Back in post #1,118, I attached a couple of pics of my Dynaflite Decathlon done up as a Scout - different color scheme, tundra tires and mentioned some details such as mandatory landing gear reinforcement. More significant info in later posts.

You will notice that it was between 15-16 pounds and flew like a pig. That was with my Super Tigre 2500. Changed that out to a Super Tigre 3000 which has a lot more torque and generates considerably more thrust. Still flew like a pig. Sank like a lead brick when the engine stopped.

To say it was sluggish when in flight is a great kindness or out and out charitable lie. It was horrible. Of course, a couple less pounds weight would have been a good start for improvement. So i tore out the smoke system - pump, tank, lines, filter, mounting board and all. That helped.

My suggestion is to keep the plane as light as possible.

Nevertheless, i was so displeased with it that it went on the block immediately and I haven't looked back since. I cannot believe that anyone would want to experience extreme masochism by building a second Dynaflite product. The kit was horrible. Numerous parts were missing, both wood and windows. Plans were inaccurate. Hopelessly weak landing gear. Instructions were in bad order and difficult to interpret. And the in air performance did not make up for any of the sins along the way.

One last point. ScaleRCpilot , how did you manage to get a one piece wing? The plans show and the kit builds into a two piece wing, with an aluminum joiner tube.

Overall, it was a great project to test my building ability, patience and endurance (seven years under construction). Sure looks nice in the pics too. Other than that, glad that it's gone.

Took a lot of heat and personal insult when first posting about this plane although later vindicated when others admitted that what I experienced was what they found as well.

As for flight characteristics, check out this short video showing its rotten glide characteristics when dead stick - something else I learned too:

I totally agree with your assessment of the dynaflite super decathlon kit.
I am in to the second year of building because of all the errors in the plans & instruction book.
I have re desighned a lot of the kit & replaced a lot of bsd wood. Dynaflite did replace some missing parts.
I am down to finishing the top cowl & bottom fuse formers.
Cant find the tail wheel mounting parts will have to guess what the plans show.
I only hope what i end up with fly's well. As this will probably be my last airplane build as i am 88 1/2 years old. Well keep em flyin they say! Frankie g trainermaster80

Well, my opinion, its a kit. They are gonna do things cheap. Just looking at the plans I can already tell that when I build mine, most of that 3/8x1/2 is gonna go away, that's overkill. If you don't like a model while building it, you for sure aren't gonna like how it flies either. My I replaced a lot of wood in my Tiporare because what was in the kit was not up to my standards. The good thing about a kit is that you can make changes easily, if its an ARF, you don't have much choice, and on top of that, someone else built it. I don't expect mine to be a glider, Im guessing that's why they put an engine in it. I have an ASW-17 if I want a good glide. I have seen quite a few of these that fly quite well. I hope mine is one of them. I plan to shave off as much weight as I can. Will be putting a Fuji BT-34 in it. just need room to spread my wings (so to speak)

( I mean no offense, just every plane is different, same with opinions )

Trainermaster80 - still building and flying at 88 ---> AEWSOME

Flyit or crash trying,
i just finished my fuse except for the front botton. I either misplaced or never had the tail wheel mounting ply parts.
Iguess i will try to wing it. Gould use the traced parts diagram.
I made a sliding try as one of hte previous post showed. Thanks to him for tha.
I followed matt newmans suggestion on losing tail weight. I have the tail fathers done & both wing halfs done so far.
I have made many modifications to the building as the plans & instruction book leave a lot to be desired. I guess i have built too many lou andrews ameco kits& sig kits. Both a joy to build. Good wood, plans, instructions. My idea of a good kit.
I have bult dome other kits but some left somethig to be desired.
I agree with you if you have a little experiance you can modify a kit where needed.
Good luck with your nuild and flying your dynaflite supper decathlon, tranermaster 80 frankie g
thanks for the compliment on being 88 & still buildin 7 flying.

