JeffinTD

Neato.

Post a report on how the combo works.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Heli - Your Rev 90 looks great! That Saito FG57 aint' cheap - about three times the cost of a DLE 55. Just curious - are you going for the four-stroke sound or torque? Is there a power \ torque difference from the DLE 55?

Good luck on your maiden. Looking forward to hearing about it.

Heli-NuBee

Hey microdon2 - I have been in this hobby so long that I like to try and assemble things that are different. I have several radial engines and some of the new small gassers from Saito, Evolution and NGH. I used the FG57 mainly for the sound and to be different.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (AKA Roger the radial rabbit)

Heli-NuBee

OK, maiden flights of my 50CC Revolver went well. The plane flies like it is on rails. The engine ran great and has good vertical. Landing is gentle and easy. I am quite pleased with this combination. I had two minor situations though. The exhaust is too close to the fuselage covering on the bottom and tore/burned a hole in it and the broken screw in the spinner needs to be replaced. These are very minor issues that will be resolved before the next fly day.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (AKA Roger the radial rabbit)

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

If you are able a video with sound way up would be awesome!

Bob Pastorello

My Feedback: (198)

Congrats.... that sounds like a great report! I've been lurking as I finished mine up this winter. I decided against that screw on spinner affair, and found that the 5" Dave Brown from Tower was a VERY inexpensive solution to that PITA. I haven't maidened mine yet, but it's soon to come!
Link - http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXRX34&P=ML

Heli-NuBee

Sorry but all of my attempts at videos have resulted in a lot of blue sky with some engine noise background. I just have not found anyone in our local area that can shoot a reasonable quality video. This plane and engine combo makes a great play toy and should give many hours of fun flying.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (AKA Roger the radial rabbit)

Heli-NuBee

I completed some minor repairs after the maiden flights on my 50 CC Revolver. One of the screws in the spinner broke off in installation and a second screw broke off during the maiden flights. These screws were much too soft so I replaced them with hardned 4-40x1/4" long hex head machine screws. The spinner screws should be fine now. I also repaired the hole in the bottom of the fuselage caused by the hot exhaust. I installed a bit more heat shield as well to protect the covering. Hopefully, that will solve all of the minor issues that were identified from the maiden flights. The plane is now ready for the next fly day.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (AKA Roger the radial rabbit)

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Did you happen to try flat spins. I have been considering this plane but don't want to spend the money on something that can't do flat spins, etc.

Thanks in advance for your reply!

Heli-NuBee

Nope, sorry I have not tried to do any flat spins.

Stick2000

What happen to the Revolver pilots in this tread? I'm about to start assembly of
my Revolver and was looking for some flight videos. Please post your video
if you have one.

Thanks,
Stick2K

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

I think there are a lot of videos on Youtube of the 50cc Revolver.

Stick2000

Thanks Lifer, I;ll give it a try.

wjcalhoun

Hi Lifer
My R90 has a DLE55RA, and like Bob P i replaced the stock spinner with a big Dave Brown - MUCH better.
I have reasonably aggressive throws on all surfaces (max rates about 40* ele and aileron, 60* rudder), with the CG right on the book.
The R90 will flat spin - pretty easily actually. WIth my CG and other setup, it spins about 15-20* nose down, but it is a real flat spin, not a corkscrew.

My bird will also do knife edge spins pretty well; entry is not as facile as the AW Extra 300 / DLE55, but once you hit the sweet spot with the R90, it KE spins nicely.
Pop-tops with the R90 are quite slow; doable, but not spectacular.

Snap rolls are a bit lazy, but the good news is that you can actually see the rotation in three axes. My Extras, and my SBach snap so quickly that one has to concentrate to see all the action. The R90 comes out of the snaps well, and begins to fly quickly - that is, the stalled wings that are essential to the snap roll re-establish airflow and lift quickly.

I think you will enjoy the plane.

If you want better rotation rates, or a flatter flat spin, experimenting with moving the CG aft a bit would be a place to start.

