where does the dihedral measure from on the lower wing?
the manual says the 2 1/16" block goes under the tip..........is that the very tip?
or the very last rib of the wing out by the tip?

The very tip. Put the wing on a flat surface, I used a small weight bag on one end, put the block under the other and let dry.

R/C Foolish

Mga I pose these questions to you because I am running a 40 CC Brillelli gas engine similar to the 40 CC engine that you run. The GP plans call for mounting the wheel pants with two #2 sheet metal screws. That doesn't seem like much to hold the wheel pants to me, especially with a big shaking gasser powering her. I usually mount such items with blind nuts and machine screws. Have you had any problems with your wheel pants? Also, the cowl mount seems quite flimsey to me. Have you had any problems with the cowl comming loose or with cracking or breakage due to vibration?

I know I asked these questions of mga because he is also running a 40 CC engine but I also welcome any input from anyone out there that cares to comment.

My GP Super Stearman is nearing completion and I expect to have the first flight within the next two weeks as schedule and weather permit.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (Roger)

Re the wheel pants, I have blind nuts and two manchine bolts with the allen heads. re the cowl, with my first stearman that had over 1100 flights, never had a problem. after about the first 20 flights, checked everything, tightened everythings, and made sure with lock tite on all the bolts re engine to firewall and all the bolts that held the cowl. And my new one also no problme whatsoever with the cowl. can't tell you re the wheel pants as I have been flying only on skis. The pictures a couple of them are of the Brilleli engine that I am instqlling in the GP Yak 54 that belongs to my friend. This is the way I am doing it.
The other pics is of the FPE that is in my Stearman, and the last picture is of the plane taken yesterday.

Was out today, a friend came by with his dog. Also wanted to show you my Canadian Maple Leaf on the bottom wing. Beautiful day today. Sunny and no wind. put in 5 flights.

What size engine is that Brillelli?

46cc

Thanks for your input mga. I changed the wheel pant screws to blind nuts and machine screws today. I will take your word for your experience with the cowl and leave it alone. I have had four different Brillelli engines, a 25 cc Toro conversion, two 40 cc SPE conversions and now a Brillelli 46 that will go in my Hanger 9 150 size P-47. My experience with Brillelli engines has been excellent. Scott has done an great job on all of my engines to date and his service and support are the best in the business. Mga is sure making me jealous with all his good flying days on the Ol' Super Stearman. I can't hardly wait to get mine in the air.

Best wishes and good safe flying.

Heli-NuBee (Roger)

The Brillili belongs to my friend who I am building the plane for. I must admit, that Scott has backed up he product. At first it was a magnito and it did not really work that well. Scott said send the engine back, and he changed it to electronic ignition plus did other mods (improvements especially to the carb attacthment. Since then this engine has run flawlessly. That is why he is putting it in the Yak 54 by GP.

My kit arrived yesterday. Everything looks good. I hope to start assembly within a couple weeks.

I made the mistake of leaving mine in the box for a while and now I'm on my 3rd week waiting for a new cowl. Make sure to unwrap and check the cowl for cracks and pealing paint as well as the ailerons for horrific covering job. On mine the ailerons were so bad I didn't even try to re-shrink them, I just stripped and re-covered them. Everything else looked good. Also, a building note: if you use the measurements provided for the slave rods to the upper ailerons you will not get full down travel on the lower aileron which will also hinder the up travel of the other side. Since the holes were already drilled when I found this out, I set up my ailerons for differential to alleviate the problem. There isn't a problem if you use 4 servos.

Somewhere in this thread is post with the correct dimensions for the upper aileron "slave rods". I used those dimensions and they worked out very well. My cowl was no good either.

I'm getting Goldberg Sukhoi flashbacks. What is it with busted up cowls these days? In both cases when I opened the box the cowls were well packed and I can't for the life of me figure out how the get damaged like that. Only thing I can think of is the cowls are done in a seperate facility from the planes and damaged prior to boxing the kit up.

rcmigpilot,

the cowls are done beautifully, but they pack all the hardware inside the cowl and during shipping, the wieght of the pilot figures, spinner, hardware bag etc... is causing minor fractures.
Hobbico is great about replacing them, but i guess there is no way for them to get the manufacturing end to re pack. it really is silly to use the cowls for holding all the goodies.
both my cowls for the 2 kits i have are being replaced for cracks.
i wish i new what could be used to put another clearcoat on the ones that are cracked, at least then i would have a spare or two.

Thanks, for the advice, guys. I'll check mine today.

You could try a small area on the bottom of the cowl with clear LustreKote, it should work ok. I gave my cowl to a friend that crashed his Stearman. I don't think he did any thing to the finish.

You may want to think twice before mounting it on a composite engine mount. I know that Scott over at Brillelli reccomends metal mounts. You may find that that mount will break before long.

I've had some success by taking the small bottles of Testor's paints and letting them seperate, then removing the pigment and mixing it with a thinned out 30 minute epoxy to color it. Then you carefully brush it into the crack and let it dry for a week or so. Hit it with a little wet 600 grit and it should be fairly good. You can always follow up with a quick coat of clear gloss Krylon Klearcote. The white and red seem to match the Stearman quite well.

The person I am doing the plane for, has flown another plane with the exact same set up and it has lasted 100 dreds of flights. I myself is concerned about it, but that is what he wants.

thx Lou......i'll give that a shot today since i'm home early. it's a shame to waste a perfectly (otherwise) good cowl.
can't wait to get this bird in the air..........even the wife loves it already, and that's a hit in itself as i put her through the mill the last time i was involved in the hobby.


[quote]ORIGINAL: Lou55

I've had some success by taking the small bottles of Testor's paints and letting them seperate, then removing the pigment and mixing it with a thinned out 30 minute epoxy to color it. Then you carefully brush it into the crack and let it dry for a week or so. Hit it with a little wet 600 grit and it should be fairly good. You can always follow up with a quick coat of clear gloss Krylon Klearcote. The white and red seem to match the Stearman quite well.
[quote]ORIGINAL: summerwind

Hey Guys,
On a different subject has anyone had any trouble with the fuel tank rubbing on the engine mount bolts.They call for 8-32 x 1-1/4 socket head cap screws.I used them with the standard mount that comes with the kit and they stick through the blind nuts aways.I saw this when I was installing the tank and probally should have put shorter ones in but thought the tank must not rub on them or the gp would have changed it.I also use locktiteon the threads and dont want to create another problem getting them out.I cant really tell if the tank touches them when you push the tank all the way in.I'm now having second thoughts.Any troubles or ideas?Thanks

Hi guys, well, yesterday a friend of mine Greg Patterson who owns one fantastic camera, took these shots of my Super Stearman in the air, finally. So I am posting them as I feel they are great pics and the results of the decals on the Stearman look great in the air, especially the red maple leaf with Canada on the bottom wing. You can really see it. Also as you can see we had a couple of inches of water on the ice yesterday, but that does not deter us from flying. Hope you all enjoy the pics.

great pics.....what camera?
if it's a Canon 5D or 1DMKII.....he should have shot with a bit slower shutter speed so the prop doesn't look like it was stopped.

Here is the answer re the camera,Camera is Canon 30D: http://www.adencamera.com/prod-overv...437&Category=1

Lens is Canon 70-200mm 2.8L w/ Image Stabilizer:
http://www.adencamera.com/prod-overv...135&Category=7

thx.....i use a 5D with same lens and the 24-105f/4L IS.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos5d/