Hey Luke
You are not the only one having some bad luck. My Futaba Computer Radio Crapped out on me today while setting up some throws on one of my other Planes. Off it goes tommorrow to the Futaba Service Center, and out of warranty to boot. Probally set me back a few weeks on my VF extra order which really bums me out. What I am thanful for is that it didn't decide to go bad when I had a Plane in the air. So it looks like you are not the only one that is going to have to suffer a few R/C related repair bills this month. And I was just giving Gary a hard time about JR a few post back. I guess you get the last laugh Gary. Thats what I get for bragging up Futaba!

ez, thanks for the dowel mod specifics. I used the method and it worked great. The toothpick did the trick for lining up the holes. Did you soak all your plastic parts in hot water? Ron

Also, my cowl has red duct-like tape on the bottom over what looks like a gap area that could be cut out if needed. Did anyone remove the tape to fit the cowl. not sure what the purpose of the tape is. Thanks. Ron

The instructions are not real clear on some things, but if you just lay everything out in groups, you will be able to figure out where it all goes by doing a good study of the Plane. It took me awhile to sort it out when I first got my Plane, but just take your time and it will come together fine.

I'll be Jon N. how about that? Or maybe Jon the engineer? down at my field, we call alot of people by their first names and then their profession. we have alot of Jons too. Jon the fisherman, jon the engineer, jon the Boeing guy, etc.

My Saito 100 was side mounted so I did not have to remove any of the Red Tape! If the engine is to be mounted inverted like Luke and Gary's I would imagine some had to be cut. My cowl was cut in the lower side to accept the Muffler.

Damn, that is a beautiful plane you have there!

Thanks for the compliments Jon N. I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. I am sure you will put your own personal touches on yours, and it will look spectacular to!

Hey Ray,

I have a real nice Futaba 8UHPS with 2 rx's for sale... Check it out here:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemID=71579

Ron, yes the the duct tape painted red is on my cowl too. I had to cut through it to make my hole for the valve covers, but I left it on. It holds the bottom seam on the cowl together. I was thinking of taking it off and glassing that part, but I decided not to.

I also soaked all the plastic parts in hot water. Just make the water hot enough so that it is uncomfortable to hold your hand in for no more than a couple of seconds. You don't need boiling water just hot.

Jon, Sorry I blundered on the name thing, haven't been myself lately.[&:] On the other hand, the dowels are usually taped together. They are about 1.25 inches long, and stuck together with the wing joiners. I almost missed them myself. 1/4" dowel from Walmart is the same thing, 3 feet for less than a buck.

Ray, sorry to hear about your radio, at least it wasn't while flying.[] I hope you get a speedy turnaround.

Ray,

What program did you use to make the VF Extra scheme for G2? I want to make the VF Edge scheme. Have you worked out the bugs so that we can download that awesome VF Extra?

Ray, that plane looks like one mean machine!! Nice touch!

Guys, the wing should be a piece of cake. Its not all that complicated . There are no nylon screws with the Edge that I am aware of, only the two steel ones to connect the wing joiners. The nylon screws are Gary's excellent idea to pull in the trailing edges for additional security which I also plan on doing sometime soon. But you cannot use nylon where steel is recommended. Happy flyin!![8D]

Brian

Microsoft Picture it Publishing was the program I used to create the G2 Scheme. Photoshop is another one that I have that people use to make color schemes. The VF Extra Scheme I created was done by using actual VF Extra Photos, and I stacked the imagines right over the corresponding components. So basically my G2 VF Extra is an actual photographic scheme, and not just a paint job. I have also modified all the specs to correspond with the actual Planes specs, so it will better simulate how the actual VF Extra should fly. Its my favorite one to fly on my Simulator. Havn't quite figured out what I am doing wrong in regards to putting it on my webpage for download. I will have to work on that some more.

Ray,

How do you stack the images right over a current one? How did you cut it from the real phots and paste it, ensuring that the size was correct? I wanna make a scheme from my Edge and fly it on G2.

Thanks for the compliment ! I worked on one of my Planes today that I flew alot last season, and I was thinking back about how nice it looked before I put a ton of flights on it. I hope the edge looks nice for some time, but heavy duty flying is bound to take the newness off it in a hurry. Planes are meant to be flown in my opinion, and not to just hang and look pretty. I am sure by this time next year it will definately not look so pretty, and will have a few battle scars, but thats why I bought it, and I plan on enjoying it alot whether I get 3 flights out of it or 300 flights.

E-mailed to me from VectorFlight

Yes the cowl is a reverse taper cowl and the cut on the bottom is necessary during manufacturing. We used to use hard plastic weld on the cowl but that made it difficult to trim. The cloth tape is strong yet flexible and will be easy to work with for exhaust routing.

Brad and others, thanks for the info about the cowl tape. I will be side mounting a Saito 100 so I probably will not have to mess with it. Ron [8D]

Those of you who used a Saito 100. How far out on the engine mount did you mount your engine? How much did your cowl overlap the fuse. Upon inspection, it seems the cowl will overlap quite a bit. More than on other planes I have.

Well i have the wings joined and engine mounted. But im a little worried about engine cooling. The cowl is so big the engine fits totaly inside Magnum 91XLS. I have cut out the hole in front of the engine and there looks to be plunty of room for the air to escape but do you think that one little hole in the front of the cowl will be enough air over the engine to cool it? I could make it bigger if i have to but that will look goofy i think.

Ron, taken directly from the supplentary instructions on VF's website:

"8. Engine mounting: Distance from firewall.

For all airplanes using the supplied Dave Brown FS90 engine mount, the mean distance from the firewall to the back of the spinner plate is approximately 5 inches. "

I only have the 2 holes in the front and the hole for the valve covers. It wouldn't hurt to cut a hole directly over the head of your Magnum. According to what I have been told, your exit hole should be approximately 4 times the size of entrance hole(s). Are you mounting the engine sideways or inverted? If you want to preserve the looks of the cowl, you can always enlarge the 2 hole in the front of the cowl and enlarge the air exit hole.

Here's a fairly nice pic of the front end on my plane. Hope this helps.

BankYank,

You're a bit head of me. I just finished getting the wing assembled. I did a trial fit of the engine, but still have to drill the holes in the mount.

Sanding out the channels for the wing joiners was a real b***h! And don't tell anyone, but I sanded a bit off of the joiners, too.

Pics below, don't really show anything, just like to post pics. One pic is the dowels for Gary's wing mod.

Jon,

Looks like it's coming along nicely. It's hard to believe how many of you guys are doing the nylon bolt mod in the wing. Once you get passed the wings, the rest of it goes together like most other ARF's.

Make sure that you guys use tristock above and below the h-stab. The covering is already removed for that, I think. Also leave the tail fairing off until you balance it. That way, if you need to add weight, you can sit it right in front of the v-stab and then cover that area with the fairing.

Here's a tip that a good buddy told me: use household goop (from Homedepot, WalMart, etc.) to attach the canopy and the tail fairing. And use some of the left over covering to trim both areas as well as hold the canopy down while the goop dries. It dries clear in only a few hours, versus 24+ hours for canopy glue.

Keep up the excellant work and keep the pics and updates coming.

Later...

I have actually ran into a snag with my plane[] The pic says it all. I have e-maild VF and waiting for a reply. Yes everything is level but the stab saddle and if you look real close you can see the fuse has a slight warp.

Sorry to hear that. I know that VF will make it right for you. On a positive note, with the latest weather that we have all been experiencing, you should have enough down time to get another Fuselag and tail group in and have it ready for flying season. Keep us posted.