Jeff,

Yep the 100 is on and inverted ....it doesn't look like I will have to cut anything for the valve covers but I will either have to cut the cowl on the side for the exhaust .....or I was even looking at the flexiable muffler horizon has I will decide tonight I guess....it was late when I finished up last night and one thing I won't do tired is try to cut a cowl! Well I am off to the LHS to see about a tail wheel and pick up some odds and ends. I will take some pics tonight and post them.... I know that is one big honking engine for that plane...lol

John

John, the 100 should be fun. I'm mounting my .61FX inverted with a "scale pitts" muffler from slimline to send the exhaust out the bottom. I'm either going to run a 12 x 6 or 13 x 4 depending upon how she likes them.

Hey Jeff,

Did you see all the up trust they put in the engine box? I thought for a minute they put the engine box on upsidedown but after looking in the manual I shows up thrust also? I think I am going ahead and changing the exhuast (weather sucks here this weekend) before I make that cut in the cowl. I like your idea of running it out the bottom it will work even better for me due to putting the 100 in inverted.

John

Just taking a building break. I have it almost finished. Engine is hung, fuel tank is in, next is to cut cowl and install all pushrods and servo's. I should have it done by sunday night. Good thing my new 7C is coming in on monday!

Sean

Ya John, I did notice the engine mount. It has plenty, thats for sure.

The weather here stinks too, although it did get warmer than they first predicted -- it reached 17° today. I love to fly, even in winter on a nice day, but this is just too cold for me.

I had some time to kill today so I went out into my HEATED barn and messed around for a while. I decided to seal the hinges on the 580. I have not sealed any of my other planes, but like I said I had time to kill and some left over ultracote so I figured why not.



Sean- It sounds like yours is coming along too. If you get it in the air soon let us know how it goes.
Getting a 7CAP radio? Hey that's what I got, I love it.

Jeff

Yeah, I am actually getting the 7CHP because I do heli's, but it has all the same airplane functions as the 7cap.
Just finished cutting out the cowling, Now I am drilling and mounting it. Just waiting for the epoxy to dry on the mounting blocks for the cowl. Hope to see it fly next weekend, depending on the weather. Think its a good idea cut open the other inlet on the cowling front? I was thinking about it but it may affect engine cooling?

Sean

Hey Ace, I was out flying in this weather! [X(]



Took my Cub up for 1 flight. It's hard to start the Saitos with no choke in this weather. But I did it. Then I was playing around with my new Decathlon, and getting the engine tuned up since it was torn down after being crashed. Then took the Cub up again at 4:30. By that point, my whole body was shivering, time to go home!

Can't wait to hear how these things fly. High wing loading, but then again, maybe good training for the warbirds I want to get.

I was thinking of cutting the other inlet too, but I decided not to. The one inlet is right over the engine so I figure it should be fine. I was also thinking that cutting open the other inlet might also increase the drag some by pushing more air through the cowl. You probably would not be able to tell the difference, but I decided not to cut it out.

RLefebvre- wow, you got guts. I don't mind winter, but when it gets below 25°F it's a little too cold for me to try to fly.




Jeff

it probally got 70 here today but it was overcast and 20 mph winds gusting to 30 to 35... cross wind at that...hope it dies tonight but I don't think it will...errrr... oh well better off waiting for the maiden.

John

Everything in the nose is all set for. All that I have left is to install servos and pushrods. Tomorrow may be nice, wonder if I can finish this beast tonight!
BlenderBender: I decided to leave that other inlet closed up also. What I did is drill a hole in the inlet and mounted a fuel dot right on that it. Looks pretty sweet setup like that.
I will have to say this is one of the smoothest building ARF's I have built. I have not had any major hangups and everything is fitting great. Did Have to cut the tips of the axles off to get them into the wheel pants. But those were the easiest wheel pants I have ever installed also!! I could.t beleive they already had the blind nuts glued into the wheel pants! Off to the building again!

Sean

Sarge wanted to fly today but winds were gusting to about 20 knots or more I am really looking forward to your reports on this plane. Its either this or a Lanier Extra 300L for another smaller project. I am concerned about the weight as most are, but I am sure great planes would not put out something with Matts name on it and it fly horrible. I love smaller planes like this for those days I dont feel like dragging out my larger planes, but I might just stick to a Twist or the foamies if this one does not fly well. Regardless, the thing looks sharp and I look forward to flight reports just as soon as its not freezing and windy!

