bjboise406

My Feedback: (1)

Well said Bonnie. I could not agree more. I am going to use the ST2300 on mine. Should be ready to fly Sunday, weather permitting.

bonnie

My Feedback: (2)

The DA50 will fit well, the motor needs spacers to bring it out 1/4'' more then the stock stand-off to fit the cowl. Reinforced the firewall with some glass and put flying wires on the tail.

There are many good ways to go on this planes power set-up, but a good light gas motor is the best for me. With the DA50 i think you can't go wrong for the price and power of this little motor.

paulemv

My Feedback: (23)

Gentelmen, As I too got mine from the JOE NALL ,I have many questions... First off a big THANK YOU goes to RC GUYS for bringing this Great Looking ARF to us.
I too have notice the issue with the cowl,Too Late,but i did notice.. as i put a THOR 45 in for power.Now, for the Down & Right 3% of trust... is that to be added? or is that what is built in?
You can tell that this is my First GAS plane,so be kind to me,and i will do my best to make this project a real 4 STAR project...

jbarnes

Hey Paul, I did not add any thrust to my Fugi 43. Used the standard firewall mount. Take care, Jerr.

airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

Why dont you all just align the engine based off of how the cowl fits? With smaller planes I doubt you will notice a big difference and I do this all the time. Heck I did it recently with my 41% Extra and it flies just fine.

I have been looking hard at this plane but not sure if I would be ready to buy it with the issues I have read here.

jbarnes

Thats the problem. To get the cowl to fit/look right you have to mount the engine so high on the firewall that it interferes with the top of the cowl. I'm of the mind that what we have here is a simple painting issue. The stripes were painted wrong causing us to have to move the engine around to try to get it lined up properly. If the cowl was a solid color we'd probably all be just fine, its just with those stripes it looks as though the nose is drooping. Still really like the plane though. Highest quality ARF (next to Aeroworks) that I have assembled.

airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

Hrmm maybe if I buy one I'll just repaint the cowl. Is this kit anything like the GSP version? It looks a little similar. My first glow/gas plane was a Decathlon so I have a soft spot for this model.

dubflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Folks,

I too like the build of the plane and think for the price it is one of the best buys on the market to-date. I have no problem being informed as to issues with any product as I can usually engineer my way out of most siutations ............but clearly we were not informed in good time as I had read the review in the September issue of Model Airplane News review by Klause Ronge ( which is written by May 2007 as well as the product manual. The picture on the box / airplane packing also shows the cowl mislaigned so I am certain this did not go un-noticed by Dan at RC-Guys.

Like Jbarnes I have a problem mounting the motor that high..............the bolts are on the top edge of the firewall if I move it up a 1/2". I cannot move it less as my original holes are there also.

Looking at all the other photos of the mounted engines..............in the Airplane review you can clearly see that the cowl does not fit as the blue stripes are drooping down some, also the spinner is way out of alignment with the cowl on all pics that I have seen so far. Now after studying the issue first hand I can see that perhaps few if any engines could be mounted corectly to the firewall safely spreading the load on the bolts correctly. If anyone has done so with a Gas engine I for sure would be greatful for pictures of well egineered solutions.

Not one review or manual mentioned this to warm me before I drilled into the firewall...........so much for the quality of reviews.........Model Airplane News review by Klause Ronge is basically worthless..................I might cancel my sub one of these days.

The easiest fix as far as I can see would be for a new cowl be manufactured to match the original position of the engine as per page 20 of the Manual.

Thank you.

airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

I can see where the existing cowl would be an issue. Perhaps the best fix is a release of a new cowl. For repairing your firewall I have found the following method to be a great one. I have used it on many 28% planes in which I test many different types of motors.



In the past when I have drilled out firewalls for other motors and I run into a situation where the old mounting holes may have to be fixed I do the following:

1. Sand the old (existing) mounting holes with a rougher grit sand paper.
2. Find a hard wood dowel slightly larger than the existing hole.
3. Cut the dowel so that it is just slightly sticking out from the front of the firewall but flush with the back.
4. Sand as needed to get a tight fit into the existing mounting holes.
5. Mix up some epoxy with micro balloons and or hysol and coat the firewall opening and the dowel
6. After it is dried sand the plug flush

This should give you a very strong patched firewall to drill your holes over again.

