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50CC REVOLVER!!

Old 01-07-2013, 08:13 AM
  #426  
wjcalhoun
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

S&S
Thanks; i'll keep watch on the muffler.
Old 01-07-2013, 11:57 AM
  #427  
microdon2
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Yes, but better not keep an eye on it - that'd burn.
Old 01-14-2013, 04:03 AM
  #428  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

My son and I bought Revolvers for each other for Christmas. We had two spare DA-50R's laying around so that seemed like a good use for them. Fit and finish are excellent. I surface-mounted my aileron servos and used carbon-fiber rods with 4/40 titanium ends and heavy duty 4/40 ball links on ailerons and elevators. 24 oz. Roto-Flow tank with two LiFe batteries for electrons. Finished weight without fuel is 19 lbs 4 oz.
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Old 01-14-2013, 05:45 AM
  #429  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

John
Sounds like a nice setup; your weight is right about where mine is. Why did you surface mount rather than internally mount your aileron servos?
Let us know about your maidens. What prop do you swing on the DA-50?

Old 01-14-2013, 05:56 AM
  #430  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!


ORIGINAL: wjcalhoun

John
Sounds like a nice setup; your weight is right about where mine is. Why did you surface mount rather than internally mount your aileron servos?
Let us know about your maidens. What prop do you swing on the DA-50?

Great questions. To be able to use the carbon rods, needed a little more distance between the control horn on the aileron and the servo arm. The only way was to cut a servo-sized opening, add some plywood reinforcement and drop the servo in. It's a little more visible, but makes everything very serviceable and easily to change servos, arms, things like that. On the two elevator servos, had to flip them so the output of the servo is pointed forward on the aircraft, again, allowing for the use of the carbon fiber rods. With the servo's aligned in the stock configuration, the servo output arm and the control horn are too close. Because each titanium 4/40 rod end is over an inch long, there is not enough "length" in the stock setup. A view of the geometry when each elevator half is working shows no discernable problems or differential throw.

We will probably be using Xoar 22X8 props. I've used this size before on the DA-50's and it works well. I even have a Xoar 23X8 and may experiment with that as well.

Unfortunately, maiden flights here in SW Michigan probably won't take place until late March or early April. Warm weather up here, like we had last week, is brough on by pretty breezy south winds, and winds between 12 and 20 kts makes for poor flying weather. Besides, my trailer is in storage over the Winter and I won't have it out until near Toledo time!

I'll take some photos of the interior. I have the two LiFe batteries mounted just ahead of the wing tube, in the fuselage. The center of the CG range is at the rear of the wing tube, with the center of the wing tube itself being near the front of the CG range. Balancing with some strong nylon line around the wing tubes, the aircraft balanced spot-on. Nothing needed to be moved.
Old 01-14-2013, 11:40 AM
  #431  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Just a couple more photos of the "busines-end" and the rear showing the carbon rods and elevator servo flipped forward.
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Old 01-21-2013, 04:52 AM
  #432  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Just a couple of quick notes on the final steps of construction.

When using a DA-50, the spinner back plate to cowl space winds up to be close to 1/4 inch. That is with using 3" standoffs. 1/4" space is just a little too much of a gap. To remedy this, I cut small 1/2"X3/4" pieces of 1/8" plywood, drilled a hole and epoxied them onto the firewall, over the holes where the cowl-mount bolts go through the firewall and into blind nuts. This spaces the cowl out 1/8" and gives a good spinner-to-cowl gap.

Secondly, notice the relatively anemic bead of glue that holds the plywood cowl-mounting ring onto the rear of the fiberglass cowl. That small bead of glue is not going to hold that plywood ring to the cowl for very long. I had the GP 55cc Yak with the same ring and it needed to be reinforced after it broke free from it's thin bead of glue. To remedy this item, mix up some 30-minute epoxy and get some 1" fiberglass cloth and reinforce the inside of the cowl and ring. You'll be glad you did.
Old 01-21-2013, 06:28 AM
  #433  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Hi John
Thanks for the update.
I noted the cowl-ring/cowl joint as well, and made exactly the same repair with FG cloth and epoxy. It looks like what glue there is might be hotglue, not epoxy.

With my DLE55RA, the backplate/cowl gap is very close; it would be generous to call it 1/8", so i am happy with that aspect of the installation.

