, and a kit was produced
and marketed successfully with an initial
wingspan of 35.5 inches. Soon thereafter it
was scaled up to 43.25 inches and released
as the Shrike 40 for 40-sized engines—the
size reviewed here.
In 1998 I designed a reduced-sized
electric-powered version of the model for
a Speed 400 motor or nitro-powered
Norvel .061 engine. Flying Models
magazine published it in the February
1998 issue as the “Shrike 400.” All the
Shrike versions to that date were basically
hand launched since the front wheel was
not steerable.
In 2005 a compatible Tri-Pod-type
landing-gear dolly was designed. It could
be left on the ground to separate at takeoff
or remain in flight strapped to the model.
That version was published in the August
2005 R/C Report magazine. Using the Tri-
Pod landing gear for takeoff enabled one
to fly the “Ducted Fan Shrike” powered
with the Nitro Toki .18 ducted-fan engine.
I went on to enlarge the design by
scaling it up to a wingspan of 78 inches;
the “Giant Shrike” was born. It was
initially flown with a two-stroke 1.20
nitro engine and subsequently flown
successfully with a RAM 750 turbine.
You can see this version in flight
at www.rcairgallery.com.
My review of Lanier’s offering of my
design confirmed that it was well
manufactured with close tolerances
between all parts, making it easy to
complete. All hardware supplied was of
good quality. The instructions gave full
details on control-surface setups.
Oversights are minor, such as the
spinner diameter required. The Shrike 40
ARF provides incredibly good flight
characteristics for sport or aerobatic
performance. MA
—Joe Beshar
[email protected]
Model type: Sport delta-wing ARF
Pilot skill level: Intermediate
Wingspan: 43.25 inches
Wing area: 455 square inches
Overall length: 33.25 inches
Fuselage length: 28.5 inches
Flying weight: 4.75-5.75 pounds
Engine: Two-stroke .40-.46 glow
Radio: Four channels with five standard
servos
Construction: Built-up, all-wood frame
and wing
Covering/finish: Premium iron-on
covering in red, white, and blue with
black lightning bolt trim and checkerboard
vertical tail tips and bottom
Price: $124.99 street
Specifications
Engine used: O.S. .46 FX
Propeller: Master Airscrew 10 x 6 and
APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Spinner: Red Du-Bro 2.25 inch
Fuel: Approximately 8-ounce tank,
Power Master 15% premium
Radio system: JR 9303 transmitter, JR
NES 517 and Expert Electronics SL571
servos
Ready-to-fly weight: 4.25 pounds
Flight duration: Exceeds 10 minutes
Test Model Details
+
• Built-up, all-wood frame and wing.
• Aluminum wing tube through fuselage
and wing makes extremely strong
structure.
• Prepainted fiberglass cowl.
• Hardware and fuel tank included.
• Clear plastic canopy.
• Designed with landing gear (tricycle
type).
• Striking trim scheme.
• Assembles in just a few hours. -• Spinner not included.
• Engine cowl was too small to fit over
fuselage as instructed. (Modified to fit.)
• Canopy is hard to install as instructed.
• Instructions omitted for securing tri
stock to bottom of stabilizer up
against vertical fin.
Pluses and Minuses
Another Shrike to His Credit
Joe Beshar with his Shrike that used a Toki
.18 ducted-fan engine.
up, the pictures are so good you might
think they are all you should need for
assembly. It’s best to follow the text. How
do I know? You guessed it.
The fuselage is a box design with the
horizontal stabilizer built into it. The wing
halves mount to the side of the fuselage
with an aluminum wing tube that passes
through the fuselage and wing root spars
extending through the load-bearing part of
each wing panel. Each panel then bolts in
place at the root and pins in place with a
dowel.
This model is built like many
removable-wing designs, and I was tempted
to keep it that way. The instructions have
you securing the wings and using epoxy for
a permanent installation.
I fired off an E-mail to the people at
Lanier and asked what they thought about
keeping the wings removable; they
advised against it. They recommended that
I follow the instructions and epoxy the
wings on.
The instructions also guard against too
much speed and use of throttle control to
prevent structural failure, but I wanted to
push the airplane for as much speed as I
could get, so making the wings permanent
was probably a good idea anyway.
The vertical fins attach strongly to the
fuselage tail area using a slot-and-notch
design with triangle stock underneath for
added support. The instructions omitted
the installation of the tri-stock
reinforcement, so don’t forget. The angles
are already set in the notches of the fins,
so just check to make sure they are
installed correctly with left and right sides.
No extra fitting was required.
When I tried to install the engine cowl
I found that it had been molded too small
to fit over the firewall and the front of the
fuselage. I tried pushing the rounded
corners in on the fuselage to get the cowl
started on, but the fiberglass started to
crack. Even if I could get it slightly over
the firewall, there would not have been
enough surface area to mount the screws
into the fuselage.
I mounted a couple pieces of hardwood
to the front of the firewall for the screws to
attach into and inlet the bottom of the cowl
so I could get the top and sides covering
the front edge of the fuselage. This worked
out well and allowed a good-looking
installation that was strong enough not to
rip out from vibration and other forces.
