peak model/redwing/chinese 20cc profile dle 20 build
Reached the point in flying where I feel the need to try prop hang everything I fly lol. Sig hog bipe, 1/4 scale pitts, and even a spacewalker lol. Decided enough was enough and bit the bullet and invested in a peak models 65 inch profile and dle 20 engine, this gives me the tools for the job im sure.
Just for some background I will say I bought the peak models profile as it filled certain criteria, it was a ARF (have a goldberg sukhoi mx26 kit on the build table), it was availible at a reasonable price in the uk, it is not a foamie and it is a good size. I realise there is other models out there and foamies are the best way to learn 3d and bigger flys better but this model ticks most boxes for myself.
As for the dle 20 well It has to be gas for me, electric just does not do exite me personally. I have had a couple of rcg 20 beam mounts from hobbyking and they have flew with great reliability and power, though cheaper than the dle 20 I thought I would splash out on the dle 20 and see how it compares.
The model willuse onelife battery, no regulators or diodes, a kill switch and cheap metal gear chinese servos, in fact I might use chinese only products on this build and see how I get on.
This model is availible from alot of vendors not just peak models.
The build starts tomorrowafter my nightshift if it is to windy to fly.
The first impressions of the model are good, the covering is exellent and what you get in the box is of good enough quality to use. carbon fibre wing tube is included as well as fuel tank with gas stopperand fittings, wheels, and aileron and elevator linkages. I will include more about these as I continue with the build.
the model has been built clearly with the dle 20 in mind for the powerplant as a cut out in the fuse marries perfectly with the dle 20 muffler.
This is a link to the online build manual of the model.
http://www.peakmodel.net/sbach20ccmanual.pdf
The model is not supplied with a paperbuild manual but a micro disc that basically has the pdf that is linked to above.
Went to the club today, got one flight with my sig hog bipe as was busy helping a fellow modeller get his first gasser in the air most the afternoon.
Managed to lock the hog bipe in a hover for a while even though I was about 150 feet up and it was difficult to see well and react to what was happening, anyone says a hog bipe cant hover is wrong lol, im a 3d begginer and can manage a somewhat high and messy hover. Still this is one of my kit builds and dont want to crash her trying 3d stuff when clearly although she can hover she is far from a 3d machine with the power and agility to get me out of trouble at a low altitude. so when I got home I started on the sbach profile build.
First thing I want to do is fit the dle20, as said above the plane is designed around this engine, the motor fits perfectly in the bulkhead and the predrilled motor mount holes line up for perfect dle 20 fitment. As we all know arfs use crap hot glue on builds and it is always a good idea to go over what joints we can, because of this I decided to glass and epoxy the ply motor mount and add a bit tri stock where I could, pictures are below.
I then fitted the dle 20, it was hassle free and a perfect fit. I then plumbed and fitted the tank, the instructions are a bit off here and show on one picture the throttle servo in front of the tank and on the next the servo behind the tank, on my model the laser cut holes on the fuse dictated that the servo goes behind the tank. it also showed the throttle servo and carb throttle arm as being the opposite way up from the way I have fitted mine. This results in a poor throttle geometry that will result in poor throttle control so I fitted mine the way I did. There is no throttle linkage supplied it seems, I will come back to this later in the build.
Although the model came with tank etc it only came with a small amount of gas tubing for use inside the tank, I happened to have 4mm blue gas tolerant tubing that almost matched what was supplied and what looks like is on the instructions so used this to complete the tank set up. More will follow.
Enjoy [8D]
Nitro wing I hear you, I have read that this is not the best 3d profile out there. I looked hard at the swanyhouse mojo 65 and at the balsastore sbach but I was wanting something quick to get in the air (arf) and at reasonable cost, unfortunatly being in the UK there is postage and customs charges that start to add up, plus they arekits. If I get bit hard with the 3d bug a mojo will be bought and built in the future, but for nowjust want something I can get flying in a week.
Also fitted the tail wheel, it was a PITA. Every time I tryed to tighten it to the fuse it started to bind. In the end I drilled out the mounting holes and used a couple of washers to space it out from the fuse at the mounting screws, def could be better. Oh the instructions also say to drill a 6mm hole for the tail wheel, I used a 5.5mm drill and found it pushed in nice and tight, 6mm would have been to loose.
Got this thing ready to maiden, have been spending so much time trying to get it ready to fly quickly I have not kept up with updates. Anyway hope to maiden tomorrow, does anyone out there have this model and if so where is the COG? Instructions dont say and if balanced at the wing tube I think a pound plus would be required up front?.
The model flew with bags of power with the dle 20, straight up. The engine mount is still in one piece, glassing and reinforcing is a must as the vibs of the gasser are pretty fierce on this skinny airframe. The dle 20 ran well, no mid range burble but a slight hesitation from idle to full throttle sometimes and to get a reliable transition had to be set a bit fat on the low end so four stroked a bit at idle. The rxcel ignition curveof the dle 20 is stupid, you give the throttle a blip as you come in to land and suddenly you are doing a fly by, also annoying when doing other manouvres. I have a dle 30 ignition not being used at present, I am going to fit this instead to the 20 engine.
