MTK

I figured it was something related to the storm we had last Saturday. Connecticut got slammed hard.

Here in NJ, my brother just got power back yesterday. We actually put up some of my son's friends who were without power/heat for almost a week...we were some of the lucky ones that weren't really affected by the storm.

Todd, don't worry my friend; we are behind you all the way

pgmeyer

My best engine is the SAP-180, I bought an early one along with Jim and other folks. It is without a doubt the finest motor I have. I have many hours on it, in both a Monocoupe and now a new Pilot-RC Extra 260 26%, and its performance has always been exceptional. When I point the 260 skyward and hit the throttle it is a blast to watch it climb like a rocket :-) My future quarter scale gassers will be powered the same way, and I sure hope to purchase other displacement motors from Todd when/if they become available. Always great service, and great performance.

Paul

Red Raider

My Feedback: (86)

Bob:
Check my post a little further down the page, it's #4212.

Steve

davidgeorge212

I just got an email from Todd and he said they did have a major power outage. He did send a tracking number but I dont need it anymore because my engine also arrived in the mail today.[8D]

David

Syssa Pilot

My Feedback: (7)

Some of us are so sold on the product we changed our user name. ! IT'SWORTHTHEWAIT!

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

[8D]

Luv my Syssa!

Jim

Scooterpilot

My Feedback: (5)

TexasSkyPilot

Could you please give me a quick rundown of the upgrades on motor. My motor was in the first production run. Curious to know what configuration changes Todd made to this outstanding motor?


Thanks

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Sure, Chuck, as much as I understand about them, I can. I haven't kept track either, but I remember that there were some muffler mount issues, which he developed an easy fix for, easily taken care of at upgrade time.

Then there was a prop plate that he added drilled and tapped thread holes for drilling and securing props, since for being such a small engine, it still was developing enough torque that it was managing to pull some props loose under certain conditions.

That's all I can remember. Anybody else have anything to add to the list?

Jim

Scooterpilot

My Feedback: (5)

Jim,


Thanks for the quick response!

Now I understand why Todd is selling a drill gig. When I saw that on his site I thought it to be odd, but it makes sense now. I asked Todd to go through the engine while he has it. Be interesting to see what, if anything, he replaces beside those items that need updates

Regards

Chuck

pgmeyer

I believe there was a bearing upgrade also .... . ., but not sure -

davidgeorge212

Hey, I just got a chance to look over my syssa 30 that I ordered. It looks like a really nicely made engine and I cant wait to run it. I have question though, Do these engines come with an ignition system? I emailed syssa aircraft this question and will likely find out soon but wanted to ask here. I am just not sure if they are supposed to come with one and it may have accidently gotten left out or if they dont come with one then I need to buy one for it.

David

Scooterpilot

My Feedback: (5)

I just checked the Syssa webpage. For $429.00 the motor comes with an ignition.

I don't know if you can buy just the motor for less and not purchase the ignition system. If you payed 429.99 and didn't receive and ignition system, I'd call Todd tomorrow.

davidgeorge212

I bought one of his engines off his ad on RCU market place for $429. I saw everything in the box that was pictured in the add except for the ignition box itself. I will ask them tomorrow.

Joystick TX

The ignition does come with the engine, mine was shipped in a seperate package. Not sure why they didn't arrive at the same time.

It is still a good idea to give Todd a call or email just in case.

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Sometimes a piece is back-ordered. He can still ship you your engine to start fitting it while the other piece comes in. Usually he ships it complete.

Me, on the other hand, I've had my engine here for six or eight months, and now that I've almost finished installing it, I found no muffler tone inserts. This was the first I noticed. I thought I'd ordered them with the engine, but you know how that goes. I couldn't remember whether I had or not, and my receipt has been put away in a very safe place (yeah, I couldn't find where I put it...), so I just said, "forget it," and ordered a pair in. Odds are, I forgot.

Just let Todd know. He'll get you squared away on your ignition. It does come with one.

Jim

Joystick TX

I'm getting ready to order my second engine, glad for the reminder about the tone inserts. I know I'd have forgoten to order them.

Have you run your engine with and without the inserts to see what the difference is in the noise level?

MsgtRob

I ran one of mine without the tone inserts. UG! It was not nice. Not that it was so loud..but the tone hurt my ears at full throttle. (Guess that's why he calls them Tone inserts) All three of mine now have them.

Good luck!

Joystick TX

MsgtRob - Thanks for the info.

I'm not sure how long it will take to get my new plane ready. I had a burst of building energy today and got all the ribs cut out. Still a long way to go to finish it up. When I get about two months away from the finish, I'll get another engine.

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

Joystick TX,

PGMeyer and I had occassion to do just that. He brought his identical plane without inserts, and we were able to run them just 10 feet apart and listen to the difference. Yes, it was louder, though not an extreme amount. What we noticed most of all was that with the tone inserts, yes, it was quieter, but it was much smoother sounding. Without them, it still sounded good, but in comparison the sound was more ragged. It lacked the appreciable smoothness the tone inserts gave it.

That being said, when PG's plane was running and mine wasn't, with nothing to compare it with, it sounded just fine, though louder at top end.

I moved my inserts over from my number one engine yesterday, so it'll be ready to go when the plane is. I'll place the new inserts back in the first engine once they arrive.

