microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Luchnia - On second thought, I've had an OS 91 2S in the Rev 70 and was not impressed with the speed, for this plane I'd recommend a 1.20 2S or 120 4S. I moved up to a YS 1.40 4S. A heavier engine, but it gives me unlimited vertial, and sounds WAY cool! Does drink more gas, but I love having this power. That said, I usually run it 1/2 throttle, to conserve gas, and cause I don't normally need more speed. But on take-off at 1/2 throttle it'll just keep climbing almost straight up. Currently using a 15x10 prop, though that gives me only 3" ground clearance (which is not much at my rough grass and dirt field). I'm thinking of going to a 3-bladed prop, for added clearance and pull. btw - the Rev 59 is a MUCH quicker plane (as noted) - I flew mine with an OS .61 2S and it was pretty fast. I'm about to rebuild it (from a crash) and install an OS 91 4s. However, the Rev 59 is much more jittery and prone to tip-stalls than the Rev 70. I love them both.

Slow and Steady

I fly with a 75 AX and 13 6 APC. The plane is fast, but doesn't have much low end torque. I started with the 91 FX, which has similar speed. There is only so much speed you can achieve with any 6 " pitch prop, no matter the engine size. As far as the 120 AX, it loves fuel and does not allow for fine tuning or leaning out the high end. It will overheat if not rich. Mine did have a great low idle and transition, with alot of power, using a 16 6 APC. That being said, it took over a gallon plus of fuel to break in, ran great, but the fuel consumption drove me to gas. Long flights with the 120 AX would take one heck of a large tank, unless you fly at mid throttle, which gave me 10 to 11 minutes on a 17 oz tank. Incidentally, I used the 120 on my Funtana 125, not the Revolver.

I mounted my throttle servo flush with the deck and aft of the fuel tank as suggested above. Why the plane was not set up this way by Great Planes is very curios, other than it is as rediculously set up as the 46 Revolver servo location. I reinforced the deck from undernieth with small pieces of ply to give the servo screwed more grab area. This set up is typical of most planes and provides easy access for any service.

Slats!

My Feedback: (1)

Just as a side note I tested a few props with my Saito 1.00 set up. I found the 13inch was not enough for the airframe. The 14 X 8 inch flew it allot better. 13 inch barely gets by the cowl LOL.

Slow and Steady

No disrespect intended, but the plane is fast with the 13 6. A 14 would provide lower end torque, but possibly overload the 75 AX. I did use the 14 6 APC when flying with the 91 FX and it had similar speed to the 75, but much better low end; very noticable when taxieing on the run way.

pryor808

My Feedback: (1)

Albsurfer,

Very Good Conclusion... I do have a OS 1.08 waiting in line but, that monster is a thirsty SOB!!! at $20.00 a gal. it's going to sit for a while.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

btw, this morning I'm flying my Rev 70 (with YS 1.40 4S) - was windy here in NY, like 15mph and gusty from the WSW (which forces me to use my my least favorite approach at my field, as I have to approach near a highway and over a parking lot and come through two trees - not great for gusty wind!). Anyhow, the plane is flying well, though did stall a couple of times (still having problems with the low end - guess I need to lean it out more). On the 7th flight I have the plane up at a pretty good altitude going away when I saw a pretty severe shutter in both ailerons. S#%T!! Have never seen that before. Pull the plane around and closer and see it again. So I now quickly cut the engine and bring it in for a landing, which went pretty smoothly. Turns out the control horn on the left aileron ripped out!! Holy crap! I don't know how I maintained control and landed it!! I guess I might have used the rudder, but I dont' remember doing that, especially as I didn't know the left aileron was not working!! Guess I just lucked out. btw - I did install the control horn in the "soft" part of the aileron, as it didnt' line up with the hardended part of the wood. So now I'm looking at installing some hard bass wood in the ailerons to secure the control horns to. Close call!!

Slats!

My Feedback: (1)

I personally found their was no speed gain when I went with the 13 inch range and I lost torque. We are talking different engines here to so we will see different things.

jet22b

microdon2;

That was some good luck on your save!!! FYI, the large Revolver stall right around 19 to 20 mph. I found this out this weekend when one of my club member put his GPS system in my Revolver. The more I fly the Revolver, the more I love it. One other thing I love about this bird is how it like to fly slow!! The controls are sweet!! No slop or soft feeling. When you add power, you can see the fast pickup. Now I have a OS 91FS in one and the other one have a OS 1.20FS and both plane are fun to fly. Yes Great Plane has hit a home run with this bird. I would love to see a full scale model of the Revolver in the Red Bull Air Races. It would be a blast to see it turn and burn through the gates!!
Have fun and you will find you will fly this bird more that another plane you have in your hangar!!!