Can anyone help me, i cant figure out how to vent my 24 oz tank & fill it from the outside of the fuse.
I would like to use the three tank tubes . 2 for vents & 1 for engine supply, need to fill frome the outside also.
I have purchased a fill port but cannot find where to put it as the cowl covers the tank area of the fuse. I also have the same problem with the smoke fuel tank.
Any help much appreceated p.s. How far away from thr firewall will the dle 35ra engine draw fuel? I am thinking i will need long fuel lines to solve problems.
88 year old modler frankie.. Tranermaster80
thanks much EMAIL ME A DIAGRAM IF YOU CAN [email protected] HELP! THANKS

Contrary to the experience some of you have had, I built this plane in the space of 4-5 months with no issues. Flew great with a DA 50 shoehorned in up front but if I were to build another I would go with the DLE 30 or 35. Fun plane. Build light ie. carve out the insides of the gigantic wing tip blocks.

could you tell me how you plumed your gas tank? did you use the three leads one to the tank & 2 for vents. if so, how did you put your vents to the outside of the fuse?
i am down to finishing my fuse now. made a slider tray for the gas tank. have fuel ports but how & where to install them i am still trying to figuere out.
can you help
i am na88 yr old modler. still flying & building
thanks frankie trainermaster80

Glad to hear you are still building and flying! I generally set up a two line tank. The fuel filler line exits to a fuel fill port on the side of the plane. There is a tee on this line. One end of the tee goes to the carb and the other end goes to the fuel pickup in the tank. The second line is the vent/overflow line that runs from the tank overflow and exits out of the bottom of the plane. I usually fabricate a brass tube (soldered to a small mounting tab) that I fasten to a former near the front of the plane. The tube from the tank vent attaches to the brass tube. This is a simple system that I have used on everything from 30cc sport planes to my 200cc quad IMAC plane.

Lead trumpet,
thanks for your suggestions. I bought a fuel port that has a t & a fuel fill dot.
I pretty much had decided to do as you said some time ago but i wanted to use a three line system
as i fly inverted a lot so that vent is desirable. As you confirmed out the bottom i had already made a brass tube for that but have not installed it yet. I was confused that the cowl would cover up where i needed to install the fuel port & vent tubes.
So i got out the cowl an partly installed it & found it did not cover as much as i had thought. So i can get every thing installed. I only have to figure out where to exit the up vent tube. Possibly out the side. Too much airplane above the fuel tank. To stick it out the top ugly!.
I was also worried about long fuel lines & fuel draw, but guys are mounting their fuel tanks at the cg. So i don't guess that will be a problem.
I either misplaced or never had the tail wheel ply mounting parts. There isn't enough info on the plans to duplicate them. I will wrestle with that. Perhaps some one who is still building the kit will send me a full size tracing of those parts. That would be easy for me to duplicate.
I have a DLE 35 RA for it. I have weighed every thing that goes in the plane except the covering & i am at 13 1/4 pounds. So it looks like i might make my 16 pounds goal.
I did have a lot of problems interpreting the plans & instruction book & bad wood.. I guess i built too many Lou Andrews & SIG kits and am spoiled by their good plans,wood & instructions.
again thanks for your help it's always nice to have a back up buddy when you are building something new.
How much did your plane weigh & are you still flying it?
Frankie trainer master 80 i was an engineer & teacher for 31 years did a lot of training.ALSO AS A FLITE INSTRUCTOR R/C. TRAIN GUY'S TO DO CUBAN 8'S HA! HA!

The two line system that I described works just fine for inverted flight. There is, however, nothing wrong with the three line approach. With the three line system you have one line dedicated to putting fuel in the tank, one line is the vent line (out the bottom of the plane) and the third line runs to the carb. I can't remember what mine weighed but if you can get your in the air at 16 pounds you should be fine with the DL35. My flying field is at an altitude of 3200' so jamming in a DA 50 made the plane a lot more fun! It is not designed to fly like many of today's super light 3D aircraft. It's an old school heavier design and it flys on the wing. I think that some of the complaints you read about this model comes from guys who expect everything to fly like their Extreme Flight Extra!

