rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Last night a flying buddy brought this airplane to my attention. We have both been looking for a larger RV-4 or 8. We both have the GP 1/4 scale RV-4 arfs and we LOVE them. I contacted Aztech Aeromodels and discovered that they are only an hour's drive from where I live. Azhar (the owner of Aztech) offered to hand-deliver the plane to me the next day.(today) How could I say no? The airplane is a great deal at $290.00, delivered in CONUS. Unpacked, I found it to be 100% damage-free. It also turned out to be 100% manual-free, but I couldn't find anything in the box that I didn't recognize, so I'm not worried about it.

The covering is classic "Chinakote", nicely applied. No wrinkles anywhere. Near as I can tell, everything is here that should be except the manual. Aztech is in the process of writing a new manual, so perhaps that explains it. The hardware was a pleasant surprise. With the possible exception of the tailwheel assy., everything seems usable. The tank stopper appears to be for glow rather than gas. I have a 16 oz. DuBro ready to go, so I'll be using it instead of the supplied tank. Would have been nice if the L/G had been white instead of black as it's exposed on the bottom of the fuselage. Here are some pics.

azhar

My Feedback: (19)

Hi RCguy,

Thanks for the kind words. Sorry that the manual was missed. It should be available for download by this weekend.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

One reason I jumped at the chance to buy this model is that I have everything on hand to complete it. I'll be using a DLE30 for power. A DLE55 is tempting, but after looking at the airplane, I think it's too small and lightly built for a 55cc without major work. With the needed mods I think it would be hopelessly nose-heavy. HS645MG's will be used on the primary flight controls, with HS5485HB's on the flaps. This is almost certainly over-kill, but what the hell, they're on-hand. A 14 ch. receiver will be used so that everything can have it's own channel. Computer-radios have made me so lazy! I haven't decided yet whether or not to install a servo for the choke.

I am approaching this airplane as a sport airplane rather than a scale airplane even though it looks pretty scale. Included scale detail is pretty much non-existant. Of course at this price one couldn't reasonably expect much beyond a 2-D instrument panel decal.(which there isn't) This thing is so light that a 30cc gasser should motivate it nicely. The flaps are so small and of limited travel as to be practically useless. In exchange for this you get HUGE ailerons which should make for a great roll-rate. A good trade-off IMO.

All of the flight control pushrods are nice and short with supplied ball-links at each end. Pull-pull hardware is included for the rudder.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Thanks, Azhar.

azhar

My Feedback: (19)

Here are a coupe of pics of the the demo bird I am putting together. It will be powered by a JC EVO 30 engine and Savox servos all around.

rcguy59

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Sure looks familiar...

karl hibbs

My Feedback: (6)

what are the specs on this bird, do they have more than one color. and that was a fast purchase mike, I sent that to you at 7:03 pm last night

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Specs are 80" WS, 69" long, 1082 sq. in. wing area, 11-12 lbs. wt., 20-30cc power. I got the invoice confirmation from Paypal at 7:59 PM. I didn't waste much time on this one, Karl. They have another color scheme, red white and blue. Way too "busy" for me, hence the choice of green and white.

karl hibbs

My Feedback: (6)

I will be looking forward to seeing it fly. The p-40 is done , I am just waiting on a pilot and ran the engine today. so I might need a new quick project.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

This one is definately going to be quick. There is a surprising amount of triangle-stock reinforcement in this airplane. I've added more in the motor box area and the structure behind it. I'll add some around the L/G mounting plate as well. I also went over every joint I could get to with thin CA. The price of glue must have dropped in China because they didn't scrimp on it anywhere that I've found so far. If I can keep from dumb-thumbing this thing, it will probably last long enough to need re-covering. I haven't seen a poor-fitting joint yet, either. They seem to be learning over there. A quality build at a bargain price. How 'bout that? About the only thing I could ask for here is genuine Ultracote. If it flies as well as it's built, I'll be very happy indeed. More pics tomorrow.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Got the firewall drilled and the engine hung so I can mark the firewall for the throttle linkage. The elevator servos and rudder servo are installed, along with the horizontal surfaces and rudder. The canopy on this thing is HUGE. The fuselage is cavernous as well. The holes for the wing bolts are between the wing tube and a former making it a bit tight for larger fingers. The supplied wing bolts are metric (as is the rest of the hardware) and of the thumb-screw type. I went ahead and painted the aluminum gear to match the bottom of the fuselage. The supplied axles are just the right length and don't need to be shortened in order for the wheel pants to fit. There appears to be no fuel-proofing on the motor box/firewall area, so I'll give it a coat of thinned epoxy once the linkage holes are drilled. Here's some more pics.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

