texaswarbird

I threw the stock fuel tank away. It's too small that I replaced with a 13oz Dubro tank. I wrapped it with bubble wrap, pushed in the slot, jammed it in place with foams, then install the landing block. This larger volume should make at least 20 minutes of flying at full throttle. My engine is a 46 Evolution 2 stroke with 11x8 prop. It's a pain to install the engine in a tight cut off space. I did not bother to cut the slot bigger. After some struggle, the engine sits in fine.

red head

TEX : Plane looks good, have you flown it yet ?? I was flying my Ready today and just having a blast doing touch & go"s and a lot of just general aerobatics.

One of the guys ask me if I liked my plane ( he was being smart ) and I told him that if I could only have one fuel plane I think the Ready would be it. I also liked my Jupiters but they are all worn out.

ENJOY yours they are a lot of fun. ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

Hey Red, this plane ROCK stable! I fly warbirds, mainly Tang's and they all stall at low speed. This Jupiter does not. Even though speed and agility are no match to Tang's (agree, some of my 'Tang have bigger engines), it is pleasant to the point that I can close my eyes and still predict where it's heading. I'll fix my camcorder and will post some video about this plane. In the mean time, I found some video of some guys horsing his Jupiter away, probably with a bigger engine

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/my...ter/3780705560

red head

Tex: I looked at the video and it looked like he still had the cowl on and if he did I don't think he could have gone much bigger then a 55. I'd guess it was a tiger 46 with a speed prop.

I fly mine with 46's and 11 x5 props, smooth as glass and can slow them way down. Rolling circles , square loops etc just over 1/3 throttle. By the way they do a real neat inverted flat spin and all you have to do is let go ( at the right alt. ) They also do nice flat spins but a friend got into one and didn't get out. It was so flat that he just pulled power and it sort of landed upside down, very little damage.

By the way, if you are real carefull you can use a heat gun and reform some parts ( like the cowl ) but BE CAREFULL with the heat. Also if you are carefull you can make some repairs ( cuts etc ) with a small soldering iron and filler.

It's just to bad they didb't sell better in the States. ENJOY !!! RED

d_bodary

My Feedback: (85)

Just got the new Model Airplane News magazine and they have a review of the Thunder Tiger Cessna plane. Is this the same plane as the Modelfly plane and they possibly have released it?

red head

Thunder Tiger did have a Cessna listed at one time but it wasn't the one from Model Fly / ARC. I heard that they were going to get more Model Fly but don't know for sure that they have.

I'd suggest trying to get hold of them and ask if the Cessna is from Model Fly. If it is it's a super plane, handles a 60 real well and with a little thought a 91 fits right in ( a little tight but possible ). I liked flying mine with an OS 91 and a 12 X 6 3 bladed prop. A little warning here. The plane is NOT designed for areobatics and if the wings are stressed they have a tendacy to want to buckel just outside of the wing joiner.

If you can make a different wing joiner ( longer about 6 " ) I think it would be fine. I used to stress mine a lot and they did start showing slight bends in the plastic but I NEVER did fold one. Saw a major flex once that really got my attention and made for a quick landing. I Loved the plane both on floats and wheels and wouldn't mind having another one if I had room and a few less planes.

If it is a Model Fly and you fly it like a Cessna ( or a little harder ) I think you would ENJOY it. ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

If Modelfly makes P51, I'll be the first one signing up. Luv their planes.

red head

Years ago they were going to make a 51 but it never showed up.

I haven't been here in a while but try www.throttlestore.com for some of Modelflys stuff. Never delt with them so your on your own. I did see the READY the last time I looked.
ENJOY !!! RED

red head

Just went to the Throttlestore web site and they have all the Modelfly stuff. As I said I haven't delt with Throttlestore but they do list them all. ( NO P-51 ) ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

I just wish they do. 51 is my favorite and my shop is full of them, from Topflite, H-9, Kyosho to lesser known Chinese manufacturers. Anyway, I really enjoy the easy fly of this Jupiter, and switch between Jup and Tang so often, when my mood is not so warlike.
Here is my Jupiter undergoing general maintenance

texaswarbird

Came back from the field today with the Jupiter. The wind was not so permitting, about 15-16 mph, and the sky was cloudy. Visibility was not that great, but I was able to put in 2 flies. The plane tracked, but was shaken up at this windspeed.
I have to reinforce the landing block. It keeps on popping off. My field is badly rough with tractor's treads, cracked dirt. The landing block does not hold for very long, despite heavily epoxied. There is another thing I did not mentioned in the previous replies. You guys need to connect the rear wheel push rod to the LEFT arm of the servo. The diagram in the manual is INCORRECT, in which it connects to the right arm. If you follow the manual, what you find at the field is the plane will steer to the OPPOSITE direction of where you want it to go.

