GotSky

DLE-55ccMotor Install and Cowl lines



Stock lines are way off. I would need to raise the cowl almost a 1/2" just to get them to match. That would mean a higher motor placement and then the top of the cowl would have a 1/2" gap from the main part of the fus (way to go ASM) - solution re-paint. Plus my call #'s on the back look like they were put on - on a Friday at 5 o-clock by a guy already 4 beers into the weekend. How something that looked that bad ever made it past QC is amazing!

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

Will the G62 fit under the cowl without cutting it up? SMullis, I have not forgot you will call you so we can meet in Jamestown sometime.

GotSky

That I do not know. I have never owned a G62. I would put the specs next to each other and see how they match up. The front fin on the lower part of my cylinder head just misses the lower part of the cowl in the curved area. It cant be more than a folded papers width away. Plus the DLE costs way less then the 62 and swings a bigger prop. You'll just need lots of lead BB's up front is the draw back. Maybe even the G82 Twin That would be sweet plus zero weight would be needed - again not sure if it would fit.
This would work as well and weighs a little more than the DLE

DLE55 = 3.6 lbs


RCSV50 Twin =4.5lbs
http://www.troybuiltmodels.com/items/RCSSV50TWIN.html =4.5lbs

G62 = 82oz
http://www.chiefaircraft.com/rcmsec/...enoah.html#g62

Evolution 58GX2 = 64.42 oz

GT-55 Gas Engine = 4lbs

akroblade954

Hi GotSky

Did you settle on what the perfect C of G position was? Has anyone else got any views on the perfect C of G for this model??

Thanks

paulhlee

HELLO EVERYBODY!

I just stumbled on this thread as I have been working on one of these planes for awhile. My brother owns a 182, and i am lucky enough to go flying on a regular basis. So I decided to do an RC version of his airplane. Some things I did with the model are outlined below, with a link to my picasa web album so you can take a peek at some photos.

First thing I decided to do was add some lights. Although the lenses are not scale, I have located them in the correct locations. My brother's plane is a model year 2000, so the landing lights are in the wing, not the cowl. Also, his plane does NOT have the beacon on the underside of the fuselage. That leaves the lights on the wingtips (one white strobe, one colored solid), red flashing beacon on top of the vertical fin, one solid white on the tailcone, and two white landing lights in the left wing leading edge. The holes in the cowl have been filled in. The landing lights are connected to a separate channel on the receiver through an electronic switch so that I can turn them on/off from the transmitter. The other lights are on full time. All of the lights are powered from the receiver flight battery - a 2S LiFE pack.

Once I realized how many wires I was going to have in each wing, I came up with an idea to use a single electrical plug/socket. Ultimately, I used a DB-9 setup (common on older computer mice), and mounted the plugs in a fixed location so I simply have to slide the wings on to achieve all of the appropriate connections. All of the wires in the fuse are routed through split loom and hidden behind the various panels so you cannot see them at all.

To power the model, I decided to go electric. I went with a HUGE Turnigy motor, and 12 LiPo cells. With a 3-blade prop at 20x12, I am pulling 4600 watts - more than enough to get this plane in the air. The batteries are located in the front where the fuel tank would normally go, and are accessible through the top hatch of the model. I mounted all of the electrical switches/etc in a panel behind the luggage door. I used different hinges than what came in the kit so they look more stealth like the full scale plane. Behind the door is the arming plug for the motor, the on/off switch for the radio gear, and a volt meter so I can see how my receiver pack is.

Painting turned out to be a bit of a challenge. My first go at it yielded real crummy results. Covering RED is sometimes tough. But after a second go at it (stripped off the first try, sanded, primered, re-painted) I got much better results. The plane is painted all white. I made the decals myself with a vinyl cutter.

I got the optional interior kit and installed it just today. I have to say I am not too thrilled with its fit and finish, but it sure beats looking in on a hollow fuse with wires and formers.

I am using an Airtronics SD-10G with Airtronics digital servos throughout. One of the cool things about the 10G is it has a delay option I can program on the servos. So I set it up on the flaps and when I deplay them they come down/go up slowly - very cool looking.


I'll be doing the Maiden on her this week - Tuesday or Wednesday so I am just finalizing all the little stuff. Double checking the CG, control throws, etc. Eventually I am going to revisit the interior kit and see what I can do to clean it up. Also will be looking to make the landing lights look more scale.

