tevans55

jdhughen-

I am on my third Sapac L-39. The inside wing depth around the wheel in mine is 7/8". The wing depth around the retract mount is 11/16". I have not flown mine with the rudder but it will slow roll with a slight kick of up elevator as you start the roll. It will not knife edge without the rudder but that is about it. The rudder is not a difficult mod and it is a good time to do a little extra vertical stab gluing. All three of my planes have had the vertical stab come loose from normal use. My current plane pictured above came loose on the maiden flight.

jdhughen

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the reply.

I see the pic of your "second" above. I too was looking at the "navy" version. Is numbers 1 still with us ?
I read over the PDF manual that sapac has online and it doesn't say anything about a gear door for the nose wheel with retract install, but I saw a review article in a recent trade mag that showed and talked about the nose gear door setup. Also the article mentioned that the retracts cutouts was actualy marked on the wing under the covering and not done with templates as mentioned in the manual. does it come this way now ??

Do the spring loaded offset hinges for the nose gear door now come with the plane (or retracts) ?

Are you using the Sapac motor/fan combo ??

thanks

Joel

tevans55

Joel-
Number 1 is no longer with me. I was flying No. 1 with a previously crashed zippy battery and I lost the battery completely in a split S. Everything in the plane survived but the L-39 was a mess. I have seen a video on RC Groups that shows a nose gear door. I was interested in making a gear door and then decided that the nose wheel well is the only place to pick up cooling air for the ESC, BEC and receiver. The intakes for the motor will not cool anything but the motor.

The main retract cutouts are outlined on the balsa under the covering. It is visible under the white covering but not the blue Breitling version. The kit does come with very nice templates for the wheel cutouts which can also be used for gear doors. There are no provisions supplied with the plane or the retracts for gear doors.

I am using the stock Sapac fan setup but I purchased the Hoffman Magnetics Storm 70 fan last month. I am going to have a setup using the Storm 70 and a 5s 4000mAh battery that I can trade out for the stock setup. I will be converting to a CC 125A ESC and will use that for both setups. This is the only jet I have ever purchased so I am trying to learn as much as I can about EDF's and I have really enjoyed Sapac's L-39. This forum may help with your decision...I brought you into this forum near the end but you can go back through it and get answers to many questions about this plane. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...011309&page=66
Tim

koolaid535

I dont know how thick. but my retracts are from Hobby City and they work great

jdhughen

My Feedback: (1)

Tim,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm mostly a 4stroke warbird guy, recently got a 3d (extra260) that I'm learning 3d with. I have very good building skills and intermediate flying skills. As I mentioned earlier, this would be my first EDF Jet. Do you think it's a good choice for getting into EDF Jets ??

Thanks for the link to the massive thread over at RCgroups. tons of info

Thanks

Joel

tevans55

Joel-
I do think the Sapac L-39 is a good EDF jet to start with. I saw it fly for the first time in July at KY Jets. Mike Fallon of Sapac was there and had a deal on the jet w/fan and retracts. I wanted a fiberglass fuse and built up wing for my first jet (no foam), and this jet was the right size and price. It will fly 100mph in stock configuration but slows very nicely for landing approaches and is very durable in my opinion. I am also a warbird flyer and I thought that if I am going to try a jet I wanted to try to find one that flys like a jet. You will not be dissappointed with the quality of the plane or the assistance from Mike Fallon and crew. You will need a 500' paved runway if you are going to go with retracts or fixed gear. Hope this helps your decision and I'm happy to help in any way.
Tim

jdhughen

My Feedback: (1)

Tim,
500', wow, do you really need 500'? What about take off on pavement / land on grass ? We have 300' paved and 400 fine close cut bermuda grass side by side. I've seen vids on the internet of a guy jumping off grass in about 100' with half flaps. Do you need 500' to land ? I really didn't want to add the weight of brakes. I've also seen examples of thrust reverser in this model ??

Thanks

Joel

tevans55

Joel-
I have small wheels on mine to keep the wheel wells as small as possible and my jet rolls off the end of the runway 80% of the time. The close cut grass at our field would not be an option due to my tire size.
Tim