The top of the fuselage where the
canopy needs to mount is flat but tapers
nose to tail. The canopy has nothing
sticking up or around to attach to the
fuselage. The canopy must be cut out and
shaped to fit the top of the fuselage tightly.
I laid a full sheet of fine sandpaper (grit
side up) across the top of the fuselage and
sanded the canopy down to fit. Then I used
a razor blade to trim off all the plastic that
melts and balls up around the bottom edge
on the canopy.
After a final fitting I cleaned
everything off with alcohol and laid a bead
of canopy glue around the inside bottom
edge of the canopy. When I laid the
canopy on the fuselage, the plan was for
the glue to flow down around the bottom
edge, making a uniform joint all around
the inside edge to the fuselage. It worked
well, with minimum excess glue to clean
off.
I taped the canopy down and left it to
dry overnight. The joint looked good, but
for added insurance I placed a piece of
narrow blue electrical tape I found at a
local hardware store around the canopy-tofuselage
joint. This gave me a custom
look, and I felt better that the canopy
would stay on at Mach 10.
I finished by following the remaining
instructions and set up the CG and control
throws as recommended, with plans to
make the control throws higher later.
Take some time and go over all the trim
with a hot trim iron—especially at the
front edges. All the trim started blowing
off the review model after several flights,
but because everything looked so good out
of the box I did not go over it like I should
have.
Flying: I had to wait quite awhile after
finishing the build for decent enough
weather to get great photos that would
show off the Shrike’s trim scheme. The
weather finally broke, and I was ready to
get this baby into the air, so to the field I
went.
With the O.S. .46 FX, 15%
nitromethane, and a 10 x 6 Master
Airscrew propeller, the takeoff roll was
short. After a roughly 20-foot rollout to
see what ground handling was like, I hit
the throttle and the Shrike leaped into the
air.
Acceleration and climbout were
impressive. I banked right and turned
around for a trim pass. Everything looked
good, so I dove down to the runway for a
full-speed pass. The Shrike screamed past
at a speed that must have exceeded 100
mph, and then I pulled up into a rolling
unlimited vertical climb. Woo-hoo!
Stability was good, with all control
inputs effective. The one thing I missed
was the rudder (the Shrike doesn’t have
one), so I couldn’t correct for a true
vertical line. Not having that input will
throw you at first if you use the rudder for
more than landing correction, but after a
few flights you won’t miss it too much
except in a crosswind.
If the Shrike’s wings are level when
you enter a vertical line, it will continue
straight up until it’s a dot in the sky. Slow
flight and landings are completely
uneventful; just throttle back on the
downwind leg, make your turn, allow for
any crosswind, and settle in for a nice,
shallow glide path to touchdown.
After several flights, and some egging
on from the pits, I started wanting more
speed. I did not want to put out the money
for a high-dollar Pylon engine, so I
tweaked what I had to get more
performance.
I removed the landing gear to get rid of
drag (and to increase the cool factor). I
installed wire skids made from scrap out of
the junk box. It looked close enough in
diameter to the original, so I put it in a vise
and bent it to match the OEM gear less the
axle portion and the wheels. There was no
need to get out the custom benders or the
micrometer; close is good enough.
I installed the skids in the same place as
the stock landing gear. I had to put
something out on the bottom of the wing to
protect the servos hanging down; if I
wanted to put the gear back on, everything
was there for a quick field changeover.
I played around with propellers. I knew
I could easily come down in propeller
diameter and go up in pitch or stay with the
6 pitch and get more rpm. I tried a 9 x 6
and things improved slightly, and then I
tried a buddy’s APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Racing propeller. Everyone on the
flightline saw a big jump in speed—
especially in the turns.
Before the Shrike would slow slightly
in the turn and start to catch up to the
models with racing engines on the
straightaway. With the Pylon propeller it
pulled the same speed all the way around
the course and looked great without the
gear hanging down.
I changed out mufflers. I ended up
using a Macs one-piece pipe-style muffler
(manufacturer’s stock number 6590) that
gave me roughly 1,200 more rpm, and it
looked good. A tuned pipe or a hotter
engine would have been another option,
but I wanted to get more performance out
of what most of us would have laying
around.
Give the Shrike 40 ARF a try, and you too
could take care of your need for speed. If
you love it as much as I do and a few
friends catch the same itch (as mine did),
every day at the field could turn into race
day! MA
Nick Schriefer
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Lanier RC
Box 458
Oakwood GA 30566
(770) 532-6401
www.lanierrc.com
Products Used in Review:
JR and Expert:
Horizon Hobby Inc.
www.horizonhobby.com
O.S. Engines
www.osengines.com
Du-Bro
www.dubro.com
APC Props
www.apcprop.com
Master Airscrew
www.masterairscrew.com
Macs Products
www.macspro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 65,66,67,68,70
Even with the absence of rudders, the
Shrike 40 can hold a knife edge fairly well
at high speed. Mark Lanterman photo.
The 1/2-inch black-and-white checkerboard
covering on the bottom offers excellent
visual contrast. Lanterman photo.
