Flyfalcons

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their evenings last night and stayed safe. Despite representing Team Caribou Lou last night with my friends, I couldn't wait to wake up this morning. Having a PAU Sukhoi kit waiting for you in the garage can do that to a person. Had someone asked me last night to explain my excitement about this new release, I probably would have done so through interpretive dance. Fortunately for all of us, I think a build thread on RCU is going to be much more informative and involved. Having said all that, let's take a look at the kit! After all is said and done, the end result should look something like you see here in the ad in the January Model Aviation. Information on this plane should be posted soon on PAU's (Performance Aircraft Unlimited) website, www.flypau.com .

Flyfalcons

Here's how the kits arrive from PAU. One box containing the fuselage, tail feathers, landing gear, and hardware, and the other box containing the wings. The wings in the Sukhoi kits arrive in their custom wing bags. No need to order wing bags separately when you purchase a PAU Sukhoi! [8D] Overall the boxes are very good at keeping the planes safe in even the hands of the clumsiest delivery driver. The large box on the top of this pile is the Sukhoi fuselage box. The huge box beneath that is my 43% Edge kit. Yes, I'm now broke. Yes, it's worth it.

Flyfalcons

Here's a look into the fuselage box. The fuselage itself has the cowl slid on with a layer of insulation between the cowl and covering to prevent scratching. That entire setup is then enclosed in a plastic bag, and wrapped with more insulation. The tail feathers are in a separate compartment, and the landing gear and hardware are in their own compartment as well.

Flyfalcons

Here's the cowl. It's huge! A DA-50 will fit without having to cut holes for the cylinder. I am pretty sure the spark plug cap fits as well. Also is a picture of the pilot figure I purchased for this plane. It's a Great Planes 33% civilian pilot. I haven't made a mount for him yet but the sizing is perfect for this bird. If you purchase a pilot figure, I would highly recommend the 33% size instead of 25%.

Flyfalcons

A few shots of how the fuselage comes out of the box, as well as the canopy/hatch. The framework is very nice, with an included cannister tunnel. The canopy already has the tabs glued in and drilled, so no work is necessary on it unless you decide to install a pilot and panel (as I will be doing in this build). Also notice that the canopy and hatch are a one-piece lexan unit that is painted from the factory. The resulting "blended" look is fantastic and the design has held up well in flight-testing the prototype. Also, when I was flying the prototype I loved how the large fuselage would add lots of lift in knife edge flight. It made for wonderful rolling harriers as well.

Flyfalcons

Here are a couple more detailed shots of the canopy. Please excuse the pictures for being so dark; I was taking these at about 1:30 in the morning when I brought the plane home. Couldn't wait to open it up!

Flyfalcons

Some more detail of the fuselage. Here is the motor box construction. You can see the right thrust built into the firewall as well as the length of the motor box. Looking at the firewall, the "X" on the right is where you want to center your engine. The X is slightly offset to account for the right thrust in the firewall. Also shown is the cannister tunnel.

Flyfalcons

This is where all the gear is going to go. Easy access to the fuselage interior with the size of the hatch, and lots of room in this big fuselage for your electronics.

Flyfalcons

Here's the wing recess in the fuselage. With the rounded fuselage shape, the recess is the best method to ensure a nice gap-free attachment of the wing.

Flyfalcons

Before I go grab the wings, here's a size comparison to get an idea of the size of this airplane. That's not the 36% Edge cowl next to the Suk's cowl, that's the 43% cowl! This is one big, impressive 50cc Sukhoi! [8D]

Flyfalcons

Let's check out the wings! The wings arrive double-boxed, which is a good thing as you can see in the first picture. The outer box took some battle damage from the shipper, but the inner box and wings were in perfect condition. Each wing is wrapped in plastic with foam insulation around the fillet. Additionally, the wings are placed in the wing bags for shipping. The bags themselves look great and include a pouch for the carbon wing tube. The only building necessary with the wings is installing the servo and control horn. The hole for the control horn is predrilled as well, so the only drilling necessary will be for your servo screws. I would also recommend sealing the aileron hinge on the bottom with white or clear covering material. Lots of throw available for these big ailerons!

Flyfalcons

A few more shots of the wing. The more you look at this plane, the more detail you notice. I was preparing the wing for some hardware installation when I paused to admire the thought and work put into making the wing tips just right. This plane is definitely a cut above the average 50cc at your field! The third picture shows the servo location in the wing. Looks like a 12" servo extension will be just right for plugging into small extensions from the receiver. If you plan on plugging your servo wires directly into the receiver or power expander, you'll want 18"-24" extensions depending on receiver location.

Flyfalcons

Okay, enough drooling already! Time to do some wrenching on the plane. Since the wings are out, I decided to install the aileron control horns and servos. The hardware included in this kit is the same as other PAU airplanes, and the hardware on my 50cc Edge has been holding up great.

Before you thread the aluminum bolt into the aileron, make sure you are using the proper base. There are two base styles in this kit; four of them have larger countersinks and six of them have smaller countersinks. You want to use the bases with the larger countersinks on the head of the bolt. The bases with the smaller countersinks go on the other side with the towers.

Locate the bolt hole in the aileron and cut away the covering. Slide a base with the larger countersink on the bolt and thread it halfway into the wing. At this point I recommend dabbing some epoxy on the bolt to wick into the aileron as you screw it in. This will help harden the wood and prevent it from loosening up over time. Screw the bolt all the way to the surface of the wing.

Flip the wing over and slide a base with the smaller countersink on. Thread the tower halfway down the bolt, then add some locktite where the tower will thread onto. Screw the tower the rest of the way down, creating a snug fit against the base.

