mtntopgeo

My Feedback: (12)

Nearly a couple of months ago, a member inquired (Electric-to-Glow forum)
about the possibility of converting the small AeroWorks Extra or Sukhoi. I
went to the site, took a look, & ordered both. The Sukhoi was gonna get a
Norvel .074 for power, and the Extra would have a Enya .09 installed. After
receiving the items, I opened the Sukhoi first. It was obvious I was not
the first owner. The plastic bag (for the fuse) was tore open. Checked that
item, and noticed that the fuse was bent (warped) so bad that if laid flat
on he table, each end was at least a quarter inch from the surface of the
table. I supported each end on top of two small boxes, & weighted the
middle with ; a 3 lb battery charger, a 3/8 " socket/ratchet set on top of
that, and a 3/8 drill battery pack on top of that. It still sits that way
today. The Extra was a little better. All parts were still inside their
sealed plastic bags. Opened the bag for the wing, and I noticed that it
(the wing) had a couple of patches on it. I'm now starting to change my
mind 'bout the image I had of AeroWorks. ......... Anyhow, I opened up the
motor notch so that I would have enough space for a couple of pieces of 3/8
" square, bass wood (engine mounts). once the glue dried, added a couple
(one on each side) of 1/16" birch ply doublers. Actually, this was the only
mod that the plane underwent. After this, I slapped the rest of the pieces
together. ..................As usual, other than the page with the CG &
throws listed, best to throw the rest of the manual away. The first thing
listed was the installation of the wing. (I just have to wonder if the guy
who wrote this ever tried to follow his own instructions during an
assembly) Actually the wing is 'bout the last thing that you'd want to
install. Remember, the wing is glued in place. Once it's there, IT'S THERE
!!! Much easier to install elev. servo, rudder servo, one aileron &
respective servo, engine, fuel tank, & throttle servo, & the servo
extensions for the tail feather servos before even thinking 'bout the wing.
Following instructions will double your building time. Worst part of the
build was trying to fish the tail feather servo extensions through the
fuse. Massive obstructions.!!! I even wrapped taped around the string &
plug to give a pointed leading edge. Finally ended up putting a very short
90 at the end of a length of piano wire & rodding the passageway out. This
was so painstaking that I considered hooking up the drill to the piano wire
& "let 'er rip". Probably would have been catastrophic.!!! Looking back
(hindsight), best way would have been to get a long extension, cut the plug
off one end, & solder as necessary when in place. .................... AT
THE FIELD. .....A little concerned; even though I take some time (& pain)
to mechanically get all the servos & their respective control surfaces
dead-on without any electronic trim, I like to have another member standing
by, to trim the model out during the first flight. Well, nobody else at the
field. I grab the transmitter, go to DUAL RATES, & cut down the gain on the
low rates even further than I had it. Then go to the trim gain & increase
it by 100 %. Even though the Enya had been sitting in a drawer for several
years, it fired right up. Let it warm up a bit, tweek the hi-speed needle a
tad, & place on the runway. The take-off, flight, & landing can be
described as so;.......... "Beautiful, Just Plum F***ing Beautiful". 1st;,
take-off was sweet. Had to use a bit of rudder, but expected that, with
that goofy wire landing gear. 2nd Once in the air, the plane was "on
rails". Absolutely no trim was needed; not even one click on any control
surface. (That's a first for me).Beautiful loops & rolls & more than ample
power. I always use a 7x4 prop on the Enya .09, but here, I was concerned
'bout the big wing, and the fuel tank, battery, & exposed engine hanging
off the side of the profile fuse adding a load of drag., so I bolted on an
8x3. My concerns were unfounded. The 8x3 hauled the plane around as fast as
I remember any other plane with a 7x4.It did not have unlimited verticle,
but these ancient eyes were straining when gravity won out. (The 20 OZ dry
weight sure don't hurt anything either. Landing was a non-event. Nice
predictable glide, no sign of tip stall as the air speed got low. 2nd
flight was 'bout the same, 'cept that I was a bit more daring. About a min.
into the third flight, I lost throttle control. I'm trying to remember if I
went through everything twice; keepers, servo arm bolt, etc... Well, it
takes the little Enya 'bout a day & a half to burn 2 1/2 OZs of fuel with
the throttle at less that 50%. Lucky, no wind, & no problem keeping the
plane under control. Dead Stick was another non-issue. Turns out that
nothing broke/fell off. The carb barrel valve was seized. Took it apart
after the drive back home. The barrel was all rust coated. Wonder how it
moved for the linkage set up, & for the first couple of flights.
............................ Well, by now I'm sure that I've got all of you
half bored to death, so I'll sigh off............... if I can figure out
how to attach some pics, I'll do so. ..................... Happy flying.
.......................... George K

Steve Westphal

I'd have sent it back in the first place. Too much work for a piece of crap!!!!!