I hope this can help some of you who may decide to move your engine.

sdossett

Hi all.
Reports of further work.

After the initial flights I went to work on gussetting the area around the top window and ordered another one from RC Guys. Dan very nice as usual. $5 and it's in the mail. Trying to think of a sharp looking way to stick the LE of the window into a small channel to prevent another occurence. Failing that, think I'll just add a couple more cowl screws and washers, harden new holes w/ CA and hope for the best. Was looking lustily at a Hangar9 40 Cub the other day NICE INSET WINDOW!, not just scabbed to the top of the fuse.

Just spent ~4 VERY frustrating hours remounting the wing strut tabs in the fuselage.. PLEASE PLEASE do this right the first time.... I ended up taking off the windshield, drilling out the provided nuts and using all new hardware. You might be able to get this in correctly with a good 1/4" drive rig. Suffice it to say the first time I fouled up big. I think if you just enlarge their hole in the strut plate itself about 2X it might give you what you need. On mine the pre-drilled hole just did not give me a clean shot at the nut and GUESS WHAT I twisted it out. All-in-all I think the final set up on this stuff was done before the powder coating...most of their close tolerances require some reaming.

Out tomorrow to lean the Saito and get some air time.

Adding 6 oz lead to the front to try to correct tail bias. More might be needed. Really want to get rid of the 5-7 degree negative elevator trim I have.

Peace
Scott

cmoulder

Scott, how is inverted flight?

mobyal

Scott --
How come you needed to remount the wing strut tabs? Did they pull loose r something?
Thanks
Al

sdossett

Bob inverted flight seems pretty stable, with a good head of steam it will knife edge a bit (wings look great!)
Took little correction, then again I'm carrying quite a bit in the trim position.

MobyAl, I knew I wasn't happy with the original "catch" I got onto the nutserts., they were a bit loose. Decided to bite the bullet and re-work them. Hard for me to tell just how much "work" they do at this point. I am being real gentle and just trying to get in some reps..... still need to add flying wires to tail for example.

Scott

mobyal

Thanks, Scott. I was able to get a good purchase on mine, so they're on there good and tight.
Re the flying wires for the tail. My recommendation ids that you forget trying to use the leftover wire from the pull-pull cables and the hardware in the kit, and go w/ a Sullivaan Flying Wire set. Costs about $25, but worth every cent. I had mine on and snugged up in less than an hour, and that includes silver soldering the brass screw posts onto the wire. No problems w/ adjustment. I posted some pics of the install earlier on this thread.
Al

sdossett

Al
Roger on that. I have two sets down on the work bench now from Sullivan, Dubro something like that. I saw and will reference your pictures as I install. It's really nice to see the pics as I plan the install. Got to figure out how to post pics here..been too dang busy building and flying. Being pretty new to the hobby, what I want most is air time.
Thanks
Scott

cannonball200

My Feedback: (36)

I just mounted a _Saito 180_ on my new "Super Decathlon". I used "Hangar 9" alloy mounts which take up less room when mounting the engine inverted. I will post some pic's asap and show what I have done including measurements. The painted stripes are straight. Yes, the engine is higher up on the firewall, but it will be fine on this scale plane. Guys, it will fly good anyway!!!!. I also printed a picture of a Decathlon instrument panel from some flight sim pic's and glued it to some balsa sheeting. With some custom fitting, the panel looks awesome. I will post a pic of it also.


cannonball200 of OKC, OK

This Decathlon is a very nice aircraft. Lets get them put together and go fly and get some oohh's & aahh's. They will get some attention at the flying field's.

jbarnes

Have you guys expierenced very, very tight wing tubes. Mine is very tight still after several flights. It was a real handful the first time and I thought it would improved but it stil takes two people to put the wings on with that tube being so tight. Thanks, Jerr.

sebo

Possibly a light buffing with COMET or AJAX CLEANSER would reduce the size of the inside tube that tiny amount that you need for smooth operation. Just an idea instead of over doing it with sand paper or something like that.

sdossett

Jerr
Are yours powder coated white? I recall seeing a white one on this forum I believe. Mine's bare Al and fits tight but not too. It does help to have someone or something to slide against. The Comet idea sounds good.

