redbiscuits

My Feedback: (6)

I have a friend that I fly with that wants me to build him one just like mine. What could I say, I said for a price I will do almost anything.
Red.

wesrcfreak

@ ahick I do not know whether there is a difference in flying with the bigger prop or heavier tail.
this is the first prop that I try and I like it. The plane flies well with this prop.
My CG is now 0,3937inch back of the suggested.Lands great at low speeds.
I think I most Ephrem speed through the propeller.
Regards Wes.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

If I had a vote, it would be they stay as is...
I think they look better that way, and after admittedly putting mine through big abuse, they've managed to stay intact. I would add that I don't use wheel pants..... If those were a requirement, I might have to change my vote.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Sorry, will you decipher "Ephrem" please?

wesrcfreak

sorry I mean reduce the landing speed. This is done mainly by the large propeller and low pitch.
Regards Wes.

Danh4

My Feedback: (5)

Kostas,

Yes, it's a 30cc Ryobi. I thought I had some photos of it mounted on the plane but I can't find them on this computer, but it's a real simple installation, nothing special or difficult about it at all. I had an 18x6 or 18x8 (can't remember exactly) prop on it for the first flight and it was almost a disaster. The plane limped around barely staying airborne, it just didn't have any speed. A friend suggested a 16x10 prop and that made a huge difference. I've experimented with a few other sizes but came back to the 16x10 and have been flying this plane for 3 years now, that Ryobi runs great!

Dan

PTS

My Feedback: (153)

Hello!

I am in the process of building this plane. The planes covering arrived with a few small wrinkles but overall I am very pleased. Listed below is a detailed list of equipment. I am hoping the YS will pull the plane with authority.

YS FZ140
18X6W APC Prop
Stearman Landing Gear Upgrade
Central Hobbies Tailwheel
CF Pushrods w/ 4-40 Titanium Ends
HITEC 645MG Servos
Central Hobbies Alluminum Control Horns
CF Flying Wires Tail
Canopy Modification
Etc...

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

PTS,

It sounds like you've got a good combination of airplane and equipment. Haven't heard of anyone using the YS 140, but I know they're powerful engines. I think you'll like the Stearman gear, which I have seen used in two ways.

On some airplanes, I've seen the landing gear used whole, not cut in half. Even used whole, the track of the gear is about 4 inches narrower than the stock wing-mounted gear. If the Stearman gear is cut, so as to bring the fairings right up to the fuselage, you'll lose another 2+ inches of landing gear width, but it will mate up with the fuselage a little cleaner. If you look at my posts a few back, you may be able to notice that I didn't cut my gear in half (I could always do that later if I wished), and I also cut (on a band-saw) the fiberglass that normally would have extended rearward under the forward portion of the wing.

In any event, the nice thing is that the Stearman gear only costs around $16 and the original GSS wheel pants work fine with it. If you ding it up or want to do something different with the gear, it's readily available and not all that expensive. It's a very strong and stiff aluminum used, and you may get a little bounce out of it if you don't grease her in on landing...but it works very well and looks pretty good on the airplane.

Good choice in equipment, including tail wires and CF/titannium 4/40 rod ends, which I also used. I used the Sullivan tail-wire kit with the braided steel wire. Makes the tail nice and strong. I also replaced the foam tires that come with the kit with Robart wheels/tires. Those foam tires are very poor at absorbing any shock. On a plane this size, the weight of the tires is not a critical issue, but I suppose the foam tires are cheap to include with a kit. I've gone to all Robart Scale Wheels or Dubro Balloon Tires on all of my gassers. Don't skimp on the tires or tail-wheel...they're all good investments.

John from Portage, Michigan

Kostas1

Dan i think your Ryobi is more powerful than my Homelite 30cc will be.

Do you remember what rpm you get and what's the fuel usage ?

Danh4

My Feedback: (5)

It's been awhile since I put a tach on it but I seem to remember it turning around 6800-7000 rpm with the 16x10. I also use about 6 oz. of gas per 15 minute flight.

Dan

Kostas1

Dan thank's!

I will definately try a 16x10 prop ....

I am waiting for my Homelite to be built so so anxiously

And i'll definately post pics once i have it!

wesrcfreak

anyone can experience what the maximum wind speed is for this plane?
Regards Wes.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

After having blown both my ailerons off on an early test flight, I'm shy of pushing the speed envelope much. That said though, mine is currently powered with a SYSSA 30 running an APC 18x6w. It's turning 8500 easily on the ground, and unloading well beyond that in the air in straight and level flight. The plane is moving along at a pretty good clip at this point - much faster than it ever was with the Quadra 42 power. Could be it just seems like that because the engine is unloading though? Maybe someday my Aurora 9 will be able to tell me how fast on a downlink so I can see for sure.

