Thanks Jeff, My main concerns are, would there be enough prop clearance for a 22 inch prop, and is the firewall wide enough for the DLE 55 with a pitts style muffler without anything sticking out of the cowl? Weight shouldn't be an issue because the DLE probably weighs less than the US 25 that they originally recommended. I see that some of these planes are in the 16 to 18 lb. range so the extra power might not be a bad thing.

Russmail, you should get on utube and see video stefan pointner pilot rc decathlon
he has 71 cc engine & flys mostly knife edge the whole flite. Enjoy ps ther are other info on building a
dynaflite decathlon o on rc universe that you could get a lot of data on various engines in the same plane. Might help you choose it did me . I'm going with a dle35RE lightning the elevator assembly & move servo's forward
trainermaster 80 frankie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf4yL0SyD3Y I like this a lot ! Capt,n

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDJl-2JSrUU This also...........................

Russmall wrote:No, maximum 19 inch with included alloy landing gear.

Thanks, that's what I wanted to know.

sorry i didnot reply sooner. had to get some back therapy. but thanks for the info on 42 engine.
i have bought a dle 35 ra?& it looks about right for the decath. will start the build in march 2015 & use some of the tail lite suggestions on these post.
thanks frankie trainermaster80

kits & engines forsale anyone interested trainermaster80.
 

i have kits & nib engines for sale. anyone interested? i am 86 have too many. also nib engines. less than tower pricetrainermaster 80 FRANKIE

Do you have a list? How may I obtain the list?

send me your email address & i will send list. discounted lower than tower. hard to find kits & engines all nib thanks for your interest frankie trainermaster 80 send to [email protected]

i did not get your email address if you want my list send it to me on a pm rc universe
starting my decathlon apr 15. have learned a lot from prior post read from #1 tt 3 80. HOPE THESE POST KEEP GOING. THANKS FOR YOUR INTEREST TRAINERMASTER 80 FRANKIE

does anyone who has built a dynaflite decathlon who has had landing gear bent or sprayed out on landing know what the thickness of the lg was. and they had to add 3/6 wire brace. what was your plane weight?
i bought my kit in dec 25 2014 i just miked mine & it measures .190 th thats a little over 3/16. it seems very sturdy. is mine thicker or not. i thought aybe dynaflite might have upgraded it as past post say it needed it.
any one help? thanks trainermaster80 frankie

I made a new landing gear out of 1/4 inch 6061 aluminum. Had to have my local machine shop bend it. It's strong enough but heavier.

Dave

thanks for the lg info i'll check in to that. do you know what the weight of yours is? trainermaster80 frankie

Mine is pretty heavy in the 14lb range. Flys well with the 35 gas engine I have on it. I wouldnt go with anything smaller then that. Plane builds very tail heavy and needs the weight up front, might as well be weight of a larger engine.
Jeff

Mine is heavy. Powered by a G-38. But even before when I had a Saito 180 in there the stock gear wasn't strong enough. I went to a beefed up carbon fiber gear, and proceeded to break it too on a very rough overshot deadstick landing.

Dave

dabrown,
thanks for your input. i am trying to compare the thickness & my of lgs to those had probs spraying on landing to the lg i have in my kit. as well as weight.
i wonder if Dynaflite improved it over the early kits. miy kit is fairly recent. just totaled my engine, muffler, engine stand offs & electronic ignition package @2.7425 lbs. or 43.88 oz. will definately follow matts lighting suggestions. thanks matt you are saving me from trouble corrections after it's built. as a mechanical/electronic engineer i will concentrate on other issues with the decath build. i saw one post where a 3/32 wire was added to reinforce the gear. it was not done correctly will post a drawing soon trainermaster80 frankie. p.s. i hope these post continue as i have read all of matts & cruizemissel.post.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2088951Hello all here is my sketch of reinforcing the landing gear. Note i have done this a number of times in the factory production items with the gusset method & wire method.
The wire should be in contact with the lg throughnout for max support.
I started the adventure of building the dynaflite decath today.. I am weighing all the wood & yes some of it is heavy. Will replace some.
I have been following these threads on the decath. Various engines & various final weights. I think it's all in the wood weight of various kits. Trainermaster 80 frankie any one still following & contributing to these post or is it dead?

Sorry to see this thred wind down seems no more activity anymore but thanks cruize missel i have enjoye your thread & those who replied to it. Thanks. Trainermaster80

What this plane could have been and what it turned out to be are two entirely different things.

Mine is the one finished in Scout color scheme with the tundra tires, way, way back.

You are absolutely correct about the wood: too much used overall, too much plywood and the balsa was heavy.

As for the landing gear, the issue is not the thickness of the legs. it's the strenght of the material: soft & weak.

That means while your sketch is interesting, what you will find is that the legs bend anyway, just beyond the ends of your braces, no matter which of your styles you choose.

Simply adding a larger engine as some have suggested to compensate for the overall weight is not a good idea. The wing loading is too high to be a nimble airplane. And the high weight puts considerable load on the structure as well as the soft landing gear.

This was without question, with the exception of anything from Sterling and the ACE Seamaster 120, the worst kit and flying plane that I have ever had in my more than 50 years of aeromodelling.

Nevertheless, I wish you all the best with yours.

Please watch my bird video, it flies well with AGM30 gasser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1QKnA4dvN8

valius saw your decath video you fly it well. Just another vidio that exites me to finish mine. Fin & rudder done stab almoast done . Elevator monday. Have reviewed wing . Should progress faster than tail feathers as i followed matts mods.
What does your bird weigh? Please thanks trainermaster80

Thanks for comments trainermaster80, Mine model RTF weight 6.2kg. That weight I rich by changing the original alloy gear and wings tube into CF. Do not forget to use light nails instead of hard heavy glue(joke) Wish you make your model as light as possible and it flies really well.

Valius,
thanks for the weight of your bird. I like your color scheme. On the wing did you cover all red first & then add white stars or did you
cover all white first & then add red areas?
My tail feathers will be done monday. Matt Newmans mods will lighten but time consuming to make all mods. Will pay off in a lighter model. Also did you use film or paint? Thanks on to the wing looks standard building methods.Trainetmaster 80

The covering process I made was: cover up and sides areas into red film( Oracover), and fix precut stars from special tape better shape into needed place. Mine plane flies second season but covering still seems fine.
I want to thank to all smart guys threads I wrote before start my SD billding. That really helped for the person(me) who never made plane kit before.

valius,
thanks for the info & your color photo of your decathlon. will copy color scheme from photo.
13.6 pounds is a good weight for the dynaflite decathlon.
it will probably be spring 2016 before i finish mine as wife has several medical problems.
glue one part each evening & in time an airplane will appear. sez my deceased friend John m.. we had fun together cheers trainermaster80.