OK results.

DA-50R Menz 23x8 Broken in 50:1 AMsoil Dominator,

Stock muffler,,,,7010 max Happy at 6930 ...29lbs 1oz thrust.

Slimline Piits tips uncut,......6510 max, Happy at 6450 no thrust reading , why bother. Fits in cowl though.

BENNETT BUILT THREE PIPE.........6710 max Happy at 6630...26lbs 4oz. Fits in cowl just like the FPE in the manual.


There is no way I am giving up 3lbs let alone 4 or more with the Pitts. Forget it.

Cut cowl here I come.

I thought about making an add-on cover for the muffler attached to the cowl. Or Anodizing the muffler RED. Dont know what Anodiizing would do to the heat dissapation of the muffler.

Mine will just be UGLY LOUD BEASTLY BIPE. 29lbs of thrust is fun. I flew the Test Yak (my KMP) at 18lbs 2oz. With 29lbs of thrust.

So 17lbs and the stock muffler will be just what the doctor ordered.

Anyone got a good picture of what the plane looks like with the cowl cut for a DA Stock muffler??

There was one pic but it wasn;t very clear . Dremel in hand.

Motor mounted. Bennett Muffler wil lbe tested first, then I will cut the cowl if it needs more power with the stock muffler.

Balllinks on half of every linkage rod on the plane, Ailerons and Elevators. Just to keep them from binding.

I dorked the tail glue on..and got it on with a little twist to one side. [:@][:@]

I corrected it somewhat, but it may still be noticable.

So far so good.

Red loctite on Tail braces , and linkages. Also went Ball-link on Rudder servo arm.

I have been lurking a while, but here goes.

My Sundancer is built stock, Futaba S9252's on all ailerons, JR DS8311's on elevators, JR DS8611 on rudder, Futaba sport digitals for throttle and choke. Single 5-cell 1700MAh NiCad pack for RX and 4-cell 1400MAh NiCad for ignition. Powerplant is a ZDZ40RVL with a Bambula 20x10. The ignition pack is mounted just behind the firewall and the RX pack and RX are in the stock location. This combo makes the CG be exactly right with no lead anywhere. Of course, the engine fits very nicely with only the 2 exhaust stubbs and the end of the spark cap protruding.

What I don't get is wanting to use a much heavier engine? I did consider a Brison 3.2 at first, but the tight installation, noisy exhaust and more vibration made me decide otherwise. The Sundancer is NOT a 3D mean machine, IMHO. For that I use either my Comp-Arf 2.6 Extra or my BME Ultimate. For real fun sport flying this plane is a beut. It flies like a butterfly. I judge a plane within the first 3 minutes of a maiden. This ones a keeper for sure.

Safe Flying!

How much does the 40 weigh naked?

My Da is going to a clean install. Just a little cutting for the Spark Plug and a slot for the Bennett muffler.....it will be loud.


With smoke I wanted more power for breath taking vertical. No 3D , except for an occasional prop hang before tail slide. Otherwise Barnstorming aerobatics.

What does your plane weigh total, dry?

OK ...RTF ......16lbs 9oz.

DA-50
Bennett 3 pipe muffler.
Vrtech 3" Spinner
MenzS 23x8 wood.
16oz Du-bro tank.
Stock hardware except for 6 ballinks in place of clevis'.
Jr 649
2 Fromeco Regs
1 Fromeco 2400 RCV.
1 TP1320 Li-po on igniton.
Smart-fly Opti-kill
Failsafe pin sw on reg.
Deans connectors through-out.
5 HS-5945
1 HS-225BB


The weight picture is with the 9oz strap!!

The Light in the cowl is from the Opti-Kill.

Rocky , well , he flies the plane.

Ahhh, he's probably just hanging his cat from that scale.......
Jim

Here is the blurry shot i did not include of the plane and scale, not sure if you can read the LCD or not.

Got a little bling on it last nite. Will post pics from the field Today after 1st Run with cowl.

Loaded up and heading out..

rats, he has proof..........drat....

Jim

Maiden Successful, very successful.


I am CG'ed at 4 7/8 inches. Look at the Elevator picture I took whilst unloading last nite. I turned on the radio, looked at the elevator trim....very interesting. It nneded DOWN trim ...so is it tail heavy?? It flew well. It was a VERY windy Day, and I had to push the nose down to get her to land.


Flew great , but is was a bumpy ride, and I couldn't get a real good feel for how stable it is , although it was able to fly pretty damn slow. Just, bumpy , wiggly, 14-16 mph winds.


Incidence set to 0. Lateral balance, a little heavy on the right. I am not going to adjust her laterally unti lthe smoke system is in.

The Bennett muffler fits , but I only get 6510 on the 23 x 8 prop on the ground. I am going to try the 22 x 8 , on a calm day, and decide if I should butcher the cowl for the stock DA muffler. The thought of losing 3lbs+ of thrust without the Stock muffler is tough to swallow.

The cowl costs 36 bucks, so maybe with a little creativity, some glass and chicken wire, I can re-form the cowl to cover the Stocker. It really is a pretty cowl, the paint is tough, I have handled and taped and banged her around already, and not even a single paint chip. I dont think I will be able to duplicate the paint job. At least not a s well. this paint is hardend well, like baked.

Here are some pics.

Looks great! Do you think it's really worth the cutting for a few hundred more RPMs? I can't speak for you, I'm not a 3-D kinda guy, I don't do hovering, so I'm not equipped to speak for other folks on that subject these days. How is the power the way it is now? Sounds like it's noticeable to you already, from your post. Maybe you could fly a few test runs, cowl-off, with each setup, see if the difference is that big. Whatever you choose, good luck, she looks fantastic.

Jim

Well, 3lbs of thrust is a lot . Like a whole other .40 glow plane worth.

She had vertical, lots of it, I did not hover, too windy and it WAS the maiden flights.

But first of all , motor health. 6510 vs. 6930 ...which one is healthier for the engine. Heat, stress, spool up time, torque curve. You name it.

I fly the DA-50 on 2 Yaks. EF 87 at 15lbs 8oz....and KMP Yak (Ef Reject) on 18lbs 20z. same prop s but both stock mufflers. Man, even on the 18lb'er it is a rocket. 6930rpm 29.5 lbs thrust.

I am adding a smoker to the Dancer 8oz for the pump and battery box (slimline showtime Pro0..4oz for the tank. Add oil. I bet AUW wet will be 18.5 or more.

I dont know, maybe some cowl off tests are in order, good suggestion . I will post anything I find.

Yes, the 3 pipe Bennett looks great, sounds cool too, not to loud , until you roll it over at yourself and you hear the note changes , and you think the muffler fell of in flight. that's what happened on the second flight, I heard the noise change during a roll and thought it shook loose...it didn't.

Certainly, if you are flying scale and don;t want rocket ship power this Bennett is still more than enough.

We will see. I can't wait for a calm day, tomorrow light and variable is forecast, so I will ring it out with the Bennett. And get a better feel for it. I may go back to a 22x8 for RPM sake with the Bennett.

Slow speed and slow passes are great even in the wind. The 23x8 seemed to act like big brake. making the slow stuff really cool.

Some system added.... 17lbs 8z AUW. Dry.

add 20oz for fuel and oil...



System on CG exactly.


Here are some pics.....