Sonny
aka
jet22b

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Jett22 - agreed! It would be VERY cool to see someone produce a full scale version of the Revolver! I just saw the RedBull Airrace in Jersey City, NJ, and it was very impressive. Great to see and hear those planes flying and turning so fast that low over the water. And I'm pretty sure they were all gassers - not a nitro in the bunch!

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

Thanks for all the info! As always on RCU we have much great advice and shared flying experiences which certainly help others and often can even save a plane's early demise.

I do notice great low end with the 14x6 prop and vertical is pretty nice...speed may be lacking some. I was wondering if a 14 x 7 sport prop might be the key. We have one more larger Revolver at our field and I am going to watch that one when it flys and see how it does. It has a four stroker though and hard to compare the two. I have only seen him fly once and it did real well.

I can take off and pretty much pull straight up but the speed just seems lacking on normal flying. The other day I put the 13x7 for the fun of it and amazing how it hardly sticks outside the cowl! [X(] I have not flown it with the 13x7 or 13x8 yet. I am running props that size on my 76 so I am thinking that might be too small for the 91 FX, but I did read on the forums where guys are implying that the 13x7/8s are the best on the 91FXs. The only thing is with the Revo there is not much of the prop pulling the plane outside of the large spinner! What maybe two and half inches each side! [X(]

I am looking forward to putting some more flights in this weekend and get more performance data. I am still dialing in and fine tuning my expo and d/r settings. I am not quite where I want to be with those yet either. I have been experimenting some with flight settings and generally flying the big Revolver a lot easier than I do my small one since I only have about 4 flights on the big one so far. One thing is for sure, on the sod runway we have the big one floats in and I can land it much easier than the small one.

When I maiden a new plane I usually fly moderately and check it over after each flight and increase my flight times as I make sure everything is still tight and secure. So far, so good. It may be that the 91 fx is doing ok and I am just trying to make the larger Revolver fly faster than it really needs to.

Slow and Steady

While I have never confirmed it, I have been told, most of the prop thrust comes from the outer third (approximately). From my experience, the plane flies fast with a 13 6 APC, with my 75 AX. I have to believe the 91 FX with a 13 7 would be worth trying. Props of this size are relatively cheap and experimenting may provide surprising results !?

Slats!

My Feedback: (1)

I was turning 9400 with a 14X8apc. Tried the 13X10 and 13X11, pretty much the same RPM range (13x11 was about 300 less or so). There was no speed increase for me but I lost torque... Thats with a 4s though. I am going to try a 14X12 with the 1.20 os 2 s

wjcalhoun

Mike
Good save on the loss of your aileron control!

Did you use the book method of wood screws for the control horn? I was really surprised by that recommendation by GP, because it seems to be an obvious point of failure. I NEVER use screws for control horns. I always drill a clearance hole, and use #2 bolts with a backup plate on the opposite side. It is just too easy to pull screws out of balsa, or even basswood. If you pull bolts out, something is more seriously wrong than simply the stress from a snap roll or a hard pull.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

wj - I did use the wood screws, but I don't think it would have been a problem if I sank them into the "hard" wood area that's already there in the aileron. But, as I said, it didn't line up with my servo rods. So now I'm installing a hardwood bed to seat the control horn screws into. Agreed, a bolt with backing would be the strongest, but I think the hardwood bed will do the job.

nh4clo4

My Feedback: (33)

Did you only use 2 screws on the control horn?Iused 4 Ithink the instructions said to drill out and use 4, but maybe that was just the elevators., Ifigured that 4 for elevator, so 4 for everything else.

Iused a HS81 servo for throttle, and mounted on the side of the motor box, the rod is only 2"long, andd added a larger fuel tank.

