Hey Greg.
Humidity is one thing we don't have too much up here in NE Ohio. I have glassed the bottom and have stopped cold. IT IS FLYING SEASON. It is hard to get back into the basement this time of year. I have been test flying and helping some new and older members to fly.
Good luck on finishing your bird and I await to see your updates. I'll bang mine out slowly over the summer.

I'll post a few photos when the glassing and sanding is done.

Greg

Looking forward to those pics Greg!

David.

David,

Didn't take any pictures at the "glassing and sanding" stage. I do have the airplane just about ready to fly now. Painting is done, the engine has been in and out (decided to start with the non-pumped Webra to keep it simple), the fuel tank and flight battery pack went in today, wing servos are installed, fuselage servo tray is in, wheels are on.... should get the remaining issues completed tomorrow, pushrods/control horns, hinge glueing.

Will take and post a few photos when it's all back together again. Have no free time to maiden my Deception until Thursday, so if the weather cooperates, that's when I'll get her into the sky.

Greg

David,

My promised photos..... it's not 100% done yet. Still need to fit the connecting rods and the control horns. Woops.... the first picture got loaded in LARGE size.

Greg

Greg,

outstanding job! Thanks for the pictures. I see that the scheme must be a personal favorite.

What material did you end up using on the wings prior to paint?

It looks like it will be a fine SPA ship and I like the vintage Webra and muffler. My very first 60 size engine was a used Webra just like that one. It currently sits in its box awaiting duty some day in the future.

David.

David,

Thanks for the kind words. You may remember that I first came up with this red-white & black paint scheme in the '70s for a Dirty Birdi, then the Tsunami got a similar scheme, and now this Deception. It has evolved a bit (the transition to stripes on the bottom and the interlocking color transition on the fuslage side) but I don't have to think too much about it anymore. This Deception was just such a pain to build (I made a bunch of dumb mistakes as it progressed that had to be "fixed"), I'm a little worn out with it. My last chore is to get the pushrods installed and we'll then be "...ready to rumble". The wing covering is white iron on coverite material (not plastic film). The Webra has a cylinder head from my first Webra in the '70s, and the muffler is the very same unit I used for the Troublemaker I flew at the '74 Nationals.

Greg

Very nice ship Greg, unique layout to the color scheme too. Enjoy her immensely.
hook

Outstanding ship!!!

Well Done!! Congratulations!!

Thanks guys..... the nice comments sure do help a person to forget the painful parts of the build. Hope I can get her into the air this coming weekend. Weather and a few last details to resolve.

Greg

Good looking bird Greg. I wish I could get back into the saddle with mine. Maybe I'm a liittle burned out after building two birds last winter. I promise to finish it up this year. Good luck on your first flight.

Thanks Ed... I know the feeling, your thread helped me keep going when I got tired of it.. Sunday might be maiden flight day, it's getting really close, but still working on installation of the flight controls. Throttle and ailerons still to be done, then a little paint touch up and I'm ready.

Greg

Here is why I'm not working on the Deception. The one on the right was built by my Dad in 1971. It has a Webra .60 Blackhead for power. Mine was built last year and has a Rossi .60. Both are Miles Reed designs and are still flying. Simple is easy and fun

My Deception is READY TO FLY...... Hooray

Tomorrow will be the day (unless the wind is crazy). Hope someone knows how to take pictures....

Greg

Very nice build Greg! [sm=thumbs_up.gif] Love the color choices!

How did the first flight go?

Thanks Ralph...

Five flights so far. Lots of power from the Webra Speed .61, but also, lots of problems getting a reliable idle. High speed landings have been really tuff. The old Webra carb just suddenly stiffened up. The servo absolutely could not move the carb barrel. Changed over to a Perry carb yesterday and it's considerably better. Should be able to fine tune the setup. The airplane flys great. Never done a decent knife edge until now. Hope I can fine tune my thumb timing for these maneuvers some too.

Greg

Nice photos!

I've always had good luck with Perry carbs. If all else fails, use a Perry!

With the recent inquires about my little Deception (which patiently awaits a finishing hand), I was curious as to how the other Deception builds and flying are going.

Greg, any further reports on your excellet SPA version?

Ed, you seemed to be at the primer stage. Have you been able to make any further progress?

David.

David,

I'm sorry to report that radio failure caused an early end-of-life for my Deception. Thinking about trying again over the winter. Learned a lot of things with the first one... should make a second build a little easier. The radio also took out my Ultimate biplane. That radio is now retired as well and has been replaced with a new Hitec Aurora 9 which recently completed a maiden flight in a new WM Intruder.

Greg

Greg,

OUCH ! ! ! I am sorry to hear about the loss of your Deception, it was a beautiful bird indeed....[&o]
I think you're really going to like your Aurora 9. I've heard and read allot of good things about that radio.

David

Greg,

I'm sorry to hear about the bad news. What radio was the culprit? Did you find out what the source of the problem was (Tx, Rx)?

In any event, it seems like your intruder should do you just fine for SPA. If you build another Deception, you could contemplate making this one BPA style (well, I think of it as CPA).

I've been poking around with the Deception plans a little bit to modernize them a tad and be able to produce a laser cut (they're not quite there yet). I'm not sure if you scratched yours entirely or whether you had some of it cut. I have an original BHE kit but the more I look at vintage kits, the more I realize they are kitted with lead weights for wood. As a result I was actually contemplating either a Deception 30 (49" span - a larger more sensible version to the 15) for an OS 32 SX or a 45 (56" span) for one of several YS 45's that I have to put to use. If I had the appropriate header I could even use one of the RE YS's with the pipe under the hood much like Jim Kimbro's later builds.

Did you use spars for your stab build or was it sheeting over ribs only. I'm trying to decide how to go about that.

What's up with Ed's build?

David.

David,

I think the problem was Tx, since that was the only common component (different airborne systems). HH suspected a battery issue, but I'm convinced that was not the problem. They eventually traded out my 3 year old DX7 for a complete NIB DX7 system. I certainly appreciate the professional way they handled my issue.

If I was inclined to go CPA style, I'd finish the Tipo thats been sitting in my store room for 30 some years, but the grass fields I have available would be really rough on retracts. I'll stick with SPA style... whether I compete or not, these work best on the fields I fly from.

I'd be really interested in the Deception plans you're working on... a full size version (or 3% downsized version - even better). I did use spars, top and bottom, in the stab I built. They just followed the high point of the airfoil, then 1/16" sheeting over ribs and spars. I've still got a couple Webra Speed .61s that need work... speaking of which, a new Webra carb eventually solved my "idle" problems.

Don't know about Ed's build, haven't been following it.

Good to hear from you again.

Greg

Hi Dave,
I haven't done a thing to it as we are still flying. I did pick up a new Hangar 9 Phoenix 7 w/ E-flight electric retracts. When the snow flies I will head down back into the man cave.

Well, construction of Deception number 2 is well underway. using foam cores this time. Wing halves and stab halves are skinned but not joined, and fuselage is framed. Will use the same landing gear from Deception number 1.

Still flying the Intruder when weather permits, and will use the Aurora 9 in the new Deception as well. For the record, the replacement Spektrum 7 from HH is continuing to work very well in a "Sonic" sport airplane. Will post some photos as the Deception build continues.

Greg