I have 6 flights on mine now; flies great, lands beautifully. I have just installed the mounting station for my Eagle Tree instrument package, so should have some flight performance data soon.

Bill
Old 01-21-2013, 11:57 AM
  #434  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Sounds great Bill. Looking forward to some of the flight data you will be collecting. Certainly is enough room in the fuselage for those items. Thinking of looking at their items this year at Toledo. Also thinking about replacing the spinner with a Tru-Turn version. The spinner on my son's R-90 looks like the final machining process was cut-short. It looks pretty rough, with some pits and dents near the tip of the cone. Loosening one screw is also a little more attractive than removing eight 4/40 hex bolts from around the base of the spinner.
Old 01-28-2013, 08:25 AM
  #435  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Ihad my R90 up for sale but Ihave decided to hang on to it. Now that Iplan to fly it more I need to find a quick way to remove the stab during transport. For those of you that remove the stab what is your process?
Old 01-29-2013, 04:13 PM
  #436  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

planejaw,
My 50cc Revolver is due to arrive on the 30th of Jan and one of my big concerns has been the pits pipes exiting the cowl.  I see what you did for your 55 RA.  I am going to use the 55 side exhaust with the Jtec pipe.  Thinking of removing enough from the side, or make holes to access the header bolts to remove and reinstall the exhaust after the cowl is in place.  I DONT want to cut the pipes short if I have anything to do with it.  Do you think this is possible without making a mess of the cowl?
I also see the extra port you made right in front of the cylinder head.  Extra cooling is always a good thing and I will consider doing the same.
Even though my Revolver will arrive tomorrow, I am out of town and will not return until this weekend.  And even then I will not have time to barely look at it.
Also, since I already have three other Revolvers and know about the landing gear issue, I will be doing a little work there.  Since they already pined the LG block as I already do, I will also be installing a metal strip across the 4 bolts tieing the two gear together.  But I still may be installing a doubbler on the firewal to tie the gear block to the firewal at it's weakest point.  The cowl ring will be in the way some so this will be limited so not to interfear with that.  Other than that I will not make any other changes to this Revolver other than the hardware they supply.
Old 01-29-2013, 04:19 PM
  #437  
microdon2
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Spridal - Curious as to why you were going to sell your Rev 90 after such a short ownership period.
Old 01-30-2013, 04:00 AM
  #438  
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planejaw,
My 50cc Revolver is due to arrive on the 30th of Jan and one of my big concerns has been the pits pipes exiting the cowl. I see what you did for your 55 RA. I am going to use the 55 side exhaust with the Jtec pipe. Thinking of removing enough from the side, or make holes to access the header bolts to remove and reinstall the exhaust after the cowl is in place. I DONT want to cut the pipes short if I have anything to do with it. Do you think this is possible without making a mess of the cowl?
I also see the extra port you made right in front of the cylinder head. Extra cooling is always a good thing and I will consider doing the same.
Even though my Revolver will arrive tomorrow, I am out of town and will not return until this weekend. And even then I will not have time to barely look at it.
Also, since I already have three other Revolvers and know about the landing gear issue, I will be doing a little work there. Since they already pined the LG block as I already do, I will also be installing a metal strip across the 4 bolts tieing the two gear together. But I still may be installing a doubbler on the firewal to tie the gear block to the firewal at it's weakest point. The cowl ring will be in the way some so this will be limited so not to interfear with that. Other than that I will not make any other changes to this Revolver other than the hardware they supply.
Actually the engine in my Revolver is a DA-50 and it has the side-mounted, inverted Pitts muffler via J-Tec. It's the "P-47" style that has a narrower and angled manifold that comes off the engine's exhaust port, so you do not have to cut up the cowl on the port side. My son and I both left our exhaust tubes intact and just cut the fiberglass cowl opening and the cowl-ring to allow the cowl to slide easily backward. And, in reality, since there is so much air-inlet area, it's actually better to have the bottom of the cowl opened up. As a rule of thumb, you should have three-times the air-exit area as you do for incoming air. Some of the cylinder does stick out into the airflow, but not a great amount, which is why I opened up an air-inlet slot in front of the cylinder. Don't forget to reinforce the cowl-to-cowl-ring joint, which appears to be lightly glued. some 30-minute epoxy and wolven fiberglass tape should do the trick for you.

