Stick Jammer - mines now "done", all but the flying...

I had the same thing with the muffler, hitting the cowl. But I'm not too awful picky, as far as the cowl goes...I cut a large hole, that cleared the cylinder, and the "high point" of the muffler you talked about, and then all the way to the pipes. It made more sense to me, than cutting three holes, and it looks OK. Don't take this wrong, but I build to be functional, and fly, and I like them pretty, but I am not as concerned personally with what the cowl looks like underneath (within reason, of course!!!). I know Bob Pastorello's (see it here) looks a little nicer than mine, but I am happy with mine. Cowl goes off and on easy, and I don't have to worry about burning anything (been there, done that, have the ashes!!!). Mine gives good airflow, too, I feel, although haven't run it yet. Plus I like to see the engine!

Come on, sunshine and warm weather!!!!!!

My balance, with the ZDZ80, two Li-ion batteries up right behind the firewall, single receiver, Hitec 5736 pull-pull, is balancing right at the 1" in front of the front of the wing tube, just like everyone elses....

Here's a pic of my cowl...

Hey guys, just wanted to send a note. There's a reason we sell the Bisson muffler to go with the ZDZ-80.

IT FITS IN THE COWL

Tom Fawcett
Wild Hare R/C

The Bisson fits VERY well in the Giles cowl. I just had to make an additional opening for the front lower "corner" of the Bisson...but the entire balance of the muffler is inside completely, and the exhaust stubs stick out about an inch....Looks great!...

And WITH the motor.....

And finally, a side view showing the clearance hole...

I only had the ZDZ-80 for a few test flights, and I thought I remembered that it fit entirely within the cowl. I went back and looked at some photos but there is nothing definitive.
I don't remember having to make a cut that large, but I have mounted and tested so many engines I get lost on what's what.

The 3w75 front carb with johnson wraparound muffler DOES fit with the muffler entirely enclosed, maybe that's what I was thinking about.

Hey Guys,

I've started to post pics of the build process, they can be found here:
www.blue-ether.com

check back frequently as I'll update it every couple of days.

David

Perhaps I should clarify myself - the Bisson muffler indeed fits very well inside, with just a little clearance needed for the low point, as Bob and Tom (Hey, sounds like radio personalities!) pointed out. I had it cut very similar to Bob's at first, and looked great!

I will be using several engines on the Giles. One of the others is an A&M 4.2, with, I believe, a Sonic Pitts (don't quote me!), that hangs significantly lower, by my calculations - the larger hole allows for that, as well.

I'm not recommending my cutout, for the ZDZ80 with Bisson, just illustrating what I did. My cutout will just make it easier to change engines easily, without having to modify each time.

Ran into that with an Extra I bought used - by using a different engine, I found that the cutouts the previous owner had used, didn't work, and when I was done, looked a lot worse than had I done it like the Giles...

One other thing - if I knew it would ONLY ever have the ZDZ, I would probably try to heat up the cowl, and form it around where the Bisson is lower, sort of a cowl bubble. It's not very much, and could possibly be done. I have done so in the past, with great results. But then again, I would be tempted to make it a two piece cowl, as well, etc, etc., and probably extensively modify it, for a cannister, as Dick Hanson is doing.

But, this one is all "Fly, Baby, Fly"!!!

rctom - no Apology needed, for sure! I wish OTHER airplanes had cowls that fit as WELL as this one....

It's just SO close...if Bisson had used 1/4" narrower rectangular tube, that would have made it....oh, well.

Gotta tell ya, though, with a Biela on the front this baby is REALLY a looker...

Weatherman, PLEASE, PLEASE, let us get a break to go!!!

Bob - have a picture with the Biela?

R

Hi Guys,

I finished my Wildhare G202 this week. I am now looking for that very nice day that a test flight can be done. With March coming on that could be a couple of weeks.

I have been very pleased with how the airplane went together. One problem was with the hatch. It did not fit very well due to a warp. I called Tom Fawcett and he gave me some ideas that took care of most of the warp. I had some concerns on the distance between the spinner backplate and the cowl. It worked out near okay. It is not bad enough to worry about.

