Now that is interesting... I have no esxperiance with the real thing but would have thought they would be a little more docile... Guess a lot of the charecteristics stay with it no matter what the size..

The Seagull Decathlon - Like ANY Decathlon, Citabria, or for that matter Any aerobatic plane that has a short tail moment, (Pitts and Christen Eagle come to mind) can be very deceiving. They look pretty tame, but they need to have flying speed BEFORE breaking ground or the torque from the engine will be very difficult or impossible to overcome.

Hi Forum,

I have a seagull Arising Star trainer, with an irvine 46 at the nose, great reliable combination.

In my impatient mindset throught the wet and windy winter months in the UK, i got myself a Seagull Decathlon (still in the box!!)
My club flies form a grassed field with a mown strip, does the ground handling seem better of grass? Also, a new plane = a new engine, which 2 stroke would you recommed? looking towards an OS46FX ( or slightlty bigger) at the moment, any thoughts???

Many of the USA clubs seem to have paved runways, which seem to be causing problems, but be thankful you have them, a friend of mine came into land last week, got his main gear stuck in mud on the srip and tore it off the fuse (along with a large section of fues come to think!!)

Cheers

C-A-S

<cough> OS 70 4-stroke <cough>

hi Mike B

I would love a 4 stroke of any kind, problem is, i have never used one before, and my club all use 2S (or electric) so i would have no practical support should i struggle to set it up correctly!! have had a look at some posts on another thread, seems that a 46 2S will under power it, what siz will i need???

cheers

Having flown mine for a while an OS 46AX or FX will have lots of power. I have an ASP S 52 in mine and the plane is more like a rocket at full throttle than an airplane. It took me 1/2 dozen takeoffs or so to get it right. You have to be ready for when the plane starts to head to the left and stop the turning pronto or everything after that gets worse! Once you have the takeoff nailed flying is easy. Don't get me wrong. Its a sensitive plane, but then so is my Kaos and the Decathlon looks much nicer!! Come to thing of it, it handles a "lot" like my Kaos once its in the air even though they are completly different animals, er... I mean planes! The ASP 52S is a great motor but requires about 7-10 tanks of fuel through it before it settles into being a smooth high output screamer. The OS is good enough to go after about 4-5 tanks.

The Beech C77 Skipper's handling characteristics both on the ground or in the air resemble those of any variant of Decathlon about as much as a Big Mac resdembles a real home made hamburger!

If take-offs with the Skipper are "dreadfull" (sic), best refamiliarise yourself with where the rudder pedals are, adjust to body fit and ask your instructor to refamil you with application of rudder in conjunction with smooth advancment of the throttle to maintain runway centreline. The problem is pilot technique, not Beech's Skipper.

However, any wing will usually lift of the ground if you yank on the pole or accelerate one wing with excessive yaw approaching flying speed, whether intentionally or inadvertantly as frequently occurs when a stud is subconsciously completely focussed upon another task such as correcting back to centreline. Beech's commercially unsuccessful Skipper was without question the pick of the metal primary trainers from the big three American manufacturers, but was IME the least popular with students as it would 'reward' poor or good flying technique with immediate feedback. It'd have made an excellent military ab initio screening trainer where ego doesn't have to be pandered to as a commeercial consideration. That's why Mr. Cessna's 150/152 is so successful & popular with civvy flying schools, a trainer loved by the majority of students. I liked it too. It made the job easy and kept students content, well most of 'em anyway. Piper's PA-38.....well, think of it as neither a C-152 or Beech 77, but it was cheap to own and operate and studs loved the look = business through the door.

Real Decathlons, vanilla 150hp or Super 180hp are docile, easy ground handlers in the tail dragger class. Very easy to two point with the only caveat the prop is close to the ground in the two point attitude so it's not advisable for the inexperienced to attempt "wheelie" landings solo, as control in pitch is relatively light and it's unusually easy to prop strike with over-application of elevator in the novices enthusiasim to get the mains to maintain positive contact in the two point attitude. They do not exhibit the same insufficient rudder authority moment for taxi-ing or tip stall issues the Seagull model can with over-rotation and the former Great Planes clipped wing model variant definitely did. Both characterstics are exacerbated by fitment of a torquey four stroke in the upper capacity band of the suitable fitment range in conjunction with injudicious application of either power without anticipating rudder in taxi or power and pitch upon rotation. The real Decathlons have nowhere near the amount of excess power or thrust available as our models do. To give you some idea, entering a stall turn planning on a single roll in the vertical line using standard Super Decathlon slight noise down to accelerate to entry speed technique, with full power applied throught the manoeuvre until through the turn on the downline, even accelerating to the yellow arc to Vmo/Va for max energy prior to entry, it can prove difficult to get a full 360 deg of even simple aileron roll in the pure vertical before running out of sufficient energy, speed and control authority risking an unpreventable prohibited tail slide instead of being able to execute the stall turn.

