Flew my Staggerwing last weekend with the 160 two stroke. I have two DPM Super Cubs with the 160 twin and beleive both of them are underpowered. So I decided to go with the 160 two stroke and I'm very happy I did. The plane is absolutely solid. I'm surprised how fast the roll rate is, takeoffs are a non issue, slows to a crawl on landing, and stalls are non violent. Be prepared too add at least four strips of nose weight for proper CG. I added the fourth strip this morning because it still was still slightly tail heavy.

John

That's good info. I wonder how the Saito 170 radial would work. I know that some are considering a small gasser.

John,
Did you fly off grass, and if you did was there any nose over tendency? I'm concerned about the gear doors on grass. How did the flaps do?

I'm not going to give my oppinion on how well the radial work. But I can say I have the Saito five cylinder on my Stearman and it does not have a ton of power, but is cool and very scale.

Yes, I flew off grass and had no problems. Make sure you position the gear wire so the door is at "Full Flex" when on the ground.

The flaps work extremely well. I only use half because full flaps will make it sslo down too much.

John

Gentlemen,

I am progressing to the point wher I want to check the retracts before I go further. I put them in with no problems, but this is my first "retract" plane.

My first question is the position of the air tank. The manual shows it with the nipple facing the servo. When I place it that way, the tank has to be moved forward to avoid contact with the servo. It has to be moved to a point where the "tapered nose" of the tank does not fit the hole in the plywood. I am considering mounting it with the nipple facing the front of the plane. Any comments?

Secondly, I tried to charge the air tank with my garage air compressor. I can't get air into the system. I pressed the tire filling nozzle onto the Robart "Fill Valve," but nothing happens. Does this normally work, or do I need to do something differently? Do I need to just pres harder, or is there a trick to the process?

Jim K.

My air tank fill has a special adapter that must be screwed on all the way before it will depress the fill valve. Even at that there are a few robart valves that require some modification or sending back to the factory to make them work right. The adapter will not screw on far enough to depress the valve. I carefully take a file and shorthen the male side (side that mounts to the plane) a small amount then check to see that that air enters. It usually only takes a small amount of filing to get the valve to work.

Regards,
Randy

I was considering that as well myself. I decided to go with the LE of the wing, not the fairing. I've added 1lb. 7oz. to the firewall. All up weight is 20lbs.
My engine is the RCS 180se front carb gasser

I'm going to fly mine this Friday. I took it out to El Mirage last Friday but it was a bit gusty so I decided to wait. It's too pretty to mess it up because of impatience.

Overall I'm very pleased with all aspects on mine. I had what looked like scratching in the wing covering but after I re-shrunk the wings it diminished greatly to be a non-issue.

I relieved the LE guide pin hole ( fuse side ) of the lower right wing. No big deal here.

I used some black foam board to enclose the rear passenger compartment. Very light and it has a nice finished look

I had to do mine that way. I used a little silicone to keep the tank in place.
I've used this valve setup many times and haven't run into that problem! But glad to hear you found a simple fix.

Looks like the G-38 won't fit after all. I really want to stick with Gas. Is a G-26 going to be enough?

It's possible that a G-26 would do it but I think it may be marginal. Mine weighs in at 20 lbs. That may be a bit much for the 26. I'm using a RCS 180se gasser myself. I won't know till possibly tomorrow if all goes well. I do expect it to do well though.

In an earlier post John_RedSox indicates the OS 160 is , as the manufacturer recommends, the engine to compare to. In other words if you think a G-26 is close to the same power as the OS 160 then you should be fine. I have copied John_RedSox's last two posts below. He pretty much says it all for me:

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"Flew my Staggerwing last weekend with the 160 two stroke. I have two DPM Super Cubs with the 160 twin and believe both of them are underpowered. So I decided to go with the 160 two stroke and I'm very happy I did. The plane is absolutely solid. I'm surprised how fast the roll rate is, takeoffs are a non issue, slows to a crawl on landing, and stalls are non violent. Be prepared too add at least four strips of nose weight for proper CG. I added the fourth strip this morning because it still was still slightly tail heavy.

John"
================================================== ==================================================
"I'm not going to give my opinion on how well the radial work. But I can say I have the Saito five cylinder on my Stearman and it does not have a ton of power, but is cool and very scale.

Yes, I flew off grass and had no problems. Make sure you position the gear wire so the door is at "Full Flex" when on the ground.

The flaps work extremely well. I only use half because full flaps will make it sslo down too much.

John "
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If you think your engine is in this class then have at it!

Could someone please measure the width of the cowl for me. I'm trying to make a decision.

Thanks ............

Here's a heads-up from Hobbico (Top Flite, et all) makers of the Staggerwing:

They have found a possible problem with several early kits concerning the main landing gear mounting method.

Fixed or retracts, same fix is necessary.

If the fiberglass is not in full contact with the wooden mounting rails, there is little contact between the screws and the wood.