Link to Piasa Web Album: http://picasaweb.google.com/paulhlee1967/ASMCessnaBuild

rtigg

My Feedback: (7)

good morning all. I have installed a G62 with very minimal cowl cutting. Working on the balance. Has anyone flown theres, how did they fly???? any comment apreciated

GotSky

Mine flys like a big trainer. No bad habits & slows nicely on touch down. Still have trouble with my wing tube fitment but have worked out everything else.

Akro. I will get you my CG next time I have the wings on (soon)

fijibubba

My Feedback: (6)

I built one in november and have well over 100 flights on it. It flys great and is a real head turner. I really love this plane. It has a little access door in the back on the left side. I installed the power switches and fuel dot in there so the profile is nice and clean...you open the door to turn on the ignition, RX, and fuel her up! This plane flys great....its a big gentle baby in the air. It has no bad habits and slows right down on landing with the flap fully deployed. I used all the travel i could get on the full down setting of flaps, mixing in just a hair of nose down elevator. I have my radio set up with 3 position flaps (full up, 50% down, and 100% down). I set up all flight control travel and expo exactly the way the instruction manual called for when i built it. This was great to start and i only increased the travel and expo a hair for the hi rates. I have a TOC 53 in this plane. When i built it, it was very tail heavy. I had to add 4 lbs of weight to it to balance it. The weight is mounted on the fire wall. I can't imagine trying to fly this plane with an engine smaller than 50cc (the book says 30cc-50cc). The balance would be way off, and IMO it would be lacking needed power. This plane has quick become my favorite. I have found that each time i head out to the garage to load up for the field with the intentions of bringing my TOC Yak, I see the Cessna and say "I'll just fly the yak tomorrow" hahahaha. I now have 2 big yaks that are developing some nice flat spots on the tires do to sitting because of this plane. Hope everyone is enjoying flying this plane as much as i am.

Pete

akroblade954

Hi

Just finished assembling my ASM Cessna, which has been great fun! I have put a Tunigy / FTL 52cc single gasser (cheap n cheerful!) in it and initial full power taxi tests looks like it has plenty of power and sounds pretty good too - not strimmer like at all!!

Before setting up the C of G as per the manual, I thought I would have another try here to see if anyone can give some good advice. I have read that the standard settings make it feel very nose heavy in the air? Could this be because the fuel tank is so far forward that a full tank significantly ruins the balance?? Maybe an idea would be to balance it with half a 1000cc tank filled, then fill it up for flight and never let it get down as far as half full?? Not normally good practice, but maybe a way to get round a bit of a design flaw, which also will have the added bonus of not needing as much lead weight up front?? 500cc should be good for at least 15 mins scale flight I should think (but will test!!!).

Another question! Has anyone found a suitable pilot to sit inside? The cabin floor is too high for scale and the seats are too narrow, but I just want to try something close to scale size without resorting to a bespoke made pilot.

One tip from me now! To over come the cowl lines not lining up by 1/4 to 1/2 inch, simply push the cowl on further onto the fuselage (only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch is required). The lines will now be perfect on top and both sides. The only slight downside is that the motor standoff's will also need to be the same amount shorter, which may mean you need to add more weight to balance it. But if my theory above is OK, this wont be a problem anyway????

Thanks

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

Rtigg, how about a picture of the G 62 in the cowl? I am still debating on which engine to use. I have a 3W 56i Twin just dont know if it would have enough power, it weighs 4.0 lbs.

Tim

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

Here is a shot of the 3w 56i twin. Looks like I will have to cut the cowl for the boots. What do you guys think, should I cut the cowl or do a different motor?

If a DLE 55 is too much power. How would a DLE 30 do?

Tim

duanen

My Feedback: (1)

I also have put a twin in mine it is the RCGF 50cc twin and I only needed to cut the cowl where the lights would go on the cowl itself and only for the mufflers but not on the sides of the cowl .I also had to add 1.5kg in wieght to make it balance at the recommended point.I only have photos of the engine installed but not with the cowl on.If I can workout how to post picuters I will put them on

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

Duanen, thanks for the pictures. Is the RCGF a reliable engine?