i hoped someone would come back with a 46 two stroke (although very expensive in the uk) i have found an SC engine, found little feedback from my club, but RCU reviewers hold them in high regard! I still think the OS is calling - just hope i dont overspend on the lead up to christmas!!!

i reeally hope we get some dry calm days in early 2007 to maiden her, we fly in a valley so the wind can gust very strong!! nice field tho, and the cows we share it with really appreciate 3D and scale flying ;-)

Yes, a 46 2-stroke will power it very nicely.

But should you decide to go 4-stroke, about all you need to know is this:

Use 15% fuel with synthetic oil

Use an OS "F" type glowplug (Which will come with an OS 70)

With a plane like the decathlon which has a cowl, Before starting, remove the vent line, hook it up to your fuel pump, and pump fuel into the vent for a second or three. That will force fuel into the carb for a prime. (If you use an electric starter, you may not even need to do anything in the way of priming)

Outside of that, a 4-stroke isn't any more difficult than a 2-stroke with one possible exception...

OCCASIONALLY you may have to adjust the valves on a 4-stroke. I have only ever needed to do it once, and I own a BUNCH of 4-strokes. IF (and that's a big "IF" ) you ever have to do it, it's a simple proceedure (VERY simple) and the manual will give you step-by-step instructions.

Oh yea...

And be prepared to fall in LOVE with 4-Strokes!

thanx minnflyer,

i am now sooooo tempted towards a 4 stroke ( sorry in my last post i meant to say the OS range is coslty in the UK, not just 2 strokes) maybee a 4 stroke needs to be a last minute addition to my 'presents to me' christmas list!!!

I flew mine with a Thunder tiger pro 46 2 stroke, it had all the power the Decathlon needs. I used a 12x5 APC prop. A four stroke would be more in keeping with this style of aircraft, but is in no way a 'must have'. Once you get the ground handling nailed, you'll love it. The secret to the decatlon is applying power smoothly and progressively on the take off. Any sharp power applications will have it ground looping. Be ultra careful with crosswind take-offs, dont attempt them until you have really mastered the 'into wind' take-offs.

thanks aresti1963!! i dont really have a problem with cross-wind takeoffs, the club has a big square strip, not just a long thin rectangle, so i can point it into the wind no matter which way it blows, as long as it isnt from all dirctions which has been known, with being in the bottom oof a valley!!!

I think one of the hottest engines for this aircraft would be the new OS 55 AX. Light and powerful and the airplane would respond to that very well. There is another post here or in another forum that covers this combination and the owner is way happy with it.

Will let you know how it works out. Spent the morning putting one into my Phoenix Decathlon. It assembled a pound heavier than my average .46size, so I figure to work the 55AX in it for awhile to see if it's worth having the better vertical. It also needed the battery pack moved to behind the wing to get a halfway decent CG location.

Have had just a little problems with mine on takeoff with the 46AX in it. But then, I don't do firewall and pray takeoffs. Easy throttle up has always worked like gangbusters.

This plane really doesn't like gentle take offs. You're better off holding it on the ground until you have more airspeed than you think you need.

Well, christmas eve is upon us, what better time to start the build, i am soo impressed by the kit quality, less so with the instructions????

One question is - are the hinges pre glued or are they a v. tight fit in the slots? i cant pull them out, although the instructions disagree, i cabt see any pinning, but i thought they may have covered over them???

secondly, is it just me or are all of the wheels in this kit really small, i think i will fitr bigger ones, any recomendations for a grass strip takeoff?? not planing puting on the spats (pants) until i have the thing flying happily or i think they will get wrecked,

Its a shame seagull cant match the quality of their kits with their instructions.

Antway, off to clear the pieces of covering which loom ever closer to the wrapped gifts and pack away for a few days [&o]#

have a great christmas everyone#!!

I just re-checked my review, ( http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=415 ) and the first steps were to CA all of the hinges. Unless they have changed something, I would put a few drops of THIN CA on each hinge.

Hi again,

I still havent flown it, im having a number of problems, the main problem im haveing is that i have lost the 2 nylon bolts that secure the wing to the fuselage, can they be re-ordered?? the other big problem im having is getting the engine running right, it has burned about 2 litres now and still once full power is selected it will run rougher than usual and may cut out, i think it maybe a mixture problem, have anyone got any tips on tuning the engine so it will run perfect??

Andy