RVman: Congratulations for your covering job. Looks like we have 3 planes almost ready for their maiden flights.
As I initially thought I have the heaviest plane, but still I have a very light wing load and perhaps could be a little floater.
RVman: In the picture I can see the battery leads very close to the muffler, you should take care on that issue.
Rugerv45: Great idea to use a 6 volts battery, it will provide you with an extended flying time, as for the servos I would say that you will need to use the entire throw on all of them, because of their torque, your plane could be difficult to trim if you use 60% or less of their throw. I think like Tom about the prop, but if your engine could go with that size go for it, in this case the bigger the better, unless of course you are looking for velocity then you will need to increase the pitch and lowering the diameter.
How is the painting job?
I am planning to take my Cap to the field this Sunday for its maiden flight, I will have the camera ready to take some pictures to share with you. The only wish I have now is to see this bird flying and do not turn this thread into a rebuilding one.
Have a great afternoon.

I fixed my post, the prop is actually a 12x4 I was thinking 6 pitch because i usually use 11x6
The guy at my Lhs said that would be the max length for that engine.
The engine is well broke in and has about 25 flights on it, and ive only used 11x6 on it.
I hope the 12x4 will work well, as im looking for a little added torque, and willing to sacrifice some speed.

Ive seen the cap 40 flown before, and it really is capable of about any sport aerobatic maneuver you can throw at it.
Its going to be a fun plane

RVman: The high torque servos are definitely more than this plane would need. I had them on hand before i bought this kit,
I bought 6 of the s3010 and three of the s3305 from tower hobbies a while back.
I got a discount for buying a group of three, plus free shipping, i couldnt resist.
Id like to buy a 60 or 90 size kit later, if so ill probably use these servos in it and put standard bb servos in the cap 40.

Alfredbmor: The 6 volt battery will more than cover the draw of these servos, as far as longer flights, im not sure.
they draw more current than the standard servos.

Im switching to 6 volts on my planes and future planes, mainly for insurance. In the event one cell goes bad, the battery still has
4.8 volts remaining to operate the receiver/servos. If a cell burns out on a 4.8 volt battery, its good bye plane.
A friend lost two planes due to a burned out cell

The leads are not that close (a good 3" away) , but it doesn't matter since the battery has to go back into radio compartment to balance correctly. Maidan is tommorow, the plane should fly the same as my old one.

Tom

Tom:
I am very happy to say that we will have the maiden flight the very same day I hope we can post as many pictures as we can take. Yesterday I did an engine test and everything went fine, now I am counting the hours to have this very expected maiden flight.
Good luck and great fun!!!

So, I flew the CAP today, the plane flew very well. I need to take out the upthrust however, it climbs at full throttle when trimmed for half. I vaguely remember doing the same for my old CAP and that it flew better after taking it out.
Unfortunately my engine decided to lose a screw, the carb barrel screw almost fell out and then jammed the carb barrel at a high idle. I couldn't keep flying and it was too fast to land normally. Plane just mushed into wheat field with no damage. I will locktite that screw back in. I'm flying tommorow again so will get some pictures and better flight info then.
Hope your maidan went well.

Tom

Sorry to hear about your engine trouble,but congrats on no damage
I had the carb screw fall completely out in flight on my O.S. .46 on its fourth flight breaking in,
It lost power and started sputtering and landed dead stick.
Preflight I double checked every bolt on the plane but that one. I bought a pack of two allen head screws from the hobby shop.
Its good and tight now! I dont forget about it anymore.
I was all set to fly mine today,but the good ol Kansas winds were little too strong,maybe tomorrow.
I took out about half the up thrust on mine by placing washers on each side behind the motor mount.
I did th same on my 60 size extra 330L and there is very little change from half to full throttle. Although i dont usually need full throttle.
Good luck tomorrow[8D]

I had very good luck today wow. Engine trouble again, this time the carb hold down screw got vibrated loose and throttle went to full and stayed there [X(][X(]. Not at all good when it has to much power for level flight. Anyway i had to fly around for about 6 min with the engine screaming away at 16K+ and having to hear my tail surfaces fluttering every so often (really bad). When the engine finally quit i brought it in and the flutter had partially broken the stab on both sides, the rudder was also broken!!! [:-] Amazingly it also bent one of the aileron pushrods. No damage other than the tail surfaces, but i will seal up those hinge gaps when i fix it. I'm very lucky that the plane didn't disenigrate in the air.

On a positive note, the plane flew very well before that trouble began.

Hope you guys are doing better than me with your new CAP's.

Tom

Wow! Im sorry to hear that. [] stuck wot is my biggest fear next to loss of elevator control. I lost a model once due to a broken clevis,on the elevator.
Your locktite didnt hold? You could use an allen head screw and drill a small hole on one side and then run a wire through it and secure it to a motormount bolt. This would be a sure hold, unless the threads in the carb body are stripped.

