airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

I have to admit, although I like the larger WH planes, if I was in the market for a smaller one this would be it! The wing area, the weight, and the ease of build are all a plus in my book.

Its lighter than the Yellow Aircraft Edge 540, builds more easily, and I imagine will fly better as well. Balance is a non issue when using a nice light 4 stroke. If you want a first WH to get your feet wet, and dont want to go gas - then buy this plane! It will teach you how easy the larger WH planes are to build. It really is like a smaller 28% Wild Hare plane.

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Sorry Everyone,
It will unfortunately be a couple of more days before I can post some photos. Emmanuel did a fantastic job on this build. I'm having a problem with numerous bubbles and wrinkles in the wing and stab covering. Emmanuel went over the plane at least twice and the fusalage is perfect. I worked three hours yesterday ironing the covering back down on the wing panels. I agree with Sparhawk as the seams on my airplane are also overlapped the wrong way. Unfortunately the factory applied graphics lift and start to melt with the heat needed to get the covering laid down. There was a very large air bubble under the WH logo on top of the right wing panel and I wound up having to remove it to get the covering to lay down still trying to save the Wildhare RC script, but that might not be possible either (Sorry Tom).

The graphic package supplied by B&E Graphics was beautifully done, however it appears that the heat during transport and sitting on my doorstep may have messed up the graphics. When you try to peel off the protective tape everything acts like it is stuck together. This morning I'll finish tightening up the covering on both wings and stab halves. Eric Bryant from B&E is a great guy and has offered up some ideas on how to try and save the graphics. After I am sure that the covering will stay down, the graphics will be layed out and cut to length. If they will not work out Eric has offered to cut and ship me some new ones. If that has to be done as he is familiar with the WH planes, I'll ask him to cut some WH logos to replace the ones that had to be removed. All this really is no big deal and is to be expected. It's just time consuming and has set back my plans to have run up the big YS this weekend[&o].

Sparhawk

I also enjoy flying my 30% Edge from BME, but this is a great flying plane with a vertical unmatched (yet) by my bigger Edge. I found the plane to fly very precisely and will be a valuable tool in getting the IMAC sequences practiced and learned.

Some pics of the maiden:

Spar

DiscoWings

My Feedback: (76)

well...

I think its safe to say I'll wait for revision 2 of this plane when the fix these little problems.

I'm not the best builder so if things don't fit snug and require some mad scientist type fixes then I'll pass.

rctom

This IS rev. 2. What problems are you referring to?

I am not planning any changes to the plane at this point.

As far as I know the only reported difficulty is that the channel in the foam in the wings misses the aileron servo by a half inch and you have to punch through with a pencil or screwdriver, total time to fix about 15 seconds.

TF

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Discowings,
Tom's right, this build was straight, true and strong. The only problem if you want to call it one was having to spend some extra time ironing down the covering. Want me to tell you how long I spent doing that on my Great Planes UCD 60? The extra time that I spent yesterday and this morning was well worth the effort. Some of the graphics were applied this morning and I'll finish the other wing half tomorrow. By the way after working on the covering it stayed down all night in 95 degree heat and in the sun this morning while the graphics cured. Try that with a Monokote job I do not think it will do that, pics to follow probably Tuesday.

airborneSGT

My Feedback: (15)

I am glad you were able to get all the details of your small plane together I will be ordering up some more planes really soon. Now if only there were some Wild Hare Trailers...then I would be in business.

Sparhawk

DiscoWings - Wait for what?? This is a great plane. I started this last Sunday and maidened it yesterday, and that's only working at it after supper. If you have any experience building or assembling ARF's at all, you will see that this is a piece of cake. So what if the covering needs to be ironed down. Show me an ARF that's built in another country that doesn't need it, when it hits our climate. What else can't you work through? I had to make 4 new landing gear holes, and install the rudder servo in the rear so I wouldn't have to add any balance weight. Like I mentioned before, its no big deal.

