That gear sure looks nice...

I've finalized a smoke system on my cub with the Saito 125 on it. I added a 10oz tank where the pilot sits and I figure that with the weight of the smoke pump gear and all that itis close to an extra pound at take off. I'm getting about 4 minutes of good smoke. The plane still takes off within a few feet with the extra weight, the only thing is I really wish I had a Saito 180 on this plane instead. For this seasonI think I'll leave it alone and flyit as is. Hindsight I should have put some proper door hinges, bigger engine and forked over the $78 for the Great Planes Piper gear like Bob did. Absolutely love this plane, though.A lot of fun, a good looker and enjoyable to fly.

I'll post a video of the smoke as soon as I can..

Vicarh,

You got it.I’ve got a busy period at work ahead, but promise some video soon.The smoke was a lot of work, but worth every bit of effort.The plane handles the extra weight of the system and if anything I’d go a 12 or 14oz tank on the smoke vs. the 10 I’ve got in it now.It really pumps out a good visible train of smokeand is an attention getter.I had it out this past Saturday on the final check-off for the smoke system.Finally, the cowl is back on the plane and everything is mounted properly with the system working flawless. At first I bought SuperDri but then at the Toledo show I picked up a case of B&B Specialties/Bennett’s smoke oil for cost reasons, I couldn’t pass up $14/gallon vs. $25 for the SuperDri at LHS.I only had a couple test flights on the SuperDri and now quite a few on the Bennett’s.I want to say that SuperDri maybe just a bit better, but not to justify the cost, especially at the rate that I’m burning 10oz per flight. I'm just about out of my first gallon of Bennetts.

I was struggling with the Cub running the 16x6 MA on the Saito 125.It was OK without the weight of the smoke system, but I never really felt like it had enough power to really pull through a loop and then with the additional weight it struggled not in lift or aircraft, but to pull itself around.I’ve since changed to a 16x4W APC and remarkably I don’t even question the power anymore. I should have never been running a 16x6 with this plane and engine.The 4W does get a little ofthat tip speed noise on occasion, but it’s forgivable as the engine really swings it good and it’s all about thrust on this plane, not speed.It has plenty of power and pull with that prop to pull that plane with full tanks of nitro and smoke oil through a loop and just about hover.

I’m using a small pump from a Swiffer Sweeper floor mop and a speed controller.I mix the speed controller onto a switch and a digital slider on my Aurora A-9.So when I hit the switch the motor runs at the speed I dialed in to get the right amount of oil delivered to the exhaust header.I drilled and tapped the exhaust header just above the bend toward the head on the Saito.From there I also wrapped some small copper tube around the header about 8 times to serve as pre-heat.You can find this in a Pep Boys or similar type store. I basted that copper tube in red high temp RTV and then wrapped it with high temp rubber tape in order to insulate from the outside air. I put some spacer material to raise the plywood sheet where the pilot mounts.Underneath that sheet I have a 10oz tank with a two line system.One line goes to a Robart fueler; then to a check valve and then to the copper tube and eventually to the fitting going into the header.The other line goes to a vent overboard so when I overfill the tank it squirts out the side just a bit.The small motor and pump unit is mounted to the underside of the forward ply sheeting inside the cockpit.It took work to find a speed controller that would work off of a 5 cell NiMh pack.I feed the speed controller off of the 2700mAh receiver pack.However I use a regulator to feed the receiver.I use 5 cell packs and regulators on all my 2.4 to avoid the catastrophic voltage sag scenarios.The current usage from the pump is minimal as the motor is barely working when running.After a full day’s worth of flying with smoke every flight I may burn 1-1.5amp out of that pack.A self contained Sulivan or similar unit would be a lot easier if you want to fork over the funds.I just had extra parts laying around.

This plane is the best $200 I’ve spent on a plane in this hobby.A lot of people will look at a Cub and joke or think how boring it is or some other notion.But really, this plane is a lot of fun to fly and takes more skill than most people would assume.

Attached are three pictures.The first one is the Left cabin door open showing the tank, pump and what not.The second & third pictures are the header modification.