Buttoned it up this evening. A few specs:

OS 70 Surpass, inverted. The supplied tank doesn't fit in the nose, where it needs to be for a non-pressurized/non-pumped engine. So I used a DuBro ten ouncer.

MPI on-board glow system. It, the 1300 mAh sub-C battery for it, and the rx all mounted on or behind the CG. 1200 mAh NiMh rx battery mounted behind the CG, just in front of the elevator servo.

Notice that I keep mentioning the CG? With the balancer set for 5.5", the most-forward location, and the battery removed from its spot and placed ON THE BOTTOM OF THE RUDDER (much farther back than it could be mounted in the fuselage), it still took THREE OUNCES of weight on the stab before it stopped dropping the nose.

This is totally unsat. I have no idea why it is so nose-heavy. Yeah, it was designed to have the tank on the CG. But the rudder servo is in the tail.

This airplane has been one large and significant rectal discomfort. Nothing major (until now), just a lot of little annoying things- MUCH more than is usual, even for a low-quality el cheapo pacific Rim ARF. This one is supposed to be a high-quality offering; it certainly is priced that way.

But this felony nose-heavy condition is just icing on the cake. My first inclination was to rip all my gear out, and take it to the LHS first thing Monday to hang up and sell. Hey, caveat emptor, right? Nah, wouldn't feel right about that.

Normally, I don't throw good time or money after bad. But I've got so much time invested in this one, solving little BS problems, that I might as well solve this one. I'm going to remove that odd-ball elevator system and put two servos back there. They will have to be offset, but I think there is enough room to vertically offset them. The battery will still have to go behind the wing somewhere, I'll bet large on that.

If you are contemplating buying this model, don't. If you already have the kit, sell or trade it. What we have here is a beggar in an Armani suit.

.

Hmmm... must not be much interest in this plane, except for me and a couple of other chumps who bought it.

That's good; fewer folks to get aggravated.

Man, how I wish I had gone into the LHS an hour earlier; then, I would have walked out with a UCD 46 instead of this abortion...

.

Lanier is not high on my list. Joe

I didn't have the problems you'vre had so maybe you just got a bad one. The only
problem I had was the elevator bellcrank was pure junk. I replaced it with a MK from
Central Hobbies. I also mounted the engine at the 8 o'clock position so the exhaust
would exit directly under the belly. This took a little time.
I have a SuperTigre Bluehead 60 with a Macs muffler on a Dave Brown glass motor mount
on mine and it balanced right on the money by positioning the battery. I did use a different
tailwheel which required adding a piece of plywood for the mount a little further forward than
the way it came. This probably added a couple of ounces to the tail. I also moved the landing
gear about 3/4 of an inch rearward to clear the Macs muffler. I usually don't use much
of the hardware that comes with any ARF just for my own piece of mind. I probably take more
time than usual to assemble one, reinforcing places and making sure everything is straight.
Haven't had any good weather yet so I don't know how good it will fly but it is very light and
straight so I have high hopes. It looks good.
Sorry you've had problems with yours, hope it all turns out OK.

tommy s

My engine is a bit heavier than yours, but not so much to make this vast difference.

I just finished re-checking the balance after yanking that miserable bellcrank assembly (it was already working loose) and installing two servos just in front of the horizontal stab; the only improvement is, now the battery needs to be just in front of those two elevator servos (instead of on the bottom of the rudder). The three ounces under the stab is still needed.

Tommy, where is your CG at? The more I think about this, the more I wonder if the given CG is incorrect. In 17 years of modeling, over two dozen ARFs assembled and perhaps a dozen kits built, I have NEVER seen one this bad. Three ounces on a 40 size model is one hell of a lot of weight to add.


.

I haven't flown it yet so I have it set as the instructions say at 5 1/2 inches but
it should be easy to change as the battery is right behind the fuel tank.

tommy s

Well, its done.

Talked with Lanier Monday; guy there said their's had a 70 Surpass, and had the battery behind the wing. He had no idea why mine was so nose-heavy. Of course, you cannot expect an over-the-phone diagnosis on this sort of problem. He suggested I fly it first before adding the three ounces of weight under the stab. Good idea.

It balances now at 5 inches. I cut into the fuse bottom, made a mount and a hatch, and the battery is just ahead of the elevator servos.

I'll say this; after all the headaches I've had finishing this airplane, if its flight characterisitcs are anything short of orgasmic it will be swap shop material just as soon as I get something else to put the 70 Surpass in...[>:]

If the weather cooperates, I'll know this week-end. Another thing that is annoying me; I can't put my finger on it, but the model looks dfferent from what I see on the box, ad literature, etc. Sitting on the bench while I was setting the throws, it appeared, well; dorky I guess is the word. That impression solidified when I set it down on the driveway for the photos. Probably just me; Lord knows I'm not real thrilled with this thing right now...

I think you're just upset with this airplane Steve , it looks good to me. I did notice
the fuselage is a lot fatter than it looks in the pictures. Took me a while to figure that out.
Couldn't quite decide what looked different.
I'll fly mine this weekend also as the weather is looking good. I guess we can compare
notes next week. It looks like you painted your canopy and I tinted mine , other than that
and the spinner they look identical.

Good luck

tommy s

Good luck to you too.

My initial intention was to detail the cockpit with a pilot, etc.; after all the grief, I said to heck with that and just painted it on the inside...