Regarding the landing gear, I previously had a GP 50cc Yak 54 and found the landing gear mount was quite poorly built and at one point, I replaced the stock mount with a piece of 1/2" plywood. That helped some, but the underlying and supporting structure was where the weaknesses are. I quickly found out that wheel-landings, not three-pointers, were the best way to give the landing gear a long-life. The revolver gear mounts appear to be installed differently and reinforced unlike the Yak's was. Again, avoid any kind of "plopping-down" type of full-stall landings.
Old 02-02-2013, 05:47 PM
  #439  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

On Saturday morning I had 5 box's to open, including the Revolver 50cc. There was no damage to the outside of the shipping box so I assumed there would be none inside. But the damage I found was not from shipping, it was packaged that way. there was a strike on the lower left hand side just bening the landing gear. The monocote was torn and a stringer was cracked. Also some damage to the balsa sheeting foarming the rounded bottom side of the fuse. When I went to make the repair I noticed some CA residue, indicating an attempt was made to repair it. Also near the rudder servo tray on the bottom of the fuse another repair was made and filled with glue.
Not wanting to wait for a replacement I went ahead and made the repair and pactched the monocoat. But I will be calling Tower to let them know. They must be under treamendous pressure to fill orders or something to let this out. Otherwise I dont know how they can have such perfect work and finish, but send out patched up stuff like this.

I also ordered the midwest Aero Stand from Tower. What a piece of junk! For $105 I would have thought it would be some what well put together, but I was wrong. The tubeing is strong enough, but the designe is poor. The two sides are identical, so when they are put together the entire thing has a twist in it. I dont like it at all and I will most likely get rid of it and build something my self.



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Old 02-03-2013, 04:17 AM
  #440  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!


ORIGINAL: [email protected]

On Saturday morning I had 5 box's to open, including the Revolver 50cc. There was no damage to the outside of the shipping box so I assumed there would be none inside. But the damage I found was not from shipping, it was packaged that way. there was a strike on the lower left hand side just bening the landing gear. The monocote was torn and a stringer was cracked. Also some damage to the balsa sheeting foarming the rounded bottom side of the fuse. When I went to make the repair I noticed some CA residue, indicating an attempt was made to repair it. Also near the rudder servo tray on the bottom of the fuse another repair was made and filled with glue.
Not wanting to wait for a replacement I went ahead and made the repair and pactched the monocoat. But I will be calling Tower to let them know. They must be under treamendous pressure to fill orders or something to let this out. Otherwise I dont know how they can have such perfect work and finish, but send out patched up stuff like this.

I also ordered the midwest Aero Stand from Tower. What a piece of junk! For $105 I would have thought it would be some what well put together, but I was wrong. The tubeing is strong enough, but the designe is poor. The two sides are identical, so when they are put together the entire thing has a twist in it. I dont like it at all and I will most likely get rid of it and build something my self.
I may be wrong, yet I don't think Tower would ever see what is inside the box from Great Planes. In other words that repair was made at the factory before the plane was boxed and shipped to Tower. Others may know more about this procedure. I just think Tower has boxes and ship that to you and nothing more.

For me I would have called Great Planes and got a replacement fuselage shipped to me, however I do understand repairing it so you can get the plane ready to fly and depending on the circumstances I may have done the same thing. I normally will take photos and send them to GP support and discuss with them.

Here lately it seems that GP quality control has fallen off some and is most disturbing and especially this issue you are having with their latest Revolver fresh on the market? If I were you I would still call Great Planes as Tower may not discuss the issue at all with GP - just a thought. Please take it for whatever it is worth to you.

I hope you enjoy flying the Revolver as there are so many good things stated about it. Happy flying!
Old 02-03-2013, 04:27 PM
  #441  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

I have accepted the damage and continued on with the build. Already I am half way through the fuse build. The one thing I wanted to figure out was the cowl and pipe. I did not like the factory suggestion of cutting off the pipes at all. So I found a way to make the cut out and install the pipes after the cowl is installed. I may do more cutting away to give the cylinder head more cooling, but for nowit is done.
No time left to work on it, I am on another plane tomorrow and wil not be back until next weekend. Should be able to get some flying in and still finish up this Revolver.
So for now I will call Tower on Monday to tell them about this damage. Depending on what they say I may or may not call GP.

