bgruenba

Hi all,

Just a friendly warning to any of you that go ahead and do the Saito 91 conversion on the FuntanaS 40. My plane has been grounded for the last couple of weeks because my carbon fiber gear had delaminated. I was installing the new gear on Friday night and found a very dangerous situation had occured with the engine mountings.

When I did the conversion to use the Saito 91 engine, I bought a new stock engine mount and widened the gap to take the 91. I installed and flew the plane four about 5 tanks of gas. When I checked the plane over on Friday evening, I found that the engine mount had cracked at all 4 mounting screws where the mounting is attached to the firewall, and even worse, it had also cracked at one of the screws that holds the engine onto the mounting.

Thank goodness that carbon fiber gear delaminated on my last landing. Yet another time that it has saved my posterior with that plane.

I have now removed the stock mounting and have installed the Saito recommended .91 mounting which probably adds about 3 oz to the front of the plane, but I'd rather that than find that the engine takes a separate flight path from the plane...

Just thought I'd let you guys know. I think that engine is a smidge too strong for those mountings...

regards,

Bruce.

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Thats why the instructions recommend you use a 72 for the plane

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

i had to widen my mounts to fit my .70 surpass II in. i will check the mounts tonight. thanks for the heads up. I see you live in nashua! i live in haverhill, work in portsmouth at Pease. If your interested we fly in greenland NH just 5 min south of portsmouth. i would like to see a funtana fly with the .91!! PM me if your interested! BTW greenland is only like 30-40 min away from nashua. Your lucky to live near that awsome hobby shop!

sean

bgruenba

Try telling my wife that!!! That hobby shop consumes a large portion of my salary...

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

When you say you bought a new "stock" motor mount you mean you bought the same one that came with the kit right??

bgruenba

Correct. Obviously the one that I had on the plane had been drilled out for the previous engine. So I had to buy a new one to install the Saito 91.

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

Thanks!! Im gettin ready to get one soon..I was all set to get a .91 but now that .82 came out and looks like it could be real good in this plane...It just sucks that the price is HIGHER than the .91

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

he he. i dont have a wife but, that hobby shop got my whole paycheck last week (i'm not kidding...) when i went up there. i just couldn't leave empty handed!! But now i have a nice little ultimate bipe...i always wanted one. and a nice little engine to go with it!

sean

3D ONdaEDGE

I had the same problem with my 100. Instead of relocating the firewall holes i just ground out the mount so it would fit. I made the first flight just fine. On the second flight i heard the wierd buzzing noise and the plane started pitching up and down. I brought it in very carefully and the motor was sagging about 1/2 inch. My mount broke on one side and was cracked on the other. I relocated the holes in the firewall and built some aluminum motor mounts and havent had a problem since.

bgruenba

I flew my Funtana today with the new mount and my new carbon fiber gear... I love this plane!!! And I don't care that some feel that the plane is over-powered with the .91 in it -- it makes the plane a hell of a lot safer and easier to fly than going with the recommended 46.

She takes off in about 6 feet and climbs out vertical. No problem. She floats in beautifully and now that I trust the plane not to snap on me at low speed, she literally drops onto the runway when I land her. This is by far the easiest plane I have ever flown. Absolutely love it.

ifixairplanes

My Feedback: (9)

thats the way i feel about this plane. very agile, while at the same time, very docile. hats off to sebasto for this plane! I cant wait till the 90 version hits the stores. its very nice looking too! the guys i fly with are amazed that it dosnt drop when i bring it in at walking speed.
BTW: i switched from a 13x4W to a 14x4W with my surpass .70 and it is a rocket ship also..i would love to see what it does with the 90, but i dont know if the extra weight is worth it. it dosnt need that big of an engine. but if i had a .90, i would put it in there's no replacement for displacement!

SEAN

larryjd

Has anyone installed the Saito 91 in the inverted position? I installed mine that way. I haven't flown the plane yet. Is a 15 X 4 prop the best way to go?

seanychen

My Feedback: (4)

I bought a Dave Brown 4-stroke 60 motor mount. It is only 1 oz heavier than the supplied 2-piece mount. I mount the engine inverted (to avoid adding 1/2 oz. lead weight @ left wing tip for lateral balance), and was able to use 1-out-of-4 previous blind nuts location, and the other 3 holes are adequate far away from the existing blind nuts, so I didn't have to remove any previous blind nuts, thus weakening the firewall.

It's never to to excessively pre-load the motor mount just to get the engine to fit. Slight pre-load is acceptable, as glass filled nylon tends to flex a little out of the mold. But if the mount itself will squeeze out the engine w/o mounting bolts, then it's too tight.