Hello Bigbird, yes i saw you did a great job! Unfortunally i could find the photo of details..can you be so gentle to send to my mail? I will write it in pm. Actually i am building an electric glider in carbon fiber...just a light plane:9 but soon i will start a log for my top Flight Spitfire....
Best regards
ciao from Italy!

What engine would be better ? A Saito 180 or a Zenoah g26?

You will like either.

I fly mine with a G-23, swinging a 16X8 prop. The model required no additinal nose weight. I am very pleased with the flight performance.

Hi, guys.

I started monitoring this thread in mid-2010, and started posting in 9-2010, when I bought my own GP Super Stearman. I've been working on it ever since, and it's now completed. I used Robart pin hinges, and found out they can be difficult to use on the GP S-Stearman wings because they have a ply plate running through the exact center of the control surfaces. Makes for great strength on an aileron or elevator, but it makes for a difficult installation of pin-hinges! It took some determination, but they went in.

The engine is a Syssa 30CC gasser. I already have a Syssa on my Giant Super Sportster, and I can tell you it's the nicest engine I've ever owned. It flies my GSS all day at half-throttle, pulls it through any aerobatics I can think of (No, I don't fly 3D). Plus, it looks like it should be in a museum, the workmanship is so nice it should be art. My reasons for using it for the Super Stearman were not as exciting as all that. The weight of the recommended engine for the Stearman, plus the recommended (19 ounces?) of lead to be placed in the nose added up to exactly what the Syssa with all its gear weighs (41 ounces?). I already had a Syssa, and knew how nice it was, and how dependable it is. It provides a dramatic increase in horsepower, provides a larger, more scale-looking prop, and it's the correct weight. Plus, YouTube shows that gassers are very popular choices for power in these Stearmans. It turned out to be a superb choice fit-wise. I'm very pleased with all aspects of the installation. The Syssa is a very "neat" engine, with a slim shape. It's very compact, and designed to fit within narrow cowls like the Giant Super Sportster, so you can imagine the room left over in the Stearman! Can't wait to see how it powers the Bipe.

I abandoned my plans to use a single servo to power both elevators, after the 2-into-1 linkage I ordered from Central Hobbies had servo linkage holes much too large for use with the linkages. Turned out the linkage was designed to be used with other stuff they like to sell. I ended up gutting the belly and tail, and removing a half-ton of extraneous stuff that I would no longer need. Yes, this DID involve cutting out the stringers and rebuilding the belly afterward. It sounds much more difficult than it actually was. It was fun to do some "old-style" building, buying some balsa stock and building the belly. It turned out not to be a big deal at all. While it was open, I added a few reinforcements to accommodate the addition of three servos back along the sides. I elected to use a couple of JR ST126MG servos for the elevator halves. They're sport servos, but very powerful, and much more than is needed for each half. The rudder is powered by a JR 3611A, which formerly was destined to power the 2-into-1 elevator linkage. I used Central Hobbies carbon fiber linkages, 3/16", and the ends were 3/16" X 4-40 thread. Carbon fiber isn't required here, but I had the makings for the linkages around, and they're nice and light, and strong.

I threw away the stock elevator and rudder control horns and went with DuBro 493 adjustable control horns, which are comprised of a single screw that goes through the surface, anchored by plastic pieces on both sides. Much stronger than the originals, and I wanted something I could trust, especially on my elevators. I mount the 493's, trace around them, remove them, and cut away the covering under them. Then I soak thin CA throughout the hole inside, allowing it to soak in and harden the entire area around the control horn. Then I install the 493 again. I finished up by using Sullivan black plastic clevises (can't remember the number) with locking clips, and so made the linkages as bullet-proof as I possibly could.

I always raise my wheel pants above where they are designed to go, because wheel pants can get knocked around pretty easily. I did whatever mods I needed to do for that. I usually use SIG wheel pant mounts, and they make the pant easy to mount and dismount later on. I also went to a larger wheel, and more than a third of the wheel protrudes from the bottom of the pant, so it shouldn't encounter any problems even on a field with some bumps.

I went ahead and built the dummy radial, and it looks awesome. The plane is ready to go to the field. I hope to post with some good results soon. I don't know if I can get anybody to shoot any video, but I'll do what I can. In the meantime, I'll look around here, I believe I have some nice photos of it, both together and part, with some close-ups of the engine application and the radial, etc. If I can find them, I'll post them.