Her are some photo's of the cowl cut out.

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Old 02-03-2013, 04:51 PM
  #442  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

On a different subject I did reinforce the LG block of this Revolver 50cc. I have done this on my other 3 Revolvers and it works! Too keep the LG from shearing off when landing in tall grass or hitting a small object in the grass, I would suggest this. I have the Revolver 59 electric, a 70 nitro, and a 70 20cc. On two others I have sheared off the LG block until I figured out how to reinforce it properly.
Now I did see how GP pined this block in the 50cc, but in my opionion they missed the point. The pines are really in the triangle stock that the block is glued to. Not really much help if you ask me.
The way I have reinforced my LG block is to tie the leading edge of the block to the firewall a little better by applying a 1/16 ply to the firewall and pin and screw it all together with apoxy, making sure the block is pinned.
But on the 50cc the cowl ring does get in the way. So I used a wood chissle to take a 1/16th off the firewall and apply the ply with apoxy and pins and screws. The finish is flush with the firewall and a lot of strength is added to prevent only the shearing of the LG.
I will also cut a metal strip to tie the two piece gear together. A heavy bounce can generate enough force to break the LG block into two pieces. This has happen to me twice already, but not once since I added this strip to the LG.
I really dont like the two piece gear and I have suggested replacing this to GP last year.

Here are some photo's of what I did to this 50cc Revolver.
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Old 02-09-2013, 05:27 PM
  #443  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Here are a couple of pictures from my revolver build. 
Not much room under the cowl
Old 02-09-2013, 05:56 PM
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!



Wow, never seen a motor like that one. Water cooled right?

I got home Friday night and spent time flying and building. Went to put the fuel tank together and found that the supplied tubeing was 6/32 not the 5/32 needed to go with all the other parts. So tomorrow I will be looking for that so I can continue with the build. And by now I will give Great Planes a call on Monday to reveal to them all the problems I have had so far.

Decided to paint the landing gear and spinner. The spinner will need some sanding and final coat to look a little better, but I like the paint rather than the bare metal.

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Old 02-09-2013, 08:07 PM
  #445  
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Wow, never seen a motor like that one. Water cooled right?

Yep pretty rare in the states I am shooting for speed with mine. I really dont like the stock gear i am probably going to switch over to carbon gear plus a little weight savings.

Old 02-10-2013, 04:18 AM
  #446  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!


ORIGINAL: wkdbuell


ORIGINAL: [email protected]



Wow, never seen a motor like that one. Water cooled right?

Yep pretty rare in the states I am shooting for speed with mine. I really dont like the stock gear i am probably going to switch over to carbon gear plus a little weight savings.

Interesting setup, wk. Please post reports on how the bird flies once you are finished. I noticed that it appears the thrust angle is not right by looking at the cowl, but that is probably just the photos as sometimes it is hard to tell. Anyway, make sure to update us.
Old 02-10-2013, 04:50 AM
  #447  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

wkdbuel - so .... what engine IS that? (make, size, reduction gear? Water cooled?? Why is this better for speed .... )
Old 02-10-2013, 07:38 AM
  #448  
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ORIGINAL: Luchnia


ORIGINAL: wkdbuell


Yep pretty rare in the states I am shooting for speed with mine. I really dont like the stock gear i am probably going to switch over to carbon gear plus a little weight savings.

Interesting setup, wk. Please post reports on how the bird flies once you are finished. I noticed that it appears the thrust angle is not right by looking at the cowl, but that is probably just the photos as sometimes it is hard to tell. Anyway, make sure to update us.
[/quote]

I think i just looks funny because of it having that tru-turn spinner instead of the stock on but it pretty much right on may have to add like half a washer in one side it is a hair to the left.

Old 02-10-2013, 07:42 AM
  #449  
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ORIGINAL: microdon2

wkdbuel - so .... what engine IS that? (make, size, reduction gear? Water cooled?? Why is this better for speed .... )
It is a mvvs 58LC it will makes about 8.5 hp stock on pump gas. No reduction gear and yes its water cooled. so you can push it alot harder thermally will be switching it to methanol soon too and going to something like the apc 20x18 f1

Old 02-10-2013, 08:47 AM
  #450  
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Default RE: 50CC REVOLVER!!

Do you think the radiator, positioned out of the airstream, is going to conduct heat away from your coolant?

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