Capt. Ron
Don't be R/C foolish! Ha Ha Ha...
You’re on the right track. Manufacturing and quality differs from company to company. Even from one plane to another from the same manufacturer. You have been following this thread and you can see there can be a verity of opinions and different glitches depending what box you get. I try to put the odds on my side...inspecting your plane closely just may save you a lot of time and money. If I had known about incidents meters or used one on my previous builds I’m sure I would have saved some on few planes. What you may save more than justifies the cost of the meter.
For me I find the whole thing very interesting which makes a build a lot of fun.

If you can’t find the incidence in the instructions or if you can’t find it online, call the vendors product support they should know what it is. I called GP product support to double check what the incidence was on the Stearman.
As for as the incidence meter just read the instructions and you will be okay. If a wings leading edge it pointing up it’s positive and down negative.
Good Luck!
Shubova
[8D]

Yes, an incidence meter is a good idea, especially when dealing with bipes.

Doing a preliminary check on my Stearman, I was fortunate to have everything be OK.

Thanks Shubova. I think I will buy one. I now have a lot of family members that fly RC all so. I think it will be interesting to see how close everything that I have built checks out.

Thanks R/C Foolish.

the os 160 twin is the engine for this plane.good power,smooooth idle ? easy start.

How did it fly with the 50cc? What servos did you use? I was going to use Hitec HS-475HB. Do you think they will work? I will be using four of them. I hope they will take the vibration of my dl 50cc.

hey guys. I just ordered the military scheme with Saito 170 radial.....any important tips or considerations? I've scanned some of the posts but not all.

also whats best way to transport this baby? take wings off or too much of a pain?

Hi Kiosk. I just started building mine. But you can find most of the information that you will need right here. I think if you can transport it with the wings on that would be the best by far. I have an old pick up truck that I will use. All of the guys here are great and very helpfull. Good luck

thanks, I just read all the 54 pages....phew!!! excellent info and great pics!!!! nothing beats experience, who needs a manual???

I have a question about using 4 servos for the ailerons. The way I read the instructions is, they are saying to put both top seros in a Y harness. Then they installed one Ernst charging receptacle in the fuselage. I though the left side upper and lower would go together. And the sameon the right side. So you would have two places, one on each side with the the ernst charging receptacle. Then inside the left side would go into a Y harness and the right side would go into a Y harness. I hope I'm not crazy

That's the way I would do it if I did 4 servos. But why do you need the 2 extra servos, I am just using 2 126 oz servos in the bottom wing and slaving the top 2 off of them.

R/C Foolish

They say it is easier when removing the wings. And I was thinking of flutter. I'm using a 50cc gas engine. The guy I talked to said that the two top servos go together in a Y harness. When you hook up the control arms they face to the wing tips. So I guess that way they move in different directions?

Capt. Ron,
If you go back a few pages in this thread I show at cool way (with pictures) to install and hide the “Y” harness inside the top wing, before gluing the two half’s together. Someone in a previous post mentioned it and it worked out great for me. You end up with only one wire that plugs into the Ernst plug that looks nice and clean. If you think about it with the way you mentioned you will end up with wires all over the place. I was thinking the same way but I did a few a diagrams on paper. When you see it on paper it makes sense to do it the way they say in the instructions. Actually as I remember I think they didn’t explain it that well.

You don't use just the one ailiron channel, you use 2 channels. The way it’s done is by using an auxiliary channel (I used cannel 6, Airtronics) on the receiver and then mix the aileron and the auxiliary channels together. It has been working very well for me.

Some where in the previous posts I also show how I built a traveling stand for my Stearman. I just mount the assembled plane on the PVC stand, hold it down with bungees then put the whole thing into my Ford Aerostar minivan, then bunjee the stand to the floor. When I get to the field I just pull the whole thing out at one time and I’m ready to fly. I disassemble the plane every few outings to check that nothing is loose inside.

If you can’t find the posts I’m referring to. I’ll go back and find them for you; I don’t have the time right now, got to go.

Good Luck,
Shubova
[8D]

Thanks Shubova.
I was going to run one servo wire from each side to a ernst jack. In side the fuselage I would have two Y harness. The left side would be together and the left side would be together. One side would go to #1 on the receiver and the other to #6. I was thinking that way if I wanted to use flaperon mixing. Has anyone tried to use Flaperon mixing? I will go back and see what you are talking about. Thanks for your help !

I found what you are talking about around page 37. I went back to page 20 and never found any pictures. I did find that everyone has their own idea on how to do things. I'm going to do the left side together and the right side together. If I was to have a reason to pull out my cables I would not be able to do it with the Y harness inside the top wing. Thanks for your help

Capt. Ron
Sorry I thought I had posted these pics before. I guess I didn't. The old brain ain't what it use to be!