As Tom asked, "What problems are you referring to?". You mentioned "mad scientist type fixes". What gives you the idea that you need that? Please explain. This is not a RTF plane. You must be able to complete and use basic skills to assemble the plane. I am pretty confident that any hurdles that you encounter can be resolved with the amount of expertise that is available on this thread. Don't pass on a great flying plane because you might have to use a covering iron.

Spar

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Darn it, sparhawk... Thanks a TON for pegging my "want" meter; and I'm just not in a position to satisfy it yet.[]

Interesting about the aft-mounted rudder servo. I'll get with you for more details when I do mine. As far as I'm concerned, pull-pull set-ups are a PITA; give me a good old-fashioned pushrod ANY day.

I was going to fit a VP30 on mine, but now I dunno. I realize that a CG mounted tank is optimum, but since any competing I do will be strictly for kicks, do I REALLY need it? I assume your tank is in the supplied forwar location? Since you didn't mention it, I also assume you didn't have to resort to pinching shut one exhaust stack, or similar undesirable things?

Did you use Tom's hardware pack? I've been pricing stuff separately; haven't been able to beat that $50 price yet.

Man, that is one alluring model airplane. It reminds me of the old, now-discontinued X-Cell 60 glass canopy; it looks at you like you owe it money.

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Sparhawk,
Very well articulated thank you, the only real issues we encountered were having to pop through the foam for the wing servo leads and dealing with a warped left side rear stringer and of course the covering. Maybe this guy should just be looking for an already completed aircraft. Mine should be up to my standards by the end of the week. I'll wait for the maiden until Emmanuel gets his Extra 260 built. After your flight report I can hardly wait to crank the big YS up and get her into the air. That way he can fly mine and I can fly his. Afterall IMHO he is a much better pilot that I am and can get her dialed in a heartbeat.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

Well, start running some fuel through that YS ASAP. It's going to take a few gallons to get to where she'll run without trouble.

jeyre

Here is my flight report

my build:
Aileron: 5645s
Evevators: 5645s
Rudder: 5945 (mounted in aft mounting location with pull-pull)

Engine: Saito 1.80
Prop: 18X6W

Power: Fromeco 7.4v 4800mah with 6 volt regulator

Weight Dry: 11lbs 4oz

Throws: per manual

Ok, the build went really well. Everything went together without a problem. I did run into the same aileron servo lead feature that is listed above. Like Tom says "takes 15 seconds to fix". Plane balanced at 4.75" (still a little too far forward for my tastes). The Saito 1.80 did not cause alot of problems with balancing, like I thought it might.

initial test flight: take off was flawless on low rates this plane is still responsive. Throttle on take off roll was no higher than 1/2. trim was a couple of clicks of up and she was ready for a high rates run. switched to high rates and "popped" into a hover (less than 1/4 throttle to hold hover). Pull out was with amazing authority, literally jumped out of the hover. Swiched to low rates and continued with the test flight. Plane floats like there is no tomorrow. All I can say about that is KEEP IT LIGHT!! After landing I went over all the bolts, control rods and anything that could have vibrated loose. After tightening everything it was time for flight 2

Follow on flights. I continued "shaking down" the plane. The first flatspin was perfect. Hovers easy. High alpha knife edges amazing. This is going to be a 3-D monster. quick on the uptake when told to do something.

I can say you will have no regrets buying this airplane.

Tom, Thanks for a great ARF

I am another victim of the Wild Hare bite!

