Great Planes CAP 232

Great Planes CAP 232
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July 2002
The CAP 232 from Great Planes has filled a niche for me. I was in search of an easy-to-transport small plane for times when a bigger plane is just too much trouble

The ".40 size" CAP 232 from Great Planes

I generally fly a little bigger plane than this CAP 232. I had ended up with the partially built kit in a swap over the winter. The fuselage had been built heavy and there was not alot I could do about it. And I had seen other small CAPs fly and I was unimpressed. Even though this plane is well thought of and I had the after-market fiberglass cowl, I I just was not real eager to get started. I read the box, read the directions and then shelved the thing for awhile. While doing even more swapping and trading over that winter I found myself with virtually everything I needed to complete the airplane. I now had good ball bearing servos, a receiver, covering material and an engine. The only thing I would need to buy was a Pitts muffler for the cowled engine. I ran out of excuses and now felt obligated to complete the plane.

Over the course of a few weeks I went ahead and built, covered and rigged the plane. The power comes from an O/S .61 FX that was almost new. The CAP was finished in January 2002 and ready for show and tell. But around Chicago finishing one in January this means you'll be waiting to maiden the plane. Nobody flies new planes in January here.

In the Spring I finally got the thing flown. It is powered by a .61FX 2-stroke glow engine. I had read that this plane would fly well on a .46, but I was skeptical. I also knew that with the rudder servo mounted in the tail, this plane would come out tail heavy on a 46 and I would be shifting weight around anyway. The .61 weighed more and seemed like a better choice. The plane CG'd on the rear edge of the kit recommendation. Anyway, after I got to the field I gave it another pre flight inspection. After a radio range check I taxied out and took off. My trim corrections were small. The plane felt a little hot, but it was flying straight and reasonably true. Stall tests demonstrated that it would drop a wing upon stalling instead of just mushing forward, but no big deal. That was expected. Just don't expect to float this one in for a nose-up three point landing.

For this CAP 232 I have been in search of a true flying acrobat that can fly with a degree of precision. I wanted uplines and downlines to be straight and I wanted it to fly the same inverted as upright. I wanted good vertical power. I had to change a few things. First I changed the thrustline of the engine. I added right thrust until it tracked great on the upline. Then I added down thrust until there was no elevator trim change between upright and inverted flight. I switched props around until I found the best for my setup and I cut more cowl away on the underside. The .61 was getting hot.

Now I have a very true flying plane in a small package. The power to weight ratio and the wing loading is not there for true 3D style or fun-fly type flight. And although it is a little eager to snap with too much elevator, it is fun to fly. My all up weight on this plane is kind of embarrassing. I am close to six and a half pounds.

A few specs and some of the equipment:

Wingspan is 58", length is 52"

Ball bearing servo's everywhere, high torque on the rudder

OS .61 fx 2-stroke engine, Slimline Pitts muffler

After market carbon fiber landing gear from Moose carbon fiber

13x4 wide APC prop (tried others, this was the winner)