Here is a few pics showing how I hid the "Y" in the wing.
Pic #1 is the wire set up before I pulled it through.
Pic #2 is after it is pulled through.
Pic #3 shows the lead wire that goes to the Ernst connector and wire I used to pull it through the hole next to the cabana.
Pic #4 shows the lead wire pulled through, now the "Y" is inside the wing and the other side of the "Y" that goes to the opposite servo.
Pic #5 shows the "Y" connected to the lead wire of the opposite servo before I epoxied the wing half's together.
(I'm going to try to put all 5 pics on this post. If it won't except them all I'll post the rest on the next post)

I'm not trying to tell you what to do but I have only 1 wire to deal with and I'm very pleased with the way it came out. After you assemble and disassemble the Stearman wings and cabanes a few times you will understand....You'll see it is a pain in the rear putting in and taking out all those screws! There is no easy way to do it. I used Philp head screws but the heads strip out easy. I recommend using the SHCS that they provide in the kit...still a pain.
Even though I always end up working on something at the field I'd rather not and just fly.

Later I'll post the Stearman and PVC stand; and how it all fits in my van.

Good Luck!
Shubova

PS: Does everyone know if you resize the a picture before you post it on RCU. The post will open quicker. I redused these pics by 1/3.
It also works well when you send pics in e-mails. Learned that from my son, he works on electronics and computers in the Army.

I forgot to tell you. I covered the lead wire that goes to Ernst connector with white electrical tape and attached it to the cabane with zip ties. It looks nice and neat. And works well since I don't have to disasseble the plane that much.
Shubova
[8D]

Here are some pics of the PVC stand I built for the Stearman. It works great! I guess I’m bragging a little but it’s a good feeling when you build something that works well. And I hope others will get some ideas from what I have done.
I used #4 Philips head screws to hold the PVC together. If you glue it and have disassemble it for some reason, which I did a few times, it’s a going to be pain. The 2 tubes in front of stand on each side of the plane are not screwed. I let them rotate so I can sit the plane on the stand easier.
The Stearman is shown with out the cowling because I built the stand before I finished the plane but it does fit in the van with it on.
Hope this helps someone!
Shubova
[8D]

Hi Shubova. Thanks for all the pictures. I went with having two wires, one on each side. I hope I won't need to take the wings off all the time. I want to try flaparons. I don't know if it will work or not. I might try mixing with the elavator in the landing mode. Thanks again !!

Hey Shubova, What type of minni van do you have? I hope to buy a used Toyota real cheap from where I work. I want to do a split level with some plywood, and some plywood slide outs. My old Ford F350 crew cab dully is to stiff and rides like hell, even with sand bags in the back. Take care

It's a 1997 Ford Aerostar. It's a close fit I have to move the rudder to one side to get it through the back door but once it is in it fit okay. Ford no longer makes the Aerostar they replace with Windstar which I think is a little smaller. Check the length of the Stearman then check the width of the Toyota. Like I said before it's great not to have to brake the plane down every time I fly.
Shubova
[8D]

1) Rig a tank half the size of the stock one. My 170 will run 27 minutes at full throttle on the stock tank. That much extra fuel is just added weight.

2) Get a good onboard glow driver and set it up to run up to half throttle. The 170 take a while to break in and has a tendency to drop cylinders for the first few gallons. Also, use castor based fuel for the first 2 gallons. I had problems with mine at first and I was advised by a person with several multi cylinder engines that the synthetic stuff doesn't let the multi cylinder engines break in properly (they don't turn as fast or make as much heat as the single cylinder versions). I switched to castor fuel and the engine has progressively gotten better.

3) Check your wing incidence and get it right from the start. The bottom saddle on mine was out 2.5 degrees and could not be fixed without major surgery. As a result I had to carry 1/4" of down trim to fly straight and level with the stab and upper wing at 0 degrees. A bad landing damaged my fuse beyond repair (everything else is ok) so I'm going to get a new one and make sure the incidence is correct from the get go.

4) Spend the money for a Keleo exhaust ring, it's well worth it.

Other than what's above just make sure you're ready for a lot of attention. A round cowl with a round engine tends to draw a crowd.

I already checked it out on the Toyota and the Dodge. Both had plenty of room. I passed on the Dodge and holding out for the Toyota. Thanks

thanks man, i did get a macdaniel 3 cyl onboard and also the Keleo ring is on its way.....how do you know if the engine drop a cyl? the sound?

Saito 170R sounds rougher when it drops a cylinder. It will produce a fair amount less rpm as well. The cylinder that is not firing is noticeably cooler to the touch (check after shutting down engine). Most often it will be the 8 O’clock cylinder (viewed from front of engine) that is not firing. I use a separate channel to operate my McDaniels glow driver. I prefer to be able to switch it on and off at my discretion. You may not always want to drop your throttle to half in order to run the glow driver. I leave mine on for taxi, takeoff and landing.