I used the weight x arm method to find and set the CG. This works very well and one person can do it using a small handheld scale. The scale is about the same size as a cell phone. It will weigh 0-50 pounds. This is a fish scale and you can also use it to check engine thrust. It has a small handle on the top and a hook on the bottom. Should be real easy to hook the airplane for checking.

My CG is 1 7/8 in front of the center line of the wing tube. I will move it back after some test flights. Total wgt of airplane is 24 lbs and 4 oz. I am using a 14 oz 3000mah battery and this is making it a little on the heavy side. My engine is a 4.2 Taurus that has not been run by me yet. It should fly this airplane just fine. I am not a 3D flyer.

I will post some pictures later.

Roger: out of curiosity - how would you *heat* the cowl and bend it?

David

I use a heat gun. You need to heat the fiberglass until it becomes pliable, testing often. You also have to have a very good idea of exactly where you want it to go to. When it's reasonably pliable, bend to form. Here's an example of a pretty radical bend I did on the Mizar - it's towards the bottom of the page, with before and after shots:

Mizar cowl

As you can see, it didn't even ruin the paint, as it seems most paints under heat, seem to "flow" with the bend. Once it cools, it will retain the shape you made it. You can ease the pain, by wearing leather gloves. Depending on the time and care taken, you can make it very smooth....and thinner fiberglass takes to the technique easier/better than thick.

I don't remember ever reading about anyone doing it - I had to do some bubbles on a cowl once, and tried it. I have done it probably 4 or 5 times now, with excellent results.

DISCLAIMER!! I would try it first with a piece you have cut out of the cowl, to make sure it will work for you - I don't want to be responsible for someone ruining a cowl. BUT, that being said, I have never had any problem with doing it.

I even made a pine mold once, both female and male, for pushrod bubbles, heated the fiberglass, held the male underneath, and the female above, pressed together, and it came out "store bought"...much better than trying to glue on the bubbles that came with the kit.

If I can find the cutouts from the Giles, I will experiment, but they may be long-gone...

Roger

Hey rcav8or and aerobob,
Thanks for the info on the muffler situation, looks like you guys had to cut out as much as I did.

Hey Tom,
I bought the ZDZ/muffler from you with the plane and I got a SuperSonic, no big deal cause it doesn't appear that the Bisson clears the inside of the cowl on the lower left corner either.

Ah...the Biela...a thing of beauty...

Another angle of the Biela. We hope it WORKS as well as it LOOKS !!

Any one tried a BME 102 in this plane?

The G202 was prototyped with the BME 102, and the plane is sort of designed around it.

The balance is just right, it fits in the cowl, it has excellent power, is smooth, responsive, and quiet. We sell the plane in a package with the 102.

To sum it up, the BME 102 is the ideal engine for` the Wild Hare R/C G202.

Tom Fawcett
Wild Hare R/C

Now, Tom....
I thought the "ideal setup" was the ZDZ 80....and the DA 100....and the BME102... and the....

(The "ideal" here is that it seems to be a VERY flexible engine-designed airframe....pick your poison...have your fun!! )

The ZDZ-80 is the next best and most popular because of the low cost.

DA 100 is a wonderful engine but adds 1.5 pounds to the airframe. It overpowers the plane so the weight is unnecessary.

The BME really is the best choice for fit, balance, and performance.

TF

RCTOM

hey tom are you going to be at the toledo show and if so are you going to have any 202's there to sell... i sent you a e-mail a week ago about this but never got a reply............

thanks dennis

Yes, we will be at the Toledo show, and will have the new 106" Extra 300L on display in addition to a Giles G202.

I doubt we will have products there for delivery at the show, they are too bulky, but we usually have a show special which gives free freight.

I try to answer every email, don't know how your's might have slipped through. Sorry!


Tom Fawcett
Wild Hare R/C

rctom

thanks tom i'll be looking for ya buddy

I have just about completed my Giles, only replacing the canopy remains.

Mine balanced at 1.5" in front of the center of the wing tube, I am tempted to leave it there. For the ones already flying, where has your CG ended up?

Final weight on mine came out at 25lbs with a 5.2lb engine. The only thing I may change is the wing attaching method. The front wing bolts are difficult to get to the way I have mine set up. This plane is very well constructed and I am confident it will handle the more aggressive maneuvers.

I hope to maiden mine in the next couple weeks.