S.A Sonic 500
 

running a sportsman aviatin sonic 500 with a 46 size engine with performance pipe. but i wanna go faster! would retracts help any or would the weight increase kinda defeat my purpose? also just started building my akm su-27 will have pics soon!

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I was thinking the same thing...maybe a set of the light weight retracts that come w/ the World Models ARFs? I have a pair from my buddies P-51 that he cracked up...
They're plastic, but strong enough for this application...and they're nice and light. The short len. of the strut is a bonus too, aye?

I would be willing to bet though that the single most significant improvment one could make to the Sonic would be putting some sort of cowl around the engine, and a spinner.

I was thinking of gluing some foam blocks around the engine/spinner unit (use a mock up engine or wrap it in plastic ) and rasp/sand it to shape then cover with epoxy / glass cloth. Use a cheap plastic spinner for the rasping/sanding part so you can get the curves shaped right, then switch to a nice alum. or alum. backplate one after finishing.

I'll bet that would pick the top speed up noticably.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

proptop, do you think that plane warrents that much work? i have had 2 of these w/ 1 in the box. compared to the other q-500s (predator) , this plane flys poorly.but for 40 $ i am trying it again. any assembly sugg would be appreciated. thanks russm

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

Guys:

If you want to make the sonic 500 faster, suggest both streemlining nose and retracts. Both should be good for 10-15 mph each. Hope you have glassed the wing center section before you put speed to the thing, looks a little soft in this area. A Jett 60LX would add to the overall picture well. ENJOY

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

wow, i think that would blow the wings off that plane. i have both the 60lx and the 500 new siting in boxes. i might have to consider that. russm

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I bought 2 of 'em...
We're gonna have "club racing" (of sorts ) next spring...
I'm going to build 1 stock, and the other I'm gonna modify.
The stock one will probably have a Webra .50 w/ pipe...will glass the center section.

The modified one will have a K&B 6.5 FIRE mounted upright, with a foam/glass "cowl" and Tru Turn (probably 1.75" ) spinner.
The WM plastic retracts will be more than strong enough, and since it will have to be a different color scheme than the other guy's planes, I can glass the wing while I'm at it. Maybe add a little CF along the under-side where a spar should be?
I was looking at that wing joiner, and figured on replacing it with 1/4" Birch ply also.

I don't like the draggy and goofy looking rudder and elev. linkages either...any suggestions there?

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

There was a review on the Sonic 500...I think in RCG?
The guy re-did the rudder...made it go all the way down, and split the elevators...

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

one thing i did on both the 500 and s.a. stick was reinforce the tail area w/ angle blocking. this is a weak point on the 6 s.a. planes i have put together. russm

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I would forget the retract idea on the Sonic....:eek:

....do you see retracts on the Quickey 500's....?

FBD. [8D]

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

Probably more pain in the rear than they're worth...yeah...

I was looking at the wing, and it's kinda thin for the retracts...and with a set of streamlined wheels instead, that should be good enough.

I don't care if all the other "Quikie 500's" have fixed gear, it would be cool though, wouldn't it?! Just brainstorming Dave...you know...(more like blowin' smoke :D)

Definitely gonna do the "cowl" thing on one of 'em though.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I'm thinking the same way....a "speed plane" nose....a rear pipe....some decent speed. :D

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

The sonic is a Scat-Cat copy - classic Q-500 design. Flys great. Not sure how demanding on an airframe everyone is, but for me it flew just like a scat cat. Sure, it has external linkages - all Q-500's pretty much did until we went to V-tails (and even then most had pull-for-up external linkages) Its hard to mess up a basic design like this. But keep in mind it was designed to be powered by a K&B .40 engine for racing.

From what I have seen of the Sonic, its built "ok". Would be right at home with a general sport engine setup.

So for anything more than a stock TT40/46Pro, carefully consider glassing the firewall. And you will want at least 2-3 layers of 2oz fiberglass cloth on the center section, extending appx 6" either side of the center section.

Quick mods if you want fast(er), clip 2" off of each wing plane (bring it down to 46" span).

Skip the retracts - the wing is 1.2" thick - retracts are not going to fit unless you get low-profile gear or use ".20" size retracts.

Sadly, the old ARC China Clipper was actually better. The builder assembled and covered it. So reinforcement and modifications were the same as the last stages of a typical kit/scratch build. If they offered the Sonic as ARC for $35, Id probably grab one just for fun.

In my opinion, putting an reasonable speed engine on this particular ARF is not worth it - probably just a wasted of a good engine. Its a good sport racer. Quick by most people's standards. And the price is right. But I can't fathom modifying and then recovering the plane - at that point its nearly less effort to build a Q-500 from scratch, and build it as strong as necessary in the first place.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

bob, i could not agree more with your comments. this has been a snakey plane to handle and i am not sure why. it is very tail heavy as is the other s.a. planes i have put together. i have 1 here and out in az. i think my dad and i are going to put a older but unused fox40 w/ a straight pipe. i know nothing about these engines . i really think the best setup for this plane is a os 46 ax or fx w/ a jett muffler.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

CG should be set at 2.25 to 2.5 inches - Id not go much beyond that with a scat cat or sonic. Check where yours is.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

bob, i always cg as per manual to the conservative side. i am very careful with this as well as balancing. any thoughts about the fox? thanks russm

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I always say... if you have it, and it runs, and you trust it - use it.

But Id not go out of my way to use it or to 'make it work'.

RE: S.A Sonic 500
 

I thiught it looked a lot like a Scat Cat too...
I had one of those w/ a K&B .40 (8011 ) back in the late 70's.

Somebody else was telling me that his Sonic was really tail heavy?! I know that the tail surfaces are made out of a heavy wood...not sure if it's even Balsa?!:eek: