Those will hold up for you.....

Here is a couple of pictures of my Rocket...very similar to the look on the box except I tinted the canopy. The The picture of the exaust exit hole isnt that great but hopefully you can get an idea of how much airflow I will have. I am going to maiden it tomorrow....wish me luck!!! I hope to get multiple flights in to get a good feelof how the plane reacts. I jut hope the weather holds. Sounds like it might be jsut a bit dicy on landing...oh well by then I will be committed!!!
J

Heavythumbs, that looks like an O.S. 46AX installation, correct? If so, how did you CG come out? I see you put all your servos in the standard locations, some are reporting aft CG with your setup. I'm planning on putting my rudder servo forward and using a pull-pull system but don't know if I need to or not. We look forward to hearing about your maiden, best of luck!

Randy Lervold

I havent totally got the CG done yet. It is tail heavy...I cut out the servo holes before I had heard that there were issues with this engine and the center of gravity... I would put as many of the servos foward into the fuse as possible. I really dont understand why they did it that way anyway. There is so much room in the fuse that it really makes more sence to hide them inside for a more sleek look. I will be adding weight to the firewall as needed. I will post later today or tonight just how much weight I needed to add for the CG to be correct.
J

I would strongly advise against the servos all inside. I did it, way too nose heavy, took too much weight to get it to balance, and the landing gear isn't all that hefty to begin with. I just recently moved the elevator servos to the rear, left the rudder servo inside next to the throttle, and didn't add any weight at all to balance. It flies much better, but still seems heavy / fast on landing. This picture is with all the servos mounted in the inside, which was what I felt was the cleanest looking installation. From left to right, elevator, rudder, throttle, elevator. This also doesn't require the use of a servo reversing cable.

Bingo field, what engine are you running? Is it a 4 stroke? I was thinking to put the servos inside with my lighter engine. to help the CG issues without having to add the extra weight. I guess it really boils down to how heavy the engine is.

Evolution 46. 2 stroke. I also mounted the battery behind the servos, to the rear. It says it is supposed to be 13.76 oz w/o the muffler. I don't have anything to weigh it with...

Oh wow, ok. For some reason I thought you had a 4 stroke!! I have my battery mounted right above the fuel tank in the front and it still seems tail heavy. That is why I was wishing I had put the servos inside the fuse. I will check out the CG fairly quick now my couriosity is getting the best of me..I am studying for a test tomorrow morning and am trying to stay away from my plane but..oh well it is just a test!!! I will let you know how it turns out.

Ok I just got it. I will say it is just a tad bit tail heavy. I will put a 1/2-1 oz. on the firewall and I bet it is perfect. That was a lot closer than I thought. I checked it right to the sides of the fuse with the plane upside down. I am assuming that is the correct way to get the CG for this plane. At least what I was told and have been practicing.

My book says 3.25 - 3.5 in. from the leading edge, at the fuselage sides. I am right at the 3.5" mark, and mine, to me, seems nose heavy still. Here is my CG Machine. If you use new pencils, the erasers cushion the point of impact just right. This probably would have to be modified for heavier planes, but works well up to 60 size anyway. I use about 1 - 1.5" of masking tape on the wing where I mark the forward, center, and aft of the cg, this way when I am done with it, I don't have to erase ink or marker from the wing.

Thanks for the picture! I rigged up a CG like yours and ended up needing 2 oz on the firewall for a nice balance. Now it is just waiting for tomorrow for its maiden!! Hopefully the weather holds.

