Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Just ordered the Creek Hobbies Studacher GS600. Looks like it should be a nice flier and something different from all the CAPs and Extra's everybody seems to be flying. The guy at CH was very personable and told me to call if I had any questions once I got the plane. I will be using my trusty ST2300 with a 16x8 MA Scimitar prop for power. If anyone else has this plane I would appreciate any comments you may have concerning construction and flight set up.

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN :D

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Hi Loopman

We spoke about the GSP Corsair a couple weeks ago on the phone.

Check out the review of this plane in RCU magazine that I did. (Click the link at the top left of the homepage and go to the august issue.)

Let me know if you have any questions after reading it.

Awesome plane!

Erick

Got the Studacher! - NIIIICE!!!
 

Got the Studacher from Creek Hobbies today. It was packed very well and sustained no damage in shipping. The quality of this kit supersedes the price. The covering is very tight and there were only two small areas where it was bubbled. The color match on the cowl matches the covering and the cowl, wheel pants and composite landing gear are first rate! I like the fact that the canopy comes tinted too. The hardware pkg looks nice but I will be using Sullivan metal horns on the ailerons and Du-Bro large scale adjustable horns on the elevators. I am going to make the rudder pull-pull and install a Sullivan tail wheel assembly. These changes are just personal preference as the kit supplied items would be just fine too. I appreciate the very kind and eagerness to please attitude that I received from Jim at Creek Hobbies.

The CD instructions are a little lacking in the King's English but it gets the job done. Building this plane is not rocket science and the pics are good enough to get the building points across. I am not that crazy about the color of the wheel pants but hey that's what spray paint was made for! I am going to take them from red to yellow and blue. I plan on using my trusty ST2300 for power and will install a larger tank (20oz). The guys at the field are ribbing me about still flying glow when just about everyone else is going to gas but what the hay!

Will let you know how the initial flight comes out in 2 or 3 weeks. Till then...Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN :p

Studacher Update
 

Just finished installing the horizontal stab and wing tube. The stab fit was very good but required some adjustment to get both sides level. Did this by installing the stab with 2 hour epoxy and using small plywood shims under one side to get them both level with a flat surface. We then installed the wing tube and included tube supports. This was definitely a two man job and I was glad to have great help from one of my fellow club members. With an extra pair of hands this went very smoothly. The wing incidence was then measured and very little adjustment was required to get the required zero reading. A credit to a well constructed airframe! The wings butted up to the fuse sides with no gap!

One correction to the review done by Erick Royer though. The spinner diameter is 3.5 inches instead of the listed 3.25. A small matter but if you're buying an aluminum spinner you definitely want the right size the first time out, those things are expensive!

That's all for now!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN :p

95% Complete and Looks AWESOME!
 

Well, my buddy Wayne and I have got her about 95% done. All that remains is to balance her out. The plane went together without a hitch but I did use a few after market items.

a. Went with pull-pull on rudder instead of a control rod. Used Sullivan pull-pull and a large scale Du-Bro servo arm. Works great!

b. Used a Klett tailwheel with an extra spring under the tailwheel body to keep it from eventually sagging. Looks and works great!

c. Ordered and installed a Creek Hobbies instrument panel. Very nice touch!

d. Used Sullivan metal control horns on the ailerons and Du-Bro large scale control horns on the elevator.

e. Used a large scale female pilot from Hobby Lobby, Very nice to look at even if her cleavage makes the wives at the field a little miffed!

f. Dave Brown 3 1/2 inch spinner covers the 16x8 APC prop and adds a little sophistication to the overall appearance.

Even though the directions called for epoxy on the aileron hinges. I used Hot Stuff UFO. This CA does not attack the underlying foam and holds the hinges securely.

The weather is too crappy this weekend to fly so I'll do some fine tuning on the engine maybe.