Well, I took my plane out and did a range check, engine off, engine running, taxied it around. Then checked that all the bolts were tight conections secure, etc. Waiting for some lower winds.
Kansas is a windy state and if you dont like to fly when its windy, you dont fly much here.
The windy season should have let up mid June but hasnt yet, This is my first cap and I didnt feel comfortable maiden flying it in
15-18 mph winds. I could have flown i guess but in makes it a lot harder to trim.
Btw what throw settings did you end up going with? Ill bet you stayed on low rates for that flight though, o boy

OK guys this is my first test flight report:
Balanced as the book, low rates fuel 30% nitro and a Saito 91 ready for action:
Take off roll with out problems and lift nice (My personal kind of take off) climbing in a nice pace. once in an safe altitude needed no more than on click for trim on ailerons and was flying strait as a rule but noted the plane tail heavy or there is some issue with the down/up thrust of the engine, the plane flies with is tail down. Then I tried the knife and I was surprised how easy this little plane does the knife edge with out any input help.
I did a little trim on elevator to try to compensate for the tail (I believe that is a bit of thrust and a bit of tail heavy).
Landed just fine, with out bouncing and finishing in a relative fast roll.
On the second take off, the plane nosed over because of the previous trim that needed to compensate for the tail, I aborted the take off with no damage for the Cap.
Next attempt plane wanted to nose over again but I was expecting it so there were no problems this time, After a few passes I passed the radio transmitter to Raul, (one of the instructors) he did a few aerobatic maneuvers, and showed me one of the characteristics of this plane, the snap, when you input full elevators the plane just snap, even in low rates, so be careful with the elevator management. He also was impressed with the easiness of the knife edge, After a little routine of aerobatics, my friend Carlos next to me (Another instructor and avid plane builder) told to Raul (the instructor that was Flying my plane) that the engine was getting hot (Yesterday we was over 40o) and told him that he better land the plane but suddenly the engine quit and an emergency landing was on. Plane was coming downwind but the instructor wanted to land upwind so he turned the plane (very far from us) upwind and landed with little or non accuracy because of the distance sight so the plane hit the ground with one wing and landed with out damage.
Inspecting the plane my friend Carlos told me that I should better take a closer look to the engine, firewall and a bunch of bolts so the day ended with a complete plane ready for the next weekend.
I can resume that I should need to check the engine down/up thrust and that is the only issue that I found that need to be corrected.

Here are a few pictures of the plane.
Thanks.
Alfred.

ruger, the carb barrel screw was locktited, not the carb hold down nut. For the control rates, elevator, ailerons are about 40 degrees, rudder is 45. I fly with a lot of expo on all surfaces, about 65 - 70%.

alfred, not sure why it would be flying tail down, you can try moving cg forward a bit though. I would take out the couple degrees upthrust that is built in. I agree with the knife edge, this plane does it very well, knife edge loops are pretty easy to do.
The plane will snap when it gets heavier, that is what crashed my old one when i was going too low/slow. Also there is that mid travel in the elevator where they will snap, however that is why the CAP's do some of the best snaps, spins etc. If i pull elevator full throw (40 degrees) right away, the plane just stands up on its tail, no wing drop.

Tom

Thanks for the advise Tom, I think that I will start playing with the CG if this does not fix the issue then I will move the engine's thrust.

Here is what the flutter did to the stab on all four sides. I used thin CA to wick into the joint to fix as there was no gaps. Got really lucky on this one...

Tom

Alfredbmor:
Congrats on your flights, glad to see maiden flight day for you.
Sounds like your plane is in need of cg adjustment, however i have spoke with some pilots who prefer their plane slightly tail heavy for aerobatics.
After a good rain yesterday the grass was only a little damp this afternoon, and low wind So i got my plane ready for flight.
I had installed a 12 oz. sullivan fuel tank, so after filling i removed about 2 oz.s in keeping with 10 0z. recommendation for first flight and trimming.
I double checked engine and engine mount bolts, servo screws, control horns screws, and after satisfied everything was tight,
It was time for range check and flight.
Take off was very smooth and straight with just a nudge of right rudder. A couple clicks of right aileron and couple down elevator trimmed it for level flight at 3/4 throttle.
One thing the inst. manual omitted was adding differential to the ailerons. I set mine at 3/8in. up and 1/4in. down to help with rolls and aerobatics.
Elevator low rates at 5/8in. up and for outside loops- 3/4 down. Rudder was full deflection
No exponential on low rates. On high rates i left all control surfaces full deflection (for now) with 40% expo on ailerons/elevator and 60% on rudder.
The plane tracked very well after trimming, I flew a couple rounds to get the feel for how it reacts, then took her a little higher for safe margin and tryed a couple inverted passes.
It does this very well with a little down elevator input . (may need ajustment)
Still at safe altitude i tryed a couple snap rolls, this plane does them very well (fast!!) The rudder on this plane is as big as some 60 size planes so knife edge was not only possible, but easy to do
I looked at my timer and unfortunatly it was time to land.[&o]
Landing was a pleasure with this plane, like a low wing trainer,probably thanks to the wing dihedral.
It didnt show any signs of wing drop as it slowed for landing.
As i suspected it keeps a good momentum after throttle cut so i gave it plenty of runway to land.
Shortly after landing a a couple small rain drops hit me in the face, so it was time to call it a day.
After flight nothing was found to be loose, and the renforced landing gear seemed to smile right back at me.
I will try to fly again this weekend .
Good luck on your flights guys![8D]

