I got the bug for a taildragger, and I have an LA 40 sitting around doing nothing, so I figured I'd hike down to the LHS and pick up a Skyraider Mach II. Nice cheap plane, I've got another receiver and servos, everything I need. Nice and cheap.


Well.

LHS out of stock on Skyraider Mach II. Figures.
So I pulled a Super Flying Models Eindecker off the shelf and had a look at it. Nice plane, suits my style of flying, will fly with LA 40.
What I really want is a Rascal, but I'm not putting a 2 stroke on one.... just wouldn't seem right.


Remember, I went in with the intention of getting something cheap that I could fly with what I had lying around already.

Then Dean comes out of the store room with a smile on his face.

"I got something you'll like here" he sez.

<sigh>

But it sure is pretty! Put together nice, too. So what if I need to get another servo. Sure the LA 40 will fly it, but I got to looking at the size of the fuse and the size of the cowl, and the size of the LA compared to the airplane..... no way. Of course the first engine Dean pulls down is a Saito 56, but that's a tad bit over budget. But it IS what the plane needs........ so I compromised. And since it's just Sooooo nice, I had to get some other extras, a voltwatch, gold-n-rods instead of factory pushrods, some small scale details, all the good stuff. I'll post some more assembly pics as I progress....


Andy

Just like me, want bigger, better, faster, uhhhhh slower for me

nice choice looks good i own a seagul 300s extra and im pretty impressed with the cunstruction little ca here and there and its good to go! looks like it will be a great flyer. i used all the hardware it hasent gave me any troubles infact the hinges were all pinned and glue from factory and all the push rods were already installed and i paid $139.00. it is my first low wing and man its fun!

I've got that same Spacewalker sitting in my shop. It's going to be my next review. I have only briefly inspected the parts so far, but first impressions are very good.

The little spacewalker II is a great little airplane. I have one wih a magnum 40 but seems to be a tad underpowered. I did try a Saito 72 but that resulted in a bad experience. The airplane would torque roll on takeoff due to the high torque and insuficient airspeed. I tried it twice(after repairs) with the saito with bad results both times. The best engine in my opinion would be in the 51 range size. The instruction manual does make a good firestarter for the BBQ grill !! i found many errors and building details in the manual to be way off base. Especially the method of "mounting the COW" LOL. We had a good laugh at the field when I showed it to other club members.

The LHS that I go to would love to have you as a customer. You still have the engine, and the shop has your money for a whole new plane. Hey...wait a minute.....you sound just like me. Good luck with the plane and you can consider yourself a real R/C addict.

Sounds like heliproz. Every time I call, I get done placing the order, and then they start telling me about all the new stuff, or how much more I have to buy to get free shipping. Always ends up being $50 to $100 more. They know me too well! Always enjoy dealing with a good shop like that though.

They haven't steered me wrong with an airplane yet, and every time I walk in with a question, one of the guys has the answers. BTW, for a plug, it's Debbie's R/C world in VA Beach, if you're in town, I highly recommend a visit!

They're calling for 5 5/8" distance from firewall to back of thrust washer, best I can do with AX is 4 1/2 inches. Will have to see how it sits in the "cow".

I didn't really like the way the stock pushrods were done, and I wanted to try gold-n-rods, so this was a perfect opportunity. I also opted for WM adjustable clevises, I liked the way they worked on my SS 40. I want to use a throttle cable, but will require remounting cable sleeve. Might do that anyway as it sits below the fuel tank, and will require a major bend in the throttle pushrod anyway. Trashing stock tank, too small and I don't care for the nylon tubes. I salvaged the tank from my Avistar, and that, with a new sullivan stopper, is going in. A little larger, and fits a little looser so I can get some foam around it.

but all in all I'm really impressed with the overall quality of the building. I did run some epoxy around the firewall, landing gear and wing mounts, and the formers that support the landing gear. I'll get the thin CA out tonight and go over as many other joints as I can get to, then it's on to fuel proofing the tank compt. I see the firewall is painted with some sort of gray paint, but I just varnished over that, didn't know if it was fuel proof or not and don't want ot find out the hard way!

