I left the wood engine mount on it. I wished I had taken it off though once I was finished. I would think the 120 would be to much for this plane as well, just based on the airframe design. The .90 was perfect (for me). I kept the stock muffler and cut the cowl around it. Not the prettiest plane I have done but everyone that saw it only looked at the awesome color scheme anyway Another thing to watch for is very low propeller clearance with stock landing gear. I kept the original landing gear but landings had to be perfectly executed on short grass to avoid contact.

Thanks for the advice. And thanks to everyone on the thread for the great advice on the airplane.

I already changed the stock landing gear to Dubro landing gear. I going to use a little fiberglass and a small screw and I-nut to reinforce the wheel cowls. I did not like using the standard screw that provided.

We did a weight test and determined the 120 will work on the airplane. We are going with an APC 15x8 prop turning the 120 at about 9500 rpm. We are also going to try a 15X6 and 16X4 wide prop. In any case, the 120 will basically pull the plane into the sky. Since I will be adding styrofoam sheets to the fuse and during the strengthening of the fuse, rudder and elevator, I figure I will be adding plenty of weight to the plane, so again, the 120 will work, at least I hope so.

I cut the 120 into the wood engine mount and will be mounting it inverted with the muffler facing down. I will have to do some cutting on the cowl to make sure I have enough airflow into and over the engine. The engine will be mounted on rubber washers that I found digging through the bins at Lowes. The engine has very little vibration to begin with and the rubber washers should absorb any vibration. The engine mount and front end will be reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy mixture to add strength.

The landing gear will be mounted also on rubber washers to absorbed the shock of my pathetic landings. Rubber inserts that I found at Lowes will be placed around the fuse where the landing gear go through and that area will be reinforced with fiberglass and epoxy.

Most of my day was spent hunting down parts and starting the reinforcing.

The Canopy was tinted today and small hex round top screws were used with a touch of CA to hold the canopy on. The glue on the canopy was not holding very well so I decided to secure it on for good. It actually came out looking really nice. I can post a picture of it if folks are interested.

Well Penn State won, that want really matters. More good time tomorrow.
Henry

My nephew holding the plane the day before maiden, and he loves the plane, but he cant get his eyes off the helis

Very nice looking plane. I almost bought that but got a 60 size instead due to building a 50cc gasser. Still might pick that one up.
What is the silver piece on the top of the fuselage? Fuel Filler?

thanks!!! it's the fuel dot,

Welcome. I should of done a t filter going to a fuel dot. Much easier and cleaner than the dubro filler I use that has a special end for it only.
Next planes will all be pull out fuel dots.

yeah! Ilike the magnetic ones better but I didnt had one on hand, but looks cool,I got your attention and some guys at the field too

whats better:

straight arm or offset for the rudder pull2?

Well guys I maiden my plane today and it was a great flyer. Tracks very well and the Saito 120 is a good engine for the plane. Only problem, I got a little too cocky and ended up nose diving the plane in the ground on the fifth flight. I really felt like crying because it was such a beautiful plane to fly. I would recommend the plane to anyone who likes 3d type planes. The Good News. I order a new one since most of the electrical stuff survived and the engine may have survived. I say that because the rocker arm housing hit a rock. Were also hoping the crankshaft did not get bent. If the engine is a goner, I still have the SuperTigre 90. In any case, it was probably he best flying airplane I have ever had.

Things I learned when building the plane.
1. Make sure the wooded engine mounts are reinforced.
2. Put rubber washers under the engine screws to take out some of the vibration.
3. Also, put rubber washers on the landing gear screws.
4. The pull-pull servo needs to raised up about a 1/4 inch. I used tubing to run the wires through which helped a lot.
5. Do not use the clevises they provide. They are junk and will break on you.
6. Use digital servos on the ailerons.
7. The back wheel assembly is junk. Use a better.
8. The wheels are junk get Dubro 2 1/2 Dia wheels. Work much better.
9. Secure the canopy with small screws. It will be worth it in the end.
10. Make sure you use a 6 v battery and good servos. You need all the throws you can get and will a big engine, a lot of force is placed on the surfaces.
11. CG at 127 mm seems ok. I had to put on weight on the tail because the saito was heavy. But flying, I had to use very little elevator trim.
12. Make sure you tape the insides the ailerons to avoid flutter.
13. Secure all joints with CA or epoxy. I put styrofoam all around the plane. They were the only spots that survived the crash.
14. I put the throttle servo in the front which seem to work out just fine. It added nose weight so it really depends on what engine you are putting in the plane.
15. I added a larger gas tank which meant cutting the front the canopy. That's more of a user pref.
16. I used triple rates. The plane wants to fly so use a little speed when landing.
17. The plane took off nice and straight. Very little rudder was needed.

