Well, its about that time. My 1/4-scale H9 Cap 232 is in the assembly stage and I will soon need to mount the engine.

First, is there any peculiarities about this engine (thrust angles), the cowl (block right intake for side mounting), the stock engine mount (alignment of prop shaft with cowl opening), and the length of the of prop shaft, that I need to be aware of/correct for?

Will I have any problems with the 3" 120 Tru-Turn Spinner and a Zinger 18x6?

What is the overall CG setup with this engine? Should I consider mounting the servos in the back or per the istructions? (I will be dual-servoing the elevator with a pair of Hitec 5625s.)

What is a reliable breakin period before I can safely fly? Should I break it in using the Cline Regulator? I have a choice between Wildcat 10%, Wildcat 15%, or 10% Omega for fuel?

Any imputs from others that have put this plane through the same setup is appreciated.

Also, I could use some guidance in setting up any PMIXES for this airplane -- my intent is IMAC aerobatics and some rudimentary 3D.

well, looks like your in the same shoes I'm in, I want to do IMAC next year and I think this plane should fill my needs. Though for an engine I am not sure. My choice was OS 1.6fx or the Moki 1.8 but the moki is 12 ounces heavier

I have an OS160 in mine. Mounted the servos up front and it balanced perfectly. Total weight is 12 1/2 lbs. and it really performs with great vertical. I would not advise mounting the servos in the tail. You will end up tail heavy and having to add nose weight. The overall weight could really get out of hand and turn this great flying plane into a real dog.I set up my control throws per the instrructions and this seems to be perfect, but I am using 60% exponential....................Jerry

I have two H9 Caps one with a Moki 180 and one with an OS 160 and love both of them. The Moki seems to take it verticle a little better than the O.S but both are very good choices for the cap. I wouldn't put the servo's in the rear as the plane is kind of tail heavy anyway. I went with dual servo's for elevator on both and put them up front and had no problem getting balance right with the battery pack. I like the Moki and I like the O.S so it's a toss up.If you run the Moki go with no more than 10% nitro 5% is better. I run the O.S. on 10% to give it a little more ooomph. Good luck you will like either engine in the H9 Cap. bob

so mounting the servo's on the back of this plane with either of these engines is a bad idea?

Hi!

I purchased my H9 Cap last year used, it came with elevator servo's in the tail and a moki 1.35.. It had an extreme amount of weight in the nose with the 1.35 to get it balanced. It flew OK but vertical sucked.

I recently put a Moki 1.8 up front, removed the nose weight, and it balanced well (slightly tail heavy, but flew great). Also I HAD to put a cline regulator, going vertical and the 1.8 would die or choke. The Cline fixed this and it worked great.

I personally prefer the servo's in the tail, but then again, i dont mind a little bit of tail weight either. It flies great...

Don

Awesome! I would really like to mount my elevator and rudder servo's in the tail sounds like a Moki 1.8 is exactly what I need.

Can anyone reccomend a gas engine for this airframe? Also, anyone running a Saito 150? How is that combo?

WOOD

Mine has a Saito 150 turning a 17x6 APC. Overall weight is just shy of 13 pounds. Unless you are determined to make a helicopter out of the model, this combo has plenty of power.

It jumps off the ground in less than 50 feet, and will hold a vertical line almost out of sight before running out of grunt.

And, as you can see, plastic spinners work fine; despite what you might have read elsewhere. This one is a Goldberg. I do not use a starter, however; that would probably be a different story. I bounce-start it with a chicken stick; prime it good and sloppy, and it fires first or second flip- every time.

Steve

Mine must be a helicopter.

how is that plastic spinner attached Steve? I dont see any holes in the front of it for screws or anything. I like the look of the matching color, very nice.

Steve, thanks for the reply. What do u use for fuel tank(S), what kind of fuel/fuel consumption and airtime do you get with this. I am eying this combo up, just a matter of how much glow fuel I have to burn............

Thanks,
WOOD

The color match was pure luck, bbflyer. After putting down the phone in sticker shock (Tru-Turn had quoted me $58 for a spinner/adapter combo for the Saito 150/APC prop), I remembered that I still had a 3" Goldberg blue spinner that I had purchased over ten years ago for my CG Ultimate, which ended up wearing a three blade prop.

These spinners are basically starter-proof, in terms of popping off or breaking under starter torque (which has been a problem with DuBro spinners used on big engines), since the spinner front has four massive pins which lock into the backplate. No kidding, you need a rubber hammer to pound the thing into place, and a screwdriver to pry it apart. Big-time PITA, but once it's installed, that puppy ain't going anywhere without concerted effort on your part.

Wood, this is my first engine larger than 1.20, and I was concerned that it would break the bank feeding it. Not so. I have twenty ounces on board, and still have an estimated 5-6 ounces left after a 10-12 minute flight. This is with throttle management; the only time it sees full throttle is on the up lines; and I'm only on the second gallon for this engine, so it is still rich, blowing a good smoke trail. I'm sure the fuel consumption will drop a bit once I lean it out. If I ever do; it has plenty of power as is.

The tank compartment is more or less square, and the biggest DuBro that would fit without butchering the #2 former is a sixteen ouncer; not enough, unless you like to live dangerously. So I fitted a four ounce Hayes tank alongside, plumbing it like we do similar set-ups on helos. The engine feeds from the smaller tank, which pulls from the main tank. Works great, through snaps, sustained inverted, etc.

Big airplanes (big being defined as bigger than 60 size) introduce a new set of variables into one's experience level. I learned a lot doing this model, and it barely fits in the back of my capped S-10 truck bed; and that's with the gear removed. It is a pain to transport, handle, and store.

But it's worth it. This particular H9 CAP flies marvelously, and is more than worth the extra effort needed to drag it out to the field, the two custom cradles I had to fabricate to carry it in, etc.

One caveat; this model has a DEFINITE Vmc; do NOT try to drag it in on the prop for a low, slow landing unless you're using flaperons. It doesn't drop a wing; it just quits flying and falls like a brick, wings level. I kept forgetting the flaps, and dumped mine twice like this until I wised up and just flew it on to the runway. Super smooth wheel landings are easy with this model.

Other than that, it is a big *****cat; but will get plenty ignorant with enough throw. Just BE SURE to keep the elevator throw very limited until you get a feel for it. Tha low rates given in the manual can actually be reduced a bit (on elevator), and should be if you're not comfortable with high-performance models.

I got into this one dirt cheap; $200 for the kit, and a real brother-in-law deal on the engine. I've got more invested in the servos than both kit and engine. But I'm hooked, now. When this one dies, I'll have another similar to it. Enjoy...

Steve

Anyone flown this plane with a YS-140? Will this engine have enough power for this plane? I want an engine that I don't have to be at full throttle all the time, and that has enough power in reserve to pull itself out of whatever might happen. I really like the YS engines and would like to put one on this plane if it will handle it. So any input on this plane/engine combo would really be helpful.