Slow and Steady

I replaced my gear with Graph Tech carbon fiber, while also reinforcing the mounting plate. No offense intended, but if you look at the video, the gear is being tucked as it hops, which puts alot of side torque on the mount. That being said, the plate definitely needs to be reinforced or it will fail, even under a normal, but less than perfect landing. This is definitely an issue with many arfs offered today; other than the gear, I have found this plane to be rock solid and alot of fun to fly. Sorry to see the bad experience on the maiden.

gazzazh

Hi Slow and Steady,

I hear you, there was a quite a strong cross wind.. which was pushing the plane to its side.. so when correcting... the rubber wheels were getting tucked.. But not strong enough for the gears to come off... ripping the fuse and damaging the wings.. I have had much worse with other models but never like this, and on its maiden.. the model was not being abused.... that being said..i still believe that for the prices we are paying in these models quality control should be much better....

Cheers,

Slow and Steady

It does make you wonder why they cannot design a better gear plate connection. My Revolver 70 and Aeroworks 60 size Edge had the same issue. Although, I have had my share of rough landings that have obviously caused the gear to be ripped away. Sometimes it is better to loose the gear than have the fuse destroyed.

gazzazh

I think to have the fuse destroyed.. you will need to crash land.. and not rough land.. I have a Pulse 60 from H9 that i have really abused over the years... and never had any issues with the landing gear.. That being said, i think its a design or manufacturing flaw rather than it being made like that to save the fuse...

On another issue i have also read on many forums that also the engine block needs to be re-inforced in the funtana because its very weak and will break at the least impact.. its like a paper plane .. lol... that makes you wonder how much we are paying for such weak construction..... Not all models are this way from H9.. but for sure this one has its flaws.. and its not to save the model.. by comparison with other models from the same company..

Cheers,

Slow and Steady

I have owned the Funtana 125 since they first came out approximately 3 years ago. During that time the gear has given out a few times and the plane landed on the pitts muffler; and while the muffler has succombed to damage, the box has remained strong. When I first looked at this plane, I thought it was very flimsey, but as I put it together I became very impressed with the overall design. I really don't think there is a need to reinforce the engine box. Some times pilots will do things to a new plane based on passed experience with other planes, including reinforcement of the engine box. I know I have modified several planes based on experience with other planes. Incidentally I have had two 46 size Pulse XTs and thought they were great, but my skill level at the time did result in the gear being repaired a number of times. That being said, I would definitely reinforce the Funtana gear. And I have yet to regret buying this plane. In fact it is by far one of my all time favorites.

Slow and Steady

I should note that I did add a layer of 3/16 ply to the back of the fire wall, since the Syssa 30's carb and linkage required alot of the fire wall to be removed. This may qualify for the reinforcement others have suggested. I did start out with a OS 120 AX and never had an issue with the box, prior to the gas conversion. But the box connection to the fues, I believe, is continuous.

gazzazh

I am not regretting buying the funtana, i think its a 3D monster.. i will hope i will enjoy flying for many years to come.. but still again the maiden was a disappointing.. with damages all over the place.. from a stupid landing.. i think you agree with that..

Cheers,

Slow and Steady

"Stupid" was never meant to be implied. Although, I will be the first to admit having occassional dumb thumbs. Just sharing my amateur experience with a plane and hobby I love. Wishing you good luck with your future flights.

w1nd6urfa

My Feedback: (4)

Gazzazh
You can land the 'tana a lot slower than you did on the maiden, then there would be no problem with the gear

Spend some time with it to learn its abilities and you will see what I mean, it can really land in 10 ft runway with any type of crosswind

Nick

gazzazh

HI Slow, I was not implying that you said that my landing was stupid.. I was saying that i thought it was stupid.. Thanks for all your help and comments I appreciate all of them.. in this hobby we learn every single day... So thanks again and my apologies for any confusion..

Cheers and Happy flying..

PS: I still think thou that the gear should not have come apart....

gazzazh

I am sure i will, it flies great.. but as you said.. i am still not familiar with it characteristics... But as i said in pervious post.. in any case.. my landing should not have resulted in the gear coming apart...

Cheers and thanks for all your comments

mbritt

I agree with that 100%. I applied some extra glue and stuff to mine and have many less than great landings since and have had 0 issues. I too eventually added theGraph Tech CF Landing Gear in order to get ground clearance so I could turn a larger prop. The way this plane is built is a blessing and a curse. I think the idea to offer it as a electric version must have been a second thought. The plane is built up nice in order withstand haveing a gass engine. Because of this the plane comes in heavier than it should for electric flight. I cut allot of wood and extra stuff out of mine as well as made a new battery tray to get the weight down. I got down to 9.4lbs on a 6s with the SFGs. I started out on 8s above 10lbs and can saay if you get the weight down the plane flys really well.Its night and day comparison.

captinjohn

Well here is a photo of mu Funtana 100X. I did beef-up the landing gear. It was torn out before I bought the airplane. It is a plane you need to get familiar with. The Funtana 125 has got to be better built. Capt,n

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

I've always liked that color scheme - looks clean IMHO

captinjohn

In the air with a dark blue ski....it looks like it has short wings. The Blue does not show up...but the white does. I may add some color to the wing tips...on top. Capt,n

mbritt

Agreed!

captinjohn

I noticed a few Yak 54 airplanes have a black and white checkerboard design on outer portion of wing. Yup that is what I am going to do on my Funtana 100x. I like my own custom touches anyway!!!!!!!!!!!! Capt,n

captinjohn

UPDATE....NOW IN FLORIDA....LOOKING FOR GOOD PLACES TO FLY!!!!! CAPT,N

Slow and Steady

Welcome to the Sunshine State; you will find alot of great places to fly. If you make it to South Florida I would be happy to point you in the right direction. There are several options. Best of luck!

captinjohn

I an by Aripeka not far from Spring Hill Florida. I am going to fly the Tanna at a big field near the RV Park. I flew here before a few years back. I sure like the nice blue skies here....very nice! Capt,n

mbritt

Looking forward to getting the funtana back in the air already, I have upgraded from Spektrum to the new Futaba Super 8FG and so far I'm loving it. Going to take the high res RX that comes with the radio and use it in the Funtana so I can run everything in high speed 2048 mode. Should see a difference in its flying I think. Also grabbed a few spare parts for the season.

gazzazh

Slow, Which graph tech carbon fiber gear did you use? Thanks

RealViking

My Feedback: (5)

I used the Hobby King carbon gear, see picturePost 541 Page 22. Great and better then Graph Tech gears that I have had before. The wheelpants are precission Aerobatics.

Slow and Steady

I used the Graphtech Funtana gear that will fit earlier funtana versions. All use the same size.

gazzazh

thx guys... thanks slow... really appreciate all the help..