RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Hey guys, I know that glow fuel is getting pretty expensive now days but we all still want to get out and huck the heck out of our planes. RCGF has two 20cc gas engines for sale that will go great on your 60-120 size planes. I put a Aerovate (RCGF) 20cc rear carb on a Profile yak-54 that I got from Cedar Hobbies on ebay for 99.00 shipped at the time. The plane and engine combo are great together! its not a ballistic power house but it does have nice throttle response and good hover pull out. The one I put together was the prototype one I did it in like 2 days time and it worked out great. The plane Had a super tigre .75 in it at first and it was OK, the RCGF 20cc woke it up a bit. with the super tigre the plane weighed a little over 6.7lbs and with the 20cc its at 7.5lbs and 16oz per sq. ft. wing loading. My friend CnB has one he is going to put together and I'll ask him to post pictures of the Build and install.

Here are a couple pictures and some video of the plane and engine in action....

Video 1... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD6jaaO8Bgw

video 2... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SveTee_jfKk

You can find the engines at www.zrcgf.com

T.J.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

kewl

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

subscribed...

How (and where) did you reinforce the fuse??

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

If you look at the picture its under the trim covering behind the engine mounts... (I just patched it with cove-rite trim cover LOL..) I pealed back the covering, put epoxy on parts that I thought needed it, and also added some ply support to the balsa stringers. After that I made 1/8th ply supports that I sandwiched behind the mounts, you can kind of see it under the trim.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

CnB has one and he has to put it together once he starts I'll ask him to post pics...

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

That would be great to read up on a finished build before starting mine.


what servos did you use?
And how many flights do you have on yours and has there been any noticable vibration damage so far...?

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

I have about 15 flights on mine. No vibration damage noticable. In one day I think I flew it like 9 times. Its very fun, especially when you know that the gas is only costing you like 10-15 cents per flight! I have some futaba 3305's on the tail and Scanner RC 9764's on the ailerons, and a 3004 on the throttle. I would recommend servos with at least 130oz of torque for good 3d results. The Power HD 9110 are digital and 29.00bucks with 146oz of torque. For some reason the 9150's are always sold out!? go figure;)...

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Sound good...that will get me started

thanks TJ

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

So Terry did you get the plane yet?

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

No I didn't... got an e-mail from ebay showing that I have paid for it but so far...no show

How long did it take to get yours in?

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

It took about a week. same for CnB.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Well what a difference a day makes...I am told that a large package has arrived at home...should be my cedar hobby Yak profile. kinda like christmas in april. :D

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

nice! halfway there now!

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Ok finally got it done. The motor mounts are 1/4 inch ply sandwiched on each other with medium CA and hardened with thin CA. There is a total of 1/2 inch of ply on either side of the fuse. The angle aluminum used is available at lowes or home depot for about 6 bucks. I used nylon spacers purchased at lowes to space the engine out a bit more. The are 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch spacers. I also upgraded the hinges for CA to Dubro pin hinges, I like the Dubro better. All up weight is 7lbs 11 ounces. I used Hitec metal gear servos, 4-40 push rod links (upgraded) APC 16x4W prop. JR 2.4 receiver and a 6.0 volt NIMH battery to power both receiver and ignition.

The bolts I used to secure the aluminum mounts to the built up ply are 8/32 and 3 inches long ( later cut to length after the install ) don't forget some star lock washers and blue loctite!!

Any questions on how things were done please post.

You must put the horizontal stabilizer and elevator on the plane before attaching the rudder.

To size the ply for the mount I made I just traced out the width of the angle aluminum I was going to use and cut 2 strips of ply for each side matching the pattern. I then removed the covering and glued the mount ply onto the fuselage ply. I let the aft covering butt up against the mount, I sealed that seam with some medium CA. Makes for a clean install.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

It is a good idea to put a standard servo in for the throttle. Also note the throttle linkage. This is the best way to do it because it is tight. You need to enlarge the mount to do so but it is easy. Also check that your template is level before drilling the motor mount. I did place a small amount of right thrust in the mount. I did this by placing the aluminum mount on the right about 3mm more forward than the mount on the left.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

There is an internal tunnel to run servo extension back to the elevator and rudder servos. Also someone mentioned engine vibration. To be honest I have almost none at all perhaps T3's prop was not balanced. This motor is a smooth as a glow motor, the plane does not shake. There is no need for reinforcement from shaking if you set stuff up correctly.

>> You can see the right thrust in the last picture here

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

T3beatz, are you going to bring your buddies and these planes with you to the Columbia MO ProBro on April 25?

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Yep I'm planing on it. If the weather is good I will be there!

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

The pictures tell the story verywell.
Did you use the fuel tank from the ARF? (looks like the one I got with mine)

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Just you? Or are you bringing others with you?

(need a head count for the Saturday dinner)

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

yes I did but a smaller tank is okay to. The stock tank will carry enough gas to fly for almost 25 minutes !!! I will down grade my tank later for now I am going to fly with the tank 1/2 full to loose some weight.

Also on the first tank of gas the RCGF 20CC was turning my APC 16x4W at 8440 Rpm, not bad.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

I'll see if CnB can come. If he is free...

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Just to add, This is not a hi cost hi grade ARF like OMP. But its not $275.00 either. You will get your moneys worth out of it, trust me. Its a well made plane, the one negative thing I would say about it is the tangs used to mount the wings to the fuse should be reinforced before you do super hard flying. Go over them with CA. I have donked mine in at least 5 times and it still was ticking until today! Now I have to fix it again.:D

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Aww yeah... Note how in the picture CnB reinforced the Horizontal stab on the bottom with some 1/8th ply. If you do any kind of hard 3d flying you don't want that elevator twisting from the torque. the only part that connects them is the small piece in the middle.

RE: RCGF 20cc gas engine on a 63" Profile Yak-54
 

Then again TJ planes aren't made to crash ;) I agree though, that is really the only drawback of this ARF but it is a manageable thing, just harden em with CA and keep an eye on them for wear.