Has anyone thought about stripping the red off and making a more customized finish? Bingo, it appears you resolved your problems with it. Brought mine to work today to go flying right after work. I WISH TO HECK I COULD GET AROUND THIS DAMM PROXY SERVER SO I COULD POST PHOTOS !. Oops, my apologies for shouting, Ya'll have a nice time flying, Seeya, MM

MM - Resolved the problems? Probably not. Just learning how to fly around them. Maybe this would be the nearly perfect fighter trainer for me. Moving the elevator servos has "helped" clean up how it flies. I just noticed a tendency yesterday, I was trying a roll to the right, had the stick all the way to the stops - the plane hung at inverted and would not finish the roll. What's that all about? This was at 85% rates. I can bump it up to 100%, but approaches are very twitchy. All in all, it is interesting to fly, I keep wondering if I will survive a deadstick... I did once, but it took about 90 feet to get it nearly straightened out. I can say that the gear I put together is really holding up well. I am gaining accuracy at knowing where to put it in the approach to get it slowed down before the end of the runway. It wouldn't be an issue if I didn't have a 4ft fence at one end and a hedgerow at the other end of the runway. I always see how low I can cut it without getting tangled in the weeds. Not too big an issue if you get caught in the weeds or hung on a grapevine, however, you never fool with the end where the fence is, there is no give. I still have a few more things I will try.......

Nice and cheap how that CG machine is, eh? Easily adjustable also.

Boatman, if you tend to groundloop with that gear, try using up elevator until you get to about 1/2 takeoff speed, when you let go of the elevator for just a moment, the tail will pop up, and you will have rudder authority that you didn't have until you got some speed. Try not to give much up elevator until you get some speed up, mine at least has a tendency to tip stall fairly easily, and seems to be sensitive to crosswinds. Just a heads up. This plane really likes the axles to be more at the leading edge than out front. Good luck on your maiden.

WOOOHOOO I got my maiden in today!! What a rush!!! I got 2 flights in --both ended up in deadsticks... I am wondering if my engine is getting too hot or the low end adjustment is too lean...enough with that for now.

Flying was great. My old flight instructor was at the field today and helped smooth out the pre-maiden jitters! Was very nice to have a good experienced piolet double checking my plane for me. I was very glad to know that I had done everything right the first time! Anyway... I get to the field...install the wing, fuel up the bird and double and triple check out all my throws and make sure I didnt miss anything. My brother offered to let me fly his plane a bit to get the thumbs warmed up but I thought...naaa its time to get this Rocket into the air!!! Time to start the engine...get it fired up and everything is running very smoothly one more check that the throws are correct and gulp...its taxi time.

The field was clear, no one else flying. Perfect. I taxi to the runway and line up for my takeoff. I let it sit for just a couple seconds to admire such a sweet looking plane. 2 deep breaths and time to throttle up....here we go I am committed now..the tails comes off the ground and in another ten feet or so I realize that the plane wants too lift off..just a tad bit down elevater and she leaps off the ground! Whoops no tip stall there she is flying!!! My old instructer makes sure that I am at least a couple mistakes high before I start to trim it out. It is flying very nice and smoth. 2 clicks of the down elevater and one click left aileron and she is flying perfectly! I can go hands of and it flies perfectly straight and level!

I pattern fly for about 6-7 mins before I decide for my first attempt at landing. I throttle back and quickly realize that I am deadstick!! Oh well I was lined up good anyway so in she comes...just a tad bit hot but no problem. Just one little bounce and she settles in for a perfect landing. I go get the plane and I had only used about 1/3 of a tank. not too bad. I fuel up and weight for the addrenaline to slow down for a few min.

After about 15 mins I am ready for my second flight. Just as nice as the first. This time after about 4 min I loop and lose power when I throttled back at the top of my loop. Oh well I am stilll quite high so I was able to drop in fast and bleed some airspeed off for another hot landing...just a bit more of a bounce this time but not too bad. The landing gear didnt bend so I was happy. Overall I am very happy with how it flies. I wish I had more time at the field but oh well I get to get it into the air again on friday. I just need to get that engine dying thing figured out first. The last time I had the engine flying on my old plane it worked perfectly that I why I am wondering if it is heat related. I plan on taking off my cowl and adjusting the low end adjustment. (I forgt to drill a hole for that one!!) How does an engine act when it overheats? When I do that I think I will replace the crappy red spinner that came with the plane. That is the only bad thing I noticed.

Congrats man, and good work on the deadsticks!! You have the same 46AX as my bird so I'll be especially curious to see what causes your engine to quit, please be sure and keep us posted. Sounds like the CG is now fine. Did it seem to have enough power, or can you tell yet?

