Fellows,
Ive had some time to consider the Skyline Raven 30cc build and a few additional comments are needed. The DLE35RA was a great choice; however, some throttle servo housing fabrication was necessary. The ARF comes with a pre cut servo throttle housing that must be put together. The predicted location would not work with the DLE 35RA without rotating the carb. The problem was it interfered with the lines of the manual choke. I had to get creative. Im a much better builder than a pilot so the modification and fabrication was not that difficult. Actually I think my design worked better. It allowed my throttle arm to be much shorter @ 3.5 inches. I used non metalic goldenrod "stiff".
Earlier I mentioned to CA the blind nuts on the cabin cap. The blind nuts were in place and functioned great. One eventually pushed out which could have been prevented if I used CA during the build. The plane encounters vibration and stress during flight so any strengthening efforts on the ground are beneficial. The cowl is absolutely beautiful and has the rock solid mounting ring. During the initial phase of building I placed the DLE 35 on the firewall to check cowl clearance. Wow it was very close but did clear by 1/16th. After a night of consideration I went with one thin washer on all the mounting bolts. The results were a notable clearance of about 1/8 inch. As a note the DLE 35 did clear the cowl without washers. For some builders the close clearance would have been fine but I sleep better with about 1/8th minimum (DLE 35 is 160mm firewall to prop wash, DLE 30 is 162mm firewall to prop wash).
I considered replacing the inclusive tires with aftermarkets. Ive only been in RC about 6 months but my opinion of the tires was an A+. They are not foamies and actually have a little weight to them. NOTE**** The Raven (like many mid wing) has very limited mounting wall space for switches and such. I attempted to use two switches with the charging ports. They were to big and just came to close to the edges. I used the smaller on/off switches on both sides and it worked great. I do have to lift the cap off to charge but who cares. My fuel dot is on the fuse and my remote kill switch light is as well.
The day of the maiden I taxied the plane in the grass and runway. I was checking to see if the elevator needed to be utilized to avoid tail bounce and nose overs. The plane never came even close to a nose over. The tail just stayed down. The plane on the ground was like an RC car and turned on a dime. I loved the immediate response from my controls and NO elevator was utilized to hold the tail down.
On the maiden takeoff I was as nervous as a teenager at the Mustang Ranch. I decided to not use any elevator and let her rip. Wow she was fast. I was amazed how little rudder was needed for tracking. The tail came up within 50 feet. I poured the power on and let her run way down the runway. I eased a lil elevator in and off she went with a scale lift takeoff. This was my first "performance" plane and ohhhh she is a big one in the air. The 74 inch wing span looks like a 10 feet in the air. All that red against the sky will take your breath. Would I buy another Skyline Raven from General Hobby for $280 to the door ? ABSOLUTELY
parts used:
DLE 35RA
Tenergy 6v on Receiver
Tenergy 6v on Ignition
Rcexl Remote kill switch
Tower Pro battery checker on receiver
Tower Pro battery checker on Ignition
Standard fuel dot (fuse mounted)
Standard on/off switch receiver
Standard on/off switch ignition
Felt filter clunk in the tank
Felt filter clunk on the fill
Dymond USA metal gear 190 ounce on control surfaces
Dymond USA metal gear 120 ounce on the throttle
Please wear protective eyes and ears until takeoff.......its free and just makes good sense.
Teddy Burgess Jr.
Dublin, Georgia