It's been a busy week and I haven't had much time for my airplanes. I did get a bit more done this weekend on the RV-8. It's getting close! The DLE30 is installed along with the ignition, battery and switch. The tires and wheel pants are in place. The wheel pants needed a little Dremel adjustment on the wheel openings, but nothing major. Since I don't care for a too-solid connection between the tailwheel and rudder, I opted for a Sullivan tailwheel assy. Another minor change I made was the addition of a plywood deck between the tank area and the radio tray that allowed me to mount the tank directly above the wing tube. I went with dual elevator servos, omitting the supplied wire elevator joiner. The only thing missing in the photos is the receiver. That arrived a little while ago from Servo City. They had a sale on Futaba 6014HS receivers for $130. Screamin' deal! Thanks again, Azhar, for telling me about that sale. Other than installing the RX and setting up the radio, the only thing left to do is the flap and aileron linkages on one wing. The carbon wing tube fits exactly as it should and required no sanding or trimming. Nice. The cowling comes with a plywood former / stiffener glued into the rear end that butts up to the firewall. When installed, the spinner ring on the cowl centered perfectly around the crankshaft. One quirk of this kit is that the spinner ring on the cowl is 2 7/8" diameter. A 3" spinner is too big and a 2 3/4" is too small. I went with a 2 3/4" as it looked better than "too big". Maybe someone knows of a 2 7/8" spinner that doesn't cost a small fortune?

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Here's my pilot. It's a typical child's doll, except that it's dressed in the classic Communist Chinese worker's uniform, complete with an enameled pin depicting Mao. For a Chinese ARF with a Chinese engine, I thought it was appropriate. My Mom bought the doll from a street vendor in mainland China a few years ago for me.

karl hibbs

My Feedback: (6)

wow that looks perfect Mike, 2 7/8" is a odd size. This isn't the first time the arfer's have done this to us. when are you going to fly it ?

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Maybe next weekend if the weather is decent.

rcguy59

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Here's what a 2 3/4" Hangar 9 P-51 spinner looks like on it. Not too bad, I think.

azhar

My Feedback: (19)

I will be using the 3" spinner on it. When I get it on I will check the sizing also.

Tip22v

Very nice project Mike! At 12 lbs the DLE 30 should be a nice fit for power.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

It's ready to fly. Using my Berkley digital fish scale, It weighed in at 13lbs, 2oz, complete. If it's not too cold out, I'll maiden it this coming weekend. It was almost dark when I got home from work tonight, so I didn't get any pics of it fully assembled. Maybe tomorrow.

karl hibbs

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Saturday or Sunday, There is possible snow on Sunday, I will be out there on Sunday with the p-40

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

The rain stopped long enough to get some pictures. Here you go.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

I haven't gotten around to enlarging the prop cuts in the spinner, hence the lack of prop in the photos. The RV-8's companion in the pics is my GP RV-4, also with a DLE30. Comparing these two airplanes is inevitable since they are so similar and I happen to own both. I've had the RV-4 about three years or so and it remains one of the best-flying airplanes I've ever owned. For scale airplanes, I tend to lean toward warbirds, but Karl Hibbs turned me on to the RV-4. "You need one of these" were his exact words. Though Karl is seldom wrong, he was never more correct than with that statement. For the maiden, the RV-8 will probably fly sans spinner. The RV-4 originally had a Saito 180. Great engine, but as the price of glow fuel escalated it got pretty expensive to feed. When I realized that flying my turbines was no more expensive per flight than the Saito, it was time for a change. The DLE30 makes noticably more power than the Saito and will fly all weekend on 6 bucks worth of gas. Helluva deal. I haven't ripped the wings off of the RV-4 yet, but it's not for lack of trying.

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

According to Azhar, the prototype flew fine with the CG right on the wing tube. In mine, the batteries are well forward but still behind the firewall. It balanced perfectly on the wing tube with spinner but no prop. Once the prop is in place it should be about right for the maiden. If an engine that is much lighter than the DLE30 is to be used, keep the tail as light as possible. Using a single elevator servo would help a lot, as this airplane has a long tail moment. Having gotten this far I now believe that a 50cc engine is doable assuming the structure is reinforced accordingly. At that point the wings would probably be the limiting factor, along with the wing tube itself. I'll leave that experiment to some other brave young scientist. I think it will be lots of fun with 30cc-class power, so I'll stick with it the way it is.

snuts

I just finished mine, 12lbs, 8oz at birth ready for warmer weather. Minus 28*C in my part of the Universe, ouch.
DLE 20, 3blade, single servo (95oz) for elevator. Dual A123 2300mah flight packs, 1500mah 4.8V ign pack. Still looking for a suitable "Dummy" to occupy the pilots mount.
Looks real promising, should replace my 4*120/Saito150 of years ago. I believe this may be a real go-to riding in the back of the minivan (all summer) airframe.

Thanks for looking,
-Snuts-

rcguy59

My Feedback: (8)

Did you have to add any noseweight or were the batteries enough?