ESM T-6 Texan ii; 30cc DLE Engine Build
Since I could only find one write up on this plane (and that was for an electric conversion) I decided to provide a thread on the assembly of this plane. I have several years of experience with built up arf’s, but this was my first attempt with a composite airframe. I picked the 30cc T-6 because I wanted something a little different and I also didn’t want the cost associated with a larger 50cc composite. This will not be a “kit bash” into some kind of upgraded scale bird. Just a straight forward build of the stock plane using a DLE 30cc engine and ESM’s electric retracts. I had wanted to try the new electric retracts now available so this plane was a good opportunity to do that. The gear supplied were the generation 2 electric retracts from ESM.
So after I wrote the above and received the plane I almost decided not to go to the trouble of writing this thread. I was so mad at all the crap I had to re-engineer on the plane I didn’t think it was worth it. But I also decided people deserve to know what they are getting into. As things progressed I decided, that while the plane takes A LOT of work, when it’s done it is a gorgeous looking bird and flies beautifully.
This plane is supposed to be an ARF, but I would not suggest anyone get one of these that does not have a shop and a lot of experience – I would call this an A(almost)ARF for sure.
During the course of my build I encountered the following problems and or things you need to do above what I would consider normal ARF assembly:
-Two of the four wing servo plates didn’t fit.
-None of the three piece wing alignment dowels are pre-installed and the holes are not drilled.
-Both ailerons were warped.
-There is no hole cut for the split flat control horn to fit into.
-Tons of extra hardware with the kit but also several missing nuts and bolts, go figure.
-Mounting structure for all three landing gear out of alignment or holes cut wrong.
-Some dimensions giving in the instructions ARE WRONG.
-Mounting a 30cc gasser was a lot of work and required just hacking the cowl all up.
- Retract leads are not accessible after installing wheel wells.
-All the stock screws are cheap and will break
-Plane came out way nose heavy with the DLE30cc engine.
-One of the electric retracts fried even before maiden flight. Before I was done it took seven retracts to get two that worked!
-You have to build and/or modify several things on this plane to complete assembly.
The good things I encountered.
-Gorgeous finish and really sharp looking plane.
-Rudder, elevator, fuel tank, horizontal, and vertical stabilizer, wing-elevator alignment, split flap design, and canopy install all without problems.
-Flies beautifully.
What I put in the plane and where it went.
-DLE30 engine with Pitts style muffler. CDI unit inside firewall (no room outside)
-Smart-fly Power Extender Pro and Optical Ignition Cutoff mounted on added removable tray above (when plane is upside down) rudder and nose gear steering servos.
-Futaba R6014 Rx mounted to PEP.
-A123 Ignition battery mounted to fuselage side by PEP.
-(2) A123 Rx batteries mounted to bottom of fuselage behind wing.
-(1) Smart-fly Failsafe switch mounted to fuselage side.
-Supplied control horns on elevator. Dubro Horns on flaps and rudder.
-Central Hobbies CF pushrods with titanium ends on elevator, choke and throttle.
-(2) Aircraft Intl light foamy pilots.
-ESM Generation 2 electric retracts
OK, so here we go.
This is my first composite aircraft after years of building wood aircraft. Aside from the problems mentioned, got to tell you, I am really impressed with this aircraft. One of the reasons I got the T-6 was to kind of be a test for other future composite purchases and to see how the composite fuselage hold up to our sun and heat. The T-6 has also turned out to be a gorgeous looking aircraft and is large, at 80”, for a 30cc bird.
The Generation 2 electric retracts arrived today, nicely packed as you can see. I followed several comments and took the time to locktite every nut and screw I could find on them. You do have to check them out. I found on mine that one wheel spacer was missing and also three different locking screws off two of the gear. My initial impression is that the quality is just so so at best. Time will tell how they hold up.
[The following is an added comment: I might as well digress here and address the gear issue all at once. The ESM V2 electric retract actuators are crap and have been an unmitigated disaster. Too make a long story short I had to go through two complete set of gear and one addition motor just to get two that will work. I still have a pending issue with a non-functional nose gear to resolve with TBM as of this writing].
Note on instructions: The instructions, well the pictures, because there are no instructions, actually work pretty well in telling you what to do. You do need to review them carefully and read all the inserted notes and review the pictures carefully or you will miss critical information.
Even though I had several missing nuts and bolts, the picture of all the small parts is all the stuff I had left over when done. I suspect they use the same bags for all the planes.
[to be continued]