SpinnerRow

Just ordered a Super Tigre G-90 and I'm planning on putting it on the new color scheme Ultra Stick 40.

How much re-enforcing am I going to have to do to this thing to keep it from falling apart? Firewall mods are a given. What about anything else? Can I swing a 13" prop with the stock gear?

Ed_Moorman

My Feedback: (1)

I am running an OS .55 on mine and I changed to a DuBo Super strength fiberglass-nylon gear. I have just over 7" clearance, you you'll be close. You might need some larger wheels.

If the new version still comes with the metal, clamp-type engine mount, replace it with a Great Planes .40-.70 adjustable. It'll spread wide enough for the ST 91.

I would not install the rudder and elevator servos in the stock location. They'll both probably need to be moved to the rear to balance. The plane comes out nose heavy.

I would also add flying wires from the fin to the stab tips. If you are still slightly nose heavy after moving the servos, I'd use 2-56 rods for the tail bracing, otherwise I'd use fishing leader wire or weedeater line.

delman

Mine had the stock metal gear with 2 3/4 wheels. I used an apc 13/8 prop with my 91fx. Used a sullivan 12oz flex tank which gave an 8 minute flight time with a little in reserve. Installed a couple round tooth pick sections in each side into the firewall. With the excess power the 40 ultra stick did not notice the extra weight of the engine or balance weights. Need to watch for excess wear on the wing dowels.

SpinnerRow

Good info. I thought about trying to find some carbon fiber gear for it and I'm going to use HS-225MG servos in the wings with carbon push rods. Those two mods alone will make up the difference in the weight from a OS 55 and the G-90. I didn't think about the wires on the tail feathers but that is a really good idea and I had thoughts of putting the rudder and elevator servos in the rear (HS-5485HBs) with carbon fiber push rods. Does anyone know if there is a slightly taller carbon gear for this plane?

I have an Edge 540 that has them top and bottom. Would you put the wires on the top and bottom of the elevator on this plane as well?

It should be a fun plane given the power freak I am!

sawdust

My Feedback: (7)

The wing dowels can be an issue on the Ultra Sticks. The way I solved it was to take the right diameter straight brass tubing cut it to the correct lengths and placed the tubing over the wing dowel rods. Then I reinforced the body holes for the wing dowels. These holes may have to be filed slightly for the enlarged wing dowels to fit. Epoxy the tubing to the wing dowels.

I also beefed up the area where the landing gear mounted to the fuselage. And make sure the inside of the fuselage behind the motor is thoroughly fuel proofed.

Todd

Mr67Stang

You know AMA won't cover you if you exceed 200 MPH

SpinnerRow

I would think that flutter would have ripped all of those big control surfaces off way before 200! [8D]

Mr67Stang

Make them smaller

DenverJayhawk

i have an OS 95AX on a Big Stik 60 and I couldn't swing a 14" prop without modification to the landing gear. Even on the 60 sized model, the 95ax is way overpowered. I can't imagine the G90 on a 40 sized model. You'll probably need at least 5" wheels for prop clearance and a ton of weight in the tail for balance.

I also used Ed's advice and mounted the elevator servo in the back to minimize the lead needed and added tailwires using 2-56 rods. I enjoy overpowering models and watching them accelerate in a vertical climb. Your 40 size stick is going to be like a Saturn V rocket! Take video and please post it. I'd love to see it.

SpinnerRow

All of my planes (and cars for that matter) usually have way bigger motors than they need or were designed for. Oddly enough I've never owned a speed oriented plane. Maybe some day but speed isn't what I'm after. A 5 foot roll before takeoff or hit the throttle after a botched landing a foot off the ground and point it straight up and over to retry it. You can also get out of all kinds of weird attitudes with a blip or two more throttle.

SpinnerRow

Yep, that is the idea but not a new one as evidenced from a few posts up. I had toyed with getting the 60 size but I want zero to plaid type vertical.

Prop clearance will be an issue for sure. I may run a 12x9 or 12x10 if I can get away with it but will have to watch the speed. If I can find replacement gear that would allow me to run something like a 14x6 that would be sweet. Imagine how weird that prop will look on a 40 sized plane? I've seen a 14x4w on a US-40 once and it did look out of place.