IF YOU HAVE been flying for a while
and have built several RC airplanes, you
have probably settled on a certain type of
aircraft you like. Many times we find
ourselves guilty of taking only our favorite
models to the field week after week. But
even if you fly IMAC (International
Miniature Aerobatic Club) sequences or 3-
D Pro Bro style, it’s fun to fly something
new.
I love to fly 3-D—and as close to the
ground as I can without planting balsa
wood—or trying to fly a good sequence or
even the occasional straight line, but most
of us deep down have a need for speed.
Mine was piqued when I was asked to
review the Shrike 40 ARF from Lanier RC.
The Shrike is a twin-verticalstabilizer,
delta-wing sport
model with an elevator
instead of elevons. It looks
like the big brother to
the Shrike 15
that has been
around for a few years. When I built my
15-size Shrike I used a bushing O.S. .25
FP engine, and it was a blast to fly, but it
was a kit that required building and
covering.
Now you can have the fun of a bigger,
heart-pounding Shrike in ARF form, with a
wild-looking trim scheme. You can have it
built in a couple of nights, working on it at
your leisure.
If you really want to get serious about
finishing the Shrike 40, put in a full day
Saturday and you could be flying on
Sunday. All you need for a good
adrenaline rush is a strong .46 engine, a
good radio system, propeller, spinner, and
fuel.
I had to leave the airplane stock for the
initial test flights and photo shoot, and it
flew great. But after having approximately
20 flights on it I wanted it to go faster, so I
made some changes to the setup to
increase its performance. I will explain
that later. For now let’s look at the design.
A few of the major differences between
the Shrike 15 and the new Shrike 40 ARF,
besides the latter being bigger, are that the
40 uses landing gear and a separate
servo on each aileron. This
allows takeoffs and landings to
be like those of a traditional
sport model. With a computer
radio and individual aileron servos,
differential can be programmed in so those
perfect jetlike axial rolls can be achieved.
The 40 looks like a jet and can deliver
all the unlimited vertical aileron rolls and
100-plus mph speed passes you can
handle. It has all the fun of a jet without
the expense.
Rolls on high rate are fast. (Did I write
“fast”? I mean they’re a blur.) You can’t
begin to count the rolls, so dial them down
to the manufacturer’s recommendations
and work on your stick timing until you
get used to them.
On the flip side, the Shrike 40 will also
fly around slowly if you want it to; just
dial in some exponential. Fly it on low
rates and you will think it’s a trainer. But
why would you
want to do that?
Construction:
When I opened
the box I was
The larger Shrike 40 benefits from the original in that it has wide tricycle landing gear that is steerable.
66 MODEL AVIATION
A 2.25-inch spinner is required to complete the front end. A 10 x 6
propeller is good for sport flying, but the APC Pylon-style
propellers provide higher performance.
The interior space of the fuselage is maximized since the wing
halves are glued to the outside. Rudder is used for nose steering
only.
Photos by the author except as noted
Patience with a Dremel Moto-Tool will yield
a nice-looking engine opening. A T-fitting
between the intake line aids in fueling.
Hardwood rails were added to the front of
the firewall for mounting the four cowl
screws. The fuel tank was mounted as
close to the CG as possible.
Inside the Shrike’s fuselage the 4.8-volt battery is located aft,
between the fins. The receiver will be mounted at the rear of the
hatch area.
To accurately fit the canopy to the fuselage, tape 220-grit
sandpaper to the fuselage and run the canopy over the top until
flush.
The included fuel tank provides enough
fuel for more than 10 minutes of flight. It
was necessary to trim the former for
installation.
RC/56 canopy glue was generously applied to the thin canopy
edges to help build a strong joint. The glue will be crystal clear
when dry.
surprised to see how good the covering and trim looked. The trim
was expertly applied with no visible bubbles or wrinkles. The red,
white, and blue covering with the black lighting bolt and
checkerboard accents was striking and the Shrike 40 looked fast
just sitting in the box.
All covered parts were bagged and secured nicely. All
hardware was packaged separately per application, which makes
things easy to find when you need them.
The instruction booklet was extremely good, with pictures
detailing each part of the assembly process. For those of us who
don’t like to read the instructions until after we screw something
February 2007 67
Upon receipt of the first overseas
shipment of Shrike 40 ARFs, Bubba
Spivey of Lanier RC sent me a unit and
asked if I would review the product. I was
elated because this was much different
from any of the reviews I have been
involved with in the past; I designed the
Shrike.
Its history encompasses an interesting
evolution I would like to share—somewhat
on a soapbox, but I will try to be humble.
It all started in 1993, when MA
published my White Electrician design that
was powered with an AstroFlight Cobalt
05 motor powered by seven 800 mAh
battery cells. Many modelers who built it
nudged me for a nitromethane version.
Thus I addressed the possibility and
designed one that I tested for .10-.25 cu.
in. two-stroke engine power.
Recognized for the design’s
outstanding performance, it was published
in the August 1993 MA as The Wet
Electrician. Soon in the field it was flown
with engines as large as .40 cu. in.
In 1996 Lanier RC recognized the
model’s character, expressed interest in the
design, and sought to produce a builder’s
kit of the nitro version. However, the
company was sensitive to the “White
Electrician” name since electric-powered
RC models were in their infancy and not
very popular at the time.