~ Jim ~[8D]

Okay,

I'm going to add some photos here. Hope you like them.

~ Jim ~[8D]

And I'll add a few here as well.

Notice under the stringers, you can see the remote JR Rx, placed well away from the main Rx. Also, I forgot to mention that I removed the balsa block in the back and hollowed it out. There was a lot of wood there. I also used a Sullivan tail-wheel assembly, because I always do that on every plane I build. They work great.

I built the gas tank from a Fiji water bottle. The little smiley-face I painted on the bottom of the tank is there so I see it when I install the tank. If the face is smiling at me, the bottom of the tank will be the bottom when the plane is placed upright and filled with gas. Nothing worse than putting a tank in upside down and then, at the field, wondering why the fuel is running out the vent-line!

And finally, I added a red stripe on the belly, because mine has to be a little different, and it clearly differentiates the top from the bottom.

Hope you like them!

~ Jim ~[8D]

Jim,
I have to agree the Syssa is one sweet engine, I have one in my GP Super Stearman also and love the way it flies! I have a new Syssa waiting for the 1/5 scale WACO when I get it completed.

I recently came into a used GP Stearman. Patched it up well enough to fly. Placed a RCGF 20cc on it. Wonderfull plane. When I get caught up on some projects I'll recover it. Here's a video of the maiden, well mine anyway. Not much to see. The trim's did not take much but the engine was really rich. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-3ER...p;feature=plcp

Jim you've done a fantastic job on that plane. It looks very smart indeed! Congratulations!
What is that bent wire near the exhaust? A choke lever maybe?
I'm just about to start my SS. I'm powering with a DLE30. I too am going with the pin type hinges. That youtube link by Builder Jim convinced me they were the way to go.
Thanks to this thread I feel a lot more comfortable about the task ahead as its only my second build.
So many great tips from all those that have gone before & discovered the pitfalls(& the triumphs!).
What prop do you have fitted? I presume I would need about the same? I'd love to see some under the hood photo's now its complete.
Good luck with the maiden mate& lets hope ya have some luck with the video.Cant wait to see it.
Mick

Hi Jim,

How is your vertical on your GP S-Stearman with the Syssa? I'm imagining that it's nearly unlimited, depending upon how you propped it, etc.

I had a 1/5-scale Pica Waco; what a beautiful plane it was. My friend just had to have it, so I gave it up, but it "stayed in the family," so to speak. It flew with a Saito 150, and though it was enough power for scale flight, that was all it had. I should mention that a Waco looks best flying at scale speeds, but it never hurts to have enough extra to get out of trouble. It also needed a LOT of extra weight in the nose, so the Syssa just might be perfect.

~ Jim ~

Hi Robert,

I watched your video. Looked like a nice maiden flight. Without incident, the way I like them. Many of the "Maiden flights" we see on YouTube are far from the first flight. I don't know about you, but I spend ALL of the first flight checking and tweaking the trims, shooting fast landings to see what it'll be like when it's on approach for real, rolling it upside down to see how the balance is, etc. Most of my maidens are spent flying straight ahead. Then, toward the end, I shoot a few more approaches, to get a feel of whether my idle is slow enough to let it settle onto the runway. Oh, and shaking. Did I mention shaking? I've been flying for 35 years, and I STILL shake on my planes' first flights. Not the second. But on the first flight, every time. Somebody else's plane on a first flight? Nope, solid as a rock. Just on my own.

I enjoyed your video.

~ Jim ~[8D]

Jim it sounds like were a lot alike on our maiden's, including the shaking. And I as well don't do it with someone else's plane. The first and only low and slow it almost stalled but maneged to throttle back up and go around. I as you like to do a few loop and roll's and straight away at an upward climb just to check trim's and thrust. It went much better than I expected. The plane has so much clear tape on it holding the covering I  was a little leary. Whom ever had it before me must have liked poking hole's. Was also a little worried the little 20cc would not be quite enough  but turned out to be plenty. Anyway's Thank's.

Hi, Mick.

