ORIGINAL: zippidydoodah
Oh, thanks for the reply. I know what it is from your description. They do make solid spinner nuts that hold the pro on the engine that look just like that 'bullet', I have one! I''ve read where it should be positioned just aft of the CG which is not practical since it would be on top of the wing. I assume you beefed up the area pretty good.
My next project is the Dynaflite with a Super Tiger 3250. I have the engine and a G38 as well but the ST is compact, light and a wicked strong! I will run larger wheels and pants. I'm building it as a tow, so I'll bash scale a little bit. Thanks again.
For the tow mount, I ran a piece of pine crossways... perhaps 1" front to back by 3/4" tall. I fit it full length from side to side. I epoxied that into place. I then drilled through the fuse at each end and inserted a 1/4" dowel... which was then sanded down flush with the outside of the fuse. So, it's a pretty heavy pin from both ends and three sides are epoxied to the fuse. As the release is not very high above the fuse, I'm thinking almost all of the force is going to be to the rear, with not a lot of rotational force.
The Decathlon is a heavy model... and a lot of the weight is in the tail. You might want to move the tail servos up into the cockpit if you use the lighter engine. Try to keep it light when doing the tail feathers... and then before you go too far, try to get the engine hung onto the front and try to figure out your CoG.
The model is plenty strong for a gasser... aside from me thinking it needs a firewall upgrade for this... but it is solid and rugged. It would however be a shame to use that light engine and have to hang 6 or 8 ounces of lead up front.