Understanding Lanier’s concern I
changed the model’s name to the “Shrike.”
The star was born, and a kit was produced
and marketed successfully with an initial
wingspan of 35.5 inches. Soon thereafter it
was scaled up to 43.25 inches and released
as the Shrike 40 for 40-sized engines—the
size reviewed here.
In 1998 I designed a reduced-sized
electric-powered version of the model for
a Speed 400 motor or nitro-powered
Norvel .061 engine. Flying Models
magazine published it in the February
1998 issue as the “Shrike 400.” All the
Shrike versions to that date were basically
hand launched since the front wheel was
not steerable.
In 2005 a compatible Tri-Pod-type
landing-gear dolly was designed. It could
be left on the ground to separate at takeoff
or remain in flight strapped to the model.
That version was published in the August
2005 R/C Report magazine. Using the Tri-
Pod landing gear for takeoff enabled one
to fly the “Ducted Fan Shrike” powered
with the Nitro Toki .18 ducted-fan engine.
I went on to enlarge the design by
scaling it up to a wingspan of 78 inches;
the “Giant Shrike” was born. It was
initially flown with a two-stroke 1.20
nitro engine and subsequently flown
successfully with a RAM 750 turbine.
You can see this version in flight
at www.rcairgallery.com.
My review of Lanier’s offering of my
design confirmed that it was well
manufactured with close tolerances
between all parts, making it easy to
complete. All hardware supplied was of
good quality. The instructions gave full
details on control-surface setups.
Oversights are minor, such as the
spinner diameter required. The Shrike 40
ARF provides incredibly good flight
characteristics for sport or aerobatic
performance. MA
—Joe Beshar
[email protected]
Model type: Sport delta-wing ARF
Pilot skill level: Intermediate
Wingspan: 43.25 inches
Wing area: 455 square inches
Overall length: 33.25 inches
Fuselage length: 28.5 inches
Flying weight: 4.75-5.75 pounds
Engine: Two-stroke .40-.46 glow
Radio: Four channels with five standard
servos
Construction: Built-up, all-wood frame
and wing
Covering/finish: Premium iron-on
covering in red, white, and blue with
black lightning bolt trim and checkerboard
vertical tail tips and bottom
Price: $124.99 street
Specifications
Engine used: O.S. .46 FX
Propeller: Master Airscrew 10 x 6 and
APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Spinner: Red Du-Bro 2.25 inch
Fuel: Approximately 8-ounce tank,
Power Master 15% premium
Radio system: JR 9303 transmitter, JR
NES 517 and Expert Electronics SL571
servos
Ready-to-fly weight: 4.25 pounds
Flight duration: Exceeds 10 minutes
Test Model Details
+
• Built-up, all-wood frame and wing.
• Aluminum wing tube through fuselage
and wing makes extremely strong
structure.
• Prepainted fiberglass cowl.
• Hardware and fuel tank included.
• Clear plastic canopy.
• Designed with landing gear (tricycle
type).
• Striking trim scheme.
• Assembles in just a few hours. -• Spinner not included.
• Engine cowl was too small to fit over
fuselage as instructed. (Modified to fit.)
• Canopy is hard to install as instructed.
• Instructions omitted for securing tri
stock to bottom of stabilizer up
against vertical fin.
Pluses and Minuses
Another Shrike to His Credit
Joe Beshar with his Shrike that used a Toki
.18 ducted-fan engine.
up, the pictures are so good you might
think they are all you should need for
assembly. It’s best to follow the text. How
do I know? You guessed it.
The fuselage is a box design with the
horizontal stabilizer built into it. The wing
halves mount to the side of the fuselage
with an aluminum wing tube that passes
through the fuselage and wing root spars
extending through the load-bearing part of
each wing panel. Each panel then bolts in
place at the root and pins in place with a
dowel.
This model is built like many
removable-wing designs, and I was tempted
to keep it that way. The instructions have
you securing the wings and using epoxy for
a permanent installation.
I fired off an E-mail to the people at
Lanier and asked what they thought about
keeping the wings removable; they
advised against it. They recommended that
I follow the instructions and epoxy the
wings on.
The instructions also guard against too
much speed and use of throttle control to
prevent structural failure, but I wanted to
push the airplane for as much speed as I
could get, so making the wings permanent
was probably a good idea anyway.
The vertical fins attach strongly to the
fuselage tail area using a slot-and-notch
design with triangle stock underneath for
added support. The instructions omitted
the installation of the tri-stock
reinforcement, so don’t forget. The angles
are already set in the notches of the fins,
so just check to make sure they are
installed correctly with left and right sides.
No extra fitting was required.
When I tried to install the engine cowl
I found that it had been molded too small
to fit over the firewall and the front of the
fuselage. I tried pushing the rounded
corners in on the fuselage to get the cowl
started on, but the fiberglass started to
crack. Even if I could get it slightly over
the firewall, there would not have been
enough surface area to mount the screws
into the fuselage.
I mounted a couple pieces of hardwood
to the front of the firewall for the screws to
attach into and inlet the bottom of the cowl
so I could get the top and sides covering
the front edge of the fuselage. This worked
out well and allowed a good-looking
installation that was strong enough not to
rip out from vibration and other forces.
