James,

All six Patty's I have seen used the supplied control horns with great success. If you want to change something use the Dubro HD clevis' on the horn and ball links on the HD servo arm (all 4-40). I have zero play on the control surfaces with this set-up.

I never said he wasn't capable to defend himself. You are the ones telling him not to do what he wants or should I say not needed. He is doing what he wants to do as everyone else
should do. If somebody else thinks it is a good idea then that is uup to them. But nobody else should tell them that they shouldn't do it.


JMO

John

Did you put the choke on your da 50 on a servo or did you use some other method to get it to work? Just put a DA50 in mine and trying to figure out the best way to operate it.

Thanks

Lee,

I used a servo for the choke. I ground off DA's choke lever and added a dubro steering linkage with a ball link for the choke.
I also used a fiber optic kill as well as the radio kill switch on my Futaba 9C. I had to make the a hole in the firewall to allow enough throw for the choke but it works fine.

John

Thanks for the reply.

Hey Guys, a little controversy is good for any thread. Actually I did hit the pole or more accurately clipped the pole with the right wing tip. Part of the reason it came down so hard was that the sheeting on the right wing was up about an inch and I'm sure it was catching some air.

Ever since I got my first Patty I didn't like that fact that I couldn't get back to my ignition switch or my fuel filler without going through contortion exercises with my hand. After the crash and seeing what I was up against, made the decision to remove the top, pretty easy. BTW others have had similar crash damage.

Now I have to say that this wasn't my first big plane, I have a couple of other big ones that I have flown and landed successfully. This was one of those times. I will say that only an experienced modeler should attempt this if they want to do so.

And like John said, it is my airplane. I will continue to provide progress reports as I go.

Right now I am considering possibly using carbon fiber tape to reinforce the plywood. It would save on some weight.

Andy

Hey guys, remember it's Andy's plane and he can do anything to it that he feels will improve his planes chances for survival. I don't agree with his choices but he still has the right to do as he sees fit. Also, in an open forum, the rest of the guys have a right to critique Andy. I believe Andy is thick skinned and will appreciate the criticism. What say you Andy?

You have to admit it's an interesting project and I look forward to watch his progress. Andy keep us updated and next time don't hit a light pole and your Patty will be fine.

Ditto RC Guy

I am really looking forward to seeing the video. Saw the Raven, just wish it was longer. At work I don't mind downloading 20MB or more! Keep us posted. I have subscibed to both threads to keep an eye on it. I have a patty that is waiting for an engine. Don't think I will be able to save my pennies for a Tubo (can't get that one past my wife ). Going to put a BME-50 in it or a DA 50 if they come out with a better muffler.

Lee

Hello,

I just bought a BME 50 for my Patty, and wish to use the Bosche shielded spark plug cap (a bit of insurance!) available from ch-ignitions.com (the place who make the ignition unit for the BME). However, on their web page it says that this shielded plug cap is not suitable for the spark plug that shipped with the BME (NGK BPMR6F). They say it is compatible with the NGK BPMR6A.

Question: Can I use the BPMR6A in my engine so I can use this cap, or is it possible to modify the origianl plug, or Bosche cap so they will work together. Somone told me that I can saw the top part off of the metal contact of the plug that came with my BME, and it will then be compatible with the Bosche plug cap. This doesn't quite sit well with me.

Anybody figured out how to use the Bosche shielded cap with the BME 50?

Regards,

Martin.

Yes you can us the 6A in your engine. There are several other compatable plugs from Champion, NGK and Bosch.

The Champion RCJ7Y is easily obtained at an auto parts store. The gap is probably OK out of the box, check it with a #11 exacto blade (.020) to be sure.

Yes I figured it out. I have a Bosch cap on my BME 50. Geez -- come on Martin and spend the couple of bucks for the right plug. The 6A works just fine and so does the Champion. It's only a shorter spark plug.

And tell the person who told you to saw the top off your spark plug to refrain from giving you advice in the future.

Yes, not hittling the light pole is my ultimate goal.

Has anybody put flaperons on there Patty?

