Ultra Stick 60
 

I am currently building an US 60. My choices for an engine is:
Saito 100, YS 91, OS91 FS (with or without pump)

I would like like to hear some people's experiences with their US 60 and the above engines.

Thanks in advance....

us 60
 

its a great plane you will love it!! i had a os 91 fs,, man fantastic!!
wuold do verticle no problem,, mine was the unpumped version,, i cannot say enough good about this plane, and engine!! i did dumb thumb my u.s. this summer,, but loved it so much got on phone and got another asap!! the 91 is perfect and i think you would love it too!! jeff

Ultra Stick 60
 

Have seen them fly with both a saito 100 and ys 91. Mine had a fx 91 on it. Either of the 4 stokes make for a very good combo, but I think the ys 91 had a slight edge because it just seemed smoother. Could hav ebene the saito 100 just needed a little more time. The FX 91 was great, but lacked the throttleablility of the 4 strokes.
Ed M.

YS91
 

I have a YS91FZ in mine. It's true about the throttle response and performance. I have seen one with a Saito 100 and it flies really well also. I just think the YS91 has a slight edge. Mine had only a few tanks of break-in on it before flying and it was terrific with the 15x8 APC I ran.

I did use larger Hangar 9 lightweight wheels than what it came with. 3-1/4" I believe.

Takes off with very little throttle and very little rollout. Will go vertical immediately on take-off.

Sadly, winter came to Chicago before I had more than a few flights on it. My buddy, who is a much more capable pilot, demonstrated the crow, etc after the maiden flight to show me some of the capabilities. Pretty neat.

Both elevator and rudder servos are mounted in the tail in a pull-pull arrangement. Look up postings on the US60 by Termagator and you should find it.

FYI - visibility stinks
I am in the midst of doing some additional covering on the wing to improve visibility. Everyone I have met who has flown a US60 just loves the way they fly, but complains about how difficult they are to see, because of the transparent yellow top/bottom. I wish H9 offered a plain white one that could be decorated as desired.

Good luck and enjoy it. Great flyer. Either the Saito 100 or YS91 will fly it forcefully, although I agree that the edge would probably go to the YS91. It all depends on what you prefer and are comfortable with, though.

Ultra Stick 60
 

Thanks RCAddiction. From what I have read in RC Universe, the YS 91 has more than Saito. Did you have to add weight to the tail since the US is already nose heavy and the YS is 6 oz. heavier than the Saito?

Ultra Stick 60
 

rcpilot44, if you mount the servo's in the tail and the tank on the cg the balance should be there.

Lee, after about 20 flights or so the mind/eye seem to get a picture of the model in flight and recognition gets to be OK. The problem is making it to that point.

Ed M.

Eye hand coordination
 

Ed, unfortunately I probably don't have the greatest eyes in the world when it comes to orientation. So, I make sure my planes help me out.

When I've had planes with poor visibility for orientation, more flights doesn't make it better for me, just more stressful, more difficult, more dangerous, and crashing is what tended to happen next, until I learned how to modify planes for improved visibility.

I do know people with many flights on their US60's and yes, they do fly it, and do get used to it, but still think the visibility stinks. Why not make it better?

RCPilot - yes, I had to add about 3 oz to the tail. This was split into 2 pieces of lead, covered in red Ultracote, and epoxied to either side of the base of the fin. You don't even notice them if you are not looking closely.

Color scheme is attached.

top B&W
 

top color scheme in grayscale which illustrates visibility at a distance.

bottom in color
 

I covered the tips so that the white on the top surface did not show through to the bottom side.

bottom in B&W
 

Notice how the transparent yellow becomes as dark as the red, even with the lights shining directly through it?

Tail servos
 

Pull-pull rudder and elevator. If you look, you can see the red Ultracote covered lead weight. Not very noticeable.

7lbs, 6 oz total weight as is.

Ultra Stick 60
 

Thanks!!! You're plane looks great. :) You probably don't notice that you had added weight since you flying with the YS 91. I will probably go with the YS or the Saito. It looks like you're using Hitec servos in the tail, what number are they and what brand and size tank are you using??

I have never built a plane with the servos mounted on the fuselage. Did you just cut out a hole for the servo and then screw them down directly to the fuselage or did you drop a servo tray in it??

US60 mods
 

Thanks for the compliments!

The servos in the tail are HS-605's. The (4) Wing servos are the Futaba 3004's that came with my 9C radio (finally found a good place for them!).

To install the rear servos, I cut out the holes to accomodate the servos. Then I cut (4) small pieces of ply, perhaps 1" x 3/8" wide. I mounted these to the inside surface of the fuselage, using thick CA and small adjustable slide clamps to secure it while the thick CA cured. This was to give the servo screws something to solidly bite into.

I only use ARF tanks occasionally, and only if they are of very high quality. Unless they go into a combat plane! Then I don't care.

With a YS, the tank gets pressurized to approx 6-9 psi. I know it doesn't sound like much, but that's a lot of square inches of area times 6 psi! I used a Hayes tank, probably their 16 oz. Otherwise I would have used the 13. The tank is wrapped with fiberglass strapping tape as a precaution. I make a little pull tab out of the tape before wrapping it around the tank. This makes it easier to pull the tank out from the rear in the event you need to check it or service it.

The Hayes tanks are very reliable in this application, and work fine with the 2-line system you would use with a YS. If you have not plumbed a YS before, you will use a T-fitting in the supply and pressure lines. It's a good idea to use a fuel filter between the engine and tank in both lines. The T-fitting on the supply and pressure sides works on a YS, because the fuel doesn't go past the regulator when you fuel or de-fuel the plane.