That's about it. I look forward to doing it all over again...by the way. throw the instruction manual out. it's junk...

Kind of wierd that this happened to you. Same exact thing happened to me only at the end of my first flight I nosed it in due to me stalling the airspeed and being to low to recover. Drove my engine in the (thankfully) soft ground about a foot and completely snapped the firewall and everything off the fuselage. Nothing else was harmed at all; and it hit pretty hard. Reinforcements worked.
Now I have a bunch of spare parts because I ordered the same plane again as well.
I did break my needle valve off in the housing. on the engine. Not even a stress bend in the Tru-Turn spinner. My crash was all my mistake and lesson learned.
Keep these airplanes moving...

Flyers
I hate to say it, because I to loved the way this plan flew and looked. but Im finding, You get what you pay for. And the airframe is the cheepest part of the plane. By spending an extra $20 I got a plane without all the build and flying problems dicused in this forum. I still recomend this plane. But I think the thing to do is, build it, fly it, crash it, and move on, to a safer plane.
Dleep

what plane did you get?

My plane also went into a dive after I try to do a nose over. Everything happened so fast and I was disoriented due to the sun so I am not sure if the plane could not pull out of the dive or I just lost control. Anyway, the new one is on the way, It should be here Friday. But I am curious about the dive problems with the plane. Also, it looks like the Saito 120 is a goner. crank is bent. I guess the ST 90 will go in the new plane which should be plenty of power. I really did like the feel of the 4 strokes..

well I got mine @ 127cm dry no fuel, It flyes like its on tracks, I dont like the tail elevator set up and i"m thinking about change it but I'm having too much fun with it, The 50 O.S max I'ts started to giving me some trouble so I guess I have to get my brand new MAG 52 XLS out of the box and get it ready for next fryday, hey I just went thru 3/4 of a gal yesterday and today [sm=shades_smile.gif] I got some sun burn in my arms ouch! any way I ill post some pics before and after the engine swap.
Fernando

Well, my second plane is just but done. All I need to do is fix the engine and I should be flying next week. I agree with Fernando, the plane flies like it is on tracks. The only thing I will say, keep it out of dives and any stalls. I also agree about the tail elevator setup. I thought about using two servos for the elevator or putting a pully on the elevator as shown in the instructions.

Henry

Hey Henry can you provide me a link of the exact plane you have please ? I believe we have different extras because their is no pulley nothing in my instructions. I run a sullivan pull pull on the rudder with sullivan horns. A dowel with the steel rods for the elevators and I really hate that setup bad.
I to was thinking od using a independant servo for each elevator half. Just turn one around. Not sure if it will work though. That is the reason my 2nd plane is not finished. Not sure what to do with the elevator setup?

Here's the link to the airplane. In my instructions, there is a diagram and what looks like a servo arm on the side of the plane and it saids something like you must purchase this extra. It's hard to tell what they are saying because the China company translated Chinese into poor English.

On my plane by the back hatch, there are two wholes drilled in the side of the plane. I was thinking about placing a rod through the holes with two servo arms attached on either end, in the middle of the rod, place a another servo arm. Essentially, the rod is controlled from inside, and the outside servo arms connect right to the elevator. This way, you don't have the steal rods rubbing against the fuse. Just an ideal, not sure if it will work. In any case, I just have to get the engine parts in this week and install the engine and I am back in business.

what is the best engine for this thing, i'm thinking 91 ST on a 14x6 apc, any thoughts!

I am using a Saito 120 with a 15 X 5 prop. The prop is probably a little too long for the airplane. The engine really works great in the plane. I would suggest you go with a 4 stroke, perhaps a magnum 120. A magnum 91 will work but may not give you the power you need for the plane.

I did leave the wooden engine mount on, but I did you fiberglass sheets and epoxy to strengthen the mounts which seems to work great. I did modify the elevator but using a double pull pull system. It actually works great and you don't have the problem of the rods rubbing on the fuse. I also get another 1/4 inch out of the elevator. What I did, I took a wooded rod and put a servo arm in the middle and two servo arms on each end. Then used hard wood inside the plane for the rod to move on. The middle servo arm is attached to the servo using a 24 inch metal rod in tube, then the outside servo arms attach to the elevator in the normal way. It's works great so try it.

It's a great ariplane to fly and but does have a tendency to go into dives when doing flat spins or such. You will need every bit of elevator to pull the plane out of the dives. I lost my first plane that way and have gotten into trouble with the second one, but have learned not to push it and make sure you have room for recovery. Other then that, it's a great flyer and very stable.

H

cool I will have to try the elevator set up, yhanks for the tip!!

wow> where is everybody?????? I still have'nt done anything to the plane..... but the ST 75 is on the works!!!