AA5BY

Yes, I agree that the DLE-20 would be a good choice but while not familiar with the other mentioned, any 20cc should do well. You would not want to use anything heavier than the G-20 or it will need tail weight. I got into that with my Seagull Spacewalker II. I followed others leads and used a G-26 and had to add 4.5 oz of tail weight to balance it. I finally took it off and went with an Evolution 20cc and saved 24oz of weight and now the plane lands like a sport plane rather than a war bird.

An Evolution 20GX would be fine but only if your willing to use a starter. It sometimes is temperamental to start without a starter. With a standard starter, it fires up easily.

RJ all ready has the G-20 but if needing to acquire an engine... the DLE-20 is probably one of the better choices. The one complaint against them seems to be the slowness in coming back to a good idle.

tailskid

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If anyone needs a new fuse or tail feathers, let me know as I have them NIB.

Jerry

rowdyjoe

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AA5BY,
That reminds me of the Seagull Spacewalker IIthat Ihad. It flew well with one of HobbyKing's less expensive 26cc engines on it. Wish Icould remember if I had to add weight to the tail to get it to balance.
Isold it to a guy in Houston who thought he couldn't live without it. He got a bargain and Igot another plane.

WI53072 ....
You might take a look at the RCG engines that HKhas to offer. I've owned a couple of them and still have a 15cc. They are reliable and less expensive than other brands but, have earned a good reputation. Their 20cc would be an excellent match for the Texan.
Before you buy, take a look here and save some money ....

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

RJ

baddley

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Hi

This is the motor I have more AT6. From the looks of I will need to reposition the blind nuts for the motor mount to fit on the firewall correctly, this seems to be the only problem so far I have encountered with the DLE20 The repositioning of the servos was easier than I thought it would be, now just time to finish up my lighting and retracts and I should be ready for a maiden sometime this year

Scott

rowdyjoe

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Good Scott. Which retracts did you install? I'm still debating whether to buy the Eflight retracts, which don't look good, or the Hobby King electric retracts that look much better. I'm not sure about the quality of the HKset.

Be sure to give us a first flight report and pictures would be very nice.

RJ

baddley

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rowdyjoe

I have the E Flite retracts and they are good quality, although I am using the stock oleo struts that came with the ARF cas they are beefier It will be a while before I get to the maiden but I will update once I get this baby in the air.

Scott

rowdyjoe

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Scott,
Thanks for the reply about the retracts. I appreciate it.
About mountng the engine ....when your pull blind nuts, fill the factory drilled holes with snug fitting dowel rod and epoxy them in place.

RJ

tailskid

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Scott, are you saying the plane with the DLE20 will be nose heavy if you don't move the servos?

baddley

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Tailskid

I am not sure how it will balance with the DLE20 on it, if you look back on page 6 Syssa Pilot has a DLE20 on his also and mentioned nothing about balancing but said it flew good. The reason I mounted my servos in the fuse is because of the vibration, with the gasser up front and the servos right next to them I am afraid about the servos screws vibrating loose. This is only my 2nd gas plane but the other thing I would be concerned with is interference with everything up front.

Scott

tailskid

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Interference....never thought of that - good point!

rowdyjoe

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Speaking of interference ....I had a problem with it on my new, yet to be flown, Ultimate 160 while running the 52cc gasser the other day. I was getting uncommanded control movements (rudder, elevator, throttle etc.) during the engine run and I think I've tracked it down to a bad sevo extension. I believe this extension was on a previoius project that ended up in the junk pile. There was nothing visible to indicate it was bad but, once replaced the interference stopped ....I hope. I'll give it a good run up tomorrow and test everything out in prep for the first flight.
I got lucky hunting this one down as Ihad a reversed servo on the upper wing and when I swapped it out it didn't want to work. So, Ireplaced the extension and it fixed the problem. The old one went in the trash bucket. Wiring issues can be a real pain to track down. It only takes one to cause serious problems.
When I was first exposed to servo extension issues a few yrs ago, I was surprised. I never thought to look at the extensions when I encountered a problem. It was a lesson that stuck with me though and if I get jittery or intermittent control actions or a throttle servo that doesn't want to move correctly, the first thing Icheck now is the wiring. Reusing extensions can save money but, it can also cost you an entire airplane.
Make sure the wire gage matches the load (amps) it has to carry. If you are running high voltage servos (above 6v)make sure you install heavy gage extensions. Standard and light duty wiring will do fine for most electrics but, the bigger the plane the bigger the servos and the big ones need more power. I'm now in the habbit of using heavy gage wiring in all of my gassers even though I'm only running my servos at 5 to 6 volts. They cost a bit more but, I've never seen a heavy gage extension "melt down" like the standard duty one that cost me a great flying, and expensive, 30% Edge 540.