Thanks for the kind words! You guessed it on the wire; it's my choke lever. Simple and effective. I thought about a servo, but it just wasn't necessary. Once you apply the choke on a Syssa, and it pops once, you flip the choke off, and the engine starts - every time. I run the wire out through two pieces of wood, slightly offset from the wire center and each other to create tension and hold it firmly. I also made a little "bump" in the wire right on the outside of the block when it's in "choke off" mode, to secure it. Old-school linkages.

I'm a big fan of the Syssa, because it comes with so many of the extras you would end up paying for with the others, it really doesn't cost that much more. It comes stock with a pitts muffler that comes set up to add smoke. That's what you're seeing in the photos above. Plus, it's made right here in the good ol' USA, in CT, by a guy who responds to emails and does turnaround service that beats anything I've seen. And when an engine model at the factory is upgraded, you can send yours in for the upgrades, which (to date) have been FREE to me every time. I only pay for the shipping.

I've heard from the other guys that the DLE 30 is a fine engine, and runs very strong. A few problems with the aftermarket mufflers cracking and such, but I haven't heard of too many. The engines themselves seem to have minimal problems, and since the DLE and the Syssa guys are always arguing over which one has more power (the Syssa does - yuck-yuck), either way it's safe to say you'll have all the power you'll need.

I'm glad you liked the "Building with Jim" video on the Robart pin hinges. I hear he's a heck of a guy. ;^) Others have different names for him, of course. :^)

I'm using an 18 X 6 prop. Some of the guys with the DLE's run 19 X 6. To me, they sound like they're lugging a little with a 19 X 6. I tried one on mine (in my Giant Super Sportster) and it also sounded that way. For the Super Stearman, I'd recommend the 18 X 6 wood Xoar, which is what I use. Gives you a little more ground clearance. Remember, the GP Super Stearman was designed for a motor like a Saito or O.S. 1.20, which would run a 16-inch prop, max. Because of the needed nose-weight and the big cowling on the Super Stearman, we can cram these gassers in there, but it's only so far from the crankshaft to the ground!

If I take the cowl off any time soon, I'll take some "under the hood" shots for you. I'll look around and see if I took some when I finished. I might have some around here somewhere.

Before you start yours, decide what you'll want to do for controls in the back. It's easier to open the belly before you have everything built onto the fuselage. It's a fun project, and the instructions are pretty good. There are also guys who have done building reviews on theirs, and that's another source for some good ideas. Building the dummy radial is easy and fun, and it inspires you to keep going. The photos I posted should give you some tips and ideas on that. I went out and found some light gray wire for mine, smaller than what they provide, because I looked at the wires on a real radial. They're much smaller.

Well, I s'pose I should write a book or something. . .

~ Jim ~[8D]

Robert,

Your Super Stearman looked great in the video. I didn't know it had clear tape all over it! I couldn't imagine why you wanted to re-cover it. That's a good reason.

I would think the 20CCs would be just just fine, as the plane is designed to fly well with a 1.20. The original Stearman was a military trainer, with a much smaller engine than the Super Stearman, and it had plenty of power. The Super Stearman was fitted with a 450 HP engine for hauling spray-rigs for crop-dusting, and soon was used for airshows and aerobatics. No doubt, your 20CC engine would be right in the middle of the range between the two, maybe a tad on the upper end. Plenty of power. Lots of wing on this bird, too, something like 1440 sq. inches.

Truthfully, the 30CC engines fit into the plane, but the kind of speeds it can put out just don't look right at full throttle. I don't think the full-scale version had anywhere NEAR unlimited vertical. And I don't know about you, but I didn't go through all the trouble of building an old-time Stearman model with a plan to fly it at speeds that don't look real or pretty in the air.

Looking forward to more videos of yours. I'm hoping to get a few of mine out there as well.

~ Jim ~[8D]

Jim, You've done some nice work there. I like your Pac Aero, real nice. This is what I'll do when I get cought up on project's. sometime after the first of the year maybe.

Jim
Vertical is pretty good, I am running a wood 17 X 8 Master Airscrew or Zinger, the Zoar requires cutting the spinner opening to clear and I have not modified mine it took to much effort to balance it. I fly it in a scale fashion, but it is nice to have that extra power.

Jim,

Yes, you're right, I DID have to carve out my spinner for my Xoar prop to fit. I used my dremel tool, and it was slow going. I didn't balance it afterward, but I did try to make sure my cuts were consistent on both sides. I don't know as I've ever balanced a spinner before. Good thought. I should look into that. I've seen a video on it, on YouTube.

