ORIGINAL: Jaketab

Joe and Monkey,

There is another AW 75cc 260 post started several weeks ago. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6356561/tm.htm That one is not as detailed as this build thread.

This plane is everything and more it's advertised to be. The plane flies like a champ. My CG was 1/4 inche aft of the 3 inch balance point. I found it to be the best landing plane I've ever flown. And oh ya, the plane hoovered with only a small amount of control input on low rates with my limited ability!

Couple of things to watch out for - there are 6 ply mount tabs that the cowl secures to. Two on each side and 2 on the bottom. All 4 cowl mount tabs on the sides pulled loose which left only the bottom 2 tabs holding the cowl on. I was very lucky that I landed before the front of the cowl made contact with the backplate. I posted some pics of this on the other thread.

Caution!!!! - these tabs appear to be glued only with not enough glue. I suspect there may be other reports soon as these tabs break loose and cause damage to the cowl.
The fix will be easy if you catch this in time. Pull them out if they are loose and reattach with 30 min epoxy.

The only other problem was the JTec muffler leaking on the DA-85. It was a defect from an improper or incomplete weld on the flange. The flange plate on the port side is welded to the muffler. The oil and gas was working it's way between the flange and the muffler and exiting out the bolt tubes. I was able to confirm this by placing a silicone tube into the bolt hole from the port side. I put my finger over the bolt hole tube to seal it from the outside and blew into the tube. You could easily see air mixed with bubbles exiting between the welded flange and the muffler.

It's made a big oil mess on the inside of the cowl. There are 2 of us at my field with the DA-85's and JTEC Pitts. Both are leaking from the bolt hole tubes. JTEC has since repaired the muffler but I have not tested it yet.

So, if this plane heads south, which planes sometimes tend to do, I would buy another to replace it.

Good luck - Jaketab