Had a sizable setback on my GP Super Stearman. I'd bought a 2-into-1 hydrocarbon plastic transfer shaft from Central Hobbies, for running my elevators from one servo dependably with carbon fiber linkages. Not a cheap setup, the shaft alone was a good fifty bucks. I completed the Stearman yesterday, and the last thing I was doing before heading off to the field was setting the control throws. The elevator wouldn't center. Further inspection showed that the unit had slop in it, and the elevator wouldn't stop on center because it could vary 3/8" every time. I had to take my completed model and tear it down all the way to stripping off the belly covering and opening the belly up again. Upon removing the linkage, it was clear that the arms had really large holes in them. I'd used Sullivan 4-40 black plastic locking clevises, but the holes were much larger than the pins. For some reason, the holes were huge - nearly as large as those you might find on a metal arm equipped with 4-40 threads for ball linakges and such (but they weren't threaded - I checked.). But with plastic arms, there's no way anybody I know would bolt a ball link to it. Plastic flexes under the torque, even a hydrocarbon arm would flex. The way they made it makes no sense.

Called my buddy Bill over, and we talked about my options. I already knew I was pretty well stuffed, but sometimes you just need a buddy to commiserate, and to say it out loud. The linkage had to go, and a new elevator servo setup needs to be put in place.

I spent last evening stripping the model down, and today I'll be mounting some metal-gear servos to the back end to replace the steup. Upon the original completion of the plane yesterday, my C.G. was perfect. So it's a fair bet I'll be forced to add nose weights to compensate. That will be the only weight I've added. It was 15.4 Lbs, still within the advertised weight, so it should still be close. Thought about removing the rear pilot to compensate, but that idea doesn't set well with me. I've done a lot of scale detail, including the flying wires. Removing detail would hurt.

I was hoping to have a few photos for you today, but a belly laid open with stringers cut out, that wasn't what I had in mind. I'll keep you posted.

The Syssa engine installation is beautiful.

Jim

Joystick TX

Jim - Thanks for the info on the inserts. I'm the only one that I know of at our field that has the Syssa. We used to have two, but I never saw the other one run, the plane it was in was sold to someone out of the area. It is hard to tell the difference between inserts and no inserts with only one plane and engine. I love the sound of the engine with them.

Sorry to hear about your elevator problem. What a pain to fix. A centering problem that far off sounds like a manufacturing problem. No one could tolerate a 3/8" centering error.

Scooterpilot

My Feedback: (5)

Wow,

That sounds like a lot of work for the Stearman.

It's always good to check and double check things before the model leaves the assembly table. That is a good catch. Looking forward to the pics

PacificNWSkyPilot

My Feedback: (19)

The offending Linkage has been removed, and I went with the installation of outside servos in the back. Since I had a pair sitting there, I went with the ST126MGs from JR.

The stringers running along the side offered a nice place to fit them, and I've added hardwood screw plates and a little strategic bracing as well. One servo is in, carbon-fiber linkage is drying, and I'm running out to pick up a couple of metal servo arms for the servos.

Took a good look at the linkage once I had it out, and the holes are quite large. I don't believe it's a manufacturing error. I think there are more than likely some associated linkage pieces designed to go with this, and they failed to specify this in the Central Hobbies catalog when I bought the linkage. The correct pin would eliminate all slop. But all three connections would need the same pin. The largest standard pin I know of (without going to threaded 4-40 or a 4-40 drilled hole) is the one in the Sullivan locking clevises, which I used on this. I'm sure I'll eventually find out what WOULD have worked, but it would have been nice to know that before all this.

Good thing I went through all the checks and balances before taking it off the bench. This could have been a bad situation. As it was, it ended up being a giant PIA, but nothing insurmountable.

With a total control throw of only 7/8" on what must be a very sensitive elevator, it would have been a nightmare to land it without crunching it. 3/8" - that's a slop of almost HALF of the throw one-way! I hate doing all the extra work, but the model came out really beautiful, and I'm not going to take any shortcuts at this stage of the game. I'm still worrying about the nose weight I might have to add. (Hey, you know me, if I can't come up with anything to worry about, I'll invent something!)

The good news is, I found my long satellite antenna lead, so while it was opened up I was able to install the satellite partway back down the tail. That's always a nicer setup.

Jim

JohnB96041

Anyone tried connecting the SYSSA Gas engine ignition tack output to the Spektrum TM1000 telemetry module to get RPM output readings? If so how did the connection hook up? Diagram Please. Thanks.

MsgtRob

[/quote]
My Muffler fell off my PT-17 Stearman toaday! Good thing I run the spark plug wire in between the stacks. That kept it form falling off in flight and saved the hardware. ***?! Has anyone come up with the FINAL solution for loose muffler bolts on these motors? Ive tried safety wire, loctite, RTV, split washere, nordlocks etc...no luck. I'm tired of having to repair these 3 motors=3X pain!!

JohnB96041

Have had my SAP 30cc engine for a little more than a year now and about 5 gallons of fuel thru the engine (mounted on a Funtana 125). Muffler is still as tight as the time I got the engine through the mail. I do extensive balancing of the spinner and prop before installing on the engine. Vibration is the main cause of nuts and bolts coming loose. Have you tried the RED loctite?