flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

My first Twin and I wanted it to be right for me. I chose the F-7 because of it's beauty and class. KMP's Tiger was the answer. I was so impressed with the aircraft, everything was perfect except I got the old landing gear. Paul Morrison and the people at KMP bent over backwards for me getting everything right. The build was delayed but I now have the Generation 5 retracts and the wheels etc make the total package full composite worth the purchase. These days YOU DO get what you paid for anymore. It was sent with geardoors and I wanted them to work. The instructions were lazy and they (the chinese) would have you to screw them up to the nacelles and cut a hole through them to pass the gear through. The normal installation was to put a cylinder on each door and replace the main valve with a sequencing gear valve that takes care of everything. The investment for the air cylinders and fancy valve run close to $300. Well, I run out of $ so I needed a cheap man's method that was viable. Studying the design, the long strut combined with the long compound curved doors made a mechanical method of opening and closing those doors a mathematical nightmare. Pictures below show a workable solution with a basic valve and a single air cylinder for both doors. Thanks to robart. They make a beautiful geardoor hinge that is metal and nylon bushed. At $10.00 a pair I thought they better be worth it cause I didn't find anywhere else that made them. They were worth it. The compound curves of the doors made it difficult to choose where to install the hinges but I finally found them. The hinge point must be very close to the edge of the door and I had to cut the lip away from the nacelle at the hinge locations to make them work properly. The 1" travel robart cylinder was a perfect solution to operate the linkage pulling down the doors. The linkage installation must be in front of the down and locked strut and there was just enough room. I installed two airtanks and linked them together and they feed both air systems that I operate independently. I hope anyone who wants gear doors will get a benefit from the pics. One of the accidental things that happened was that the extended doors were located in the true to scale positions.. an extra bonus. Cost of install, approx. $100 including hinges.

Another desire I wanted in this bird was speed. Powerful engines that cowl in. No two stroke this time so I chose the Saito 125 which is rated at 2.2 HP. There was a write up recently in one of the magazines complaining about the nitro burners quitting on runout because of tank location in the nacelles. The instructions call for a side mount. I am installing an inverted, cowled in method using Keleo Creations inverted pitts muffler. That guy is a genius when it comes to compact designs. I am very happy with the engine installation and didn't have to put in the 91's to get a cowled in effect. It puts the carb slightly below the tank centerline as well so I don't think there will be any flameouts. I entertained the G-26, but the combined additional weight would have added close to six lbs on the airframe. This plane is going to be fast.

F82FAN

My Feedback: (10)

Hey FTD,
Pretty nice door and muffler installations.
First, are you using an electronic servo sequencer, or how are you keeping the doors OPEN until the gear goes up in the wells? I'm flying mine with no doors until I know I've got the major bugs worked out...
Next,
Have you used these mufflers before?
It seems like an AWEFUL lot of heat right next to that intake pipe. Is there an insulator of any kind between the exhaust and the pipe???
Seems like it could cause more vapor lock than a big block in a Nova II !!!
I think I would put a thick layer of high temp RTV between the two pieces...
Just asking. It IS beautiful. You will LOVE the way it flies. Very large presence in the air!
I've got YS 1.20's and am swinging 15X7 airscrews (8600RPM) and it is plenty fast. I may check out some 14X9 3-blades just to see if there is much difference.
You should move this into the other T-cat thread so that more people would get in on it...
Keep up the good work.
F82FAN

flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

In answer to your questions, Keleo Creations (pronounced kell-e-oh) doesn't haphazardly design his products. This guy wrings out his designs until they work perfect. Yes I have used his products on a Saito 450 ring exhaust and a P-51 scale working exhaust system with a Saito 200 v-twin. Both have been very successful. Where the canister passes over the intake manifold, he has cut out the clearance for a wrap around effect and capped it with a curve piece of aluminum. You will notice that the expansion chamber starts the moment the exhaust leaves the head. This is why the muffler is tight and compact to the engine allowing close to firwall mounting if desired. The muffler can be adjusted so that the stacks can almost go straight down. Better than any other design I have seen out there. The design has been tested and tested before production.

Another reason I chose the Saito 125 is it is possible to purchase a Saito 200 rear cylinder Cam and it will work on the Saito 100/125 to make the engine run backwards. Hence if I so desire, I can convert the engines to counter rotating. A little known heresay I learned about.

The other question you had was sequencing. Remember that I wanted a low cost solution and automatic sequencing would raise the bar too much for me. The doors are operated by another radio channel and I am the sequencer. I posted a notice in the build thread and I don't know how to move the post elsewhere. Thank you for the positive input.

camdyson

Which one of the 3 transmitters in the photo are you using? Looks like plenty of channels![8D]

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

FTD;

I like your gear door solution; I may use this idea for the tail wheel doors on my TF GS RTC P-51; one question; what did you use as an attachement point that screwed onto the piston rod of the aircylinder that the gear door push rods attached to?

Doug.

flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

The Air cylinder comes with a 2-56 internal thread in the shaft. I bought a 2-56 all thread and a large piece of brass tubing. I drilled a small hole through the tubing and threaded the all thread through it. I then flattened the tubing around the all thread, sandwiched some silver solder between the tube walls, hammered it against an anvil to flatten and mold around the 2-56 thread, heated with torch and voila, a mount to attach the rods to. It does work well.

flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

Camdyson, those are television and surround sound remotes, not transmitters lol....

kinverflyer

Flytaildragger, love those exhausts where did you get them and do you know if they ship to the UK?

flytaildragger

My Feedback: (8)

Kniver;

Yes, they are awesome for guys like me who care greatly about sticking a muffler out the side of a cowl. I met this guy at a show and bought an exhaust ring for my Saito 450 he makes. He is in the business and you must buy them direct. The place you order or communicate with him is www.keleo-creations.com . I am sure he will be happy to help you. Just let him know where you seen his product and from whom. His name is Kelvin. He has solved all of my exhaust issues since I have met him..

You can mount that exhaust Pitts muffler right against the firewall in most of his designs.