The top of the fuselage where the
canopy needs to mount is flat but tapers
nose to tail. The canopy has nothing
sticking up or around to attach to the
fuselage. The canopy must be cut out and
shaped to fit the top of the fuselage tightly.
I laid a full sheet of fine sandpaper (grit
side up) across the top of the fuselage and
sanded the canopy down to fit. Then I used
a razor blade to trim off all the plastic that
melts and balls up around the bottom edge
on the canopy.
After a final fitting I cleaned
everything off with alcohol and laid a bead
of canopy glue around the inside bottom
edge of the canopy. When I laid the
canopy on the fuselage, the plan was for
the glue to flow down around the bottom
edge, making a uniform joint all around
the inside edge to the fuselage. It worked
well, with minimum excess glue to clean
off.
I taped the canopy down and left it to
dry overnight. The joint looked good, but
for added insurance I placed a piece of
narrow blue electrical tape I found at a
local hardware store around the canopy-tofuselage
joint. This gave me a custom
look, and I felt better that the canopy
would stay on at Mach 10.
I finished by following the remaining
instructions and set up the CG and control
throws as recommended, with plans to
make the control throws higher later.
Take some time and go over all the trim
with a hot trim iron—especially at the
front edges. All the trim started blowing
off the review model after several flights,
but because everything looked so good out
of the box I did not go over it like I should
have.
Flying: I had to wait quite awhile after
finishing the build for decent enough
weather to get great photos that would
show off the Shrike’s trim scheme. The
weather finally broke, and I was ready to
get this baby into the air, so to the field I
went.
With the O.S. .46 FX, 15%
nitromethane, and a 10 x 6 Master
Airscrew propeller, the takeoff roll was
short. After a roughly 20-foot rollout to
see what ground handling was like, I hit
the throttle and the Shrike leaped into the
air.
Acceleration and climbout were
impressive. I banked right and turned
around for a trim pass. Everything looked
good, so I dove down to the runway for a
full-speed pass. The Shrike screamed past
at a speed that must have exceeded 100
mph, and then I pulled up into a rolling
unlimited vertical climb. Woo-hoo!
Stability was good, with all control
inputs effective. The one thing I missed
was the rudder (the Shrike doesn’t have
one), so I couldn’t correct for a true
vertical line. Not having that input will
throw you at first if you use the rudder for
more than landing correction, but after a
few flights you won’t miss it too much
except in a crosswind.
If the Shrike’s wings are level when
you enter a vertical line, it will continue
straight up until it’s a dot in the sky. Slow
flight and landings are completely
uneventful; just throttle back on the
downwind leg, make your turn, allow for
any crosswind, and settle in for a nice,
shallow glide path to touchdown.
After several flights, and some egging
on from the pits, I started wanting more
speed. I did not want to put out the money
for a high-dollar Pylon engine, so I
tweaked what I had to get more
performance.
I removed the landing gear to get rid of
drag (and to increase the cool factor). I
installed wire skids made from scrap out of
the junk box. It looked close enough in
diameter to the original, so I put it in a vise
and bent it to match the OEM gear less the
axle portion and the wheels. There was no
need to get out the custom benders or the
micrometer; close is good enough.
I installed the skids in the same place as
the stock landing gear. I had to put
something out on the bottom of the wing to
protect the servos hanging down; if I
wanted to put the gear back on, everything
was there for a quick field changeover.
I played around with propellers. I knew
I could easily come down in propeller
diameter and go up in pitch or stay with the
6 pitch and get more rpm. I tried a 9 x 6
and things improved slightly, and then I
tried a buddy’s APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Racing propeller. Everyone on the
flightline saw a big jump in speed—
especially in the turns.
Before the Shrike would slow slightly
in the turn and start to catch up to the
models with racing engines on the
straightaway. With the Pylon propeller it
pulled the same speed all the way around
the course and looked great without the
gear hanging down.
I changed out mufflers. I ended up
using a Macs one-piece pipe-style muffler
(manufacturer’s stock number 6590) that
gave me roughly 1,200 more rpm, and it
looked good. A tuned pipe or a hotter
engine would have been another option,
but I wanted to get more performance out
of what most of us would have laying
around.
Give the Shrike 40 ARF a try, and you too
could take care of your need for speed. If
you love it as much as I do and a few
friends catch the same itch (as mine did),
every day at the field could turn into race
day! MA
Nick Schriefer
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Lanier RC
Box 458
Oakwood GA 30566
(770) 532-6401
www.lanierrc.com
Products Used in Review:
JR and Expert:
Horizon Hobby Inc.
www.horizonhobby.com
O.S. Engines
www.osengines.com
Du-Bro
www.dubro.com
APC Props
www.apcprop.com
Master Airscrew
www.masterairscrew.com
Macs Products
www.macspro.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/02
Page Numbers: 65,66,67,68,70
Even with the absence of rudders, the
Shrike 40 can hold a knife edge fairly well
at high speed. Mark Lanterman photo.
The 1/2-inch black-and-white checkerboard
covering on the bottom offers excellent
visual contrast. Lanterman photo.
