I'm in the process of putting together a ModelTech Dragon Lady, and have a couple of questions:

a) I've used the method in the manual to align the wing to the rear tip of the fuselage. To get the measurement correct, I have to shift the wing in the wing saddle by approx. 1/4 inch, ie. the centreline of the wing is 1/4 inch offset from the centreline on the fuselage wing saddle. This seems like a lot to me, is it?

b) The model is supplied with 2 x 5mm steel bolts for the wing mount. Is there any compelling reason to use these rather than the 1/4 inch plastic bolts I've used on other models?

c) The recommendation in the manual is to tap the wing mount, but they also supply blind nuts. I would prefer to use the blind nuts, is there any reason I should not?

d) My intention is to put in a Saito 100. Will I need to use the spacer for the engine mount? Is this a good plane / engine combo? Anyone else using this combo? Will I need to use the rear-mount option for the elevator and rudder servos to balance with this engine?

Any help much appreciated!

Dave

I remember reading a thread about this plane a while back; don't remember specifics. There were comments about poor covering but that's all I remember. If you do a search (bottom right, below the 'fast reply' box) you might be able to find it and see if any of the info is helpful. Of course, you might have done that already and didn't find what you needed.

I have a Saito 91 FS in mine and had to add nose weight to balance with the servos for elevator and rudder in the fuselage at mid wing position. I added extra wood to the wing hold down area and tapped for 1/4 20 wing bolts. A quarter inch off center at the wing centerline won't make much difference as long as the amount of wing extending from each fuslage side to the tip is about the same. If one wing half is longer than the other it would cause your wing centerline to be off of the fuslage centerline. Watch the dihedral. You may have to add extra foam tape to one of the wing saddles to keep dihedral angle equal on left anf right wing. Your Saito 100 will power your plane quite well. Mine came in at ten pounds and the Saito 91 hauls it around just fine.

Mine didn't come with blind nuts, but I sure didn't feel comfortable with that little bit of wood holding the wing with nylon bolts, so I put blind nuts in, and what a pain that was.
Mine has a Magnum 1.08 with the rear servos and had to add an ounce or so to the nose. Not sure on the weight difference.
Decent plane, poor covering.

I built one of these about a year ago. I used the blind nuts and original bolts and have had no problems. Mine is powered with a Saito 1.20 and I split the elevators and placed the servos for the elevators (2) in the tail. I also ran the rudder as a pull pull using a Dubro setup. The plane balanced well with this setup (no spacer block, the 1.20 is a very tight fit) and flies beautifully. I also did away with the strip aileron idea and used two servos in the wings. It probably wasn't necessary but at the time I thought it was.

The covering that comes on the plane is kinda cheap but has held up very well with the exception of the black stripes which I wound up replacing with ones that I cut from monocote. One of my favorite planes to fly and a tough little sucker too. You will like it.

A) re check your measuring... if it is off that far look at shimming the slot in the fuse to help bring everything into alignment, mine was very close.

B/C) I used nylon bolts tapped into the blocks AFTER I added good hard wood to the top and bottom of the installed wing hold down blocks... This was a last resort method short of tearing the blocks out and starting over! on mine the hold down blocks were installed at the wrong angle in relation to the wing... I figured that out AFTER I had drilled the wing and installed the blind nut's I had let let my son and one of his friends bolt down the wing as I went to get a drink... I come back only to find them struggling trying to get the bolts in...yep they cross threaded so bad I had to cut off the heads to remove the wing[:@] only then did i notice the that blind nuts would NEVER work with the way the hold down was installed. I never have been fond of the tapped wood method although it's been used for years, anyway I figured it was the only way to salvage the mess I had made with the least effort so I did. I now have 50-60 flight's using the nylon bolts with no problems.

D) I fly mine with a Magmun 91FS, with my AUW at 9lbs vertical is ok but far from unlimited... it will do anything in the book however and has plenty reserve power for me. I did use the spacer I think you should also. I needed no lead to balance and the cowl fit perfect, servos are in the fuse, if you put them in the tail with a light motor you'll need a TON of lead in the nose.

the only real down side to this plane is the poor covering.
BTW if you like to fly in wind this plane is GREAT for it! I've flown mine in at least 25mph winds... it just loves it

John

Well first let me say the dragon lady is an awsome flying model I truely love it. As for alignment I use the good o'l fashioned tape measure and squared the wing tips to the CL of the fuse. I used nylon bolts 1/4-20 with blind nuts and haven't had any problems. I did however offset the engine as perscribed by the manuel because if you check you'll find the firewall is offset. Here are a couple items I did change because of my own concerns. Wing joint, I cut back the covering and glassed the center joint just in case. I also replaced the landing gear mount with 1/4-20 plastic bolts. Steel can rip out the bottom of the fuse if you have a rough landing well it did mine anyway. Ooops. I also pinned my hinges. The cowling needs reinforced at the mounting points or the holes will wallow out. I put a saito 150 in mine and wow what a blast. I inverted it and only needed to cut a hole in th e bottom of the cowl. And the one last thing, the tail wheel I used a Sullivan. Hope I wasn't too long winded.

I.Wilber

How well does your Saito 150 run inverted? Any problems?