You're 95AX is a bit more powerful than a G-90 I'm putting on it but the pipe should even things out a bit. I plan to tune the motor first and want to run at least a 6" pitch and 8" would be perfect I'm thinking. Whatever prop diameter that will get me 11,000 or so RPM tuned on the pipe is what I will use. I plane to post some video of me tuning it and flying the plane as well. I got a nice Sony HD camcorder a few weeks ago just for this purpose!

One reason I went with the ST G-90 is that I bought an unused pipe and header for it real cheap at a swap meet a while back and decided to put it to use.

DenverJayhawk

I was using a 14x8 prop and it was still too fast, even when tuned nice and rich. I've changed to a 15x6. Haven't tried it out yet.

SpinnerRow

I doubt a ST G-90 can turn a 15x6 at a decent RPM. What kind of RPM can a 95AX turn that prop? I'll use whatever prop gets me about 11,000RPM which from what I can determine is the sweet spot for this motor.

DenverJayhawk

I'll need to tach it with the 15x6. I haven't tried it yet.

Also remember that your G90 is going to suck the fuel dry pretty quickly since the model was designed for a 40 sized fuel tank. You'll probably get less than 10 min flight times.

SpinnerRow

Yea, I usually use a modified water bottle for my fuel tanks. If there is enough room for a 12oz tank, I can usually find a water bottle that is a bit bigger that will fit - although 12oz is a bit of an odd size for a water bottle. I had a DAS Little Stick (.25 size plane) with a Super Tigre G-51/header/pipe and could only find a 6oz tank that would work but a Kirklands stubby 8oz water bottle fit perfectly. Plus a water bottle is about half the weight of a fuel tank. Been using them for quite a while with no leak problems ever [Knock] ... [/Knock] Big gassers have been using them for a long time and on a 32oz tank, a water bottle will save you several ounces of weight.

I'll post my build process here if anyone is interested. You experienced builders can steer me right if I do something stupid!

Eganwp

My Feedback: (1)

LOL that thing's gonna be insane on a G90!

Just a thought, if you're so worried about prop clearance, why not run an 11x11 APC? Or a 12x10? That will give you tons of clearance and you're not gonna need all that extra diameter thrust on such a light 40 sized airframe to really benefit from it. If it was a 60 size, that's another story. Just a thought, but I've never tried it personally.

SpinnerRow

I'm going to put the engine on a test stand to break it in and I plan to try a fistful of props. I'd like to stick with a wood one since an APC will be heavier but if I can't get the right prop in wood, then I'll use the APC or something similar. If it will turn an APC 12x10 at around 11,000, then that would be a killer prop. Plane would be fast and still climb like a banshee.

Order the plane tonight as well!

Anyone have an idea who makes a carbon fiber gear that would fit it?

DenverJayhawk

you should also look up some posts from Ed Mooreman. He's built many sticks and has a lot of good information that you can leverage in your build process. One of his tips I'd try if I were doing it over again would be to put some anhedral in the wing. My understanding is this should improve the knife edge capabilities. Right now, I can't get a knife edge pass no matter how hard I try.

I'm by no means trying to deter you from a G90. But if I were building a new Ultra Stick 40 ARF, I'd try the new Evolution 60NX. I'm more curious about it than anything. Wondering if it really has 60 size. power.

BTW...are you going with quad flaps? Also, this model can be built as a tail dragger or with a nose gear setup according to Hangar-9. Since you're using a 90 sized engine, i'd highly suggest tail dragger.

ghoffman

My Feedback: (3)

I have the UltraStick 60 with an OS 120AX swinging a 16x6 APC. The servos and batteries are in the rear so it balances at about 7 pounds with the big OS. It is alot of fun in the vertical, which is about the only time I floor it. I do not have a radar gun, but I would not be surprised if it can exceed 100 MPH. The quad flaps are alot of fun, it will fly at walking speeds.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnyrYUeXjpw

SpinnerRow

Very Cool!!!!

I had thought about a 120AX on a 60 stick as well. I was wanting to put a Slimline Q-Series Pitts muffler on it to reduce weight up front or an ES Composites carbon fiber pipe!