Sarge

well just like I thought it is blowing here again today..... guess I might have to take a day off this week when it clears

John

Well, mines done. Finished it up this morning after being up till 3am last night. After my RX batt. charges up I am heading out for the maiden. I can't wait! With the RX in the aft tray, and my 5 cell pack in the fore tray, it balanced right out at 3 1/2 on the leading edge. Thats with an OS .70 in the nose. I have a 14x4W prop on it (had to hack the stock spinner a bit), so we will see how the vertical is. Good luck to the rest of ya!

Sean

Just weighed it out, readt except fuel, I have 6lbs 13oz . That not near as bad as the box states! I think it will fly very well...off to the field!

sean

Glad to hear it. Let us all know how she flies. I can hardly wait, I want to get mine out soooo bad. But I'll have to settle for more time on aerofly pro right now, still too cold out for me.

Maiden flight was a complete success! My flight was with the cg at 3 1/2 inches. Takeoff with the .70 was quick, and climbout is strong. I trimmed her with 2 clicks left aileron, 1 click down elevator. Slow speed is excellent, No tip stalling tendencies whatsoever! No high speed snap is evident with full elevator application at a good clip. Vertical with the os.70 is unlimited, and it will hover, but pull out from hover is not very good. You guys with the 82 in the nose may have better luck in this area. Inverted flight requires a bit of down elevator, about 1/4 stick worth. Knife edge is clean and crisp at 1/2 throttle. Rolls on high rate are blinding! Also, my favorite trick the lomcevok, is executed beautifully with this plane. I did not try any snap rolls during the first flight. Landing approach is standard, point the nose at the runway, chop throttle, glide her in. First few landings were more like bounce and goes, but after a few I got the hang of it and nice 3 points are easily achieved. it will slow down to a crawl before it drops during the flare.
overall I am very happy with this plane. From the work bench to the field, everything was as it should be and no suprises were to be had. Kudo's to great planes, this is one sweet machine!

At the field we had about a 5 MPH crosswind, overcast sky, and the temp is 25*F. I only got one flight in because it was too cold with the windchill. Good luck to the rest of you! I just can't say enough good things about this plane.

Sounds great... I'm starting mine in a few minutes. Think I can finish it in a day or is it going to take me all week. I figure 10 hours of building - skipping ahead when the glues drying. Good to hear of the weight and that she flew great.

Kevin

Thanks for the flight report. Makes me want to get mine out even more. Still at 12° right now I just can't bring myself to head out. Brrrr.

Ace, do yourself a favor and wait. I only got in one flight due to the cold and the wind watering my eyes up. The shivering didnt help either as I was trying to trim it out!
cadconversions, I got mine friday afternoon, flew it sunday afternoon. I figured about 17 hours to get mine built. I did a review for it for RCU, check it out. let see some pics!!

Sean

Got a link to the review? Still haven't learned my way around this forum site yet. Over 3,000 post on a mostly electric forum. Need more time!

Anyway, got the wing done, control surfaces hinged, rudder attached, gas tank plumbed, and ready to start mounting the motor. However, I did run into one issue when I installed the landing gear. The axle was too long for the wheel pant to fit over. Did anyone else have this problem and how do you fix it? Cut the axle or put a hole in the wheel pant?

I had the same prob. I forgot to put that in my review too...I just cut the axle flush with the wheel collar. dremel works wonders.
Heres the link to my RCU review: http://www.rcuniverse.com/product_gu...20&kit_id=3182

Sean

drill a hole in the pant on the other side and cut it off flush with the pant . put a little piece of ply on the inside. If you land in grass you wont rip your pants off . since its held on both sides with the rod and is not trying to get drug at the angle it would be if it was only held on one side. Takes 90% of the load off the screws holding the pants Got my U-can do that way and wish everyone put axles too long in their kits..

Havent had that problem yet

Thats actually a good idea you have. Now that I think about it the pant has a lot of leverage on those screws.

sean

Thanks for the report Sean,

God after reading your review ... I want to take a day off this week after the wind dies...Should be pretty wild with the Saito 100!

John

I am excited to hear about how it does with the 100. I am curious to see if the extra engine weight changes the flight characteristics that much. Make sure to check for tip stalling and high speed tip stall. Thats always the first thing I check for on a maiden. My GP extra that donated the engine to the cap was a very snappy plane. That was the onmly thing I didnt like about that plane. I am anxious to get some serious stick time in with the cap and see what it's all about

Sean