IF YOU HAVE been flying for a while
and have built several RC airplanes, you
have probably settled on a certain type of
aircraft you like. Many times we find
ourselves guilty of taking only our favorite
models to the field week after week. But
even if you fly IMAC (International
Miniature Aerobatic Club) sequences or 3-
D Pro Bro style, it’s fun to fly something
new.
I love to fly 3-D—and as close to the
ground as I can without planting balsa
wood—or trying to fly a good sequence or
even the occasional straight line, but most
of us deep down have a need for speed.
Mine was piqued when I was asked to
review the Shrike 40 ARF from Lanier RC.
The Shrike is a twin-verticalstabilizer,
delta-wing sport
model with an elevator
instead of elevons. It looks
like the big brother to
the Shrike 15
that has been
around for a few years. When I built my
15-size Shrike I used a bushing O.S. .25
FP engine, and it was a blast to fly, but it
was a kit that required building and
covering.
Now you can have the fun of a bigger,
heart-pounding Shrike in ARF form, with a
wild-looking trim scheme. You can have it
built in a couple of nights, working on it at
your leisure.
If you really want to get serious about
finishing the Shrike 40, put in a full day
Saturday and you could be flying on
Sunday. All you need for a good
adrenaline rush is a strong .46 engine, a
good radio system, propeller, spinner, and
fuel.
I had to leave the airplane stock for the
initial test flights and photo shoot, and it
flew great. But after having approximately
20 flights on it I wanted it to go faster, so I
made some changes to the setup to
increase its performance. I will explain
that later. For now let’s look at the design.
A few of the major differences between
the Shrike 15 and the new Shrike 40 ARF,
besides the latter being bigger, are that the
40 uses landing gear and a separate
servo on each aileron. This
allows takeoffs and landings to
be like those of a traditional
sport model. With a computer
radio and individual aileron servos,
differential can be programmed in so those
perfect jetlike axial rolls can be achieved.
The 40 looks like a jet and can deliver
all the unlimited vertical aileron rolls and
100-plus mph speed passes you can
handle. It has all the fun of a jet without
the expense.
Rolls on high rate are fast. (Did I write
“fast”? I mean they’re a blur.) You can’t
begin to count the rolls, so dial them down
to the manufacturer’s recommendations
and work on your stick timing until you
get used to them.
On the flip side, the Shrike 40 will also
fly around slowly if you want it to; just
dial in some exponential. Fly it on low
rates and you will think it’s a trainer. But
why would you
want to do that?
Construction:
When I opened
the box I was
The larger Shrike 40 benefits from the original in that it has wide tricycle landing gear that is steerable.
66 MODEL AVIATION
A 2.25-inch spinner is required to complete the front end. A 10 x 6
propeller is good for sport flying, but the APC Pylon-style
propellers provide higher performance.
The interior space of the fuselage is maximized since the wing
halves are glued to the outside. Rudder is used for nose steering
only.
Photos by the author except as noted
Patience with a Dremel Moto-Tool will yield
a nice-looking engine opening. A T-fitting
between the intake line aids in fueling.
Hardwood rails were added to the front of
the firewall for mounting the four cowl
screws. The fuel tank was mounted as
close to the CG as possible.
Inside the Shrike’s fuselage the 4.8-volt battery is located aft,
between the fins. The receiver will be mounted at the rear of the
hatch area.
To accurately fit the canopy to the fuselage, tape 220-grit
sandpaper to the fuselage and run the canopy over the top until
flush.
The included fuel tank provides enough
fuel for more than 10 minutes of flight. It
was necessary to trim the former for
installation.
RC/56 canopy glue was generously applied to the thin canopy
edges to help build a strong joint. The glue will be crystal clear
when dry.
surprised to see how good the covering and trim looked. The trim
was expertly applied with no visible bubbles or wrinkles. The red,
white, and blue covering with the black lighting bolt and
checkerboard accents was striking and the Shrike 40 looked fast
just sitting in the box.
All covered parts were bagged and secured nicely. All
hardware was packaged separately per application, which makes
things easy to find when you need them.
The instruction booklet was extremely good, with pictures
detailing each part of the assembly process. For those of us who
don’t like to read the instructions until after we screw something
February 2007 67
Upon receipt of the first overseas
shipment of Shrike 40 ARFs, Bubba
Spivey of Lanier RC sent me a unit and
asked if I would review the product. I was
elated because this was much different
from any of the reviews I have been
involved with in the past; I designed the
Shrike.
Its history encompasses an interesting
evolution I would like to share—somewhat
on a soapbox, but I will try to be humble.
It all started in 1993, when MA
published my White Electrician design that
was powered with an AstroFlight Cobalt
05 motor powered by seven 800 mAh
battery cells. Many modelers who built it
nudged me for a nitromethane version.
Thus I addressed the possibility and
designed one that I tested for .10-.25 cu.
in. two-stroke engine power.
Recognized for the design’s
outstanding performance, it was published
in the August 1993 MA as The Wet
Electrician. Soon in the field it was flown
with engines as large as .40 cu. in.
