Lynn S

This has been a day to work on my lawn mower and finish mowing my 5 acre yard. I finally finished the yard at 7:30.
The wind is calm. It will be dark soon. ....
Time to grab my plane stap in the new 3000 NiMH battery, put on the wing, run with the plane in hand and throw...Excellent climb out. The plane has plenty of power now. It's nice to have a plane ready to fly as soon as I can put the wing on and not worry about fuel and starting.
The plane flew without any problems. I had to bring it down after 10 minutes because it was getting too dark to see. Neat to fly around a bright moon, and see the red LED flashing on the inside of the plane when it flew overhead. You have to give down elevator to make it land. It wants to float forever. Nice way to end the day!

I also ordered a Duratrax Piranah digital peak charger. This is a neat unit for around $50.

PaulF

Hey Lynn-

I hear you on that perfect evening; I love ending the day that way. I live near a big city park, so I can only fly in late evenings and early mornings. I was out this AM and got in 3 flights before work.

What is your setup on the Superstar? Direct Drive? Stock motor?

luhran

I have an EP w/ speed 600 & 2.5:1 gear drive spinning an 11 X 7 APC Slo Flyer Prop. Works well with the stock 2100 mA battery. I am adding ailerons now. Any one out there done this before who can offer suggestions?

LuhRaN

PaulF

How long are your flights? I thought about getting my friend this plane and setting him up with 8X3000 cells, MM, 2.5 and 10X7. I figure it'll run about 20 min with that setup. However, that setup will bring up total weight to 50 ounces. Has anyone weighed their setup?

Mode I

My Feedback: (5)

This is in reply to the two posts regarding the installation of ailrons on the Superstar EP. I too have wondered if this would be a good mod. Years ago I did this to a 3 channel .10 glo powered model along with cutting the wing down about 6in. It was a great little performer and gave much improved handling. I also added shear webbing and spruce spars to increase wing strength. I left the airfoil alone, it was flat bottomed, but took out some of the diheadral. I had one of the most fun flying models ever, in fact everyone wanted one. It could have been a terrific trainer as it could be flown in close, slow and still had quite good aerobatic qualities. The wing finally collapsed after my thirtyith or so try to do a Lomchevok which it would never quite do and I shouldn't have been trying anyway. I would have settled for just one tumble but alas it was not to be.
I now have been toying with electric and just picked up a Superstar EP for a fun flyer with no noise problerms. It has not been built as yet but I can see some mods necessary for ailerons. Someone here claims to have crashed one of these and maybe they can reply as to the wing construction as far as spar strength, webbing, etc. I can see that the way of joing the two wing halves would need bracing but without tearing the wing apart the other things are an unknown.
Lets see if we can get some input on this and who knows this might be a real fun project.
Tom Mode I flys better

luhran

Here is a pic of my superstar ep with ailerons. I didn't remove any dihedral from the wing, so it won't really roll (its not very pretty when it does). It's a good four channel trainer now. Next I'm installing an OS .40.

PaulF

Can it handle the extra weight? Like them overpowered, huh?

luhran

Thats half the fun Paul. Gotta push the envelope a little.
I haven't weighed my old power setup to see what the difference if though. I'm removing speed 600, gear box and 7 cell battery. Hopefully it won't be too much more. I guess I'm just gonna end up raising the stall speed some. But who cares? It's gonna be FAST! I just gotta worry about the higher approach speed.

PaulF

ha ha, sounds like fun. Let us know how things work out...remember to keep it balanced.

think the firewall is strong enough? IC planes are usually overbuilt up there to compensate for the weight and vibrations of the engine.

swigger

To convert the Super Star EP to ailerons, can you simply buy the wing set for the gas powered version of the Super star? I know the wing span is about a foot longer, but with the gear box and better motor, would this be a viable option?

I am new to flying, and I absolutely love my super star. Unfortunately I didn't have a trainer, but have been really successful with this plane from my first flight. I just followed the directions exactly, double and tripled checked everything (C.G, etc) and she flew wonderfully right away. I now have the gearbox and motor upgrade on order. Lots of fun!

SWIGGER

stefanP

My Feedback: (2)

luhran ,First let me say that adding alirerons to a plane with dihedral is counter productive! to do that you needed to make the dihedral 1" max on each side.Second I seriousely doubt that the air frame will take the load of a O.S. 40 .For what its worth ,you'd be better to sell the ep then go out and buy a Sig Lt 25 arf trainer.My two cents stefanP

Jimmy Stewart

I've been considering this plane too. I downloaded the instruction manual and the assembly looks really straight forward and has good photographs and clear instructions. I'd like to have a plane that I can teach our 7 and 12 yr old children with a buddy cord.

