THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE WAY to do what you want is to send that G38 to Ralph Cunningham and have him install his electronic ignition -- not expensive ($150 range for a G62--not sure about a G38) You will lose the vibration and about 1 1/2 lbs if you are using s spring starter. On my G 62 I picked up about 200 RPMs.

Jim,

The SIG Extra 300 XS with the DA-50-R flew very well last sunday. Good power with throttle management. The engine is in it's break-in period. Not long verticals.

Lands with two clicks of throttle. Very good.

Hope this helps.

How did it balance out with the DA-50 in it. Mine came out nose heavy and I had to add almost 8 oz of lead to the very tail end to get it close to CG.

Jim,

Mine is 25% of original CG, no added weight. Flew very well, because I moved the tank to the CG and of course the new CG changes taking reference from the original CG (Check the review of the GP Patty Extra 300 S on the Great Planes Website). This means, with 25% on mine with the tank on the CG is not the same at yours on 25% with the tank in front.

TMI!
Shazaam, OK, now I'm really confused. Pardon my ignorance for not being able to follow your reply but I wasn't asking specific CG locations, rather, I wanted to know if using the DA-50 required you to add any weight to the tail or did it balance ok without additional weight.
I too have moved my tank to the CG but my engine is just too heavy and requires weight in the tail to balance. Trying to get away from that. Less nose weight, less overall weight, better performance.

I've been doing some looking around on the net for engines.
There are just too many choices to say one is better than the other. Each engine probably has its' own little niche that it fits perfectly but I'm unable to find one that appears to fit my
Extra 300 XS.
One guy says the DA-50 flies great, OK fine, it costs $549.00 w/o muffler or mount.
Another says look at the ZDZ-40, Ok fine, its' $460.00 w/o muffler or mount.
Looked at the RCS 140 and 180. ????????
It appears that most of the engines out there are going to weigh in at almost what I have now, so there won't be any real advantage to changing.

I need something that will pull this lead sled and not need tons of wieght in the posterior to balance.

And so the search continues.........................

JimRoss,

The DA-50R come with aluminum standoffs. Also, the AUW should be around 3.75 lbs (including ignition, battery, and standoff mount). That will save you 12oz. or so if your G-38 weighs 4.5lbs. On top of that you will be gaining A LOT of power!

Jim - that is an awfully sobering picture! Sure serves as a nasty reminder of the danger of playing with the bigger engines - not that the smaller stuff can't hurt you as bad. I've got experience with big Super Tigre's and a Quadra 35 but am really just getting in to big gas (G-62). I've got a CH ignition conversion with electronic advance on it which sure makes hand starting easier, but I'm always so conscious of that prop! Kind of reminds of the old saying - you wouldn't flip a lawn mower on it's side and hand start it by flipping the blade, yet we are sort of dealing with the same kind of hazard with our big birds. Scary sobering stuff. Really sorry to see/hear of what happened to you and your hand. Hope you heal up quickly. Cheers

Thanks Daryl,
Actually I'm back to using the hand without any problems at all.
It just looks a little silly when I try to thumb a ride.

Played with the radio last night and I can operate it with no problems. Hasn't affected my typing at all. Can't get any worse than it is now. The only real problem I have noticed is I can't pick up anything small with that hand. Gotta use the left hand to pick up small stuff.

Jim,
Love your avater, at least you have a BIG grin on your face ha ha. I have a used 3W24 with an extra ignition module, wrap around Pitts muffler and apc18x10 prop that I'll sell for $350.00 shipped. I also have brand new header, connector, clamps and the large 35cc Macs pipe I will sell for an additional $100.00.
DKjens

Jim,

No added weight to the Extra 300 XS with the DA-50-R. The engine-ignition-muffler-battery combo is around 4 lbs. If you have more weight than this, you should add weight on the tail.

A ZDZ-40RV combo is around 3.9-4.0 lbs.

I don't know about the first shipments of SIG Extra 300 XS (Without aluminum angles on the firewall), but my owner's manual says that you can place a FPE 2.4 on this plane (40cc gas).

Certainly you can put one there but you are just asking for what happened to me. The firewall is not glued in sufficiently or braced or pinned. It looked like mine was put in with a light coat of CA. Well at 7000 rpm turning an APC 20 X 8, it came loose and ate my hand. Just make sure you fix the problem before it fixes you.
My nub thumb is no party I assure you and I DO NOT want to see this happen to anyone else. Learn form my screw up and fix it.