Either way, good save!!!!!
ED

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Ed - I did use only 2 screws on each control horn, but now that you mention it, maybe I'll retro-fit all with 4. Thanks.

pryor808

My Feedback: (1)

I am surprized you guys are uising the stock control horns with the short screws. the srews on a control surface control horn must! be long enough to petrude the thickness of the control surface and, have a nut or some type of plate to screw into at the other end.

wjcalhoun

Paulie
Agree 100%. I use bolts, rather than screws, but the backing plate is key. I think GP should rethink the small, short wood screw method, and use substantial hardware. Maybe, or maybe not, they are ok for the little revolver, but the big revolver is certainly no toy at 9 1/2 #, and control surface failure due to insubstantial hardware may, as Mike found, lead to loss of control, loss of aircraft, or even worse, some injury to a bystander. I laughed at the wood screws in the package when I saw them, and just replaced with #2 bolts.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

You guys are convincing me to go with bolts and backing plates.

wjcalhoun

Mike
Take a look at my post 1036 - rudder and elevator control horns bolted in place.

Guys - have any of you had a control horn failure, as opposed to a mounting failure? As I looked at the horns, I thought the were probably OK, but I would probably not use them on a bigger plane (~25% or bigger).

The nylon is pretty tough, and unlikely to break, but I suppose it may flex under pressure.

Bill

da Rock

Wood screws can be improved simply by using some glue with them.

MOF, every method can be improved significantly if you use a bit of RC56 or canopy glue on the undersides of both horn and plate. If you pre-drill the holes for the bolts they show you where you can razor off the covering so the undersides contact wood instead of film. BTW, the covering decreases the hold the horn has significantly. Getting rid of it takes very little time. Adding a dab of glue takes little time. Heck, using epoxy doesn't take much time either, but the RC56 is about as good for this job.

zeman

My Feedback: (28)

[font="Arial"]I just flew my new Revolver 70 for the first time with a YS 1.20ac, a couple of laps around the field and I had to land to richen up the mixture. This is the first time I have used this engine, I bought it used from a friend of mine (now deceased) and it had been setting around for many years but it had been oiled up and turned over every now and then. After adjusting the mixture I took it up again and started getting the feel of the plane which seems to be a good flying plane, about the 5th lap around the field I heard this sharp crack and the engine suddenly stopped and had to make a dead stick landing way down field in some soft soil which had been tilled eariler in the day. Turns out thet the sharp crack noise was the sudden stop of the engine....it blew up threw a rod, the sudden stop of the engine had so much energy that it sheared the engine box off at the fuse the only thing holding the engine to the plane was the throttle wire, a wire form a remote head lock and one cowl screw. The landing gear also came off, it looked like a lot of ARF's I've seen not enough glue in high stress areas. Well a little sanding and some monokote and I will have it all repaired and beefed up. Now just have to come up with the $$$ to pay for the engine parts, about buying YS engine parts [b]OUCH!!!

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Zeman - sorry to hear about the engine blowing up, but at least you saved the plane. I have two YS 4S - a 1.20 and a 1.40 - both bought used. The 1.20 was running well but while screwing in a new muffler pipe the manifold threads stripped (and I didn't think I was screwing it in that hard). Replacement part is about $80. So I'm going to JB Weld it into place. Also it's leaking gas - pretty sure I just need O-rings for the high-speed needle. Its' a nice sized engine for the Rev 70 plane. Right now I'm running the YS 1.40 4S, and it's MORE than enough power for this plane. I'm sure you can get another used YS - hopefully this one will be in good shape. There's also http://www.ysengines.net/ for parts \ service.

pryor808

My Feedback: (1)

zeman!

That sucks big time. Forget about rebuiding the YS unless, you know exactly what your doing. When a rod breaks, there is so much metal particles (contamination) that you can't see. You need to take the entire engine apart and, inspect all parts. Remember! the ammount of energy you mentioned well, that energy was also absorbed by your crank and, bearings! You would be very fortunate if it was only the rod that was damaged. After thorouh inspection, you need to clean the engine very good!! I use a microsonic cleaner. Anyway! Good Luck and, sorry that happened.

wore-out-pilot

My Feedback: (73)

I'm using a 14x8 on my Revolver with the O.S. 108. The battery is back where the receiver is and CG is dead on. The plane is great. Just ordered a new muffler with smoke and a smoke pump, should work great. To the fellow that had a horn pull out you should always put the horn on the hard wood that is supplied in the aileron. Also looks like you have a large gap with the aileron hinges. Flutter is a killler!