Was not sure of the COG of this model as the instructions make no reference to it?. Read somewhere to balance on the wing tube, but at that I would be adding 1 pound plus on the nose to balance with a empty tank, not good. As the wing tube is pretty far forward I decided to add a bit weight but not the full weight required to balance on the tube, put 10 oz on the nose. Inverted the nose dropped so hopefully the weight is not required, I will start removing it slowly tomorrow. The plane weight was 8 pounds 8 oz WITH a full tank and 10 oz strapped up front and a 180 gram life battery. Will give a final weight when the COG is finalised and with a empty tank when I can, if I can loose the lead it will be about 7 pounds 6 oz dry, not bad. If I cant loose the weight then it will still be a fun model but defeats the point of buying a profile!.
I have pictures of the assembly and planned to see through the build on rcuniverse but due to spending every spare minute of my time trying to get this plane flying for my day off that fell behind, but i will post some up in the next few days along with any issues I had so if anyone else gets this model they dont have to make the mistakes I did lol.
Last thing, this plane so far is great fun, even with the extra weight I plan to loose andthe weird dle 20 idle issues this plane is a hoot!. If I can loose theweight and get her to flystraight and true inverted she will be a great plane, more to come.
Before I went to the field today I swapped out the dle 20 ignition for the 30 ignition, idle is more predictable and far more user friendlyfor sure but the engine was vibrating a bit more, will check the static timing in the next couple of days. Alsoepoxyed a bit 1/4 balsa stock to the other side of the engine mount for added security, still have not experienced any failure of the engine mounteven aftertoday.
Managed to remove one of the pieces of weight up front and found the model to be far better inverted, think I still need to remove the last bit but windy weather stopped me flying as much as I would have liked. The weight removed today was 6 oz 7/8 so taking that off the last weigh in takes the weight to 8 pounds 1 oz WITH A FULL TANK. There is still approx 4 oz on the nose that I think wont be required so 7 1/2 pounds dry is looking like a possibility, yeeha.
The landing gear has had a rough time due to my bad landings and the rutted field, plenty nose overs by me. This caused the gear to wear into the wooden gear block and elongate the holes. Landing gear was removed and hole filled with epoxy ready for a new hole to be drilled when dry, easy fix.
Got a picture of the model at the field, you can see the landing gear swept back before repair. The picture makes the wings look alot smaller than they are so I have included a picture of the sbach wing next to a set of 30cc pilot yak 26% wings that can 3d at 12 pounds.
Obviously this model is not going to compete against a mojo or be the 3d choice for the advanced 3d pilot but for a newbie like me it is great fun and hovers at 1/4 throttle with balistic pull out.
This is the newyakversion that is going to be availible from april onwards, it seems they have sorted the engine mounting and gave the model a bigger wing, while keeping to the same weight.
Specifications:
Wing Span: 65″
Length: 61.1″
Wing Area: 1029 sq. in
Flying Weight: 6.8lbs
Engine Size: 20cc
Will be getting oneof these when they come out, the wing loading is looking good for a ARF.
Please post pictures of how you did your aluminum mod. I appreciate it very much.
No problems, I will get on to it tomorrow. It’s getting a bit late over here at the moment.
Fitted the Sbach out with Savox 1256's with a 1258 on the throttle last night (a little bit of overkill I know but I have got a 50cc yak hanging in the shed – wanted to try the Savox’s).
I gave it a fly today and I am happy with the servo’s and the plane is rock solid with the aluminium plate but it with a 16 x 6 JFX it fly’s more like a sports plane. I have got a 7 x 6 to see if that improves the thing because I bought it for a 3d practice plane.
I’m just starting down that route, still heaps to learn and given I live in a remote area with no other guys in the club into 3D to learn off its forums, internet and Sim for me. I think transmitter set up will be my next challenge.
If you have any suggestions on the prop I would appreciate it
For the sake of those who follow this thread, below is further instruction I received from AussieBattler.
Anyway the pics of my 20cc profile Sbach and this fix I did to rectify the excessive vibration around the nose, mine actually fractured and I nearly lost the engine out of it in flight,and the poor as hell landing gear mounting holes.
I used 1.6mm checker plate aluminium, cut out to the shape of the nose right back to the wing mounting brackets and cut slots for the Zip ties. Two plates of course;one for each side and used Sikaflex marine adhesive. Sikaflex is incredibly tough stuff and flexible so it will absorb any vibration. Just strip off the covering so that the aluminium is bonded to the timber.
If you like you can add a bit of epoxy to any identified bulk head/ribs while the covering is stripped away. Use clamps until the Sikaflex sets, no screws required. This fix just about balanced the plane perfectly so I could take off the weight I had added before this fix to get the CG right.
The plane now idles without the nose looking like it wants to shake itself to bits, believe me it will, the landing gear is rock solid bolted up to the checker plate with 5mm bolts instead of the 3mm ones supplied.
I have got about 10 or so flights on the Sbach since this fix, and I tend to slam the sticks at full throttle and I do not think a I will be able to break this thing. In my opinion a great plane – cheap $165 from SDS hobbies; capable of 3D if required, can be flown like a sports plane if you feel like a change of pace and if it ploughs into the deck you do not have to take out a mortgage on your house for a replacement. Just good flat out fun.
I have read that the savox servos are pretty power hungry but as I run single A123 and an IBEC for the ignition I was keen to check the amp draw on the system. The old servo's approx 450 ma per flight - the savox about 300ma per flight. I am no tech head when it comes to analysing things but It must be like putting an outboard on a boat -15HP might push the boatalong OK flat out but it will use twice the fuel and wear out three times faster than a 30HP would do the job.
Anyway have fun and fly it like you stole it