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN pirate:

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

You will find that 16x8 prop will cause the plane to slow down in vertical ascend. Following are my results w/ different props:

APC 17x6@10,000: unlimited vertical, great acceleration, but is a little too high rev for my OS 1.60 FX

APC 17x8@9300: good speed, flies like a pattern plane. But slows down on vertical

APC 18x6W@9000: can hover and pull out, but is too heavy of a prop and cause the engine to respond sluggishly.

I will get myself a carbon fiber 18x6 one of these days, after I hone the landings.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Loopman, I started building mine about 4 days ago and so far so good. I should have it on the balance beam by Tues night. I installed a Saito 180 in mine, I'm partial to 4s. Did you Y the elevator servo or did you use channel 2-8 mix. I followed the indtructions in the RC Universe review and found it to be much easier to follow. I'm not to crazy about the wheel pants either but it will help to tell which end is up. I have to go out of town this weekend so the maiden flight will have to wait two weeks,ARGHHHHH. This is my first giant scale aerobatic plane so I know I'll be a nervous wreck on this test flight.

rc_sport
 

RC_SPORT,

It's a very easy build! I balanced mine out today and it required about 18 ounces of lead up front! The static weight is 13 1/2 pounds. The ST2300 should have no problem with it but it is sure no where near the 11 1/2 pounds the review stated. I used a balance point 4 1/2 inches back from the leading edge at the fuse side. The two elevator servos are in the tail and I'm using a MPI "Miracle Y" to reverse one of the servos. I am looking forward to the first flight as soon as the rain stops for a few days.

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN :cool:

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Loopman, in the review Erick had the CG at 4.95 and said it flew very well at that point. Maybe you should try that and it would help to get some lead out of the nose.

First Flight - Awesommmmmme!!!
 

Thank you Creek Hobbies! This is one solid aircraft. The Super Tigre 2300 is really too much engine! I fly all aerobatics at about 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. I had a H9 Cap and it does'nt even compare! Take off in about 25 feet straight up after that. Loops and rolls very stable. Four point rolls with very little elevator. Will hold knife edge easily. Enough bullet statements!

Landing this plane is the trick. You need to start bleeding airspeed as you turn onto final. Make sure that once you've got the threshold made you keep a slightly nose high attitude. If the nose drops the slightest bit she picks up speed. This is all due to the fact that this plane is extremely aerodynamically clean!

In a nutshell, this is a great ARF and well worth the money!

Happy Flying!

LOOPMAN :cool:

Paint for wheel pants
 

What paint did you use to change from the red to yellow and blue wheel pants???

paint for wheelpants
 

I used Krylon "Royal Blue" If you let it sit for a few days it will be fairly resistant to glo fuel.

Happy Flying!

Loopman :p

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

What servos are you using on the Rudder, Ail, and Ele..? I was thinking about hitec 615mg on the rudder, and 605 mg on the Ails and Ele... will this work?

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

I have the 605's all around and so far so good. I did spend the weekend moving the rudder servo into the fuse and moved the battery pack on to the motor box, I've got to get some of that lead out of the nose.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

I did the same with mine. I moved the elevator servos into the hatch area (rudder was already there w/ pull pull) and installed an MK bell crank in the back end. I was able to remove ALL of the 12 oz of lead I had in the nose. That coupled with 1 less servo cuts my weight down by 13 oz. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to fly it for the last 4 weekends because of the weather. But, bu golly, I'm gonna fly it this weekend if it kills me!

throttle servo...
 

I want to leave the elevator servos in the tail... but I'm thinking about mounting the
throttle servo and 1800mah battery on the Motor box... I have never mounted a servo that close to the engine... Any problems I should look for? I plan on using an OS160FX, or the Saito 180.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

I didn't have any problems, just make sure you protect it from vibration and fuel. I put mine on the side of the box opposite the cylinder head.

Re: throttle servo...
 