In 1996 Lanier RC recognized the
model’s character, expressed interest in the
design, and sought to produce a builder’s
kit of the nitro version. However, the
company was sensitive to the “White
Electrician” name since electric-powered
RC models were in their infancy and not
very popular at the time.
Understanding Lanier’s concern I
changed the model’s name to the “Shrike.”
The star was born, and a kit was produced
and marketed successfully with an initial
wingspan of 35.5 inches. Soon thereafter it
was scaled up to 43.25 inches and released
as the Shrike 40 for 40-sized engines—the
size reviewed here.
In 1998 I designed a reduced-sized
electric-powered version of the model for
a Speed 400 motor or nitro-powered
Norvel .061 engine. Flying Models
magazine published it in the February
1998 issue as the “Shrike 400.” All the
Shrike versions to that date were basically
hand launched since the front wheel was
not steerable.
In 2005 a compatible Tri-Pod-type
landing-gear dolly was designed. It could
be left on the ground to separate at takeoff
or remain in flight strapped to the model.
That version was published in the August
2005 R/C Report magazine. Using the Tri-
Pod landing gear for takeoff enabled one
to fly the “Ducted Fan Shrike” powered
with the Nitro Toki .18 ducted-fan engine.
I went on to enlarge the design by
scaling it up to a wingspan of 78 inches;
the “Giant Shrike” was born. It was
initially flown with a two-stroke 1.20
nitro engine and subsequently flown
successfully with a RAM 750 turbine.
You can see this version in flight
at www.rcairgallery.com.
My review of Lanier’s offering of my
design confirmed that it was well
manufactured with close tolerances
between all parts, making it easy to
complete. All hardware supplied was of
good quality. The instructions gave full
details on control-surface setups.
Oversights are minor, such as the
spinner diameter required. The Shrike 40
ARF provides incredibly good flight
characteristics for sport or aerobatic
performance. MA
—Joe Beshar
[email protected]
Model type: Sport delta-wing ARF
Pilot skill level: Intermediate
Wingspan: 43.25 inches
Wing area: 455 square inches
Overall length: 33.25 inches
Fuselage length: 28.5 inches
Flying weight: 4.75-5.75 pounds
Engine: Two-stroke .40-.46 glow
Radio: Four channels with five standard
servos
Construction: Built-up, all-wood frame
and wing
Covering/finish: Premium iron-on
covering in red, white, and blue with
black lightning bolt trim and checkerboard
vertical tail tips and bottom
Price: $124.99 street
Specifications
Engine used: O.S. .46 FX
Propeller: Master Airscrew 10 x 6 and
APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Spinner: Red Du-Bro 2.25 inch
Fuel: Approximately 8-ounce tank,
Power Master 15% premium
Radio system: JR 9303 transmitter, JR
NES 517 and Expert Electronics SL571
servos
Ready-to-fly weight: 4.25 pounds
Flight duration: Exceeds 10 minutes
Test Model Details
+
• Built-up, all-wood frame and wing.
• Aluminum wing tube through fuselage
and wing makes extremely strong
structure.
• Prepainted fiberglass cowl.
• Hardware and fuel tank included.
• Clear plastic canopy.
• Designed with landing gear (tricycle
type).
• Striking trim scheme.
• Assembles in just a few hours. -• Spinner not included.
• Engine cowl was too small to fit over
fuselage as instructed. (Modified to fit.)
• Canopy is hard to install as instructed.
• Instructions omitted for securing tri
stock to bottom of stabilizer up
against vertical fin.
Pluses and Minuses
Another Shrike to His Credit
Joe Beshar with his Shrike that used a Toki
.18 ducted-fan engine.
up, the pictures are so good you might
think they are all you should need for
assembly. It’s best to follow the text. How
do I know? You guessed it.
The fuselage is a box design with the
horizontal stabilizer built into it. The wing
halves mount to the side of the fuselage
with an aluminum wing tube that passes
through the fuselage and wing root spars
extending through the load-bearing part of
each wing panel. Each panel then bolts in
place at the root and pins in place with a
dowel.
This model is built like many
removable-wing designs, and I was tempted
to keep it that way. The instructions have
you securing the wings and using epoxy for
a permanent installation.
I fired off an E-mail to the people at
Lanier and asked what they thought about
keeping the wings removable; they
advised against it. They recommended that
I follow the instructions and epoxy the
wings on.
The instructions also guard against too
much speed and use of throttle control to
prevent structural failure, but I wanted to
push the airplane for as much speed as I
could get, so making the wings permanent
was probably a good idea anyway.
The vertical fins attach strongly to the
fuselage tail area using a slot-and-notch
design with triangle stock underneath for
added support. The instructions omitted
the installation of the tri-stock
reinforcement, so don’t forget. The angles
are already set in the notches of the fins,
so just check to make sure they are
installed correctly with left and right sides.
No extra fitting was required.
When I tried to install the engine cowl
I found that it had been molded too small
to fit over the firewall and the front of the
fuselage. I tried pushing the rounded
corners in on the fuselage to get the cowl
started on, but the fiberglass started to
crack. Even if I could get it slightly over
the firewall, there would not have been
enough surface area to mount the screws
into the fuselage.