My US-40 will be tail dragger as I see no need to add more weight to the nose with trike gear. Besides, I just prefer a tail dragger.

The plan is to put the plane together with the motor and exhaust on it and then see where it balances. I'm expecting way nose heavy but with a pipe hanging rearward of the CG, it may not be that far off. I'm prepared to put the servos in the rear and the battery where ever it needs to go. As I stated earlier, I plan to use HS-225MGs in the wings with quad flaps if the holes aren't too big for them otherwise HS-325s. What would you you guys put on the rudder and elevator? Could I get away with an HS-225MG on the elevator? I'm going to put an HS-5485HB on the rudder but if I can get away with a 225MG on the elevator I'd like to might give it a try. I'll know better when I get a look at how big the elevator is on these things. I'm going to use carbon fiber push rods with 2-56 ends everywhere.

The new Evolution 60NX was a very serious consideration for this project but the motor is $150 plus shipping, the pipe is $75 and the header would be $28. I got the Super Tiger G-90 plus a few props from Tower (with discounts and free shipping) for $126 and I already had the header and pipe for it. I do plan to own a 60NX some day soon but there isn't anyone posting data about them yet. I would like to put it on my semi-speed plane that I have an OS 46AX/header/pipe turning an APC 10x8. Here is a pic of that plane with a G-51 on it. Check out my thread on the 60NX here for more info on that motor. I like the fact that that motor was designed to run with a pipe. Lots of people are calling it the poor mans Jett 60L. I don't know about that, but if it is 90% of that engine at less than half the price, it will be a bargain. I also considered a 60 stick with a 20cc gasser on it. Right now unfortunately, it is more about economics.

SpinnerRow

I just ordered this Hangar 9 Tail Wire Kit for their Piper Pawnee. Hopefully it will work out on the Ultra Stick 40. In the hobby shop today I saw a generic wire kit for $27 and thought that was nuts. $4.99 is more my speed!

I'm still trying to find some taller landing gear for it. I compared the Dubro Super Strength landing gear to the stock one and it offers the same height but a wider stance. I'm still looking for a carbon fiber alternative but so the only thing that I have come across that looks like I could get it to work was this two piece gear offered by Troy Built Models (TBMLGA120) but I've never used a 2-piece gear before and don't know how strong they are.

Checked out some three blade props today as well. A 12x8 Master Airscrew might be interesting to give a try.

SpinnerRow

My plane came in last night and it looks pretty good with one exception - the end of the ailerons don't seem to match that well. This is a pic of the bottom. Is this OK to leave as is or should I try and fix it?

ghoffman

My Feedback: (3)

I would fix it.

SpinnerRow

Yea, I'm leaning that way as well. Both wings are like this though. Weird.


EDIT: Well, I thought what the heck and called Horizon since I placed the order directly from their web site and they are sending me a new wing set! These guys are awesome!

SpinnerRow

I called Horizon (who I bought it from) and they are going to send me a new set of wings with no questions asked. Their service is killer!

In the mean time I've put triangle stock at all corners of the firewall/hatch area and fuel proofed it with a thin coating of epoxy. I've also put servo mounts in the tail for the elevator and rudder.

I put my engine on a test stand and with an untuned header and pipe I was getting 11,500rpm with an APC 12x10 and Zinger Pro 13x8. I picked up 1100RPM just bolting this pipe and header up. I ran out of time before I cut some of the pipe off to see if there were any more gains available (but I bet there are). See my thread about the engine/header/pipe I'm using. Right now I'm using a Macs 2900 header (for a G-60/G-75) but I need to order the longer 2901 header as I think I'm going to run into clearance problems with the landing gear. The motor mount that comes with this new Ultra Stick is a two piece glass filled plastic unit and not that heavy aluminum contraption that seems to come on all .40 sized Hangar 9 planes. The mounting holes are slotted and I was able to expand the mount enough to fit the G-90 perfectly.

I've decided to put HS-5485HBs on the ailerons, elevator/rudder, HS-325s on the flaps, an HS-81MG on the throttle and use a 6v battery (Hydrimax 2000mah 5-cell from Tower). Since my servos will be in the rear, I'll be able to move the battery anywhere in the fuselage for balancing purposes.