orthobird

My Feedback: (1)

i sold mine.  was a lovely plane.  never had any major problems with it.

WacoNut

Scott,
Thanks for the tips. I will pass it along to my buddy and recommend he replace the hinges. Looks like Robarts will swap right out. This is my 1st time assembling an ARF, always build kits or from plans. Personally I prefer to build my own stuff.
Thanks Again!!
Anthony

WI53072

Waco,

You are spot on with your assessment of the needed mods with this plane. In fact, the only difference is that I used Digital Hitech servos. Other than that, the mods from the heavy duty Dubro hardware to the DLE 35 are exact changes I made to this plane. Check out some of my pictures on how I got the engine installed. It took some doing. Yep, I also used magnets to keep the door closed as well. And yes, the hinges were upgraded from the supplied ones to Robarts. Don't forget to clean the Robart hinge points in some denatured alcohol prior to epoxying them to the aircraft.

Last week we maidened the plane successfully with no major hick-ups. The CG is pretty close with only a slight amount of lead added to the firewall. The DLE is a nice fit for this aircraft. Be careful with getting enough cooling into and out of the cowl. Be sure the cooling fins have max airflow on them. My only problems to resolve yet include 1. Improving my cooling, 2. Obtaining better throttle linearity meaning that the throttle needs to be spread across a greater amount of stick travel. Presently, the throttle is great on the low end, but once I get half it is at max. I run a Dx7 so no throttle curve to help this.

The plane flies great! and if you have any issues email Dan Spears, he is an excellent customer service rep and is very attentive to RC Guys customers.

Let us know How you are doing with the SD, you will love how this plane flies.

Paul

WacoNut

Thanks for the tips,
I am not sure which radio my buddy is going to use yet. I am trying to talk him into a Hitec Aurora 9, that is the radio I use and I am familiar with it. Yes it does have throttle curve and I have the throttles adjusted for smooth transition on all my models, great feature. This will be his 1st gasser so he is treading into unchartered territory for him. He is getting jealous of watching the rest of us just gas up and go

Thanks!!
Anthony

WI53072

Guys,

Just upgraded to a Dx8! Now I have throttle curve capability. However, now I have to learn all about this newer radio which is night and day different from the original version Dx7 I was using. Cant wait to get the bird back in the air. It is a great flyer! [8D]

Paul

simonh7474

Hi guys, I've been flying the decathlon on Balsa USA 1/4 scale edo floats this summer. The model flies beautifully, great set up.
Power is from a DLE35RA. 19*10 APC prop, rarely need more than1/2 throttle for anything.


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tQGgZ7MpV4o&feature=plcp

WI53072

Rainy today so no flying. I thought I would report in and say that the recommended control surface throws and recommended aileron differential and rudder/aileron coupling are just about perfect for the plane. I have found out that the need to check for hardware that may of vibrated loose has become very important part of pre-flight checks on this aircraft.

WacoNut

I am making progress on the one for my friend. I have the radio gear installed and the engine mounted I need to install the fuel tank and smoke tank and pump. He is only going to have a 20oz smoke tank. This will be his 1st gas plane and he is anxious for me to finish it up.
Later!!
Anthony

WI53072

Hey Waco,

What brand smoke pump are you using? Also, can you drill and tap the stock muffler (DLE35) for the smoke system? and if yes, where is the optimal position of the smoke fluid tap on the muffler??

Thanks!

Paul

WacoNut

Paul,
He bought a Sullivan Skywriter system. He also purchased a B&M smoke muffler for the DLE-35. It comes with 2 fittings already installed. The stock muffler is very thin and not really beefy enough to drill and tap IMO.

I installed a 16oz fuel gas and a 20oz smoke tank. The smoke tank was installed on the side closest to the door and the back of the tank is on the servo tray to keep from affecting the CG as much. The smoke pump is mounted on the servo tray along the door just aft of the smoke tank. The batteries are mounted on a shelf just aft of the servo tray. I built and installed the shelf. The plane balances with no added weight.

