with a bit of careful planning - I bet one could get this kit up to --- 18 lbs?

John,

They are manufactured by a company called CB Tatone Inc. in Hayward CA. Phone number is 510-783-4868.

My LHS carries them. They come in different sizes for airplanes of different weights. Most come straight have have to be bent although others are available that are prebent. I drilled an extra hole between the original holes and bent the leaf springs a little longer to get the right length.

Yes I have used them before and the work very well and look good.

Andy

I have not flown it yet. It should be finished this weekend. Regardless of the cowl dimensions the 3W48B2 fits under my cowl with the plug wires on the plugs and it does not rub/touch. I like the engine, but I'm partial to 3w. I have two of their engines.

If you could buy it there and get it home, I would.

Andy

Dick,

All you need is more power and the weight won't be a problem.

Andy

Nice, good job Andy.

Andy --that worked in my Volvo ( 5.0 HO Ford engine )-but pull on the wheel as hard as I might - the durn thing won't take off.

Dick,

I think I just figured out the problem. You need a pair of 12' X 5' long wing halves... :devious:

Andy

Thanks Roger.

First 2 flights on mine today, and at 17 lbs it lands like it's got a parachute attached. It just floats and floats. The sweetest bird i've ever had my hands on. Got a Fox 3.2 for power and it's all i could ask for and more. This is one GREATTTT flying plane. Just give me 4 clicks of throttle and 10 feet of runway and bye-bye baby. (airborne). Can't say enough about it. I think i'll keep her.

Hmmmm....maybe I SHOULD get that DA 100 for it after all!!!

Andy,
I looked up the Tatone website and they don't show the actual picture of the assembly, only the description "Tail Wheel Assembly for 1/4 Scale" at a price of $20. Does that sound about right for the price?

Try here:


http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...gm?c=QDK&V=CBA

I just looked at the website that was posted by Jemo. The prices listed there are closer to what I pay at my LHS. But, that site is only showing the pre-bent versions. They also com flat, like the 2nd pictures shows and are available flat in most of those sizes.

I believe the one that I used was in the 9-18 pound range. I have the exact part number at home. If you decide to do what I did, in order to make it the same length as the stock tail wheel, I had to drill an extra hole about an 1" away from the hole closest to the front of the plane. Then I made my bends between the second and third holes.

One of the tricks that I use when I bend these is to put a screw and nut through the first hole so the leaves line up. First I bend the longest piece that holds the tail wheel by clamping it in a vice (make sure that you square up the leaf and the jaw of the vice before you bend) and bend it to the angle that I want. (I use a hammer and hit it close to the jaws of the vice so I get a clean crease. Then I bend the tail wheel tab, but I always bend it a little less than I want because it will bend a little with he weight of the plane on it.

After I have the first piece bent I bolt the next leaf to the first and clamp both in the vice and start the bend on the second piece. Then I take them apart and put the second piece back in the vice and continue the bending process and I bend this leaf just a little more than the first. (When you assemble the leaf spring the second and subsequent leaves load the main leaf bending it slightly down, but once the weight of the plane is on it goes back to the desired position.)

Just continue the process for leaves 3 & 4. For lighter planes it is not necessary to use all of the leaves.

I hope this helps.

Andy

Anybody questioning the quality of the 4" spinner that comes with the GR WP 300S. One of the, "so called retired engineers" at our flying field, looked at the spinner and said he would not trust the quality of this spinner, especially the backplate. He added that the backplate may crack when using a gas engine. He said that he would discard this spinner and use only A Tru-Turn or Cermark's brand spinner. Is this bull or a valid statement?

Also, on the BME 50, what is the nut size on the prop shaft. Is it 3/8-24?

Andy,

Tailwheel looks great! I was wondering if the pre-bent version on Tower would work(bend angle), or if I should get the straight one? Also you mention you used the 9-18 pond version. I saw that Tower has a 1/4 scale version as well. Any info on that? Thanks

I took the tower off of the spinner-got a longer bolt and attached to the prop nut which was already drilled and tapped.-did the same with my Pitts spinner too. Other than that, it looks OK to me.

rcguy1,

I'm definitely not a big fan of plastic spinners regardless of the design.

Yes, they are lightweight, and the colors are nice. But....

They crack in many different areas; backplate, screw channels, etc. (and sometimes come apart hitting fellow club members -- very dangerous as well as very embarassing!)

They grind up when using an electric starter, unless your are super careful.

If you use plastic, inspect it often.

Metal is far better. Many brands to choose from.

Maybe CF, if weight is critical and your wallet is deep.

Just my 2 cents.

__________
jmboss

Here is a spinner worth looking at.
http://www.geocities.com/pierrejac/c..._spinners2.htm

The spinner that came with the PW 300 is aluminum, not plastic.

rcguy1,

My Bad! Hoping for a PW 300S under this year's Christmas tree.

Got the engine and servos, just need the plane.

With all the info in this thread, assembly and mods should be a breeze!

Roger,

Thanks for the web link on the CF spinners. COOL; VERY COOL!

____________
jmboss

I think the 1/4 scale version is actually too big for this plane too wide too stout (I actually used the pre-bent version on my 105" Bud Nosen Citabria). The problem with this one that I could see is that the angle is wrong and does not match the stock tail wheel. I guess you could use it if you wanted to but I felt that it would raise the tail and make it unnaturally high.

Andy

RCGuy1,

My spinner was all aluminum, back plate and cone, but I replaced the spinner with a Dave Brown standard shape ultimate spinner. I didn't trust that wire bracket on the front of the 3W48B2.

Andy

Roger,

Oooooh!!! Ahhhhh! I love the shape of the 3 1/2 in version in the first picture. I think that it just about matches the Cessna classic spinner.

Andy

I thought the aluminum spinner was a little cheesy myself but After 16 flights and 1 broken prop it is holding up fine. I did have to grind it out for the 22" prop. Nothing at all wrong with the stock tailwheel setup either so far. I assume you could drill out the support arms on the stock spinner and use a prop shaft nut to screw the spinner into if you really wanted to do that

Smallfly:

Just wondering where your at in So. Ind? Maybe we could get together and compare notes on this bird. BTW I must say you've been a great help to a lot of people on this thread. Thanks.

Got first 2 flights on mine the other day but plan on many more this weekend. Hope mother nature cooperates..