Robert,

Is that the paint scheme you want to use? It's pretty, but kind of dark. I'd worry about visibility.

My Pac Aero Monocoupe is no more, but it was a pretty plane. HEAVY. TOO heavy. Kind of a squirrel on the ground, and not much wing (it was a clip-wing). That was the first model I had my Syssa in. Had a landing incident when a spark plug failed. Because of the squirrely ground handling and the high wing loading, I decided not to repair it, so a guy in Washington state bought most of the parts from me. The engine went into my GP Giant Super Sportster. I'm highly pleased with the GSS.

This link should show some photos of it.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_42...anchor/tm.htm#

~ Jim ~[8D]

Mine flew fine on an OS 1.08.

Nice work, but why ruin the scale outline with servo's hanging out the side? A DLE20 with a 17 x 6 xoar prop flies mine all day long with plenty of power and very scale like at 1/2 throttle. I also have a smoke system in it and it only required about 5 oz of lead with the 20, and that is only because I like it a little nose heavy. I'm not sure why so many overpower their biplanes. The real PT-17 only cruised around 70 and the supers had around 350- 400 hp just for aerobatic purposes. But to each his own I guess. Its a shame they jacked the price so high now.

I think I explained that above, raptureboy. But I'll have a go at it again. I finished my writing for today.

The Syssa was the exact weight needed for the Super Stearman's nose. No lead, not one ounce. The photo above shows it on the CG machine, nice and level.

I wasn't about to use the linkages that GP provided, or the flexy tubes they ran through. That's ARF 101, rule 1. "Don't use the linkages the Mfr supplies, unless they're Sullivan or Goldberg, or DuBro, or Central Hobbies (aftermarket quality)."

It's a fairly expensive ARF, and the Syssa is an expensive motor, so I made sure to use beefy linkages made of carbon fiber, and strong servos. I'm planning on flying it for a long time. Visuals come second to durability; within reason, of course. The stock setup used in the GP Super Stearman leaves much to be desired, and in my opinion, places the model at risk.

Full-scale planes often have linkages visible.

Beyond 25 feet, those servos are all but invisible. On a moving model, even more so. I stopped doing scale many years ago. Too much effort to create a model that weighs far too much to fly well, and there's too little return for the effort.

Those servos are accessible clear back to the control horn on the surface, so I can preflight them easily. On the ground, the linkages are under the stab. Very little shows. Look under the stab of a full-scale sometime.

As for power, The original trainers had 220 HP Continentals (Army) and 225 HP Lycomings (Navy).

After the war, the Super Stearmans were outfitted with 450 HP 978, as well as 600 HP R-1340. Those with the R-1340 barely roll-out, they mostly just leap off the ground. Used mostly for spraying and heavy hauling. The 450s were most used in the aerobatics. In fact, it's not a Super Stearman if it doesn't have at least a 450 HP in it.

Nothing wrong with having a lot of power in a Bipe. If you're going to power-up a bird, a Bipe is the one to do it with. Like the full-scale version, we have that little thing called a throttle that we can refrain from using upon occasion.

I don't go crazy with power, and I don't care about unlimited vertical. I do sometimes find myself in a hurry to get back up where I can start another flat-spin, and it's helpful then.

Lead has no other use than being heavy. Any other use is impossible. The Syssa can and sometimes IS used for a little more speed or power. It has a use. AND it does what the lead did, to boot.

If you put CA hinges into a plane, you've installed an expiration date. I use Robart Pin hinges in anything larger than a .25 size.

In summary, I have learned - over the past 35 years of flying and crashing RC models - that function and durability come first. I like a model that looks like a real plane (Stearman, Taylorcraft, etc.), but they don't have to look EXACTLY like one. I DON'T like sticks and models that don't look like a real plane, even at a distance. I like super-dependable engines and motors, like the Syssa and the Saitos, and I'm willing to shell out extra to have that extra dependability in my models (see FUNCTION above). I like economy, and my Syssa flies a full hour on 16 ounces of gas mix. My Saitos sip the glow fuel. Any Saito larger than a 1.00 does not sip fuel, so I use a gasser like a Syssa from there.