John

Sparhawk

Steve - Hehehe, sorry about the meter! But you are going to have to work another job or something and move it up the line as a "have-to-have-this-now" plane! Some answers - I don't mind pull-pull setups, but in my case it was easier to locate the weight in the rear and avoid the battery being located waay back behind the canopy. So it was a workable tradeoff. I used no pump. The tank sits on the forward platform with the stopper just forward of the former that is also the edge of the cowl. The rear of the tank sits about 1/2" off of the platform towards the rear. I used large tubing inside the tank and to the carb, plus I drilled out the clunk. The vent line is med size. No other changes to the fuel/engine/exhaust setup. I used Tom's hardware pack, and it is very complete.... definitely worth getting. The only change I made to the supplied hardware was that I had some of the Dubro HD Horns hardware, namely the large metalic bolt and black washer that appears on the top of the flight surfaces. These you can see in my pics. The canopy was cleansed with soap and water and airbrushed on the inside with the Candy Blue Pactra acrylic paint, thinned 50%. I think the canopy calls out for color.... maybe screams!

olstney - Thanks! I am not sure when I see posts like that if the postee is just inexperienced, a troller, or has an honest point of view. I will always assume that posts are done with good intent. I hope I didn't come across as harsh, it was not my intention. The post by DiscoWings could have elaborated on his perceived problems with the plane and when I see simple posts without supporting arguments, it raises more questions. I hope he responds. One more thing about mine that I didn't mention is that used clear Monokote to seal all hinge lines (I didn't have any matching Ultracote). I found it tracked very nicely and on low rates it will do IMAC very easily. I have yet to explore the realms of 3D yet, so hopefully I will know more this week.

jeyre - reading your post made me relive my maidenall over again! Very cool! When doing KE, I always like to "wag" its tail as it goes by. Looks different, as if its waving goodbye! LOL

Tom, thx for bringing this plane to market. Fills that gap I had in my hangar perfectly. I had a few enquiries about it so you just might see some more sales from my neck of the woods.

Cheers,
Spar

LSP972

My Feedback: (13)

Yeah, I need to get off my butt and score one before this lot is all gone. I've cleaned out most of my smaller (40-60 size) stuff, and am having a "fire sale"...

morterango469

I just thought I would throw my 2 cents in about the build. I am about 75% complete with my build and have spent about 10 - 15 hours on it. I am not a real experienced builder so I have been taking it slow. There is nothing to complicated about putting this bird together, in fact it builds a little easier than most .40 sized models I have put together. Very good quality on the build no major problems or complaints. Does anyone have a concern about the fuel tank floor being made of thin balsa rather than lite ply? Doesn't seem like it could hold 20oz of weight thrashing around.

Hardware used;

Saito 1.80 with Saito mount
Slimline 4 stroke pitts muffler
Hitec 5625's on ail and elev
Hitec 5645 on rudder

I will say one thing about the hardware kit. I was a little disapointed with the contents of the hardware kit. I ended up going out and buying most of the various nuts and bolts either because the kit didn't include them or I changed the style for looks. I do not think the supplied engine mount would have worked with a saito 1.80, at the very least you would have had to shim out the mount to get the proper clearance. Little things seem to be missing from the kit, for example the pull pull hardware on the rudder. It was just a long 6-32 bolt with some nuts, not very attractive for a $1000 plane, had to go out and but the dubro setup. I have not priced what came in the kit versus what could be bought but judging by what I used versus what I replaced it seems like it would have been better for me to skip the hardware kit.

Sparhawk

Oops! - that was a slight mod that I completely forgot about. What I did was to cut two pieces of 1/2" tri-stock, the width of the floor, and glued them under each end of the tank floor to where the floor and ply formers meet. The front one is best done before you install the engine. Solid as a rock. I put a strip of foam rubber under the tank and tie-wrapped the whole thing. After work, I can post pics of my tank setup.

6-32 bolt in the kit? I thought mine was bigger, more like 8-32. This is more than adequate for this plane. The Dubro kit has the rounded washer/nut affair that allows it to angle back with the shape, but either method will support the rod quite easily. The engine mount I used was a GP 1.20 -.180 size because I had already had it. The hardware pack from Tom did contain the Dave Brown mount. In this choice, I think if you told Tom what your plans are for an engine then maybe it could be swapped for the appropriate mount?? Tom - is this something you could do when a customer orders the hardware pack... like specifying a mount?