Mounting the servos in the tail is definitely easier, but even with the big battery, you'll still have to add a lot of weight to the nose. WIth 12 Oz of lead on the nose of mine, the OS 1.60 still pulled it vertical forever. Now, at 13 oz lighter, I can't wait to see how it flies. I still have my batery mounted on top of the motor box, have a heavy APC 18x6 prop and a Tru-Turn spinner on it, and I'm sure that helped the balance some.

It seems that the CG in the instructions is pretty conservative. If you look at the Protech Staudacher, which is exactly the same plane, they recommend between 5-5 1/2" back.

One last thing (or 2) - Get rid of the flimsy spring that holds the wings on and get a decent one from the HW store. The supplied one is too weak, in my opinion. The ends of mine deformed (stretched out of shape) when I put it on. I also added aome flying wires to the tail to give it a littel more strength. Haven't heard of anyone else having problems there, but it gives me a littel more peace of mind....

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Joe,
What are the steps in installing the MK Bellcrank coupler in the GS600? It's pretty simple with kits and ARC's, but an ARF is another story... Did you go in from bottom of the fuse?

thanks for all the advice.

Dennis

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

You're correct. I had to go in through the bottom of the fuse. I stripped the covering from the last three bays on the bottom and also from the front of the stab to the rear of the fuse. I then made some patches to fill in the two servo holes and mounted the bell crank just behind the stab leading edge. The crank can be adjusted a little, so it isn't real critical where it goes. I used a CF rod to go from the crank to the servo, mounted on rails just behind the wing tube. The rudder servo is mounted there, too with pull pulls exiting the fuse in the last open bay under the stab. I put some pushrod guide on the pull pull cables where they exit the fuse to prevent rubbing on the ply back there.

Now, the hard part is trying to find the correct color of covering material to patch the fuse! Mine doesn't match perfectly, but it's close enough that it doesn't look bad from a few feet away. I figured since it was under the stab, it wouldn't be seen much anyway.

I think it's a worthwhile thing to do. This was the first time I've used the MK bell crank, but it wasn't too bad and it assures you of having perfectly matched throws on each elevator. Plus, you'll get a good laugh at the instructions. I love direct Japanese to English translations!

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

How different in this plane from my Creek Extra? I have my elevator servos in the tail, battery on the CG. CG about 5.25" from LE and no lead. Still trimming it out, but the CG still needs to go back more. Do you guys have too much elevator throw? Something to think about....The more forward the CG, the more elevator you need to control it. If you start with too much elevator it will be unstable and pitch sensitive. Try this, starting high, put the plane in a 45 deg dive at idle. If the plane starts to level off on it's own, the CG is too forward. If the dive steepens, it's too far back. If it doesn't change, well... If your CG is close but it is pitch sensitive, reduce the elevator deflection and increase expo.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

I flew the day lights out of mine last week, I just love it. I switched from a 16x8 to a 18x6 prop last night so I'm interested to see how it flies now. It snowed this past week so it will have to wait till we get a thaw, this is one plane I won't put on skis. Also after moving things around I was able to remove 12oz of lead out of the nose, so know it's under 12lbs. Should be fun.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

FriesHoo, get the 160. Saito will work well but the 160 is much more economical. I'm using a Mejzlik 18x8 and gettin 8400 rpm with a Perry pump and it's a rocket. 10+ min flights on <16 oz of 15%. Saito will burn 18-20 oz of 30% heli in the same amount of time.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Nah, I run 15% Wild Cat and it runs great. I don't need to be at full throttle so I get long flight times. Both engines run good but I just don't like the sound of a 2 stroke.

Creek Hobbies Studacher - Construction Notes
 

Got to fly mine a little more today, first time since I removed the nose weight. It will now accelerate vertically with the 160 and an APC 18x6W. I may still be a little nose heavy, though. Still drops the nose when inverted, but now as bad as before. Knife edge is a lot better. I can go the length of the field without touching the right stick.

I've given up on the Cline regulator on mine. Tried to tune the engine with it today, but could never get it to transition well at all. Always sagged, no matter where I put the low speed needle. Took it back off, tuned everything easily, and had a great time the second flight.