One more thing ....just because it's new doesn't mean it's gonna work as advertised.

RJ

WI53072

So does anyone have any photos of the progress they have made on their Texan?

tailskid

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I have a bunch....looking for anything in particular?

rowdyjoe

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I'm looking to see something in particular but, haven't figured out what it is yet. So, post all of your pictures and I'll look through them 'til Ifind the one I'm looking for.

RJ

PS - thanks for the pics. They serve to encourage me.

Quigleywins

Texan photos

Quigleywins

More ,just say when.

Quigleywins

near the end.

rowdyjoe

My Feedback: (9)

Thanks very much. Great pictures of great airplanes. Don't know whether to call your twin one or two airplanes. It's obvious you are a true fan of the Texan.
I'm still deliberating on which retracts to install. I'll probably end up with the Eflights modified for the T-6 struts. Idon't want to start assembly until they are on-hand as the gear installation is one of the first things in the manual. I'll be taking my time with this one. No need to hurry as it's too hot for this old man to fly anyway. It's not much fun when your baking in the Sun.

RJ

jimmymac52

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WI53072,
Start at post #179 to see some of my progress pics. Maybe you'll see something there. I've made some small changes since then but most everything is the same. Using robart struts with eflite retract units.

WI53072

I am seriously considering converting this plane to electric power. It may be a good project for the up-coming winter. Still undecided as of yet.

Gary in Fla

Hey Guys,
What measurments are needed to mount a 20cc gasser. I have a RCGF 20 That I'm thinking about using, and it seems that it would mount sideways if the mounts move apart a bit. Please let me know how you guys do it.

rowdyjoe

My Feedback: (9)

Assuming you have a "beam mount" engine? Mount it inverted just like you would a glow engine. Position the mount on the firewall and then measure the distance from the firewall to the cowl opening and add 1/4" (approx.) to allow your prop shaft to exit far enough to clear the front of the cowl. Gas engines don't have the problems inverted glow engines do so, they run just as well inverted as right side up or side mounted. Speaking of side mounting, if I have to cut the cowl for a gas engine, I'd much rather have the hole(s) in the bottom of the cowl than the side or top. The engine doesn't care and it looks better.

RJ

WI53072

So is there an accepted "preferred" engine choice yet for this plane. Some say 20cc and others say 30cc. Not to start a war, but these birds have a nasty habit of being tail heavy so I am thinking a larger engine. I also am a fan of moving the elevator servos away from the firewall to the inside of the fuse. So I am thinking a 30cc engine and still some lead to get the balance correct. I have seen several mods on the forums of moving the servo's inside. I just think this makes the best sense. All that vibration and heat can not be good for a servo. I really like Jimmymacs mods on this plane. I am finishing up another plane and hope to trial it before winter strikes here in the great hinterlands of the north. I have everything less servo's and engine to assemble this bird over the winter. I was thinking a DLE 30 may be the way to go.

rowdyjoe

My Feedback: (9)

If you read AA5BY's posts you'll see that he had to move this servos inside near the CG to get it to balance. He's running a G20EI. He added no extra weight. Another pilot here mounted a 26cc engine and moved his servos inside the fuselage to get it to balance. Based on the experience of those two builders alone, I'd say a bigger engine will make it nose heavy.

RJ

AA5BY

Gary, there should be enough room in the cowl for most 20cc engines to be completely within.