Everything I do when building my RC models is done for a reason, and all of my reasons revolve around function, dependability, durability, and ease of use. because "Pretty" all by itself just doesn't cut it when the wind is blowing hard, and you're out there flying anyway.

Hope that helps!

~ Jim ~[8D]

I know a guy that built a stick looking old style plane( I don't know what it actually was) and one of the first thing's I noticed was the grey outer tube of golden rod's on the outside. It came out of the fuse just behind the wing and ran back to the tail where that end was terminated into a small piece of ply the rest was connected to the elevator. Of course he could not understand why 5 minutes later it was a pile of rubble on the ground which came after some of the loudest flutter one would ever hear. I said nothing because he is one of those scale builder's whom know everything.

Jim your post is simply pure logic (common sense) which to many are lacking.

Thanks, Robert.
As it happens[X(]I have a funny, flip-side story to that. Back when I still lived in Maine, I was at a meet where I met a guy who was a newbie, and he didn't have a lot of money, but he wanted so badly to fly. He had built a plane using no balsa at all. He had taken a clear plank of cedar, and he had run it through a table saw and made (as I remember) 3/16" square sticks, and had built the entire plane from that stock. The other guys in his club ridiculed the plane, and made fun of it, calling it "kindling." He was a good-natured sort, and took that name and ironed the word KINDLING onto the side of the plane. None of them would fly it, said it wouldn't fly. None of them even touched it. He brought it over to me and said the guys in my club told him to bring it to me, and told him that if anybody could fly it, I could.

The plane looked quite good. In fact, it could have been a Sig Kadet, looking at it, except for the wider wingspan. I hefted it. Not bad at all. I checked out his linkages. He had done a good, careful job, better than a lot of guys I know. He even made old-style stick-linkages from the cedar, and had hand-planed them into rounded sticks. It all checked out, so we started the glow motor, and it was a pretty used motor, but ran okay. Everybody watched (and his "buddies" jeered), and it took off and flew beautifully, and I flew it around for a while, trimmed it out, and handed it back to him, and stood with him, helping him to learn how to fly. The next fifteen minutes were the best of his life, he said. Then, the motor quit, and he said, "Oh, my!" and handed it to me. I brought it around to prepare for landing, when the plane suddenly lifted 20 feet. A thermal! I banked around and caught the thermal, again and again, and again. The plane went from 100 feet to over 300 feet without an engine. I kept it up there another 15 minutes just chasing thermals, and when I had to bring it down, it landed beautifully.

It rolled out right in front of us, and I said (loud enough for his jeering buddies to hear) that it was one of the nicest planes I've ever had the privilege to fly. I dared anybody else to take any other plane up and do the same as Kindling had done. I knew no gliders were there, of course.

That fellow was SO proud that day, and he should have been. Talk about some fine, careful work. Not a mean bone in his body. And how often do we really get to see that look in a newbie's eye, the same look that was in our own so many years ago?

I've often wondered whether he pursued his flying after that. I hope so. To me, the joy of flying is what it's all about. I have a limited number of friends I've accumulated over the years, a select few scattered across Maine and the rest of the country, but each of them truly LOVE to fly. I know we'll always be friends, and I know that as long as our (now older) eyes can see the planes, we'll be flying. And when we can't see them up there anymore? You'll probably find us at the work tables, helping the newbies to sort out their problems.

~ Jim ~

And that last story is what it is truly about. Not the brand of engine, not the type of aircraft or brand, not any of those thing's. Just simply the love of flyin. And fortunately for a few of us the love of the build as well. I personally love every kind of plane their is, from foamies to giant scale. Gas, glow, electric, FF, and even rubber band powered. There's just something about taking flight that just simply amazes me.

A great story, and thank you for sharing with us! It's a shame that there always seems to be some idiots around, making negative comments when someone has the courage to try something new.

Again, thanks for sharing and all the best to the aircraft designer you assisted.

Couldn't agree more...that was a great story. Thanks for the reply & advice Jim.
Did I hear someone groan about prices? You should come down here & feel the pain! I paid A$625 for my Stearman(I have seen it online(Aust.) about $45 cheaper but wanted to keep the local guy in business).
Really frustrating seeing what you guys pay, then going to checkout & getting clobbered with $200-$300 freight to Aust.
But hey...what price love?
Mick</p>