red head

Tex: On one of the Jupiters I ran into in my travels a fellow was having the same problem with his landing gear block. He had cleaned up the block, roughed it up and reglued it, then screwed screws into it from outside. I've had a couple come loose but it was because I didn't " SCORE " the areas to be glued. On some of them I was pretty rough on them.

The screw cure is pretty drastic but it should work. Just remember that the block is hollow. If you can, clean the area to be glued really good then " SCORE " the areas to be glued. I use a hobby knife and really score/ scratch the heck out of all areas to be glued. If anyone is reading this that plans on assembling a Modelfly plane, I suggest that you SCORE ALL the areas to be glued, it really helps.

I guess if all else fails you might want to try the screw deal. ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

Hey Red. Thanks for that tip. I found 2 plastic pins that come with the kit. I drilled hole from the outside and glued them in to hold that landing block. Looking good, just have to see at the field. One of the wheel popped during take off, so I landed with one wheel and nosed over, broke the tip of my blue 11x7 propeller. It is replaced with a wood prop now. There is a little nut that hold the wheel to the strut. This nut should be CA in place before screw the wheel in. I want to paint the prop blue, but afraid the paint adds weigh and shift the prop balance. Any advise?

red head

I know what you mean about the nuts on the landing gear. All mine are glued in, I learned on the first one. I don't remember if there is any overhang on the axles or not but if there is : cut a small piece of fuel tube and slide it on the end of the shaft. Sometimes that will give you a warning if the nut loosens up. Also you can get Nylon lock nuts at Home Depot or Lowe's. I'm not sure but I think they were # 4 metric.

As far as painting the prop, I wouldn't. You might paint the tips Blue but that's all I would do. Then you are going to have to rebalance the prop. Also I don't use many wood props anymore, I like the plastic (?) ones. When you get your new props, try a 11x5.

By the way, if you ever get a chanct to get a " READY " by modelfly I think you would really ENJOY it. Both the Jupiter and the Ready do a super inverted flat spin but I think the Ready does it a little prettier. Maybe it's me.
ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

I have not tried this manuver yet. May have to get back to flight sim to try first.

red head

When you get ready to do it, get high and do it in short burst at first letting the plane pull itself out. This won't work on a lot of planes but it works fine on the JUpiter , Ready and Beaver. Just don't wait long to let it do it's own recovery, then as soon as it settles a little take over and fly it out straight. On mine I get it into an inverted flat spin and then just let go for a second and it straightens itself right out.

I think some folks get in trouble by trying to fight the plane out instead of trusting it a little.

Another hint here and it's been in a lot of threads : trim the plane at about 1/2 ( or a little less ) throttle, straight and level.

ENJOY !!! RED

texaswarbird

Hey Red, thanks for the tip. I discussed with a club member today and he basically showed a similar technique. The landing block holds fine today after some minor modifications. Here is the Jupiter just after the landing. It looks messy because one of the muffler bolt loosen up and the oil spits. Otherwise, it is a pleasant Saturday flying with light wind. I did lots of high speed low pass today, just a few inch above the runway and pulled up suddenly that blasted the electric birds away. Yahooooo!!!! Its large wings lend it stability; it tracks nicely at very low attitude. I really can't get a lot of speed out of it, but it is beautiful on every low passing by.

texaswarbird

Saw this ad on RCUniverse. I'd be interested if someone has experiences on this engine. It probably fit in my Jupiter configuration since I mounted an Evolution 46 size. That's a lot of punch for this plane, I think.

http://www.evolutionengines.com/Prod...rodID=EVOE0600

Here are some pics for today. This plane is "like a rock" Chevy. Hard landing, flip over, rough landing are no problem. As you see my broken prop when it hit a bump on full take off speed and flipped over. Absolutely no damage but a broken wood prop!!