Rugerv45: Thanks for sharing such a good experience, I was looking forward to read that post since it seems that you have a different lot of the same plane. It is too bad that weather just does not help at your location; here at the dessert we would be glad to have some rain. I believe that you will have to much fun with this little plane.
I am very sorry to hear about the elevator fluttering of Tom's Cap, I am tempted to seal the hinges at least the elevators. The good news is that the three planes survived their maiden flights and performed like a winners.
In my case I will move the CG to compensate for the tail heaviness. I have ordered a high speed needle valve for my engine because I found that mine is defective.
If the parts get here on time I will fly my Cap next weekend and will try to videotape.
All in all, Congratulations Guys, and keep posting your experiences and modifications with this great plane.
Thanks
Your Friend Alfred.

Would be a good idea to seal the hinge gaps, i flew again today with no issues this time. Engine survived the 6 minutes of lean WOT with only a blown plug and ran great today. I have to set up the KE mixes and tweak expo/throws and CG a bit.

Tom

Those are great news Tom. Please tell us how is about when you fly it again with the new changes.
I ordered a needle valve for my saito and hopefully will be here tomorrow, I am looking forward to fly it again. I believe that -2o down thrust is too much for my cap, I will reduce it to -1 or 0 and see what happens, also will add a little weight to the nose. I will post my results.
Thanks.

HI:
I have to tell you guys that I had a great flying weekend; previously I repaired my saito engine by changing the needle valve, now it runs just great. I also changed the engine incidence from -2o to -1.5 and I will keep trying until I get satisfied.
Plane performed great an a buddy of mine did all the sportsman pattern maneuvers flawlessly. I did not take my camera this time but by now you all know my cap and those of you who have flown this model know it capabilities.
Thanks.
Your friend:
Alfred.

Went flying again today, i have put about 10 flights on since the carb trouble and no other issues since then. I have taken out all the upthrust and find that it flies much better. The vertical is very good and the plane will do hovers, harriers, elevators, walls, flat spins are ok (CG should go back a bit, better inverted), snap rolls and spins are really good as well as the traditional aerobatics.

Hi guys,

This has been a really fun thread to read. I have had a few Great Planes kits (UltraSport, Corsair, Cherokee, Kaos, Patriot) and now I had inherited the CAP which I have been wanting for a few years since I seen one flew. This CAP is been built by a good builder but did not come with any plans and has never been flown.

What are the balance and throw requirements?

I’m running an OS .46SF with Pitts muffler, twin standard servos in the wings and for throttle, and moved the rudder servo to the side since I do not like servos hanging under the fuse where they can get snagged. I had a spare digital hi torque doing nothing so I’m using it for the elevator. I like using the 6v battery option as well. Weights right at 6 lbs.

Also, due to its snap characteristics, on take off, how is this plane set up? Do you keep everything neutral and then give it gradual throttle with slight rudder and elevator?

Thanks for all of your first flight reports. I’m sure they will come in handy.

Scott

CG is at 3 3/4"
You can get the manual in PDF from the greatplanes website for the control throws.
Takeoffs, just like you say, get the tail up and slight elevator and its flying.
One suggestion is to put that high torque servo on rudder, it really needs more torque than the elevator will, you will notice the difference in knife edge.

Tom

Thanks, I was thinking about which could use the hi-torque servo more, the elevator or the rudder. I'll try it in the rudder.
Scott

Welcome to this Cap thread Scottrc, I invite you to post any mods or experiences with your cap, all information here will be useful for future Cap builders.
Tom, as you mentioned, taking out the down thrust of the engine will lead to a better looking horizontal line flight, I will leave at 0o and just be careful for nose over on takeoff.
Since the day start to be so long here, I will try to fly 2 or 3 times a week, besides the afternoon is less hot than the plenty day.
Alfred.

Thanks Alfred,
I ordered a set of plans from Great Planes and printed off the manual, so I should be set to put in my dual ailerons and move my rudder servo.
Scott

You are very welcome scottrc and I hope you to post your building steps and pictures if you are able to do.
One more thing, I really like your signature, I can't stop laughing.
Thanks, humor is important.

Thanks Fred.

I have gotten a few comments about my sig here on RCU over the years and a few new versions from it. I remember an old highschool girlfriend who used to quote that stupid saying all the time, the version where "if you love someone, set them free, if they don't return, it wasn't meant to be".

Then came the old version where you replace "it wasn't meant to be" with "hunt them down and kill em".

I lost a plane that flew off after into the sunset after the battery failed. The saying that I put in my sig was going through my mind as I watch my plane fly off to Canada never to be heard from again.

I thought it made a good signiture.

Scott