Best,
Randy

Well it is not the cowl or a heat issue.. I took off the cowl tonight and it did the exact thing on the ground that it did at the field today. I ran about 1/2 a tank through it trying to get it to idle after running a short time at 1/2 or full throttle. I started backing out the low end mixture setting but I still havent resolved it from just dying on me. [:@] I am not real sure how much it should be backed out... I am comming into this glow thing from electric so the whole mixture thing is a bit foggy for me!!! I had to quit monkeying around with it tonight as it was starting to get late and I really didnt want the neighbors to get annoyed. I will try some more tomorrow night and then try and iron it out at the field on friday if I cant get it to work right before then. I want to get some more stick time on this bird..just without worrying that it is going to die on me!!!

Oops, sorry Randy, yes there seemed to be plenty of power... I just need to keep it running!!! Also I ended up putting 3/4 of an oz. of weight on the firewall but I am not totally sure it even needed it. It wanted to drop just a tad before I trimmed it out. Only 2 clicks though. How close are you to getting yours in the air?

Maybe this weekend. Good news that the 46AX is enough power. What prop are you running? My LHS gave me a 11x6 but it sure looks small on that plane. I bought a 12x6 today just in case.

I am using a 11x6. I read someware that a 12x6 makes that engine work fairly hard so I didn't want to risk over heating the engine with the bigger prop and then covering it with the cowl. That setup definatly gets it into the air without any problems!!

Ya, were stretching the envelope too. Enya .50 with 11-7 MA kinda heats-up the engine. Throttling down on final approach tends to kill the Enya. A few passes at altitude low speed helps it cool down somewhat. It stays running. Leo, I still can't figure yours out, really wish I could help. Sure wish mine would'nt float so easy/long. It's done for the season. MM

I didn't write this, but when I found it, I copied it to a text file and saved it, printed it and left it in my flight box. This works for me, it should be helpful. It covers both high and low end adjustments and how to test them.


" How to setup the needles so you can get your engine started.

Remember the following rules about needles:

1. Low end needle affects the mixture below 1/2 throttle for most engines. Use it to adjust the idle and the transition from idle to full throtttle.
2. High end needle affects mixture above 1/2 throttle. Adjust it so engine is running 300-400 rpm shy of max lean rpm at wide open throttle.


Start by opening the high end needle about 4 turns from fully closed. This is just a starting point to ensure the high end needle valve isn't restricting fuel to the carb so you can adjust the low end needle setting.

The low end is easily set to a good starting point with the following procedure:

Close low end needle valve completely.

Install a clean piece of fuel tubing into carb fitting, make sure it is long enough for you to blow into it with your mouth.

Open carb to 1/5 open from closed position

Blow into fuel tubing while slowly opening up the low end needle valve. Stop turning low needle valve when you first feel air blowing into carb from your mouth or hear the sound of air blowing into carb. The flow should be restrictive and very small. We only want a small amount of fuel to flow (air to flow) at 1/5 throttle opening. This low end needle setting will get your engine running and may require further adjustment. THis is just a ball park setting.

Now close high end needle valve and open carb to full throttle. Blow in fuel tubing and simulataneously open high end needle until you have FREE FLOW of air into carb. You should not experience as much resistance to airpressure as you did on the low end. Your needle valve should be open between 2-5 turns (it all depends on the carb folks).

This procedure gurantees you don't have a blocked carb or closed needle settings for low and high. This will get you in the ballpark which then will require you to fine tune your low end and high end for best performance--highly recommend the pinch test .

Start engine and use the following procedure to fine tune your engine once it is running and warmed up:
Pinch test procedure:

First start engine this way:

Prime engine by opening up throttle to full and blocking exhaust with finger. With blocked exhaust, rotate engine until fuel just enter's the carb-watch fuel line to see fuel displacing the air in the fuel line.

Reduce throttle from full to about 1/5 throttle opening. Apply glow ignitor and rotate engine (hopefully w/ starter) counterclockwise (for 99% of all engines out there) until engine starts. When engine starts, move throttle to 1/2 throttle and then remove glow driver.