Spar

rctom

That's harder. In order to buy this stuff I usually buy 25 or more at a time. I'd have to pay retail at the hobby shop to buy one.

I'd use the GP adjustable if it was lighter and the price was reasonable which it's not.

Better for me to supply a generic kit, if the customer wants something else that's what hobby shops are for.

TF

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Spar,
As you have flown the sequence where do you have your CG at and at what degree are your control surfaces set at? Mine is right in the recommended range at 4.50", but I'm not sure if Emmanuel laterally balanced the plane and I'll have to check with him on that. The cowl is large enough that the big YS could have been mounted horizontally. I chose not to do that and mounted the engine inverted in order to keep the balance neutral and not throw it off to one side. Saved the added expense of a Slimline Pitts muffler and the added weight too. Both of the underside wing panel graphics are finished and I'll try to post some pics tomorrow. I e-mailed Tom this afternoon to try and obtain another set of factory graphics for the top side. For anyone interested, the factory applied graphics just can not take the heat needed to lay the covering back down. I tried to save them, but could not do so. After removing them (very easy) and cleaning up the adhesive the covering laid right down very nicely, more to follow.

Sparhawk

olstoney - I set my GP balancer to 4.5" and balanced it there. In a straight down dive, the plane does not deviate one bit. Since this is the way it behaves, I see no reason to change the CG from this. Another item that nailed it for me was when I rolled inverted for a Reverse Cuban 8, after it rolled inverted the 45 deg upline was spot on - a straight line as if I never rolled it on its back! As for throws, I will borrow a throw guage and measure mine, as I don't have one. I did have to tone the ailerons down a couple percent. I just used the TLAR method for low rates, and it was almost spot on. I will post them when I can get the exact numbers... plus expo rates.

The graphics are temperature sensitive so heat must be carefully used around them. That I did find that out when sealing the hinge lines. As for some layout pics, here are a few from mine. The last pic is my rudder push-pull setup.

Spar

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Spar,
That would be helpful as I do have the GP throw guage and I can get pretty close with your settings. The expo settings will be helpful as well I am flying a Hitec E-7 PCM transmitter, so the expo will be in negatives. The covering has stayed down for two days now at 95 degrees in the garage and I gotta think it is going to stay that way. Just a slight bit of work on the stabs and they will be ready for the graphics. I should be able to post some pics tomorrow. Boy am I glad this is not Monokote.

Ben,
Got six gallons of Powermaster 20/20 sitting right next to me, want to see a pic.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

That's ok, but sounds like you're set to go.

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

O.K.
Here's some of the pics I promised. The underside graphics are finished and I was going to use a third stripe in the center, but after looking at the layout it looked too "busy". I hope you guys agree that my goal to make the plane more visible in the air was a success. The Little Edge in the guest bedroom, yep that's a Queen size bed. Our fuel tank and battery installation, twin 1650 nickels one on each side of the fuel tank. After the big YS gets some run time on the 24oz Dubro tank I'll see if a smaller tank will work. This tank is only slightly longer than a 20oz Dubro and would not fit under the wing tube. I'm crossing my fingers that maybe a 16oz or another manufacturers 20oz tank will work.

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Ben,
This is just for you, didn't want you to think I was kidding about my stash of Powermaster 20/20. When our LHS had fuel on sale I stocked up.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

Make much beer with the Mr. Beer maker? My grandfather has one of those but I've never had any. Some of the guys I work with designed their own microbrewery in their garage.

olstoney

My Feedback: (19)

Not since August 13th 2004 when Hurricane Charley hit us and we lost power for five days. I had a batch going, but it was ruined and was just too busy rebuilding our home over the winter. That guest bedroom and our master had to both be stripped to the bare studs as we lost the south side of our roof during the storm. I'll try again after Hurricane season is over in November. I make a custom brewed golden Texas style lager that's really pretty good, come try one sometime. Got all the fixins, just have to get to it someday. That fridge in the garage has a half barrel of Michelob inside of it 24/7.