Until then I would think you'll be pretty safe with a 6" pitch prop - as long as your down lines were managed somewhat?

wesrcfreak

I mean how much wind there may still be able to fly this plane. How many knots per hour?
Regards Wes.

Schummie

I've flown it with windforce 5 till know. Steady as a rock. Also lands much better with much wind.

Regards,

Eric Schumacher, Netherlands

wesrcfreak

Ok nice.
I thought there was too much wind today and did not dare to fly.
But when I hear that you fly in 5 beaufort then I fly next time definitely.
Thanks.
Regards Wes.

wesrcfreak

@ schummie.
What is the stock number of your landinggear?http://www.elster-modellbau.de/
I see there CFK fahrwerk fur 2 meter art.nr 100101 and
CFK Fahrwerk Extra - Typisch art.nr 100001.

Thanks.
Regards Wes.

Schummie

Wes,

This is the one:

Spurbreite: 48 cm
Höhe: 21,5 cm
Dicke: 4 - 5 mm
Anschraubfläche: 15,5 x 5 cm
Gewicht: nur circa 180 g

It is the CFK Fahrwerk Extra - Typisch art.nr 100001.

You can also find them on ebay.de

Regards,

Eric Schumacher, Netherlands

wesrcfreak

Thanks.
Is the weight of the gear 180gram correct?
Regards Wes

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

OOPS!



I watch for how steady the wind is blowing, and the wind direction compared to our runway heading.

I actually enjoy flying in the wind, up to about 15 mph? Hovering, and landing practice all cross controlled because of a big cross wind (as long as it's reasonably steady!) challenging!

-Al

Schummie

Wes,

No, it was more like 200 grams.

Eric Schumacher, Netherlands

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

Yes Al, sharpens up your flying skills flying in breezy conditions. As you know here in Michigan, if you're waiting for the perfect weather to fly, you won't fly very often.

With about six fligts on my GSS, I've flown in 7-10 knot winds, with most as cross-winds as our field's runway is oriented north to south. You can sure tell who understands cross-wind landings by looking to see if the pilot can side-slip as he or she lands, or if the landing is made in a crabbed angle, making for a very interesting an often, uncontrollable, rollout.

We also have some buildings on the West side of our flying field, so when the wind blows out of the West, the air coming over the building and trees towards the runway is often very turbulent and when a rotor-effect of the wind is present (from wind blowing over the buildings), it can slam your airplane right down on the ground as you're trying to flare out, so it's all the more challenging, but helps to build those skills that you need when your airplane is close to the ground.

Was hoping to fly tonight, but the President is going to be in Kalamazoo to preside over a high-school commencement, so lots of military aircraft over here and the FAA and AMA have imposed a temporary flight restriction in a 30-mile radius of Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, so no full-size or RC aircraft can be in the air from 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM today (Monday).

Take care.

John from Portage, Michigan.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

John, North/South (18/36) here too. Agreed, you can practice/learn how to land cross wind, or you can watch on many days. Regarding being grounded, same thing happened to me when he did the commencement thing in Ann Arbor not too long ago. No Fly zone arc JUST caught our field. I remember it well as it was so frustrating. That day was one of those rare early season Saturdays (my favorite day to fly) with good flying weather.
-Al

Planejaw

My Feedback: (53)

Al,

Glad to hear that it's not just me. And yesterday was a beautiful day...would have been even better if we could have flown. Got to the field about 4 PM, one fellow was just finishing flying, before the TFR went into effect. Temps in the low 70's with some high, fair-weather cumulus clouds. My son and I decided to cut the lawn at the field...at least we were there, even though we couldn't fly. Sort of a consolation prize!

Bad thing is, it was probably the nicest day we'll have all week. Supposed to have rain and wind for the rest of the week. Oh well, it's early in the flying season, I'm sure we'll have more nice days.

Need to get the GSS up for some final trimming. May need to add a few more ounces of lead to the tail, to counter the weight of the Stearman landing gear. I added about 2 oz to the rear fuselage side under the horizontal stab the last time I flew it, and may have to add a couple ounces more. I'll pull out my 8/32 bolts at the CG location and complete the final balancing. It's getting closer to being exactly where I want it. 4-6 more flights and she'll be all dialed in. By the way, finally added a pilot under the canopy...looks a little better now. Every plane needs a pilot.


John from Portage, Michigan.

redbiscuits

My Feedback: (6)

I think it took me something like 37 flights to get my GSS the way I like it. Two weeks ago I finally changed to an 18x6 prop and now have about 70 flights on it. I don't know if it's just me but I have never had to do so much fiddling around with a plane in my life. Adding the SS gear and that heavy G38 probably had alot to do with the extra time it took to trim the plane, but once I got it dialed in it sure is a sweet flyer. I was at the LHS the other day and I was flying on the Real Flight Simulator, I pulled up the 40 size Super Sportster and couldn't believe how bad it flew compared to mine. I walked away feeling happy with my GSS.[sm=cool.gif]
Red.