If engine won't start, try more throttle until it does. If engine will only start above 1/2 throttle, it means your initial low end needle setting was too lean. Richen it about an 1/8th of a turn until the engine starts at a low throttle (1/5 throttle) setting.

If engine will not advance to 1/2 throttle when glow driver is on then leave at 1/5 throttle with glow driver until engine is warmed up-about 2 minutes should do the trick.

Advance throttle again to 1/2 throttle slowly. If engine dies then your low end needle is probabably too lean. Richen by 1/10 increments.

Once you can get your engine running at 1/2 throttle then its time to remove the glow driver/ignitor. With ignitor removed, advance throttle to full throttle. Chances are your engine will be too rich and may even quit. If so, briefly pinch and release fuel line as you advance to full throttle to verify the mixture is too rich. If it is too rich, then in small increments lean it out until it will run at full throttle without quitting. This does not mean the high end mixture needle is set. This is just a starting point to ensure your engine is running at wide open throttle (WOT) so you can make the proper adjustments.

With engine running at full throttle, slowly and carefully lean the high end needle valve until the engine is spinning at its max rpm. This can easily be determined by sound alone-no tach needed. This is where engine is producing most power but the mixture setting will cause the engine to run too hot and overheat. So, as a safety feature, always richen the mixture about 300 rpm shy of max lean rpm. Verify this by briefly pinching and releasing the fuel line to the carb. If the pinch test causes the engine to speed up and back down, then you have correctly set your high end needle setting. If engine doesn't speed up much or dies then you are still to lean and need to riche the mixture slightly until it passes the pinch test.

You are almost there. With high end needle setting set about 300 rpm rich of max lean rpm, recheck idle and transition. Let engine idle for 30-60 seconds and then snap throttle to WOT. If engine hestitates in the transition, fine tune mixture so that the transition is snappy and idle is reliable. I personally like a lean idle mixture so I can idle for long periods without fuel pooling up in the crankcase which causes stumbles when transitioning to full throtttle. You can also use the pinch test when the engine is idleing. Pinch and hold fuel line with engine at a fast idle. Engine should speed up and die about 4 seconds. If it takes longer, your low end needle is too rich, if it takes less time or if your engine dies instantly, you are to lean and need to richen your low end needle.

Once low end needle is set, you will probably never have to adjust it again. However, your high end needle should be checked before every flight by doing the pinch test at WOT to verify the mixture is slightly rich. This 5 second test and adjustment, if necessary, will gurantee you a reliablie engine that will last a long time. Our carbs do not adjust for changes in temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc... and a small change of 5 degrees in temp can cause a properly tuned carb to be out of tune and possibly too lean (or too rich depending on whether it gets hot or cold outside).

Hope this essay helps the newcomers to our hobby and prevents them from becoming one of the set it and forget it crowds that do not benefit from optimum tuning for the best engine performance and longevity out of an engine.



PS An engine may not idle or transition as it should when it is new and not fully broken in. Use these instructions to get your engine started and then do the appropriate break in (rich 2 stroke if it is an ABC type engine or even richer if it is a ringed engine or 4 stroke engine)."

Did you guys carve out the holes on the front of the cowl? The ones to the left and right of the spinner, and the crescent shaped one below? I also understand that you need 2 -3 times the area for heat to exit, in relation to the air coming in. I can go through the tank at all speeds with out any problems. You guys and the planes that glide when you flameout, and my brick that keeps running.... I am also running the hotter A3 plug, as my motor won't run horizontally without it. Using the standard plugs, it would die at half throttle, acting lean, and it does the same thing with the A3 plug, and the pitts muffler. I had to use the stock Evo muffler. The stripes help me tell the difference from top and bottom of the wing.

Yes Leo, you always need twice the exhaust area. My cowl was already open on the main intake, had to open the chin scoop though. MM.

Bingo.....your man in the cockpit is different to mine.....mine has a little red hat on.............he kinder looks like a builder on a construstion site...how many differnent men are in use in the rockets i wonder??......could the man inside the cockpit make all the difference to the way the plane flys?????LOL....