I agree with your comments. I am flying a sig 4 star 120 with a super tiger 2500 engine, it is a hoot to fly, does inside & outside cuban 8's with ease.
I don't expect my decath with the dle 35 ra engine will be as zippy but it should be able to do rolls & cuban 8's, as well as inverted flight.
I plan on installing a sullivan smoke system.
One you tube video posted on the rcu dynaflite super decath shows a modeler flying his at a very low altitude over the runway inverted with smoke.
This exited me quite a bit.
I will persevere and finish my decathlon.
Help when i need it from guy's like you are greatly appreciated
thanks & happy flying..

Anyone still following these super decathlon post still building one?
I need help with mine.
The tail wheel mounting ply parts were missing.
When i contacted dynaflite they said the kit is no longer available but tower hobby is still selling them.
Dynaflite wanted to charge me for a whole ply sheet that contains the tail wheel mounting parts.
Can any one who has access to the carrier ot the parts trace them for me & mail it to me,
i am 88 years old & still building & flying
but cant glean from the plans or instruction book how to reconstruct the 2) tail wheel ply parts.
Please help anyone?
Frank gruswitz
7636 jerome ave
st louis, mo 63143

thanks trainermaster 80.. I taught nite school 25 yrs & flite traied lots of modelers.

First off, just so that you know, the tower/Hobbico group took over Dynaflite many years ago. So this is like dealing with either the lef hand or the right hand. And each one gives you a different story. Sometimes called the run around.

When I got my kit and had a look, about 12 years ago, I saw that the tailwheel system as supplied was not so good and didn't worry since I'd planned on installing a scale looking leaf spring version as a replacement.

The solution was to just glue a piece of plywood, cut from scrap in the kit, to the bottom of the fuse at the tail and mount the leaf spring to that.

If you read through all the posts, you'll see that the supplied tailwheel is just as shoddy as the rest of the kit since it breaks off very easily - a guaranteed failure, if you will.. However, if you must, it's no big deal to cut a piece of wood to the shape of the rear fuse where it goes. Just take the shape and size from the plans. That goes for the vertical piece as well. Those abandoned original pieces may still be in my kit box.

There's no way that I'd buy a whole sheet of die cut parts just for those two little pieces, which I'd junk anyway in favor of a good tailwheel.

do335a,
thanks for the info on the tail wheel ply parts.
i have called h
Hobbico a number of times both on the dynaflite problems , and on the dle 35 Ra engine i bought for the dynaflite kit.
i am truly sorry i bought either as they both had a number of issues.
like you said all i ever got is the run around. if you as a question they come back, what is the part number of the part you wish to purchase. well some of the parts do not have a part number.
i am getting ready to drill & tap a hole in the dle 35 ra engine for a smoke system tap. i ask if the wall thicknes was thick enough to drill & tap 8-32 for pressure tap.
i have yet after almost a week got a reply.
as you said i'll measure up & make my own tail wheel mounting parts.
should noy be that hard to come up with something better.
thanks for you incouraging words

FRANKIE THE 88 YEAR OLD MODELER /FLYER. STILL AT IT BUT THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST YEAR. BUILDING.
I HAVE 5 PLANES TO FLY & IF I FINISH THIS DECATHLON & IT FLYS AS GOOD AS SOME ON R/CUNIVERSE WHO HAVE BUILT & FLOWN THE DYNAFLITE SUPER DECATHLON SAY IT DOES, THEN I'LL SHOUT WHOOPIE TO THE WIND & HAVE A BEER!

Frankie, the muffler should be fine to drill and tap but I would also use a dab of high temp. sealant on the threads to help keep it in place. No need to over torque the smoke nipple either.

Trainermaster80,
had a look in the remains of the kit box for my Super Dud and found the sheet which contained the tailwheel base - 2 pieces of lite ply. Traced those out and scanned the drawing.