My only problem with the wings is that the nutsert for the left wing likes to eat nylon screws. I'm also peeling a few of the starburst decals...what's the best way to put their edges back on?

I was SO happy that it would balance on the ground during wing assembly.

Cannonball.... give us some notes on your experience with the Saito 180..mine seems to pull just fine (forgot current prop size).. What prop are you using?

Thanks to all.
Scott

jbarnes

Got some feedback from Dan that selected buyers had incorrectly sized tubes. I'm sure mine is one of them. I can't get the tube will not come out of one wing after my wife and I struggled to get it in there. Took a 7/8" dowel with sandpaper and sanded the wing tube some to get the thing to finally fit good. Should have called Dan as soon as I sensed a issue. I remounted the Fugi this weekend and placed it as high on the firewall as possible. Cowl looks better but not perfect. Been concentrating on warbirds as of late for the Warbird show here. Haven't flown the Decathlon as of late. As far as the stars I believe you can use some finger nail poliish to hit the front seam to hold them down.
Thanks, Jerry.

cannonball200

My Feedback: (36)

Scott, I have 3 Saito 180's. They are awesome engines. I just took one off my 15# Hangar 9 100" J-3 Cub to install on the Super Decathlon. It would hover the cub and was too fast for it at high throttle, but that is what the throttle is for!!! It fly's the cub realistic at 1/4 throttle or so. This will make a perfect glo engine for the Decathlon. The 2.4 Fox gas engine would also be a perfect gas setup. I use a 16/8 classic prop on my 180's with good throttle control. Thanks, cannonball200 of OKC.

------------I am also going to mount my elevator servo's in the cabin on each side of the rudder servo using steel 4/40 solid rod through plastic tube's to the exit. I have the cub done this way and it works great with no servo's showing at the rear to look more scale.--------------Below are some pic's of engine instalation...... Thanks....cannonball200

sdossett

Cannonball
My 180 is mounted a bit higher than yours. Either makes for a pretty neat exhaust out of the cowl, I think.

I'm still getting used to the bigger Saito and, frankly, am very cautious around it. Sure makes the 91 in my Sukhoi 31 sound like a minor!

I considered the internal servos also..go talked out of it in the interests of CG by some good local builders. When I'm big looping at 100 yards you can't see the manyway. Will be interested to see how yours works out.

Got my new upper window in yesterday from RC Guys (could not find plexi that thin) and mounted. I put a little extra balsa and a couple extra leading edge screws in this time.

Good luck with the war-birds.
Scott

cannonball200

My Feedback: (36)

The Saito 180 will definitely take off some of your fingers.... A good flying friend that taught me to fly rc in the 70's had an accident about 3 years ago in starting one up and lost some of 3 fingers so be careful.. Always use a starter if possible. It is a great glo engine for this size airplane. I'll have mine in the air soon. I also bought one of the new 1/4 scale Hangar 9 J-3 Cubs. I have been flying the 2nd version for a few years and the 180 is a good choice there to. I am putting one in the new cub also. Happy flying to you guy's........................................ cannonball200 of OKC..............................

sdossett

Cannonball200

Do you use an on-board glow-driver for your 180's? What type?

Been having fits with the Sullivan remote glow adapter falling off. By the time I take SD cowl off and find it hanging loose, I have the engine REALLY wet and starter battery weaker. Some around the field say you just can't run these inverted..........

Bought a Dubro which has this pincer type attachment to the plug (I'm using OS-F exclusively) , seems a much more solid connection (not yet tested).

Thanks
Scott

Flying Geezer

My Feedback: (14)

You can run any Saito inverted with no problem and no onboard glow. Check your tank height. If it is too high it will siphon and flood. Also, make sure your low end needle is properly set.

The best way to set the low end needle is to set it so lean that it knocks and dies when you throttle up. Rich it a little, then try it again. When you can cram it to full without knocking or sagging, it is set.

It will idle like a Harley when you get it right.