Calflyer

Wow! thats one fantastic repair job, Frag! Let us know how it goes.

Tracon

Here's a Sukhoi pic that I took of a buddy's plane just before his maiden flight and write off..

Sam

Calflyer

Ouch! Sory to hear. If I remember correctly is this the one which had some engine trouble and went in the sea?

Tracon

Yep that would be the one...

Frag

Man that would stink even worse than breaking it in half after 20 flights. It really went in water? On the first flight? THAT would break my heart!

SigFan

Bummer, lost it on the first/maiden?

My first flight was a nerve racker. This is a very fast plane, I can see how that might happen. I always grab a buddy to stand by on a maiden, sometimes it helps to have an extra hand on the trims or even just a calm voice telling me to 'slow down'. I've maidened all my own planes except the first 2. First flight is always get it up, get it trimmed, do some approaches and land the thing.

It took me until the 5th flight to get my sukhoi comfortable to fly with. Can't wait for some better weather........this time of the year is tough......going through flying withdrawl..........

SigFan

Hey all,

Finally got around to getting some photos of my Sukhoi. Enjoy!

TT .91 4stroke, APC 14X6 prop. Hitec HS475 servos. Sullivan tail wheel, tail wires I made.

Frag

SigFan, that is a very nice looking model....I can't wait to get mine all the way back together..it flew so well (just not slow)...What did you use to outline the canopy? It gives it that 'realistic' look......


....bring it in hot!

SigFan

Frag,

I used some of the left over decal material for the canopy trim. It has an elastic base and stretches pretty good. I cut some strips and folded it over the edges, and put a 1/4 strip throught the middle. Four small screws on each side hold it in place.

I also used Dubro 1 point control horns on all control surfaces. They are very easy to mount, just 1 hole and I like the wide range of adjustment they allow.

I took her up on Saturday, practicing knife edge flight and snaps. Boy, you can get this baby spinning fast! Release the sticks and she come out beaufully. I can't wait for the season to really open up, I'd like to learn how to hover!

Calflyer

Wow, that is one awesome looking airplane. That canopy trim looks cool.

skyking424

SigFan that is one nice looking Su31. Are you still happy with it? I am thinking about getting one and putting a ST G90 with the davis diesel head in her. I have the VF 66" Extra and am happy with it. Nice planes and company support is outstanding!

Thanks
Tom

Frag

I thought you guys may want to know that VF is having a sale right now on the Sukhoi (as of 1/15/2003) Its going for 154.95 + sh

I paid 179.00 if I'm not mistaken...

Oh and I flew my repaired Sukhoi last Saturday and it seems to have worked out well...I just need to get the new cowl and put some new covering material over the cracks in the fuse..I'll get some pics after I get the new cowl on..

SigFan

Glad you got the sukhoi back up Frag! BTW, I picked up mine a while back when they were at $149, though even at $179 they are well worth the price.

Skyking, thanks! I'm still real happy with it, it's my number one flyer at the moment. Though here in RI, we are in the middle of one of the worst winters yet. Currently it's 3 degrees and the wind chill is around -15. Brrrrrrr.......

I noticed some of the screws holding in the cowl were backing out, so I drilled them out and CA'ed in some short pieces of Nylon pushrod. I'm also going to re-work the way the belly pan mounts, maybe attach it to the wing. If it works out I'll post follow up pics.

Stay cool guys, he he.......

Dauntae

I was waiting for them to go back to $149 but I thought 154.95 + sh was close enough So I ordered one yesterday so we can get together SigFan and fly some tandom HEHE(theres one way to see how they survive a mid air ) JK A friend has the 66" extra too so the new season will be a good one with a nice fleet starting to form. I can't wait until it gets here.OH and on the ride home tonight from work the thermomo thingie in my car said -4F BRRRRRRR with cap locks

Dauntae

Dauntae

SigFan I just got my sukhoi today and wondered if you modified the belly pan yet, Attaching to the fuse looks like a pain to remove the wing. This weather is unreal, Last winter there was flying through most of it but this year it's too cold. What should I be expecting in flight from the sukhoi, Can't wait till summer.

Dauntae

SigFan

Hi Dauntae,

No, I haven't gotten around to modifying the belly pan yet. Like you said, it's been too cold to even think about flying. I did manage to finish up an Avistar for my kids, with a 40la and I'm looking into getting a 60 or 40 sized stick to build for the spring.

As to what to expect, well it's pretty fast. For your maiden get lots of height right up front and it helps to have someone near by as mine needed quite a few clicks on the alieron trim on the first flight. Balance it on the forward point of the wing given in the instructions and if you have expo dial in 50% as she's real sensitive on the throws. Other than that she flys real nice but needs a long approach to bleed off speed for landing. Fly it right in, don't "float" it in for a landing.

Did you decide on an engine? Still going with the Magnum? Stick with a low pitch prop for the first flight, I can't express enough how fast this plane is, even with a 14X6. If you look at the firewall, there are a couple of places you can move the bind nuts to for mounting. I mounted my engine at the 7 oclock position to allow the exhaust out the bottom. You'll have to cut away almost all of the square area at the bottom of the cowl but this will allow your exhaust and needle valve out the bottom. Don't forget to fuel proof this area as mine didn't come that way. I also put 1 washer behind both the top and left bolt behind the supplied brown mount and found this to be just right for the given down and right thrust settings.