I have a spare flat bottom wing from a plane I retired two years ago that has no dihedral and ailerons. I thought I could teach the kids with the original wing, and put the other wing on for a little more excitement when I flew it. The spare wing I have is a glassed foam wing that I had on a low wing trainer called a Tower Hobby Apprentice. The wing is very strong, as the last power plant it flew was a 46FX with a tuned pipe, and it held up well. One of the strongest, lightest wings I've ever built. Not sure what it actually weighs though. Should work well on the Super Star EP.

stefanP

My Feedback: (2)

Jimmy sounds like a winner and a great idea with the interchangeable wing stefanP

luhran

stefan:

I have pretty much rebuilt the entire structure of the fuselage to handle the higher stresses imposed on it by a more powerful gas engine. I did not remove the dihedral from the wing though. I just wanted to have better control over the plane, and gain some more 4 channel experience. Believe it or not, it would do a roll with the dihedral (but man was it ugly when it did). My main goal here is to be able to do what Jimmy is talking about. I want to have another wing with litlle to no dihedral that I can use on the same fuselage, but have a trainer wing to use for flying with friends. Once I get comfortable with the gas setup, I will find another wing to use. I'll post some pics of the fuselage structure later for you to check out.

kingcobraRCU

I am currently installing an O.S. 25 LA in mine as I have been told this engine will be more than powerful enough to fly this plane.( mabey even too powerful) I was wanting to use the O.S. 26 four stroke but it has been discontinued.I am not ready to add ailerons just yet but I was geting tired of the short flight/long charge times.also it was lacking in the power department. but a great way to learn to fly. anyone know what size prop I should try with the 25? I got an 8X6 but I was just guessing.also the electric motor is tilted downward in the plane I also did the same thing with the gas motor. it is in the same exact position and angle that the electric motor was except for the prop is about 3/16 farther forward than the electric prop was. will this be a problem? any help is appreciated. thanks

luhran

I am going with the 40 LA because I am concerned the 25 may not give me the extra power I want. ARF's I have seen in the same weight range as what I am guessing my final product will be are calling for .35 to .46 size engines. I don't believe the 3/16 will make a bit of difference as my electric setup utilized a gear box which moved the prop forward about an inch, and up even more. I have elected to install the mount so the propeller shaft will be parallel with the center line of the plane. This is how the slighty larger SuperStar 40 is constructed, and should offer no problems. Any input on this?

luhran

Here is a pic showing the orientation of the gear box and motor.

kingcobraRCU

luhran did you ever get your 40 installed? I am curious as to how well it worked out...my next operation is to remove all the covering from the wing, take half the diehedral out and add ailerons...then recover it...might just recover whole plane with new scheme, would give it a whole new look! p.s here's a pic of my nitro conversion...complete with 6 oz fuel tank.

swigger

LuhRaN,
I noticed you have updated your landing gear. Does that work better? Mine bend on every grass landing. Also, I see you added a tail wheel. Was this also a nice improvement? If you could comment on what stuff you bought for these changes, that would be great.

Thx.
SWIGGER

kingcobraRCU

now I KNOW the 40 will be waaaay too much...I installed the 25 in mine and it's incredible...vertical almost from takeoff...and boy does it climb!!! my final weight is less than the electric version and flight times with 6 OZ tank is over 45 minutes a tank full...trust me...the 40 will kill it...I am flying fast and smooth at 1/4 throttle with the 25 LA and an 8x6 prop...next I'm adding ailerons and removing a little diehedral...

PigMan Buggerus

My Feedback: (6)

I have been following this thread, just to see how your mods work out, but I never really looked at the specs on the plane itself. Wow, this is a lot smaller that the nitro Superstar. A .40 engine on this plane, with as much dihedral in the wing as there is, would be way too much. The LA .25 like King Cobra says is a lot. I would imagine it would run on an LA .15 without too much trouble. I bet the performance would be similar to the electric motor, but probably with less weight(4 ozs. of fuel is probably less weight than the battery). A .40 would be an awful lot on this airframe, with the stock wing. I would imagine it wouldn't float or land to slowly.

luhran

sounds like I need to change plans a little and get a 25
I have installed an eight ounce tank already, so I guess It'll be up there for a while. Glad the first flight went good.

Swigger .....
The landing gear is just flat aluminum stock bent to shape with a couple of axles bolted to it. The tail wheel setup is a Sullivan bracket, p/n S859. I am removing this and installing a dubro setup I found at the shop a few days ago, p/n 234. I didn't like the way the sullivan was setup up for the steering linkage.

kingcobraRCU

good thing I talked you down from that one....lol...the 8 0z tank will be fine.. I have mine in the servo compartment...I cut a hole directly below the front wing dowell and mounted the throttle servo sideways, ran the linkage through the firewall on the right side of the plane, wrapped the 4AA pack in foam and stuck it all the way up in the nose directly behind the engine (the fuel tank wouldn't fit in there without major modification and getting to the fuel lines would have been difficult to say the least) pulled the receiver down into the old battery compartment and wrapped it w foam, wrapped the tank w foam and a rubberband and it fits very snug in the top compartment directly behind the throttle servo...the two other servos are still in the same place and are directly behind the fuel tank...all wires are in the old battery compartment...(I covered the compartment door w monocote to cover the cooling holes that were in it) with this setup I didnt need to add any weight at all to balance it...I started with an 8x6 plastic prop but I am trying a 9x6 wooden prop next time out...thats the biggest prop recommended for the 25LA...even with the 8x6 the performance was astounding...and it doesn't weigh any more now than it did as an electric. I did a steerable tail wheel also and will post the pics to show how I did it. I didnt even have to use a linkage.works directly off the rudder...

kingcobraRCU

simple drawing...the tail wheel bracket is a Dubro item...drill a small hole for the wire up through the fuselage directly at the rudder hinge point. then bend the wire as shown and run it up and bend the top and epoxy it into a small hole drilled in the rudder.then attach wheel...simple and durable.

mfranke

My Feedback: (1)

Guys
how did you do the ailerorns. I'm about ready to hack into the wing. Looking for some advice
Thanks
Mark Franke