US60 tank
 

you can see the strapping tape, as well as the little pull tab on the back of the tank.

As Ed mentioned above, you can move the tank to the center of the large fuselage cavity, which will help with balance and avoid CG shifts during flight. No problem with a YS and the tank back there, but I just went the easy way!

Ultra Stick 60
 

Thanks a million RCAddiction. Your plane must be awesome :D . Your posts have been very helpful. I will be calling Central Hobbies tomorrow and order my YS 91. I can't wait to get started. Take care

PS: If you move to Southern California you can fly all year long!!. It was close to 80 today......

Ultra Stick 60
 

Lee, I don't think it would take 1/2 a flight to get used to the recognition of that plane. Good job.

Ed M.

US 60
 

Thanks, guys. RCP, enjoy your US60. Glad the tips helped.

Yeah, it's been really cold here. I have a good friend in So Cal who has been giving me a hard time almost every day. It's been 5-20 degrees outside here in ChicagoLand, and he's walking out of his office and it's 70F flying his park flyers at lunch. Grrrrrrrrr..... Not mad, just a bit jealous!

Heck, at least it's cold enough to have a real "building" season! :D

BTW, the following site is down right now, as Dr. Robert Suding is getting his domain re-registered, but it should be up again in a week or so. Interesting reading on color and visibility of R/C planes:

http://www.ultimatecharger.com/color.html

Re: Tail servos
 

I like your pull-pull setup. If I was to do it all over again I would explore that configuration. What I don't like is your weight.

Mine, configured per factory, with a Saito FA-100 came out 6lbs, 8ozs. I did have to add 1.5ozs of weight on the back -- cut a strip out of the fuselage and epoxied 6 1/4-oz weight squares just in front of the tail wheel.

RCAddiction,

I see from your picture that you have not done anything with the landing gear mount block. This is a definite weakness with this airplane. Normally a manufacturer uses a block about the same size but made out of multi-ply plywood. This block is mild hardwood that is very fragile along the wood grain. Consider much epoxy and/or fiberglassing that landing gear block. Your 1st moderate hard landing will fracture that block along the wood grain and take out the bottom of your fuselage. The repair after that is much more difficult than doing it before hand. Been there, done that.

Ultra Stick 60
 

How do you like your Saito 100 your US?

US60
 

Jim,

Thanks for your heads up on the landing gear block. I will think about reinforcing it with ply before I resume flying in the Spring.

Sorry you don't like my weight. The plane doesn't seem to mind, though. :D The plane is lightly loaded and ludicrously overpowered with the YS91.

BTW, that weight figure includes
- an ounce or 2 of covering on the wing and tail to improve visibility.
- larger H9 lightweight wheels. Makes my life easier at the rough grass field I fly at.
- YS91

The YS91 is certainly heavier than the Saito 100. You pays your money and takes your choice. Both were in the glass case at Venture Hobbies when I bought the 91FZ. For me it was an easy choice for my 3rd YS. I've found that I prefer the nature of the throttle response in my 63FZ, 91FZ, and 120SF, to that of the many good Saito's I've owned. Saito's are fine. I've had 4 until recently as I've sold off 2. It's just personal preference.

Ultra Stick 60
 

This plane is designed for un-adulterated fun. With that in mind, the Saito FA-100 turns this ship into a virtical rocket.

I flew my US 60 a couple of weeks ago after being grounded for over 2 months by Old Man Winter -- we had a 50+ degree spring brake day. I never removed the plane from the van after the flying season so it sat in the cold van for 2 months of inactivity. After fueling, checking and peaking the batteries, and doing a range check of the radio I fired her up. Almost immediate and purring like a kitten at idle. I 1/2-throttled her into a takeoff run and was off the ground before I knew it. The 1st flight of the day was like the middle flight of a warm day -- awesome engine and awesome airplane.

The only problem I'm going to have is a decision on what airplanes to fly during the spring. I've been very busy during the winter and now have almost 10 airplanes that are flyable -- it will just have to be a decision of the Ultra Stick plus one or two other planes that will fit in my van at one time.

Van
 

Jim, sounds like you need a bigger van. I can get 3-4 planes in my MPV..... but I usually only bring 2 or 3 at most. Want to limit how many things I can crash in one day! ;)

Ultra Stick 60
 

Hey there Lee. Your Magic on skis looks fun. I have a big pair ready to go under the Ultra Stik if the 1) snow stays around and 2) the temps climb out of single digits.

The Stik on a Saito 100 is sweetly perfect. If you don't already have an engine for this one I can HIGHLY recommend the 100.

-Cheech

Ultra Stick 60
 

What prop are you guys using on the Stick with a Saito 100?

I am following all threads I can find on this aircraft.. lot of good mods..

Hind sight is 20 / 20 ,as I just bought mine I get to read all this good history.

Thanks

Re: Van
 

Actually, if I do the sardine bit and leave the extra accessories at home I have gotten 6 airplanes and had enough room for another small one. My van is a Plymouth Grand Voyager with the rear 2 seats removed. I constructed a PVC rack inside of it so I can lay 3 wings on top, 3 fuselages in the middle and room for everything else on the floor. Three of my current airplanes will only fit on the floor 1) U-Can-Do 3D, 2) 1/4-scale Hanger 9 Cap 232 (73"), and 3) another 1/4-scale Hanger 9 Cap 232 (73").

I'm currently running an APC 15x6. I may move back to the Master Airscrew 14x8 to gain some speed. I haven't flown it yet (haven't even broken in the engine) but I plan on trying a 16x4 (if I can find one) on my U-Can-Do 3D with the Saito FA-100.