Hullo All,
I have a Midwest Mach I kit a bought about 25 years ago. Now its a classic (unlike me, who just gettin' older). I've been thinking about building it. I've read that these planes end up weighing 8lbs or so. I'm thinking I'll glass the wing, fusalage, and paint the whole plane, this will add some weight as opposed to plastic covering.
What kind of motor would you all recommend for this project?
What do you thnk about retracts or SPA legal fixed gear. And I never used retratcs before who makes the best ones for this plane?
Cheers!

The Mach I is a thing of beauty in flight with retracts! The nose was especially designed with a flat area on the bottom to make the nose gear installation easy. Back in the day Rom-Air were the retracts to have but they are no longer are in business. In my opinion the Spring Air retracts are one of the best. I would think you should be able to build it with tri gear retracts and be less than 7 1/4 lbs.

Norm Page would be proud!

If you plan to fly in SPA events they do not allow retracts to be retracted in flight and most use an OS 91 4Ss for power. I noticed that you are in CA so I do not think SPA has reached that far yet. I’m not a fan of 4S engines and I fly with my gear retracted so that gives me a free pass on SPA events.

JV,

Definitely build the plane!!! It is a nice flying, quick vintage bird. As for retracts... The easiest to install are the pneumatics.... but the least expensive are the mechanicals, which are also a bit more reliable. If you do plan on flying an SPA event you can always leave the gear down and cover over the wheel wells. The plane just flies much better with the wheels up, and that doesn't even cover how much better it looks! For an engine I would suggest as OS .61/.91 FX. Light/reliable and more than enough power for a Mach One. If you really want the fastest plane at the field, look into the Jett engines....I'm sure they can hook you up with enough power. One other solution for mega power would be a YS .60 or .61. In good condition, they put out more power than you would ever need. I would not put a 4 stroke in the plane as you will end up with all types of balance problems plus the front end is simply not wide enough to put in a 4 stroke and make it look right. Paint done correctly doesn't weigh any more than Monokote. Quite honestly, I think a lot of people are parroting what people said back in the days of people putting on K&B Paint by the pints!!!....besides... I also wonder if these people have ever painted an airplane.. anyway....Have fun with the build... if you have any questions, I would be happy to help.

Dan

Carolina Custom Aircraft

Am building a Mach 1 from Norm Pages original plans at the moment. Have pics if you would like them. Let me know. Will be running a OS 91fx. Tuned pipe. Spring airs. Should be nice. Had one with a webra .61 speed when I was a kid. Trip down memory lane for me.

choppercopper,
It be nice if you posted some build photos of your Mach I. Isn't a piped .91 a bit over kill or is this a mad max thingy. I'm thinking about using a Jett .76 but the OS is a good idea.
Cheers!

Yes...Total over kill!!! As you have picked up...these birds can tend to get heavy. I like the extra power plus the tuned pipe out the side is so "70's" I love the look. Make no mistake....this will be a rocket. If you up rate the engine make sure you build STRONG! The os .91 weighs exactly the same as the .61. go for the 91. The Mack 1 looks sensational in the air. Fast and low it almost has a pylon racer look. I will just be using it as a sport model....we dont have SPA in Australia so it doesn't matter. Retracts are also nice but are a very tight fit. Also consider making the undercarriage legs slightly longer if you fit the .91 as you will be swinging a slightly bigger prop and ground clearance is tight already. All in all, a great model...I looked for a kit for ages with no luck in Australia and huge expense getting one out of the US. This is the second one I have build so if I can help in any way I will be happy to. Good luck and keep us posted on the build.

Cheers Roger.

PS: I'll try and find my pics...if I cant I'll take some new ones!

Roger,

Don’t forget if you need longer gear struts you can easily notch the leading edge of the wing like I did on my Howard Engineering Kwik Fli III. There are some pictures on the end of the first page and the second page http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_24..._1/key_/tm.htm It is a common practice that works great and looks fine with the wing in place. The Mach I is a beautiful airframe and looks wonderful setting on its trike retract gear.

I recently bought a Tiger Tail kit off Ebay (yes, I'm the idiot who paid too much). But, growing up, I was in the same club as Jim Kirkland and have met and watched Rod Chidgey fly many times so I couldn't pass up on a chance for another Southern R/C kit. Even though I'm close enough to the SPA events, I'll probably not compete again but wanted to have another pattern ship as I had in the '80s. To me, they were the best flying planes that I ever had. I once had a Bobcat (.40 sized Tiger Tail) that was completely painted, had retracts and flew great on an OS .25 with a Mac's tuned pipe. It was light and flew terrific! So, it's true you can paint one that can come in light- look at the U/C stunters.

On my Tiger Tail, I plan to use a OS .61FX with an UltraThrust muffler. I considered the .91FX but the larger prop size would cause problems with the retracts due to the length of the gears. As for retracts, I going to use the old Southern R/C retracts now made by Dave Brown. They are super reliable and tough. No more trying to drive all three gears on one servo, though! That was the biggest headache of mechanical retracts. 2 retract servos- one in the wing and one in the fuse makes life a lot easier.

Finishing, of course, will be paint. Since we've lost Superpoxy, at last we have a pretty good substitute in KlassKote. Just remember, it's not important on how much paint you apply but how much you take off! Sandpaper is your best friend!
Frank

It’s hard to say you paid too much if someone else wanted it too. There aren’t many of the classics left so it’s better to grab them when you can.

Aren’t the Southern R/C / Dave Brown retracts the same as the Pro-Line retracts as well.

I commend you for spending a little more time to install all three retracts.

Yes, the Southern R/C/Dave Brown retracts began as the ProLine Retracts. I might be wrong but since Ron Chidgey is a mechanical engineer, he might have designed them. He designed the single stick assembly for the Futaba SS tx.
A Tiger Tail, Compensator, Intruder, Bootlegger, Beachcomber, Taurus, Mach I, Daddy Rabbit, etc. just doesn't look the same without a nose gear. If I'm going to the trouble of building a Southern R/C kit, by gawd, it's going to have a nose gear!
Southern R/C kits would have a good market today.