The first landing and the gear rips out, followed by a flip and then damage to the vertical stab, and then you need a new fuselage.

The fix is easy. Take out the wood screws holding the gear in place and replace them with 6-32 bolts and blind nuts.

You may have to grind away some of the blind nut after installation, and you will have to redrill the mounting holes to fit the blind nuts.

This half hour fix may save your plane.

They are contacting everyone that bought a Staggerwing and sending the bolts and blind nuts if you need them.

I did notice on three of the eight holes that there was a void between the fiberglass and the wood rails. I just drilled the hole all the way thruogh and used longer #6 screws. But now they have the entire kit returned for replacement as there were so many other problems with it. At any rate, they now have it and are looking it over and will replace it. These things sometimes happen. I had a couple of cars that were absolute lemons and had to be replaced.

Sounds like some of you are progressing quite well with some first flights. It is snowing, sleeting and raining here so our flying season is about over. Will have to put the skis on the trainer and go have some fun in the snow.

I found the reason for the problem I had in filling the Robart system with the "air fill valve." The needle valve was screwed way too far into the cylinder. The air compressor's fill valve could not reach the needle valve and push it in, so that the air could flow.

Simple problem, but it was too simple for me to look at that possibility. I hope this saves someone else some time and frustration. Just screw the needle valve in or out as needed to make it work.

Jim K.

can i put a zenoah G26 in mine. i want the spring start ability. i have a g-46 in my jug and love the engine. would a g-38 fit the cowl or would i be generating too much torque. i do not want a glow engine in my bird

Don m.

I measure mine at 8 5/8" horizontal, at front panel line and 9 1/2" vertical at about 3/4 of the length. The cowl drops down a little toward the lower rear. It helps with clearance for cooling on the bottom where the cowl and firewall come together. It also helped with concealing the spark plug a bit!

OK guys!

I flew mine yesterday! The RCS 180se is way more than adequate power. I'm using an 18X8 prop.

It tracked down the runway straight and the tail came up very quickly. Very stable but it does seem to tighten in the turn a bit. I think it's just setup and not a fault of the plane. Stall was a bit abrupt but I think I have a bit to much nose weight at 1lb 7oz. I've taken out 2oz. Landing was a bit to slow as I had a problem with the throttle. I couldn't get it to idle quite slow enough so I went into servo travel in my radio for a quick fix. On landing I found the throttle not as finite and too slow with 1 3/8" flaps. Half that setting would have been fine. It settled hard onto the runway. The only damage being the small "sub-door" on the left cracked by the horn and the rear door hinge. I found out that the "sub-doors" will deflect upward when the strut spring is compressed. The push rod on the gear door essentially becomes longer when the gear compresses. It cracked the "sub-door" from over extension. When I tried stalling the plane it also dropped the left wing a little. This is why the left door cracked and not the right. Oh well, simple repair. I'll also do a lateral balance

This plane is quite a looker in the air and attracts a lot of attention in the pits.

I've done all changes and fiwes. I'll fly her again tomorrow, Sunday. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Thank You. I am considering my old Saito 270. It measures 9.5" valve cover to valve cover. Maybe too heavy @ 4.5 lbs. ???

After reading your post about adding all that weight with the RCS 180 I guess it isn't too heavy after all

I've got a Saito 270 (converted to gasoline) in my Byron Staggerwing. It would be plenty of engine for this airframe.

Is the Byron the same size as the TF ? I sent you an e - mail about converting the 270 to gas.

me too please

I am not even close to flying mine, but I learned a few things that some of you may find helpful.

First, forget about my last posting on the Robart fill valve. It seems that you cannot use it like a regular tire filler. The needle valve must be "seated" deep into the tube. You have to use the adaptor and the small air line to fill the system. A freind of mine showed me how to modify a 12 volt tire compressor to work. This has to be much easier than using the Robart hand pump.

Second, is the Robart tail wheel retract mechanism. I was having problems with retracting the gear. The weight of the plane pushed the wire gear up. This interferred with the lever/toggle system of the retract. I solved this by grinding another flat spot on the wire and putting a small wheel collar under the mechanism.

Am I the only one having these problems?

Jim K.

I have had several Robart systems and I use a regular $8 electric pump from Walmart that plugs into the lighter in the car. You just have to be sure to push the adapter all the way on.

I found I needed to put the retract valve servo and the tail wheel mech servo on different channels and mix them. There isn't much "fudge" room on the travel of both the valve and the tail wheel mech. You need to be fairly accurate to get secure locking in the extended ( down) position. you don't want to use the servo as the lock just as a means of getting there. When getting the tail wheel mech in the retracted position (up) it isn't as critical. You just need to get enough travel so the wheel clears past the doors. The servo is strong enough here. Oh yes... make sure you use a strong servo of 100oz as the manual states

Dick P,

I have not heard anything from Top Flite or seen anything on there Website about the gear mounting bolts. (They have my name and Email address from the lower wing dowel location problem.)

Have you heard anything new about this?

Jim K.