albsurfer

Thunder Tiger now has a Jupiter, Beaver, and Ready all available. You can find them on the TT Taiwan Corp website. I only checked the specs on the Jupiter and Beaver between TT & Modelfly. The specs are the same on both brands. The TT4U website doesn't list any of these, but they are available through some LHS and on-line distributors.

texaswarbird

Hey Al, I am glad that they start selling these aircrafts in the U.S.
After more than 40 flights, I can say that this aircraft is a joy to flight. My self-correction to my previous post is: it is quite an aerobatic. All loopy, rolly, upside down, outside loop, 4 point roll, hammer head, immelman, cuban 8,...are all possible with it. Things I found negative is that prop size 11 (11x7) will hit the ground on take off and landing. There is not much ground clearance when the tail raises. I broke a number of props size 11, and eventually change to size 10, then it flies supper, faster and no more broken props. Another thing is the landing block. It is very poorly designed. The block itself, they called it torpedo wall, is hollow. I installed it first with CA, which popped right out during ground test run. Next, I used epoxy, which held for a few first flights, then popped again during rough landing. Next, I screwed it in from both sides, which held on for a number of flights, and when it popped, it broke along the groove that housed the landing struts. Right now I use cable tights to tighen up around it, and brace it with wood blocks inside the fusalage. It looks bad, but works. I wish they redesign this torpedo wall landing block with "snap-on" fashion and that should hold much better than any glue, epoxy, or CA. Anyone who wishes to flight this plane should purchase some spare landing blocks. Otherwise, it's good plane. BTW, it handles winds very well. I flew it many times in wind speed over 30 mph when most of my buddies grounded their planes. The last one was in 35 mph wind gust, when I should give it more power on landing. Anyway, the wind pushed it to a tree. The wings pulled the middle wall out; and when it fell to the ground, the landing block popped. The wings and the fuse survived the accident without a scratch. The re-gluing and resetting took about 2 hours and she is ready to fly. WHATAPLANE!!.

electricpete

I have been watching for the model to come in, but would like to electrify it. I would not be able to put it though its paces like you seem to, but I wondered if you need much correction when rolling. Also I like an artf, not very inventive with modifications so wonder how easy to electify, is a motor suggested. I cannot find a manual.

Peter

texaswarbird

Hey Peter,
I am not sure what electric motor is for it. I never fly an electric bird before. The nitro gas motor I use in size 46. It is easier if you install electric motor, since you don't have to mess with the carburator, which was a pain to put in place. You probably need to trim off the motor mount to fit your motor, but it's very easy; take you time. Since you don't have the weight of the gas tank, some lead weigh may be needed to balance the CG. With gas motor, it's right on, self balanced. I may still have the manual. Give me your email; I'll send it over.
Matt.

electricpete

Thank you, can you send manual to [email protected]

Peter

jimmytwofish

Hi Electricpete,

I saw your comment about electifying the Jupiter and thought I'd share with you some work I did on mine. I owned a 'normal' gas powered Jupiter for a couple of seasons and enjoyed flying it a lot but wasn't so keen on the mess from glo-fuel. So I had a long hard look at how to convert it to electric power.

The main problem I came up with is that since the Jupiter is moulded its not as easy as on a wooden contructed model to customise motor mounting or battery placement. For example with the batteries you need to put the batteries into the area behind the motor firewall and can't very easily adjust their location fore and aft.

I managed to get round most of the issues but eventually decided to go back to glo-fuel and never got as far as test flying an electric version. I did manage to

[*]work out how to fit a motor and motor mount in[*]get the right c of g[*]work out where to put the ESC[/list]and I've posted a few photo's.

To attach the new electric motor mount to the firewall I decided to re-use the original glo motor mount fixing points. What I did was to take the original glo motor mount and cut off the engine mounting arms. This left me with just the circular disc part of the glo motor mount. I then used some new long bolts to bolt through from the glow motor mount, through my electric motor mount and into the original firewall mounting holes. I have attached a photo which shows a 'dry fit' I did of the glo motor mount and the base of the electric motor mount. After testing the fit I then cut the glo motor mount arms off.

For the cog the original glo motor was a pretty heavy item so I used a .60 size electric motor to give me plenty of weight up front

The ESC would then have been situated at the back of the electric motor, in the cowl area to give it plenty of cooling.

texaswarbird

I sent it through your email, but here is another copy for someone who is interested. Disclaimer: I only provide these copies for informational purpose only, not for publishing that may violate the copyright.