RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls...  
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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/25/2008 7:18:09 PM   
gaRCfield


 

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Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks Ken.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/25/2008 8:06:13 PM   
gaRCfield


 

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Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		For what it's worth, the Phoenix Decathlon has much better ratings and flight descriptions than the other brands. Great Planes, Seagull, etc. people talk about needing speed and stalling, but not so much with the Phoenix; people seem to say that the Phoenix Decathlon tones down nicely.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/25/2008 8:53:32 PM   
SBOT


 

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Joined: 10/31/2005
From: Tyler, TX, USA
Status: offline 		I dunno about that. I have a Phoneix Decathalon and it has snapped on me twice. I was obviously going to slow while turning from the downwind leg to final when the plane went into a lazy slow snap, but it sure didn't feel like it at the time. I was able to save the plane both times with only a scratched cowl and a broken prop. My advive keep the speed up while landing. It's a pretty plane though good quality too.

Good luck,
Oscar


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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 2:57:42 AM   
gaRCfield


 

Posts: 1126
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		Well after today I'm definitely ready for it! I can't wait. Just put the order in at my LHS. It sure is a pretty plane.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 3:27:14 AM   
ChuckW


 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: gaRCfield

Well after today I'm definitely ready for it! I can't wait. Just put the order in at my LHS. It sure is a pretty plane.


Just remember what Minnflyer and RCKen have pointed out. A Decathalon can be a very aerobatic plane and that can get someone into trouble. One thing I've personally noticed about them is poor ground handling.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Graybeard
Chuck, our temps have been about the same as yours, maybe just A yaste cooler. This week it has been in the mid to high 90s.
Gene


It's starting t heat up here today. I checked weather.com and I see Las Vegas will be 105-107 while we're there. Sounds like I will be indoors a lot.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 3:27:45 AM   
gaRCfield


 

Posts: 1126
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Status: offline 		Let me rephrase that:

I am SO ready for the Decathlon

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 8:38:05 AM   
bigtim


 

Posts: 2323
Joined: 5/31/2004
From: san francisco, CA, USA
Status: offline 		I won a Decathalon at our club raffle and when I asked some members that I respect alot what there opinion was about the plane there reply was in tune with what many of the posters have said about this plane quick to snap and not the greatest handeling on the ground.
fortunitely for me the instructions were missiing so our LHS exchanged it for another kit of equaal value,a Gizmo from G&L designs I power mine with a OS46AX it is everything the Decathalon is as far as stunt flying but is a solid second or 3rd plane with none of the bad habits I still fly it and it can be a handfull,last ime I checked you were flying your nextar these planes aren't nextars.
its the nice thing about this hobby you make the choices you live with em,or crash em.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 5:01:19 PM   
Gray Beard


 

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Joined: 4/21/2003
From: Hemderson, NV, USA
Status: offline 		Chuck, It's A Dry Heat!!! Sorta Like Fire. It's not bad at all until about 10 or so then it warms up, that 105 will be about 5.
Guys, Please have no fear of this sweet little plane. It's A wonderful second plane if you learned your basics with the trainer and your instructor taught you how other planes take off and land. It can jump up and bite your butt, however it's just basic things. It's not A trainer, it's short coupled so you can't get behind it on take off and it can snap if you try to float it in like A trainer. If you are going too slow and doing A high banked turn it can snap on you.
It's A stunt plane trainer and A great learning tool.
AND A FUEL DOT WORKS GREAT ON THIS PLANE TOO!!! They don't even have to come out of the cowl either.

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 5:46:26 PM   
gaRCfield


 

Posts: 1126
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		Thanks Graybeard. I think I like the fuel dot system, and not coming out of the cowl seems to be a bit easier in case you have to remove the cowl, although the brass dots look great in the red cowl.

I'm currently doing basic aerobatic training on my (tail dragger) Dolphin. My instructor taught me how to fly my plane, including how to fly my plane from the ground up, not just nailing the throttle, nailing the elevator, and being behind the plane while it pulls me. I essentially am flying my plane while it's still on two wheels, and when I like it's attitude, I tell it to leave the ground. I've started practicing flying at stall speeds, a few mistakes high, to see when and why my plane stalls. Of course I'd do this with the Decathlon, nice and high, to learn the plane's behavior. I think an aerobatic trainer is exactly the right next plane for me. I'm sure if you guys all saw me fly a plane you'd say the same thing.

< Message edited by gaRCfield -- 6/26/2008 5:48:10 PM >

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/26/2008 5:50:50 PM   
gaRCfield


 

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From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		So what holds the fuel line inside the fuel dot? Does the fuel line have to stick out past the side of the plane, or is this a pretty clean installing system?

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/27/2008 12:24:53 AM   
cruzomatic


 

Posts: 1932
Joined: 1/28/2003
From: San Antonio, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Stick with the fuel dots. Easy to setup, reliable, cheap and did I mention easy to setup. Go with the three line system as others have mentioned. One for air, one for fill and the other for the carb.

< Message edited by cruzomatic -- 6/27/2008 12:25:55 AM >

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/27/2008 2:53:06 AM   
Gray Beard


 

Posts: 1844
Joined: 4/21/2003
From: Hemderson, NV, USA
Status: offline 		OK, her are 1000 words for you. The one plane with two dots are on my Extra, at one point I had A YS 1.20 in it. Don't ask, it will just burn out those little gray cells but that why it has two dots. The other plane is A 4*60 one of my students is building. It has A Saito Golden Knight engine so it has to have the gold dot, it's A cool thing. There is an O-Ring that is around the cap and it snaps into the dot to hold it all in place. You can also run fat fuel line too and the tight will keep things in.
There, now the fuel dot question has been beaten to death!!

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/27/2008 3:06:57 AM   
gaRCfield


 

Posts: 1126
Joined: 5/20/2008
From: Burlington, VT, USA
Status: offline 		I'm sorry, if the question has been beaten to death, then I am about to start kicking a dead horse

So with the fuel dots, you pull the line out of the plane as necessary to fill it, then stick the dot in the end and push it back in the plane (and the dot keeps it from falling in the cowl)?
So the fuel line isn't actually fastened to the port through the cowl. This is what I wasn't understanding.

I looked around at my field yesterday and didn't see planes set up this way; just saw things like the Filler Valves (not working by the way!).

Thanks for the pics.


It's not moving

< Message edited by gaRCfield -- 6/27/2008 3:08:08 AM >

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RE: Fuel valves, fillers, and dots for cowls... - 6/27/2008 3:10:08 AM   
RCKen



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From: Lawton, OK, USA
Status: offline 		Yes, that's how fuel dots work.

Ken

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