The included control horn has the anodized ball link already installed. Unscrew the black retaining bolt partway, add some locktite to the thread from the back side, then screw the bolt back into place. Next, take the included M4 bolt and thread through the horn. The horn has a nylon bushing to prevent slop and should be threaded with the M4 bolt before going on the aluminum control horn bolt. Once you thread the horn with the M4 bolt, thread it onto the aluminum control horn bolt. DO NOT locktite the horn, as it will rotate slightly on the bolt as the servo arm moves.

Flyfalcons

After installing the control horn on the aileron, it's a simple matter to install the servo and linkage. Cut the covering away where the servo goes, mark and drill the servo screw holes, wick some CA into those holes, and bolt the servo into place. [8D] The servo pockets are recessed and are sized to fit an 8611/8711 servo perfectly. They will of course also house a standard size servo (8411, 9156 etc) without issue. Thread an included Dubro ball link onto the included Hangar 9 pro-link (3" for the aileron), thread that assembly onto the aluminum control horn, and bolt to the servo arm. Lock the ball link onto the servo arm with the 4-40 lock nut. Keep in mind that the aluminum horns are threaded in the standard direction, so when you thread the Dubro ball link onto the pro-link that they will go on the reverse thread direction side. Note that the servo arm shown in the pictures is a 1" arm. To get full throw out of the ailerons you will need a 1.25" or 1.5" servo arm. I will be picking up that size arm the next time I go to the hobby shop.

Flyfalcons

Work progresses a little quicker when you aren't stopping to take pictures every step. Here's the completed second wing. These wings just need the hinge gaps sealed and they'll be ready for radio setup and flight!

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

So what does 30% equate to in span, length, and weight? None of that is noted on the PAU site. Price is missing too.

I'm just curious to see how close it is to the Wild Hare Sukhoi.

Edit,

Took another look at the site and found the info. my apology

astrohog

My Feedback: (1)

I can guarantee you this is FAR different than the W.H.!!

Just look at the attention to detail and you will see for yourself!!!

Scale side window, BEAUTIFUL wing fillets, scale landing gear, no silly wheelpants!! (it IS a Sukhoi right?), the PAU plane has an awesome on-piece canopy/hatch instead of the glue n screw canopy, etc., etc. PAUs Sukhoi was developed directly off of the full-scale drawings and has been in the works for quite some time.

PAU designs all their own planes and perform extensive prototype testing before ever releasing their designs for sale. Do not be fooled by imitations!!!

Regards,

Astrohog

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

I like the wing fillets but I have a feeling you'll find the glue and screw canopy/hatch assemblies were changed in the last production run. Your cowl assembly is identical to just about all of the W/H products. That's not a bad thing because it looks and functions better.

In the meantime I'm looking forward to the flight report.

Bass1

The specs. and photo are on page 41 of the new January's Model Aviation magazine. It does bare a striking resemblence to the full scale SU26. I have several VHS videos of that particular scheme from those old "Sport Aviation" TV shows. I used them for a Sukhoi build I did back 2001. I'll be watching this thread with interest myself![sm=49_49.gif]

astrohog

My Feedback: (1)

Do explain!!!

Astro

JEFFRO503

My Feedback: (9)

Well , this is one nice little Sukhoi. I love the suk's more than any other style. But astro....i hate to burst your bubble my friend , but PAU has never been on the same level as WH , in any aircraft. there are tons of guys that can chime into that. I am speaking of the PAU as of the last year or two though , and this new little sukhoi looks to be designed really well. I dig the canister tunnel as well. I wouldn't be baggin' on the WH's though dude , they have been known to be one of the best built RC aircraft on the market , with really good prices as well. Besides Tom , will bend over backwards to help any of his customers. On another note , i'd like to see some pics of it fully assembled , and possibly a video ryan when the NW weather clears up? great lookin' little bird!

P.S....i forgot to mention , those aluminmu control horn are SWEET lookin'!

astrohog

My Feedback: (1)

no worries Jeffro!

Not looking for an argument on a toy airplane forum, but I do feel I have the right to defend my statements, and I cannot for the life of me find where I have ever "bagged on WH"

I was simply pointing out the quality, scale features that the PAU Sukhoi posesses!

As I have said a million times before, opinions on the forum boards abound and are all a part of each consumer making his own decision on where he wants to spend his hard-earned hobby dollars!!

By the Way, you have a good eye for detail! I have been using the PAU hardware exclusively for three years and I love it!!

Regards,

Astrohog

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

I'm looking forward to see how this little girl works out in the air. The wing fillets are a very nice touch and hard to do.

That better Astrohog? I don't have any beefs, just curious about a lot of similarities. If she flies well all's good, right?

I covered the "do explain" part in our pm chain.

Flyfalcons

The prototype I flew last May was great. The large, scale fuselage makes for wonderful knife edge flight and easy, impressive nose-high rolling harriers. The outline of the production planes is the same as the final prototype but have been lightened by another pound due to some construction differences and thinner Lexan on the hatch. I think the first photo I saw of the original prototype was two years ago. Over the last two years, Ken and Herve have been working very hard to refine the design, keeping the weight down while maintaining the scale appearance and flight qualities. So many Sukhois available today have been stretched here, thinned there, etc. This plane really captures the look of the full scale.

Additionally, the included carbon fiber wing and tail tubes mean you don't have to replace heavy aluminum tubes to keep the weight down. Due to the size of the cowl on this plane (A DA-100 will fit without cutting it! Please don't do this though! ), you will want to use an engine that can swing a 23" prop comfortably. A 22" prop just doesn't have enough clearance to be very efficient on this plane. I'll be sure to post some flight video of this plane as soon as I get it in the air and am comfortable with the engine's performance.

JohnVH

My Feedback: (38)

you lucky dogs, looks great, so does that F5!

Cant wait to see it go!