richohealey

go for it. magnum 70 is 4 banger? go with the tower

richohealey

ha ha hey guys. i got my saito yesterday, haven't installed yet. just thought i'd share with you that this plane does absolutely wicked flat spins. of course the left wing panel has to be an inch out from the fuse to do them on low rates!!!

the full story

i was flying around, and went "hmm i wonder if this plane will flat spin" so i locked into a left positve spin, reversed the aileron and BAM it locked into the fastest flat spin i have ever seen. it was incredible. started to get low to the ground, so neutralise all controls full throttle... the spin gets faster. so i said "oh darn, i could be in trouble" or words to that effect and full rates right rudder, got out about 4 foot of the long grass, so i came in and landed, the left wing bolt had come undone and there was 1 inch of gap! i tried for the rest of the day to get it to flat spin on low rates (with the wings properly joined) and it simply wouldn't, and on high rates it wouldn't get very flat, so i canb only deduce that the wing gap caused it. also, this proves that you should ALWAYS tie a knot in any joined leads, the aileron lead was all that was stoppping the wing shuffling off the wing tube... thank god for that knot!!


anyway just thought i'd share my story.. catcha!

tIANci

I think I better get mine up, its like half way done and been sitting for the last 3 months. My pal flew a 50cc QQ Yak ... he forgot to install the split pins for the wing. He did a great flat spin too! He was lucky, damage was only to the engine mounting box. Was a superb flat spin I must say.

richohealey

yeah.... it was spinning REAL fast... scary fast

jship

My Feedback: (4)

I finally finished the Katana 50. I used standard radio and servos. Tower 61 for power with a 12x6 apc prop and supplied hardware with the exception of 3 1/2 inch Du-Bro tires.
Assemblely went very smooth with yhe exception of the wing dowel pins, as others have stated that should have been factory drilled and some drimmel work that was needed on the bottom right side of the firewall to use the factory supplied muffler with the Tower 61. All control hinge lines were sealed with clear Monocote and set at factory throws. Wheel pants were not installed.
First flights took place with a 5 to 7 mph wind right down the run way. The take off run was longer than what I had expected. Once off the grown the Kat accelerated rapidly. The Kat seems to be very sensitive to rudder and elevator inputs even on low rates.
This is the most neutral knife edge plane I have ever flowen. It will knife edge at 1/2 throttle. with less than 1/2 low rate on rudder and do it all day long. The plane has endless vertical. Roles are far faster than you can count and will stop on a dime. The Kat exibits a very narrow speed range between high speed stalls and low speed stalls an on the firs flight I got a taste of both. On the first landing I knew I would have to bring it in hot, but about 6 inches off the grown the left wing droped. With a little more speed all other landings that day were uneventful. When the wheels touch down this plane stays down, no bouncing here.
The Kat flys much bigger than it realy is.

This is a high EXCITEMENT plane, with a short life expectancy.
have fun,
john in missouri

GoRgOyL

Hi folks, I have mine for a couple of weeks now, finally was able to maiden it yesterday.

My set-up:

Standard servos A/E/R, mini servo on throttle
OS 46AX engine w/ pitts style muffler
APC 12X4 prop

It flew fine, need to get the CG a little more aft from stock, takeoffs were fine, landing was even better, it slows down enough for a nice 3 pointer.

Here's a couple of pix, this one on a low fly-by,


this one on final approach.


It looks pretty in the air isn't it? I've fitted the wheel pants and moved the CG 5mm aft, it's ready for the next flight.

Rod

jship

My Feedback: (4)

Looks great! Have you experienced the "SNAP"?
john

GoRgOyL

Intentionally, yes.

I tested full up elevator on low rates (50%) it didn't snap. It seems the CG is way forward, can't even do a decent inverted flat spin with it. Next outing should be much more interesting with the CG a little aft.

Had a tiny electric plane before that snapped like crazy (Sporty) when given enough elevator input alone, now that was fun

tukkus

My Feedback: (2)

Gorgoyl and jship what's your CG at? I maidened mine last week and had to give it about 4-5 clicks up elevator to level out....i have a satio 82 up front

shauntot

hey gorgy! d2 ka rin pala have fun with your katana!

jship

My Feedback: (4)

CG SET AT 105MM with the battery set behind the servos. You get this plane too slow and it will viciously snap. Too fast with a little to much rudder or elevator you will see it viciously snap. It will knife edge all day long-- no coupling.
john

GoRgOyL

I had my CG at 95mm from LE when I maidened it (RX pack was right behind the fuel tank). I'll try to move it back 5mm at a time 'till I find the sweet spot. Placed the RX pack behind the throttle servo it made the CG move back to 100mm from LE, let's see how it flies this weekend.