Andy

I had a few problems today with Patty. As I approached the asphalt landing strip my Patty came down bounced up and came down hard enough to break the prop. So I changed the the prop and decided to fly off the grass runway. I made a perfect landing but caught some kind of animal hole and was going fast enough to flip the plane. Patty did a 180 and ended up square on her tail. Now my rudder is about a 1/4 inch shorter than the original. I checked the rudder and figured I would try and fly again. This landing was perfect and I decided it was still a great day. Now to fix the rudder for tomorrows adventures.

Do you think the carbon fiber landing gear will help stop the bouncing or do I have to go back to my trainer?

OK, I understand allot of you used the standard hardware that comes with the plane and have not had any problems. My question is for the ones that have used the other control horns that go through the top and bottom of the control surface like the Dubro heavy duty horns or the rocket city horns. What did you do about the hard spot that is only on the bottom of the surface for the horns that come with the plane? With the Dubro or the Rocket city you need a hard spot on the top and the bottom

Walton,
If you insist on using the Rocket city hardware you will have to drill at least a 1/2 hole through the control surface to accept a hardwood dowel, then tap the dowel for an 8-32 thread and thread in your rod. Oh,,, make sure you glue in the dowel. There is no such thing as a hard spot on the top and bottom Again, the hardware that comes with the kit is much more than adequate but if you want to go to the trouble for the heck of it, be my guest. Obviously you have heard someone somewhere mention that this is a good thing to do. That's the trouble with some guys spouting off about what works and what doesn't. You're obviously a newbie with little experience in large aircraft to be asking the question you did in the first place. My advice is to use what came with the kit and leave well enough alone.

By the way. There is no need to use the back up plate that comes with the kit. The screws supplied aren't long enough anyhow. Find the mounting position, drill 1/16th inch holes where the screws will go and fill with thin CA and then just put your screws in. You will rip the control surface apart before you ever pull out one of those horns mounted in this fashion. Good luck

OH.....I almost forgot...If you drill the dowel holes wrong or tap the hole for the rods wrong you will have problems with the geometry of your new horns. The holes must match perfectly or get ready for some set up fun when you connect your servos.

Rcguy,
Throttle management is the key to your problem. Always be ready to add throttle when you bounce like that. If you have room on the runway just fly out of the situation by adding a little throttle before your airplane can bounce again. If you don't have the runway left then go around and try the landing again. Practice makes perfect and a lot of us would be better off flying a couple tanks a week shooting landing approaches in all kinds of wind conditons than spending hours trying to perfect 3D. You gotta crawl before you can walk.

Martin,
Properly set up there is no need for the Bosch cap in the first place. If you've got radio interference from your engine you have done something else wrong. I flew my BME 44 for two years and now have the 50 and RFI has never been a problem. Even the guy at CH will tell you it's a waste of money, but if you must go right ahead and spend your money.

Cap-tain,
I've heard of it but I use NIMH batteries on my ignition and haven't ever had an issue. Been using them for two years.

If I may, I found the best to stop bouncing is to stretch the landing and let it settle in at the last second, or wheel landing.

fancman I am not a (newbie). The way I see it is if it makes you feel better by going all out go for it. Their is nothing wrong with improving something. The suggestion you gave was the same idea that I had in mind. I was just seeing what kind of other ideas people have. Sorry if I touched a tender spot. I believe in things that work too.

The Bosh spark plug caps do work. Example I setup a cap 232 I had no radio gear within about 16 inches of engine or ignition or ignition battery switch exc, bad interference moved everything about 2 1/2 feet back same thing. Borrowed my friends ch ignition with Bosh cap no interference. They do help tremendously.

Bosch caps work -- period.

Cap-Tain switched from 1100 NiCds for ignition to 17000 NiMH. Reason after three flights I had to charge my ignition battery pack. Now I can go five flights before charging. Using a 2700 NiMH for the receiver and eight servos (six are digital) talk about load. No problems after 72 flights.

As far as my landings are concerned, I come in too slow and after the first bounce I don't have enough air speed to keep flying and then I hit hard breaking a prop. Roger I believe you hit the nail on the head, I must fly the Patty in. I also fly a .46 size Raven fun fly and it ruins me for my landings with the Patty.