The Toolman

Its a crazy fun plane ta fly, an I just luv mine.
I'm just worried about the extra drag of the floats in the water to get enough takeoff speed up though.

sseward

My Feedback: (1)

I've had mine a year now. I went with the OS-55AX and have loved every minute of it. The only change I have made was to all MG servos. After one flight I just happened to notice some slop in one Aileron. Found a couple of missing teeth in the servo gears, so now I'm running Hitec HS-645MG's all around. While I was at it I put each Aileron on a separate channel and setup Flaperons.

Does it need Flaperons? Well..no, but I can tell you I can spot land this thing on a dime with them deployed! Takeoffs with the flaperons down take about 25 feet....at half throttle! This is my go-to plane for all around fun-flying.

Steve

bradyb

How far down do you have the flaperons set for? I prefer to harrier it in for landings but I guess flaperons are an easy option with just another servo lead. I wonder if mild flaperons would help my float plane take off easier with a much more conventional flat bottom style take off.

sseward

My Feedback: (1)

Brady,
I'd have to go measure it, but I believe it's about an inch. I have it setup on a know on my Futaba 9C so I can vary it. I enjoy playing with the settings and I'm really comfortable landing it at a crawl! We almost always have a spot landing contest at our funflys and I intende to win next time!

I would think this would help greatly with float takeoffs. What floats did you use? We have a float fly every year and thus far I've never participated but this may be the right plane to modify.

Steve

bradyb

These seem to be the perfect size, I spent $41 on ebay :http://www.valleyviewrc.com/New%20Ba...s%20Floats.htm
FedEx should have them here by Tuesday, I'll take some pics for you. I might have to paint them blue or orange for of fun.

I think the Tango would make an excellent float plane as fun fly but also a high wing. Seems like most float planes are just cubs or trainers.

The Toolman

Well, get us some pics with the floats on it an taking off on the water.


Ron

bradyb

I pulled off the giant, flamboyant “Tango� sticker on the top of the wing. It’s a little too frilly for my taste and it had a couple nasty wrinkles that needed to be ironed out underneath. I very carefully pulled it off with no heat. I tried fingernail paint remover, mineral spirits, and finally 91 octane gasoline to remove the adhesive. 3M’s adhesive remover might work too. The gasoline turns the adhesive to jelly and it wipes right off.

Anyway, I cleaned it all off and used some Meguier’s cleaner auto wax to get it nice and shiny again before I ironed it smooth. That wing is nice and perfect now and much less flamboyant.
My floats get here today, I can’t wait!

bradyb

The float install was a piece of cake, everything lined up and balanced right out of the box. My CG was at 4.25" and now it's at 5" which I wanted anyway. I'm so excited to hit the pond this weekend. Here's more details from the sea plane forum:
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8883156/anchors_8897608/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#8897608]http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8883156/anchors_8897608/mpage_1/key_/anchor/tm.htm#8897608[/link]

bradyb

Holy crap, float planes are strange! The floats pulling the plane out of turns was a strange effect. Climbing knife edges with the additional lift from the floats was also fun. Imagine having a hard time turning and them climbing when you hit 90 degrees, weird. I really need exponential for the rudder though, trying to fly coordinated turns with a rudder that immediately spins you is tough. The big rudder is nice though for taxing, I used it a lot since I didn’t end up using the additional weight of the water rudder.

The Tango did fabulous with the .46 (APC12x4) and those floats, short take offs and “almost hovering� was great. The plane tracks well on the water, I added a 1.4� of ply on the front float supports for a bit more of incidence for the wing and the plane seemed to like it. Harrier landings where really fun and helped me practice my airplane retrieval techniques with the rubber ducky and a spool of kit string. The important stuff stayed dry with the fuse a couple inches off the water, upside down, and while floating in that giant fat wing. I folded up some paper towels and put them below the receiver and they stayed dry. Just to be extra safe I am adding silicone to the wing saddle and the tail mounting surfaces. One float was taking on water through the screw mounting holes; I’m going to add silicone to those holes. I’m also adding a splash guard below the engine that keeps water away from the fire wall.

