Legacy Aviation Muscle Coupe

This great-looking scale aircraft is a blast to fly.

- John Kauk

Extreme Flight RC is well known in the 3D aerobatics world for light, well-made models capable of the most extreme aerobatic maneuvers. For scale enthusiasts, its Legacy Aviation brand offers a range of civilian general aviation and vintage models. At eWeek last year, I watched a new Legacy Aviation model fly. It looked an awful lot like a Monocoupe 90 to me, and I really liked the sedate, graceful way it flew. Designed for relaxing sport flying, it’s called the “Muscle Coupe,” and I picked one up at The Toledo Show earlier this year. I also got one of the recommended Torque Revolution motors since I’ve had good service from the same motor in the Bushmaster, and I knew it would provide plenty of power for the lighter Muscle Coupe. I don’t often fly from water, so I passed on the optional fiberglass floats, but I can say they’re beautifully made and quick and easy to install.

UNIQUE FEATURES

As I unloaded the well-packed box, I couldn’t help but notice how nicely the parts were covered. On every piece, the covering was tight and unwrinkled, and the stripes and graphics were perfectly applied. As I unpacked the parts, I ran a covering iron over all the seams and stripes just to make sure they were well sealed. I then took a bottle of thin CA and went over all the wood joints I could reach, especially those in the motor box and forward fuselage.

Assembly starts with the wings, and there are no surprises in the process. Fiberglass control horns are inserted into slots using medium CA and then the flaps and ailerons are hinged with CA hinges. Servo installation is straightforward, following the directions in the manual. I used Hitec HS-7245MH servos all around, for a total of six servos. I found the anodized aluminum servo arms that came with the servos to be perfect for all the control surfaces. The kit-provided ball-link control rods are great, making a strong and tight control linkage.