JoeMamma

Getting my Reactor ready for springtime. Saw something a little confusing to me concerning fuel tank placement........gas or glow ?

I'm using a DLE 55 gasser. On page 23 of the manual (fig. 33 on top left) it shows the tank placement mounted rearward about 8-10 inches from the firewall. Velcro is used to retain the tank. This fuel tank placement is listed under the gas powered engine section.

On page 25 (fig. 17 right column, center) it shows the tank placement in the conventional area immediately behind the firewall. The tank is retained using rubber bands. This fuel tank placement is listed under the glow powered engine section.

Can I really place my tank that far rearward as shown with the gas powered section ? If I can, this has got to be good because CG position should not drastically change as the tank runs empty.

Guess I'm just used to mounting all of my tanks immediately behind the firewall.

Are you fellah's finding this particular plane to be nose-heavy or tail-heavy when using gas engines ?

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe M.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

Mount your fuel tank as far aft as possible. I actually made a small platform and mounted both batterys back behind the canopy. I had a DA 50 on mine and it still had 4oz of lead in the tail to get close to neutral balance. I used a 14 oz fuel tank too.

JoeMamma

Thanks for the info. I haven't actually done a comparison, but your DA 50 and my DLE 55 are probably about the same weight, so my CG will probably also wind up being nose heavy.

Yeah......that supplied fuel tank looks too large. I should be able to get in at least a 1-2 hour flight. I'll definitely be picking up a smaller tank.

I fly mostly glow, so as far as moving the tank rearward, I'm just used to mounting all of my tanks immediately behind the firewall. By design, every one of my gas powered planes has the fuel tank mounted immediately behind the firewall. I guess I never noticed or realized you could mount the tank that far rearward if using gas, so thanks for the schooling.

I do have one 15-year-old pattern plane that's YS 1.20 powered. I understand with most YS engines you can place the fuel tank back in the tail if need be. That's because the fuel system is under a small pressure at all times.........even after the engine is shut down.

I really like placing my tank at or near the CG line. You don't have any fuel supply problems with your DA 50 ?

Thanks Again,
Joe M.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

Nearly all gas engines use carbs that have a built in pump that draws the fuel. I like to mount my tanks right at the CG, but that's not always possible. I strongly advise adding some other hi-visibility color to the bottom of your Reactor, or plan on keeping the plane in pretty close. I lost mine due to disorientation.

JoeMamma

Thanks again ! Yeah.......disorientation.........I hear Ya. I hear that word from a lot of the 60+ crowd I fly with. I'm also 60+ and use that word quite often.

I have one 62" .60 size plane that I covered the top with bright yellow and the bottom with black.........no more disorientation !

Did you get that rare NC snowstorm/windstorm ?

Joe M.

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

Yes. They are hardly rare, for our area, but 6-8" is more than we usually get. Most of the snow is already gone now due to the warm temp.

JoeMamma

Almost 5 months have past and no new posts ?? Appears this thread is dyin' off.

Got my DLE 55 fired up and did the preliminary adjustments last Thursday. Took her out on Friday for the maiden.

All I can say is WOW ! Don't think I've ever had such a great maiden. Nice straight takeoff, nice scale-like liftoff and climb out. Took just two clicks of up elevator and three clicks of right aileron to get her level. Set the initial CG slightly tail heavy at 7 1/2 inches.

Took her up high and into the wind for a slow speed stall test. Pulled the throttle to idle with almost full up elevator and she just drops her nose and keeps on flying without a hint of dropping a wing. A little throttle gets her flying again. Real nice !

It flies great inverted with just a hint of down elevator.

Came out at 17 pounds 8 ounces with both batteries mounted inside the rear of the fuse just to the rear of the canopy, and 3 ounces of lead added to the tail.

I did two flights and during both landings I could not believe how nice she settles down. Did I really land my Reactor or did the Reactor just make me look good ?

Gonna like this one !

Anybody out there in the peanut gallery still flying theirs ? Ya got's tuh be lovin' it !

Joe M.

Super08

My Feedback: (2)

I sold mine to a good friend that finally creamed it when a high speed KE pass got a little too low. They are a great flying model.

JoeMamma

A WARNING, CHECK ALL THOSE FUEL LINE AND FUEL TANK CONNECTIONS !!

I've put 20 flights on my Reactor in the past couple weeks. Great flyer !

The DLE 55 was running great and the plane performing flawlessly until the engine started to sputter and then quit.

After landing, found out the rubber stopper popped out of the fuel tank.....my fault....I mismatched a different brand fuel tank with a different brand rubber stopper. I was attempting to use a smaller tank to save some weight. The stopper appeared to be tight and leak-free when it was first installed, but then I discovered the stopper I used was not deep enough to spread out inside the fuel tank after tightening the stopper screw.

There's a LOT of foam inside the Reactor. Unfortunately, gasoline also found all of this foam as it splashed everywhere. Bottom of canopy is ruined. Bottom rear of fuse now feels like a big pile of mushy Jello. Fuselage is not repairable and is now junk.

Over the years I've either had fuel tanks split, or had fuel lines pop off glow engines, but they all had wood fuses and wings. Took a little work, but they were always repairable.

Ever tried dumping gasoline into a foam coffee cup ? Picture that then try to picture my Reactor. Kinda looks like it melted.

I'm picking up another Reactor tomorrow. Lessons learned ? Get a matching fuel tank and gas stopper. Due to the fact a lot of foam is used in the fuse, my next Reactor will be equipped with barbed fuel lines that are all clamped. I also believe large plastic sandwich bags are somewhat fuel-proof.......for a short time at least. I'm going to try to fit the fuel tank into at least two of these bags.

It's just too nice a plane to give up on, so it's time to reorder.

Joe M.