I mounted a couple pieces of hardwood
to the front of the firewall for the screws to
attach into and inlet the bottom of the cowl
so I could get the top and sides covering
the front edge of the fuselage. This worked
out well and allowed a good-looking
installation that was strong enough not to
rip out from vibration and other forces.
The top of the fuselage where the
canopy needs to mount is flat but tapers
nose to tail. The canopy has nothing
sticking up or around to attach to the
fuselage. The canopy must be cut out and
shaped to fit the top of the fuselage tightly.
I laid a full sheet of fine sandpaper (grit
side up) across the top of the fuselage and
sanded the canopy down to fit. Then I used
a razor blade to trim off all the plastic that
melts and balls up around the bottom edge
on the canopy.
After a final fitting I cleaned
everything off with alcohol and laid a bead
of canopy glue around the inside bottom
edge of the canopy. When I laid the
canopy on the fuselage, the plan was for
the glue to flow down around the bottom
edge, making a uniform joint all around
the inside edge to the fuselage. It worked
well, with minimum excess glue to clean
off.
I taped the canopy down and left it to
dry overnight. The joint looked good, but
for added insurance I placed a piece of
narrow blue electrical tape I found at a
local hardware store around the canopy-tofuselage
joint. This gave me a custom
look, and I felt better that the canopy
would stay on at Mach 10.
I finished by following the remaining
instructions and set up the CG and control
throws as recommended, with plans to
make the control throws higher later.
Take some time and go over all the trim
with a hot trim iron—especially at the
front edges. All the trim started blowing
off the review model after several flights,
but because everything looked so good out
of the box I did not go over it like I should
have.
Flying: I had to wait quite awhile after
finishing the build for decent enough
weather to get great photos that would
show off the Shrike’s trim scheme. The
weather finally broke, and I was ready to
get this baby into the air, so to the field I
went.
With the O.S. .46 FX, 15%
nitromethane, and a 10 x 6 Master
Airscrew propeller, the takeoff roll was
short. After a roughly 20-foot rollout to
see what ground handling was like, I hit
the throttle and the Shrike leaped into the
air.
Acceleration and climbout were
impressive. I banked right and turned
around for a trim pass. Everything looked
good, so I dove down to the runway for a
full-speed pass. The Shrike screamed past
at a speed that must have exceeded 100
mph, and then I pulled up into a rolling
unlimited vertical climb. Woo-hoo!
Stability was good, with all control
inputs effective. The one thing I missed
was the rudder (the Shrike doesn’t have
one), so I couldn’t correct for a true
vertical line. Not having that input will
throw you at first if you use the rudder for
more than landing correction, but after a
few flights you won’t miss it too much
except in a crosswind.
If the Shrike’s wings are level when
you enter a vertical line, it will continue
straight up until it’s a dot in the sky. Slow
flight and landings are completely
uneventful; just throttle back on the
downwind leg, make your turn, allow for
any crosswind, and settle in for a nice,
shallow glide path to touchdown.
After several flights, and some egging
on from the pits, I started wanting more
speed. I did not want to put out the money
for a high-dollar Pylon engine, so I
tweaked what I had to get more
performance.
I removed the landing gear to get rid of
drag (and to increase the cool factor). I
installed wire skids made from scrap out of
the junk box. It looked close enough in
diameter to the original, so I put it in a vise
and bent it to match the OEM gear less the
axle portion and the wheels. There was no
need to get out the custom benders or the
micrometer; close is good enough.
I installed the skids in the same place as
the stock landing gear. I had to put
something out on the bottom of the wing to
protect the servos hanging down; if I
wanted to put the gear back on, everything
was there for a quick field changeover.
I played around with propellers. I knew
I could easily come down in propeller
diameter and go up in pitch or stay with the
6 pitch and get more rpm. I tried a 9 x 6
and things improved slightly, and then I
tried a buddy’s APC 8.5 x 7.25 Pylon
Racing propeller. Everyone on the
flightline saw a big jump in speed—
especially in the turns.
Before the Shrike would slow slightly
in the turn and start to catch up to the
models with racing engines on the
straightaway. With the Pylon propeller it
pulled the same speed all the way around
the course and looked great without the
gear hanging down.
I changed out mufflers. I ended up
using a Macs one-piece pipe-style muffler
(manufacturer’s stock number 6590) that
gave me roughly 1,200 more rpm, and it
looked good. A tuned pipe or a hotter
engine would have been another option,
but I wanted to get more performance out
of what most of us would have laying
around.
Give the Shrike 40 ARF a try, and you too
could take care of your need for speed. If
you love it as much as I do and a few
friends catch the same itch (as mine did),
every day at the field could turn into race
day! MA
Nick Schriefer
[email protected]
Manufacturer/Distributor:
Lanier RC
Box 458
Oakwood GA 30566
(770) 532-6401
www.lanierrc.com
Products Used in Review:
JR and Expert:
Horizon Hobby Inc.
www.horizonhobby.com
O.S. Engines
www.osengines.com
Du-Bro
www.dubro.com
APC Props
www.apcprop.com
Master Airscrew
www.masterairscrew.com
Macs Products
www.macspro.com