hi guys

i was thinking of starting my 2nd airplane build so that its ready when i pass my A certificate and i can then go on to do my B certificate

i was looking at something like the SIG four star .40 with an MDS .48 engine but has anyone found any problems with the Four star or MDS engine that means i should maybe go for somthing different?

By all accounts, that should be a great combination and a lot of fun to fly.

Hi Wild Foamy,

The SIG or a TF Contender a both great second models and easy to build. If I were you I would look for a 46 to 52 as it will power a wider range of third throgh to....................when does it all end with models? Welcome to the addiction.

MDS (aka: Multiple Dead Sticks) have a varied reputation but properly tuned seem ok, pay particular attention to ensuring there aren't any air leaks around the carby, needle valve. I would suggest, OS, TT, ST, Enya, Irvine, Rossi, Magnum et al as being generally easier to live with.

Cheers,

Colin

I've never heard of MDS but it doesn't sound to reliable. perhaps you'd consider a 4 star 60 bigger engine more posibillites later. gentle flyer

MDS engines are made in Russia, and they have a good reputation in many parts of the world. They don't have a good reputation here in the United States, however. MDS engines are designed to run on 0% FAI fuel or 5% nitro. Folks who bought them while Horizon Hobby was still distributing them would ignore the recommended fuel guidelines and go out and run them with 15% nitro fuel.

The result? Overheated engines, pre-ignition, and blown glow plugs. Naturally the folks who ran into these problems couldn't believe the problems were due to an oversight on their part, so MDS engines must be bad.

Wild Foamy lives in the UK, and modellers there have the good sense to not use nitromethane unless they actually need it for some reason. MDS engines are also far more common on that side of the Atlantic, so parts and tuning advice should be much easier to come by.

The MDS .48 that he mentioned in particular has a solid reputation as a high quality, powerful, and reliable sport engine.

The Four Star 40 is a great plane. I had one (sold it.. not wrecked it.. ) and loved the thing. Mine had an OS 50 on board and flew just great.

One alternate suggestion would be to go slightly larger with something like the Four Star 60 or the Tiger 60. These larger planes offer better visibility (they are larger therefore easier to see) for the first time low-wing aircraft flyer. My second was the Tiger 60 with an OS 61 SF. What I really enjoyed was watching how the plane reacted by control inputs during landing. Clearly seeing the aircraft reaction to slight control inputs during landing which really helped me improve my landings. I could see where the plane was in the landing sequence, and at what time to properly flare the plane out for set down. The more I closely watched, the more I saw and the better I flew and landed.

Just my suggestion, however, I cannot fault your choice of the Four Star 40. It is a very nice flying plane.

DS.

My second plane was a Jumpin' Geo (feature twice in the RC magazine). It was originally designed and built for fun fly events.
I love my MDS engines. They haven't gotten past the breakin stage so I've only had 5% through them. I'll post on here in the engine forum if I have any problems with it. It'd be a few weeks as I have another set of projects going.
Sorry to hijack your thread, but 'A & B certificate'? What are those?
G

My second plane was the ARF PTS Mustang with working flaps, and no PTS stuff on it. Man, what a Hot Rod! My 3rd plane was the PnP Hanger 9 40 Cub. Plan to maiden that in two or 3 weeks, I have to check everything, re-enforce the landing gear and Servo Mounts in the wing... add a Fuel Dot and Charge Plug, then I'll have the wife paint the pilot.


Luftwaffe Oberst
Radio Aero Modelers Club
AMA District II
Pulaski, NY

ive run my MDS .40 on my trainer on 10% Model Technics with no worries (MT was the only fuel i can find with 18% oil), getting near half a gallon through it and the plug (OS #8) doesnt show any sign of wear and i havent had any trouble with pre-ingition or anything, can be a bit of a pig to start when its hot, but when its running its fine

trouble with the four star .60 is our runways are relatively small as the field is mainly for electrics, so i think a .60 would struggle to takeoff and land in a small runway

You next project... A scale catapult and arrester system....

Your runway is small?
How small is 'small'? Our runway is ~250 paces with only ~200 paces not covered in weeds. I have only minor problems landing my .46 size p-51 on the beginning half of the runway every time without flaperons.

My 4* will take off in less than 50 ft and if the wind is blowing you can land it where you want it. My Twist , 10 ft on take off and go vertical, you can darn near land it like a heli.
Alot depends on the plane , as to how much runway you need. If you fly jets , it better be a long one. lol. At our feild The runway is a 100ft long and goes up hill on one end. Our whole feild is 250ft x 250ft with corn planted on all four sides. Kinda like landing on an aircraft carrier but it not moving up and down.

my runway is aproximately... 50ft at the most but it is soft spongey grass, the wheels on my yamamoto tend to sink in if i leave it standing too long, the runway is surrounded by thick, knee high grass but i can manage to land my Yamamoto in it ok

LMAO at the catapult idea, ive always wondered if anyone who works in the navy has ever tried to launch an RC from one of those catapults they use for the jets...

2nd plane I'd recommend the four star. I moved over from electrics about 7 years ago and the four star 60 was my first glow plane. Easy to fly, land and is as aerobatic as I would ever need it to be. I matched mine up with a Thunder Tiger .91FS swinging a 14x6 APC.

A buddy of mine had an MDS .78 which had a lot of problems. He changed out the carb due to it running poorly on the stock one. After many kinks being ironed out, it ran fine.

Best of luck,

Foamy you need a Heli lol or may be ski`s

The A certificate is issued by the British Model Flying Association once a pilot has passed their "A" test, which is a general proficiency test conducted by registered examiners and most clubs in the UK require you to have passed it in order to fly unsupervised, which I guess is similar to your solo standard in the US. The B test is an aerobatic routine, again tested under formal examination and is often quoted as the minimum requirement for a pilot to take part in a public display.

Foamy, until you described your grass strip, I was going to suggest one of the Black Horse ARTFs as a second plane (super/travel/speed air) and whilst I love my super air, it does not love long springy grass! Well actually it's a bit happier now it's got an OS55ax in the nose hehehe

Regards,
Andy