Shauntot ~ Thanks, gotta love the forums, very informative.

zayzay1

Hello,,,, Jship how many inches of material did you remove to use the tower muffler, and was the firewall and fuse still strong, do you recommend this or should I just get the pitts.

THanks in advanced..........

If anyone else has comments please>>>>...

desz28fast

ANY BODY TELL ME WHERE TO BUY PITTS STYLE MUFFLER FOR MY OS MAX AX 46. ALSO CAN ANY TELL ME HOW WELL PLANE HOVERS WITH THIS ENGINE SETUP

jship

My Feedback: (4)

Hello,,,, Jship how many inches of material did you remove to use the tower muffler, and was the firewall and fuse still strong, do you recommend this or should I just get the pitts.


Right in the corner, almost 3/4 in deep. endless vertical. The tower engine seems to run at it's best with the tower muffler.

I am glad that in did'nt do the pits thing,

john

zayzay1

I finally finished the plane, I put tower 46 and a jett in cowl muffler. I removed all the balsa wood from the bottom of the plane, recoverded the bottom with red ultracote. Maiden flight it deadsticks and falls like a brick but no damage, second flight it deadsticks and falls like a brick but controllable and the landing gear block breaks on landing (easily repaired). For the third flight broke in a replacement tower 46 with a 8x6 prop at 18000 rpm and extra castor and it did the trick got 12500 rpm with a 12.25x3.75 runing it rich. The third flight was great. At very low throws it was extremely responsive, it handled the wind very well, snap tendency at full low elevator at the end of a loop. It feels great but does not slow down too much. Had to make three aproaches to finnaly get the landing speed right about 3/8 throttle. Great plane, very intensive flying, To anyone building this: Build it as light as possible and remove as much material as you can.

jship

My Feedback: (4)

Don't forget a big engine 61? It will fly great!

zayzay1

has anyone done anything to lighten this plane???????????

GoRgOyL

Hi there ZayZay1,

I haven't done any lightening mod on mine except not installing the wheel pants and canopy tray, flies great on OS46 AX and 12 x 4 APC prop, it does landing approaches with the throttle on idle, it just floats in so well and drops altitude predictably, it slows down enough specially with a good head wind and does 3 point landings most of the time.

Moved the battery pack as far as it could go right against the elev/rudder servo tray, it puts the CG at 105+mm, should make the flat spins flatter.

Rod

zayzay1

done and done, I will try moving the cg around, how is yours with dead sticks, mine losses speed imediately and falls like a brick.

zayzay1

I now have a saito 125 that is not doing anything it weighs close (without muffler and with a pump) to the tower 61 I guess when I get tired of the plane I will strap it on to see what it can do,

GoRgOyL

Hey, I see you're also from FL, where do you fly? I only had one dead stik landing with the Katana, normally I just point the nose down to gather speed and line up for landing if possible. I'm pretty sure it's just like floating in with throttle on idle, only difference is there's no margin for error with a dead engine []

zayzay1

I fly amps-rc in perrine http://www.amps-rc.com/ and you?

GoRgOyL

Wow, that's a nice place to fly! Haven't been there though, too far. I fly near the Okeechobee Road and Turnpike junction, behind those large warehouses. Most folks fly electric planes and nitro helis there.

zayzay1

I removed material from the wings in the same pattern that it was done on the outer parts of the wing. I removed mostly just the balsa on both wings on top and on bottom, I removed the all the stuff from the canopy except for the actual clear plastic, I cut out larger holes on the cowl, I removed the balsa floor of the plane in the same way that it was done towards the tail. All material on a scale and it was nearlly one pound. I got lighter plastic for the wheels, got an fma m5v2 receiver. The plane now weighs in at 5 pounds and it is flying much better than before, I will post some picks eventually to show where I removed the material. I screwed up the covering on it but it flys a lot better now.