Have fun! Catch U later.

J.V.

My Feedback: (56)

Ordered mine mid January still waiting. How is the C.G.?, I have a new Enya 90 4-stroke that I plan on using. It is heavy compared to other 90 class engines at 28 oz. Would I be adding tail weight?, or does the plane require any nose weight? Thanks.

Dauntae

I'm still going to try the Magnum first and see how the power is on the plane and if it needs more I might get a saito 100 and keep the Magnum for a kit I plan to get, I use a JR 8103 so expo is no problem and I wondered if flaperons would help slow it down, It's something I might try after I get used to this one. I don't think I'm brave enough to try this one but one of the other club members has the Phoenix Models sukhoi and on final he gets it to do what looks like a fast moving Harrier and when he slows it down enough to land he levels it out and comes right in. I did notice the extra holes for the mount and planned on putting the engine at the 7 oclock position but will wait to put on the cowl until I decide if the Magnum stays or I get the saito. Thank you for the help and can't wait to get this one airborn.

Dauntae

SigFan

JV,

I mounted a TT .91 in mine, and that's as heavy as they come. With tail wires and a Sullivan tail wheel mount I managed to balance mine without adding any weight. You should make out fine by moving the battery around. I did add 1/2 ounce to one wingtip for lateral balance.

Dauntae, I haven't tried flapperons yet, on other models I find that they make the model mushy at low speeds - maybe I'm using too much? When spring comes around I'll be sure to play with them. By that time you will probably be in the air already yourself.

Frag

Just thought I'd put in a good word for the folks at VectorFlight. I e-mailed them the other day asking for tips on repairing a new cowl on my Sukhoi after I nosed over and cracked it. They replied back telling how to repair from the inside only with tape/glass and such but also said they were sending out a complimentary new cowl! I thought that was pretty darn cool of them. Now I'm not saying everybody is going to get new cowls for free But I wanted to give them a thumbs up for great customer service. Keep some speed on landing!

RichLockyer

Took the plunge and ordered one. Been spending the last few evenings working on it.
Sweet model!
I did fully shape filler blocks for the tail instead of using that plastic cover supplied (I keep hearing that they are going to pre-made filler blocks, but apparently not yet). The blocks are not hard at all to make, if you can find 5/16" sheet stock to "dummy up" the tail surfaces. I couldnt' find it and had to laminate 1/4 and 1/16 balsa together.
For the blocks, I used 1" square stock, but I did have to add about a 1" length of 1/4" stock to the top to clear the fuselage.
I also used a couple of filler blocks of 5/16 ahead of and behind the horizontal stab.
I covered the blocks with TopFlight trim sheets... it ain't perfect, but from 5 feet away, it looks solid and the color is VERY close.
I'll post some pictures when I get it to the field.

So far, I only have one complaint... and this rant is aimed at ALL current builders:

What's the deal with identical or similar color patterns on both the top and bottom??????
This one features a fuselage and tail that look the same, and the only difference on the wing is the crosswise strip of red.
I think the worst example I've ever seen was one of the 40 size Ultimate ARFs had a red-white-blue stripe the length of the wings... top and bottom... and bipes are hard enough to orient, especially small ones.

Anyways... rant off...

I put two 6" red strips on the bottom of each wing, and two 2" strips on the bottom of each elevator. I also added a red star to the top of each wingtip.

Now the question:

Magnum .91 four-stroke (and taking into account the added weight of the tail blocks and 2-56 wire bracing)... what is a good position to mount the engine... fore/aft? I was thinking that 4-1/2" from the firewall would be a comfortable medium range, but I don't want to have to add lead. Should I go ahead and mount it all the way out on the ends of the beams (about 5" from the firewall), or bring it back some? Sig... what's your measurement?

Dauntae

Well my Sukhoi is about ready to maiden this weekend if weather permits but I was wondering what kind of throws you people have set up on yours, I read how pitch sensitive they are and about the lateral balance (already done) but how much throw should I set on low and high rates? Plan to have about 40% expo set also. Can'twait but still scares the snot out of me for the first flght.

Thanx again
Dauntae

Calflyer

I would suggest a maximum of 1/2 inch each side for the elevator and ailerons and about 3/4 for the rudder. Avoid a high pitch prop to keep your speeds low.

Hard skin wings as a rule have less mushing and a sensitive responsive feel. Its like driving a BMW after a station wagon!! LOL. You will be able to aim it like an arrow and get very nice tracking.

Good luck[8D]

Dauntae

Thank you, I can relate, I went from a Grand Prix to a mini van so I know what your talking about.... AND I DON'T HAVE ANY KIDS??????? I guess I am addicted.

Dauntae

NM_Mark

My Feedback: (8)

Just thought I would chime in here...I have the Sig Sukhoi, and also had a Cermark Sukhoi, and both showed the same flight traits described here. They both did not like to fly slow on landing...both needed to be a little hot on final approuch. Don't make it too hot though, it will bounce easily if you're not careful. Also, the Sig Sukhoi seems to be quite sensitive to CG changes...a simple switch from an APC prop to a lighter Zinger wood prop makes the plane more of a handful than it usually is.

Elevator throws on the Sig are minimal...1/2" throw is still enough to snap it if I'm not careful. Expo helps a bunch on this plane, if you've got it, use it.

But....they sure look neat in the air, don't they!!!

Mark