Here it is. Of course the lines are not exactly straight. That makes things consistent with the rest of the kit.

Don't feel too badly about yours. Mine was missing several parts as well. The solution was to replace them on my own. Very reminiscent of my experience with Tower on a 1/3 size Christen Eagle and a Giant Aeromaster bipe. However, those disasters and the way they gave me the bum's rush are for another day. My experiencee is that with whatever you get and wherever you get it in this hobby activity you're virtually totally on your own, with the exception of stuff from Sig and Horizon Hobby.

do335a, THANKS FOR THE TAIL WHEEL PRINT.
IT'S MODELERS LIKE YOU THAT MAKES THE HOBBY ENJOYABLE IN SPITE OF ALL THE BAD KIT EXPERIENCES. I REALLY LIKED LOU ANDREWS DEMECO KITS THEY WERE THE CADILLAC KITS. AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED. STILL HAVE THE AEROMASTER, SPORT MASTER, MINI MASTER KITS. MAY NEVER GET AROUND TO BUILDING THEM AGAIN, BUT THE ONES I BUILT WERE A JOY TO BUILD & FLY
THANKS AGAIN. FRANKIE

Lead trumpet, thanks for the o.k.to drill the smoke tap on the dle 35 ra.
Will proceed carefully. Frankie

do335a
the prints you sent me are for the fusealage rear top & bottom, not the tail wheel mounting parts. i'll just whip something up out of 1/4 ply & epoxy it in. should not be too hard. i was just looking for an easy way out.
an "A" + for your efforts.
frankie trainermaster80

My apologies, Trainermaster80.
That's what happens when you rely on your memory of something that happened some 14 or more years ago. Have not looked in that box of bits for several years.

So I went back to the pics of the die cut sheets to locate the correct part. Dug that out since nothing gets pitched and prepared some new scans.

I've traced inside the shapes. So if you cut out the line drawing, cut to the outside of the lines.

Hope this helps you out.

THANKS YOU GO IT RIGHT THIS TIME. THANKS FOR YOUR HELP
I MADE ONE OUT OF 1/4 PLY. I WILL NOW BE ABLE TO CHECK HOW CLOSE I CAME. FRANKIE aeromaster80

guy's i i am sailing along on my kit build now that i have all the technical problems figured out or redesigned.
i have just made a mounting bracket for the smoke pump & smoke fuel tank. i have most of the plumbing & wireing figured out & the wing strut attachment ( got it from a post on r/c universe.
& also a cover over the landing gear i also got from an RC Universe post. Thanks to those modelers.
will run the DLE 35 RA 1st week end in OCTOBER & TEST THE SMOKE SYSTEM.
STILL HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO PRIME THE SMOKE PUMP
WILL START COVERING VERY SOON.. WHEN YOU GET SOME COVERING ON IT STARTS TO LOOK LIKE AN AIR PLANE COMING SOON.
T HANKS TO ALL THe GUY'S WHO POSTED GOOD INFO THAT MADE THIS PROJECT A LITTLE EASIER.
FRANKIE THE 88 YR OLD MODELER

Hello. Just bought this kit and would like to do this mod to the wing (post #592). Can anyone help, please? Thanks
(I tried starting a new thread regarding this kit/build but I cannot since I am a new member.. Introducing myself. Hope to hear from you guys soon!)

I am building one as we speak. I have not had any issues with missing parts so far. My fuselage is about 1/2 done. This is my second one. My first one was so heavy and I stalled it on take off. What I did learn was not to install the servos where they show. I had an OS 33 Gas Engine on it and I was so tail heavy when it came time to balance her. She weighed out at 19 pounds and a good part of that was lead to balance the plane. The one I am now building will be ready to balance once it is close to finished and the servos will be installed then. Keep the tail end as light as possible. As for missing parts, the kit is still available from Tower so parts should be available as well. Good Luck, Dave