Bill

[email protected]

My Feedback: (2)

Stick2K,
If you are looking for one or two pointers on the build I do have one. the landing gear is the only weak link here. But making it stronger where it is needed is the trick. I always make a splice to tie the two piec landing gear together. also just as important is to tie the leading edge of the landing gear block to the firewall. Not the way GP did, with a triangle stock pinned with wook pins. But with a piece of ply on the front of the firewall. It is critical to pin this ply to the center leading edge of the LG block and tie this to the firewall with glue and wood thooth pics or screws. But with the cowl ring, this will need to be flushed to the firewall. Something like a door hinge is. this will all help reduce the chance of ripping off the LG if hitting a small object in the grass or keep the LG block from being broken in half by a hard landing.
I have had ALL the Revolvers and quickly learned to do this to all of them.
Let me know if you need photo's on the Revolver 50 cc on how I did this.

My Revolver 50 CC has been flying for 18 months now and is very reliable.

Stick2000

Gutzmer. thanks for landing gear tips. Will help when I get started.

Stick2K

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

wjc - any videos posted? Would love to see you fly that KE spin and the Pop top.

Mike D.

Bob Pastorello

My Feedback: (198)

I've read the different threads, and haven't seen issues reported with the 50cc gear? I have one completed, ready to maiden, and noted that the gear reinforcement seems to include two fore-aft 1/8" CF rods that go through the firewall, then through the ply landing gear plate, and into the bulkhead behind. Seems like that addition would add quite a bit in tension / shear, but of course don't know, 'cause I've not flown it.

Pondering just changing to CF gear from a 50cc Sbach - gets rid of that rearward sweep, which also must reduce the pullout forces exerted?
Looking at the two smaller Revolvers, the LG plate seems to be attached differently, and isn't recessed into the bottom of the fuse, but hard to tell from pics in manuals.

Anyone with specific info about the 50cc version and this issue?

[email protected]

My Feedback: (2)

Bob, unless they have recently changed the structure there are no CF rods in the 50cc Revolver. Or you are reffering to another aircraft. I have had 5 of these aircraft, 4 of which I still do have. And early on it has been my experience and the experience of at least 3 others at my club to have had problems with this gear. So my advise to all who want to avoid having the wheel pants punch holes in the bottom of their wings and peal the bottom monocote off, please take this seriously.

Bob Pastorello

My Feedback: (198)

Next time I have the cowl off, I'll explore those holes in the firewall further. I don't like the pants-piercing-wing option, for sure.
SInce you have the 50cc, would you post a pic or two of your mod, if you don't mind?

[email protected]

My Feedback: (2)

I will this weekend when I return home. All my photos are on my personal laptop. I stoped lugging around two laptops some time ago. I travel for my work and travel light.

[email protected]

My Feedback: (2)

As you can see in the photo's, I painted the LG and splice plate. The splice plate aides in preventing the LG block from splitting in half on a hard landing. The ply plate on the firewall ties the LG block to the firewall better. There is just too little meat left at the bottom of the firewall to prevent it from being ripped out from the shearing off of the LG. Now Great Planes did pin the triangle stock to the firewall to try and strengthen this, but it is a weak effort at best. I wrote them about this a few years ago on the first two models. I guess this is their response to this on this newest model the 50cc Revolver.

Bob Pastorello

My Feedback: (198)

Thanks. I'm assuming that the plate is just an aluminum plate bent at 90* at the firewall, extending rearward as one piece to the rear of the landing gear block as it exists? Interesting fix, looks like it definitely would be up to the job.

wjcalhoun

Hi Guys
I had an interesting thing happen at the field yesterday. Four flights on my R90/DLE55RA. On the last, i got her into a very nice (left) belly-in knife edge spin, about 60-70 rpm; transitioned into an inverted flat spin, and the engine quit. After uneventful dead stick, i found that the firewall had pulled off the engine box. I'm presuming the gyroscopic precession forces were responsible. I HAD reinforced the F/W attachment to the engine box when I built her, but obviously it was not enough.

I'll use some additional triangle stock, screws, and fiberglass or carbon fiber cloth.

Has anyone else seen this kind of thing happen? I am not enough of a physicist to even begin to guess at the precessive torque involved, but it must be quite a bit.

BIll

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

wjc - that's a very dramatic way to get into a dead stick! I'm guessing you could not have had TOO much height left, plus you were inverted, PLUS you had not forward speed - when that engine died. Did you drop straight down to gain some lift?? Sounds like you are underplaying what was probably an impressive recovery \ dead stick. And that firewall ripping off - even after reinforcement - not great news, though I'm wondering how many put the Rev 90 through the aerobatic paces \ g-forces that you're doing.

And were you doing that knife-edge spin with the Rev 70? I've GOT to try that. A very impressive-looking maneuver.

And - btw - where's the video???