.

Boy O boy Steve, you just saved ALLOT of modelers time and $$ wasted on this POS offering from LAnier/Goldberg/Bubba.
Your right, it does look dorky....and better fly better than exellent....
Thank's for being the guinnea pig on this one...
I've had that job a time or two..always a crap shoot.
Never know if it's pearls or turds...

I don't think the Matrix looks dorky but it certainly doesn't look like the
average 3-D airplane. It styling is definitely more pattern. It looks like
a smaller version of the Mantis pattern ship except with large control surfaces.
That's what I like about it as I plan to fly it in a few sportsman class pattern
contests but also to try a little 3-D flying when just fooling around. I'll find out
this weekend how good it is.

tommy s

Hey guys,

Just finishing up my Matrix as I write this. Took a gamble and I hope it flys like advertised. Have a 70 surpass on mine and will be setting receiver, battery, etc. in place this evening. Can't wait to hear how your test flights go. I'll let you know how my cg works out. How did you set up your fueling arrangement? Worked with the elevator bell crank with good servo and it snaps to and fro with ease.

They do show the fuel tank back rather than in the nose. I realize the cg is figured with an empty tank, but I wonder if the placement is because of cg when filled?

Bruce P.

I didn't use the tank that came with it because I wanted a larger one. I installed a Tettra
14 oz. where about 1/2 of it sticks out of the forward compartment into the center compartment.
I didn't want it too far back and end up having fuel draw problems. The Tettra is not very big
around so it fit very easily into the space. My SuperTigre Bluehead was blueprinted and ported
by George Aldrich years ago when I first got it and it uses a little more fuel than the average
SuperTigre so I wanted a little larger tank.
Be sure to check that bellcrank every now and then as it looks like an accident waiting to happen
to me.

Good luck

tommy s

I did check the bell crank after flipping the elevator about 200 times at full rates. Then I retightened the set screw and zapped it.

I bought the dubro 10 oz tank and am using the dubro fuel filler mounted just behind the engine on the side. I have enough room for my glow stick out the bottom but may end up with the remote glow.

My cg comes in at 5.3 inches without any weights. I'll fly it like that and see what happens.

Best of luck to you both as you get yours in the air. I may not be able to fly mine until next week due to weather here in Lancaster, PA. We'll see. Bruce

Don't want to make you feel bad but it's almost 80 degrees here in Houston , clear
with just a slight breeze. Hope it holds until the weekend.

tommy s

Yeah, Tommy; today would have been a PERFECT first-flight day here, too.

.

Man , work sure gets in the way of our leisure time don't it ?

tommy s

Yup; but at least I was able to get out and about and enjoy the beautiful day. Today I'm stuck behind this steenkin 'puter all day, writing reports.

Retirement is getting close; THAT, I'm having a difficult time waiting for.

.

Hey Tommy,

You sure know how to hurt a guy! Sunny today but still snow left over and I'm not about to put skiis on the Matrix.

How did you guys set up for fueling? With the 70 surpass it has crank vent on the bottom of the engine (now the top since it's inverted) in front, then the muffler vent for the tank. I have a three stem tank with the filler line coming out the bottom back notch at the back of the cowling and am trying to figure out how I want to secure it and may have the front crank vent line next to it somehow.

Any help on this?

Bruce

Steve might be a little more help than I can be as I am using a 2-stroke and am
not familiar with 4-stroke set ups. I use a Tettra tank with 3 lines , one filtered line
to the carb , one filler/vent line to a fuel dot on the left side of the cowl , and one
vent/pressure line with a tee in it - one side to a fuel dot next to the other dot and one to
the muffler with a one-way valve in it so pressure can go to the tank but fuel will not
go into the muffler.
You can open both fuel dots and fill from either one and the other becomes the overflow.
One thing to be careful with is make sure the tank is installed on the carb centerline , not
the engine centerline , this is important on a 2-stroke and I assume on a 4-stroke as well.

tommy s

Thanks Tommy,

I am basically going to do that. My concern was not flooding fuel into the carb. I can pull the line off the muffler for overflow easily.

Appreciate the feed back. Can't wait to hear your flight reviews.

Bruce

Bruce, my original intention was to use a third line and fuel dots. But it is rather crowded in that cowl, and besides, a third fueling line does not address the problem of flooding the carb (which you say you've got figured out). The only way I could see to do it would be to use a hemostat to either clamp the line going to the carb, or just pull it off while fueling.

I had a vision of me on my hands and knees in the pits, grubbing about trying to get the line back on the carb nipple... nah, don't think so. I ended up using a Dubro fuel valve I found in the junk box. I haven't the greatest luck with these gadgets, but this one seems to work as advertised, so we'll see. In view of all the grief this model has given me, a non-functioning valve will simply be par for the course...

Of course, with the inverted installation, I could have just left the throttle barrel full open while fueling, and the overflow would run out, probably NOT flooding the carb. Kind of messy, though.

What I should do is tie the tail to a tree and try it here at the house before heading to the field Saturday. Everything works fine during the static test, but we know that doesn't always it will work for real. But to be honest, I'm simply tired of dicking around with this airplane.

If everything goes well Saturday, fine. If not, I may try to fix it; or may not. You can be sure that I'll bring a back-up model, so the day won't be wasted...

.