She’s a great float plane folks. I’ll get you pics when I can upload them from home.

bradyb

The Toolman

Thats great that it worked out for ya, I woulda swore it would need a bigger engine with those big ol floats. Looks good, you did a fine job it looks like...

bradyb

Final weight unfueled:

H9 Tango (stock)
Evolution PTS (.46)
Standard JR Sport Servos (El Cheapos)

5 Pounds!


H9 Tango with Floats
Same as above but with swapping gear for floats (see ebay floats)

6.25 Pounds!

There's a lot to be said about keeping it simple stupid. She flies excellent at that light weight.

Menthol

I just did heart transplant on my Tango.. swapped a OS 46 AX for a FS-70 Surpass 4-stroke. Now I have a new problem.... The fuse is not long enough for me tp be abel to move a battery far enough back to ger even close to the correct CG.

Any suggestion from the folks with larger power plants out there?

jdkxtreme

Go with a saito....Or cut a hatch in the back of the plane for the battery..

nitrofevr

This is absolutely the best thing that i have ever done to improve my tango!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZXBcZOtBDs

jdkxtreme

Nice video...I saw it the other day on the hood....What fuse is that? I have a twist wing I need to do something with

nitrofevr

its a box fuse that I scratched and I bashed some Chin Yak tail feathers on it. The fuse is built much like the ferroplane with some minor differences. It was mentioned in the hood on a build thread that Wild Fred started

The Toolman

This thread dead?

The Toolman

How about some more Tango stories....whats a matter, new wore off an everybody lose interest in'em now? [>:]

NorfolkSouthern

Take heart, Toolman. I plan to add skis and fly mine this Winter. The question is: Will others follow?

NorfolkSouthern

RXRCER

Menthol, I have 2 Tangos. One with a Magnum 70 4Cyl and one with a Super Tiger 45. As for the one with the 70 Magnum, I used a 5 cell 2400Mah pack and it's right at the front of the fuselage under the wing. Flies great, no tendency to be nose heavy. All snaps, flat spins, in other words everything is by the book with no nose heavy tendecies at all. Try that. Worst you'll have is you might have to add a little up elevator. As far as cutting a hatch back by the tail to install a battery? PUH-LEASE! Give me a break. Think about it. how much heavier is a 70 4stroke vs a 45-55 engine?

jefflangton

My Feedback: (23)

Menthol, what prop are you using on the 46? My tango has a 46ax with a 12x6 master k series and weighs in at 4lbs 9oz. Will hover with more than adequate pullout. battery is in tail(likem tail heavy)!! Just cut out opening on the bottom of the fuse and move battery where you need it. Then just cover back over it. Using 850mah li-on,very light. 3004 servos, all it needs. Also get rid of magnetic hatch and cover over it. Any one else notice covering coming loose and not ironing back down? It looks like oracover, but doesnt act like it. This is my 5th h9 plane and never had trouble like with Tango. Skis are fun too. full flaps and its off in 6ft!!

mwm341

Here's my question:

I'm reading lots of comments that indicate that CG at 3-5 inches might be a little off; people are putting 2-3 ounces in the nose. Would it make sense to put a slightly heavier engine (Saito .91) into it, and try to behave myself?

The Toolman

I guess it would work, but I'd brace the firewall an pin it from the sides. I love to overdo things....hehe

RXRCER

You guys are making a monumental issue out of a very simple matter. You want to balance your Tango? Put your motor in it BOLTED down. That's right B-O-L-T-E-D in or however you mount you motor. You might hot glue it in, I don't knowc or give 2 cents but whatever your preference, have it secured in . ALL servos in place, receiver in place, battery? ahh...the one thing you want to be able to move. Get a friend to put his finger..for simplicity sake, the thing you might want to point towards heaven when you've read this post...yep the middle one. Get him to put his finger on the spar. You do the same thing with the other side of the plane. Lift. If the nose points down but doesn't fall over, it's balanced. If the tail falls it's tail heavy. Slide the battery forward or backwards until you get the slight nose down. It's balanced. Adjust accordingly. I've been doing this 45 years and I double dog dare anyone tell me I'm wrong!!!!!!!!! That simple. End of story.