Tim

duanen

My Feedback: (1)

Tim,
I have a RCGF 26cc in a edge 540 and it runs great. two other club members have the 50cc twin in piper pawnees and they love them.The local supplier(yd models) has great back up and support but I beleive the USA dealer also has a good rep.There are several threads in the engine section on these engines.I have run the engine in the plane but only on the ground.it has plenty of pull and it starts and runs great.I am working on the wing mounting at the moment as I dont like the idea of running screws into wing tubes to hold the wings on,so im unsure of when I will get this bird in the air to give a report on the actual engine in the plane.But all reports are that they are good.I ahve attched two pictures of the cowl sitting overe the engine(excuse the roughness) but I hope it shows you how little of the cowl I actauly had to remove.I hope this helps

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

It appears that the model is no longer available. Hobby People no longer shows it on their website.

jarealty

My Feedback: (2)

Hello all, I picked up this plane at a swap meet this weekend. Wow! This plane is huge! I've been online all day researching and noticed that hobby people is/was selling them. I also found Graves RC in Orlando and as of today 07/26/10 there are 3 in stock. Anyways I will be installing a dle 55 and on servos I was thinking of hitec 5645 digitals on all flying surfaces. Is this over-kill... I do see people going with the 645mg? Thanks! again

akroblade954

Flew the maiden flight with my ASM this weekend. Video on youtube [link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hq2Si_0y5i8]ASM Cessna Maiden Flight[/link] What a great model to fly - very scale, though my maiden was not a very scale slow speed!! Subsequent flights were better!!

Model ended up being fitted out with a Turnigy / FTL 52cc motor (no cowl cutting except for exhaust exits), all Hitec digis (5625's+5645's), dual batteries via an SM Services Backer and the rubbish 'scale' interior!! Some people may say the servos etc are over kill, but it is not a cheap model so why not give it a good chance of survival????

jarealty

My Feedback: (2)

hey akroblade954, how was your CG? I'm also going with Hitec 5645's...for the piece of mind.

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

I just got my DLE 55 for my cessna. How difficult is it to mount the DLE 55? Did you use Hitec 5645 on all controls?

jarealty

My Feedback: (2)

I haven't mounted the dle 55 yet. I'm going with 5645's all around. I've had to adjust pretty much everything on the build so far. Nothing seems to line up with what the manual says, but so far so good.

akroblade954

I put the CofG at 120mm back from the leading edge and it seems fine - needed 1kg of lead up front along with the three 6v Sub C NiMh packs! I figured that the fuel tank is so far forward that it was going to push the CofG massively forward anyway. One thing I am going to do is junk the 1000ml fuel tank and put a 500ml or so tank in. Managed over 20 mins on half a tank full, so no point carrying around the extra weight.

I went for 5645's (high torque) on Flap's, Rudder and Steering and 5625's on Aileron's and Elevators (slightly higher speed) and a standard servo (HS325BB) on the throttle.

The only thing I had to adjust in the build was having to bend the rear tailplane tube so that the horizontal stabs actually mated up with the side of the fuz!! Was about 5mm out!

One word of warning that I learnt from a failure suffered by someone I know. After about 100 flights and starting to really through his around, the whole tail fin and the vertical bit that goes along the top of the fuz came away while in flight [X(] He managed to get it on the ground and on taking it apart he found very little glue was used to fix the tail end ply fuselage formers in place. I mega epoxied inside mine!!!!

A few pics attached - notice how cowl lines all line up?? Simply push the cowl on further until they line up then screw it on!! Mount engine to suit.......

jarealty

My Feedback: (2)

Nice Pics! Funny that you mentioned about the tail fin, just last night I was looking and noticed there's not much glue on mine. I'm going with a dle 55 engine so I'm going to try your CG and see how it goes.

flyinucrazy

My Feedback: (107)

Ackoblade, Very nice plane! I cannot wait to get mine together.

Zippi

My Feedback: (10)

akroblade954,

Nice plane. I was looking at your pics and noticed that there is no opening on the bottom of the cowl that I can see for cooling. Just curious as to how your keeping that gasser cool or maybe it's cooler weather where your at. It's been staying right at °100 here and not very nice flying weather.

akroblade954

Funny you should say that!! I didn't want to cut a big hole and I thought that with a 52cc I could fly round at 1/3 throttle so keeping the engine cool ish anyway. But, after about 10 mins or so on the maiden it seemed to be losing power and getting a bit tight (was needing nearly full power just to do a level down wind turn [X(] ). So once I landed, I took a pair of scissors to the area by the nose leg and cut a reasonable size opening. This did actually help a lot and the engine seemed to loosen up after a few flights. Once home, I made the opening bigger and neater and intend flying like this for a good hour or more. Then I will probably try putting some mesh over the hole (painted white) and see how it goes.