Landing gear is held on with metal bolts, replacing with nylon.

Wish they had included some edging around the cockpits, it was a simple cheap fix and it looks a whole lot better in my opinion.

Andy

Sounds like your LHS owner is a good SALESMAN. He knows his coustomer and knows how to convince the coustomer to buy stuff.

Sounds like you've given me a good excuse to go back down to the beach

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know there was a decent R/C shop there...

Hope you enjoy that plane, it looks real sweet

Keep us posted!

Zimbo

I have to agree with skribnod, the instructions are very lame if it weren't for my prior building experience it would probably still be in the box today. but there planes are awsome

Very easily.

That hairy fleabag couldn't wait to get into that box. It just isn't yours untill the cat lays on it...

Andy

Beware the engine mount, mine was 3 degrees up thrust, and 3 degrees left thrust! Flies good and scale on an LA .40.
Jetts

My engine mount looks pretty straight. Main problem I have I can't get the 5 5/8" called for in the manual. Oh well, I'll just do the best I can.

I was originally going to try and get an airplane that I could fly with the LA 40, but it just looked sooo small on the front of that fat fuselage...

I've got some more pics in camera that I need to download... I hate to steal Minn's thunder, but I suppose I should just submit a review once I get it flying....

Andy

Your cat looks exactly like mine [X(]

I, ummm, went to the beach at the w/end.....

I thought I'd take a look at the Hampton Roads club as they had a fly in on Saturday... while I was there, I met the onwers of the Eagle shop in Suffolk just up the road from the field; they invited me back to the shop.... [sm=greedy.gif] As you'll know, it's pretty tricky to walk around a new shop and walk out empty handed, I came out with a Pheonix Sukhoi....

Of course on Sunday while I was at the beach I had to pop along to Debbies... I had a good look around and almost got away with just getting a few bits for my Tiger 60 I'm assembling when I just happened to mention that I was looking for a Funtana... "Oh, we've got one out in the back, the box is a bit big so we didn't have room to display it..."

So now I have a replacement Funtana, which leaves me with a bit of a dilema, as I was going to use the engine and flight pack for the Sukhoi.. c'est La vie....

BTW, I highly recommend Debbies if you're in the area, Eagle Hobbies in Suffolk is an interesting place too....

a65l,

Go right ahead and do a review. We can get several points of view on it!

You gotta watch them guys there at Debs, they're pretty good at getting you exactally what you want, even if you don't know exactally what it is when you come in.....

I suppose there are worse things to spend money on..... who needs medical insurance anyway.


Andy

Well I'm glad to see you have your priorities straight.

Let's see :
1. Food
2. Water
3. Airplanes & flight gear
4. Things for Girlfriend or Wife
5. Cat Food

Just remember, it's not a hobby, it's an addiction!

Kerry

I just picked one of these up yesterday. The instructions suck! The first line under Installing the COW says to line the cowl up with the marks you previously made on the fuselage. Just to make sure I didn't miss a step, I went back and reread all the instructions. No where does it have you make marks on the fuselage! The dihedral brace was about 1/2" too small width-wise for the openings on the wing. And the instructions say to pour epoxy in the wing opening after coating the dihedral brace [:@]. Why would anyone in their right mind do something like this? Too much epoxy is just extra weight! And, it is impossible to get the engine mounted for the space from the firewall to the thrust plate without replacing the mount. As I have already fit the cowl, I think the manual is wrong about the distance. Mine is around 4-1/4" and everything looks good.

Anyway, last night I epoxied the wings together, mounted the engine (OS 46AX), and mounted the cowl. I replaced the fuel tank, as it is a 3 line tank, and I do not have anything laying around to plug the fill line. I ended up using another tank that I had laying around with a Sullivan fuel filler valve mounted in the cowl. Tonight I have to extend the needle valve so I can adjust it with the cowl on. One thing that concerns me is airflow input to the cowl. There seems to be ample space for the air to exit the cowl, but to get in, right now I only have the holes cut for the head and muffler, along with about 1/2" or less clearance around the spinner backplate.