I wrapped up the plane this past Sunday and my friend came over and we ran a tank of gas thru the engine and taxied it around the yard. The engine runs great and everything checked out good on the taxi test. If all goes well we will put the maiden flight on the plane one evening this week.
Later!!
Anthony

WI53072

Hey Waco, I am thinking of going out tonight to fly mine. I will try and get someone to take some pictures of it. I think outside of the smoke system, your friends Decathlon is identical to mine. It appears you used the same heavy duty Dubro hardware. Be sure to check and see that they stay tight. I used blue locktite on mine, seems to be working so far. What I have noticed is that the Super Decathlon like to pitch it's nose upward under high throttle advances. I am going to put it into an upside down 45 degree up-line and see if my CG balance is off a bit.

Presently, I am working on assembling a ARF I had sitting around forever. The Great Planes 1/3 Scale Pitts Special. I will use the same hardware package on this plane but will be powering it with a DLE 55RA and be using Hitech HS5645MG's on it. I hope maybe to have this done by the of September and maybe maidened shortly there after. It is a really cool airplane!

Paul

Paul

WacoNut

I use the heavy duty Dubro hardware on all my gassers and it has worked good for me. This plane is my buddies 1st gasser so he is in for a treat. He has been flying .40 size sport models.

I thought about getting one of the RC Guys Pitts but I have to say I am not much of an ARF guy I like to build too much. I have a 1/3 Spacewalker getting ready to hit the build table.
Later!!
Anthony

smdub

Old thread but I did a search and can't find anything. Do the wing struts on these go on/off easily/quickly? I need the wings to go flat into a bag for storage & transport. Looking at the manual on the RCGuys site, the aerodynamic boots on the ends of the struts are 'taped on' (or 'use silicone for a more permanent install').

BillG1

Old thread indeed, and late reply to the wing strut question; my wingstruts require four bolts for attachment to the wing. Two for main struts, and two for the jury strut clamps. I just place wing with struts in the backseat of my truck. I have plans to eventually modify the strut/wing attach similar to the Bill Hemple 25% Decathlon. They use an aluminum bracket on the wing, with a joint at the end of the strut, for a folding strut. Very nice, but that's a $600 ARF, vs. $499 for RC Guys.

On my RC Guys SD I installed a VVRC 40cc twin, with the 1/4" spark plugs. Flies with enough power to easily loop from level flight, not unlimited vertical, but fun enough for a 16lb. plane. Had to cut cowl for left side spark plug cap. I also did the right side, but it was not totally necessary. Still getting used to how she flies; very different that my 25% Edge, Yak, ARS, etc.

I tried attaching pics but I don't have enough posts yet...

rsrguy3

As usual, I'm way late to the party on this one. I found a NIB SD locally, and was wondering... If I end up having to recover it, is there a better/ more scale cowling available out there that will fit? The other curiosity I have is how this flies in comparison to the dynaflight SD? I still have partially built df I ended up with from a trade deal...

s3nfo

My Feedback: (14)

Don't know about the DF, but the RCG SD is a hoot. I had 599 flights on my and hit the barrier fence and broke off 6" of the right wing, bent the wing strut and broke loose the right landing gear plate. Flew it once around the field with all the broken parts, and it flew fine, just to get 600 on it..... Gave it to a friend who fixed it and is still flying it.

rsrguy3

Nice, I have a gas motor I'm trying to ID, I just need it to be big enough to work here at altitude... Once I figure that out, I should be building.

dhal22

Awesome. Great story.

TNBUGGY

Hello, I know this is a old thread but I am hoping someone with one of these can help me. I just bought a Decathlon and got all the way home and realized I dont have the wing tube. Any way someone can tell me the size I need to order for this plane?

ehop

My Feedback: (1)

I have an RC Guys Super Decathlon in my hangar. I'll measure the wing tube diameter and length and post it here for you.

ehop

My Feedback: (1)

The factory aluminum wing tube is exactly 1” OD and 29 3/8” in length. Wall thickness is 3/64”. Hope this helps.

Rob.ball

long shot but do u still have this ?