RE: TF Contender
 

Well... wind conditions are ok... the problem is our field is brand new and only has about 50% grass coverage at the time. Combine that with the moisture and you have one muddy plane [:'(] . It'll be a little while yet for mine to see the air... hoping for late march or early april. Plus I have an 8 year old daughter that wants to start flying... that being said I've got to assemble a Kadet Sr ARF for her too... :) .
Can't wait to hear how your maiden goes... be sure to post a play by play for us.

RE: TF Contender
 

OvertheEdge: You Contender looks terrific. You chose a excellent color scheme and it looks like
you did a top notch job. I hope mine utrns out half as good. I finally got the wing spar wood, but my dad has been in the hospital for the last 2 weeks, he is 90, and I have been spending a lot of time with
him. I think time is short.

Send more pics when you have everything installled.

Badger, be sure we get a "detailed" flight report, from the ground check to shutdown. What trims you had to do, etc.

Take care

Jim

RE: TF Contender
 

Well here we go. I'm done. radio checked out and linkages adjusted. Tommorrow breakin of the Fox 46ABC. Sunday to the field! Forecast for 52, 7mph winds and sunny. I'm really looking forward to it!

I made several decals like the contender decal, AMA wings with my number, Fox and the Vargas pinup. Canopy looks better in the pics. LHS has not received my replacement so I fly with this. There is a painted pilot under that tint.

RE: TF Contender
 

Some more pics

RE: TF Contender
 

Scott: you have done a fantastic job. It looks terrific. I wish you the best Sunday. Remember, a detailed update from trimming out to landing.

Jim

RE: TF Contender
 

Scott,

Nice looking Contender. I like the tail feathers and the sideways mounted engine both modifications came out great! We look foward to your flight report. Good Luck with your maiden and thanks for sharing the build with us.

Regards
Mike

RE: TF Contender
 

Fustration this weekend. Tried Satuday afternoon to break in and tune the Fox 46. No luck at all. Switched carbs from a well running fox eagle 74 and this worked better, transition was acceptable but a terrible flat spot about 3/4 throttle, particularly when backing down from full throttle. Engine spit and spurted and would not recover unless I quickly choked it. Took apart three Fox EZ carbs, from an eagle 60, an eagle 74 and this 46. They should all be the same. Noticeable differences between all three carb barrels. Tried all three none worked. Seems they would just not draw fuel.

Maybe it needs more muffler pressure. Will try to move muffler pickup to header, it is currently on the expansion chamber. Perhaps pressure will be higher and sufficent nearest the engine.

Frustrated in Fayetteville,
Scott

RE: TF Contender
 

Badger

Fox carbs are less than perfect for sure. I experienced the exact same symptoms with a Fox 60 Eagle IV. I have found a web site that is dedicated to Fox engine carburetor problems.They describe how to fix them with a slight modification. However, you can order an adapter from PERRY Carburetors and use the appropriate Perry carburetor for your engine and the problem will probably go away. I am in the process of doing just that now . I Purchased the adapter (14.95) and waiting to receive it. You can check on the Perry carb website for carburetor for your Fox. You will have to call them for the adapter.

Sledge_78

RE: TF Contender
 

Thanks for the sympathy and advice sledge. I have visited flitelinesolutions in the past and looked over website. Tried a carb modification but did not work. I placed an order for Perry carb and adaptor. I have often heard of the terrible fox carbs but my Eagle .60 and .74 run fine on the Fox EZ carbs the .46 does not. I'll try the Perry. I ordered a 1301 type.

The carb modification described on website (for lean midrange on EZ carb) worked for my eagle 74. The eagle 60 carb worked fine without modification,

Scott

RE: TF Contender
 

You just gotta love those last few tweaks that keeps your new plane grounded. Can be frustrating. [:@] Let us know when you get it all ironed out Scott.

I ran into a small snag on mine as well... seems that my original plan/idea for switching the landing lights on and off from my radio will not work, [&:] so.... I'm working on plan B which will be a mini servo and a micro switch which should (I hope, as long as I can cram it all in the fuse) fix the problem.
[:'(]

RE: TF Contender
 

Almost forgot... After seeing your tinted canopy I decided to do the RIT dye option on mine.... Worked very well. 2 parts black 1 part royal blue in hot tap water for about 2-3 hours. I'll post a pic soon. :D

RE: TF Contender
 

Did you get a black with that color combo of Rit? I'm after a black.

RE: TF Contender
 

It's more of a smoke color... I got the formula on here by doing a search for "RIT dye". Oh... the thread I found also suggested using a cup of vinegar per every gallon of water. I'll see if I can get a picture on here later tonight.

RE: TF Contender
 

Awesome looking contender Keith. I can't wait to see it fly this spring.

RE: TF Contender
 

Thanks, Took me a few minutes to figure out who you were, the name threw me off. [8D] But I looked at your gallery and saw that great looking Hog Bipe and figured it out. :D

You got anything new to fly this spring? With any luck at all I'll be training my daughter with a Kadet sr this year too.

RE: TF Contender
 

Here's a picture of my tinted canopy.

RE: TF Contender
 

Looks red more than smoke colored in the photo. This might work with my color scheme of yellow black and red. Does the color look true on the picture? Good looking plane.

Scott

RE: TF Contender
 

I think the picture is pretty close... and I think you're right about it being a touch on the red side. You could probably darken it up by using Navy Blue instead of Royal Blue??? Not really an exact science. LOL. More like science you might see on Myth Busters :D.

How's your engine/carb situation panning out?

RE: TF Contender
 

With the exception of some wire management inside the fuse and a little more programming in the radio, I'm done! Here's another pic. fully assembled with the tinted canopy!

RE: TF Contender
 

Don't know how this will look after being uploaded... but here's a pic of the landing lights in a dark room.

RE: TF Contender
 

Nav lights... right tip. Also got lucky and took the pic in time to get the strobe on at the rear by the stab.

RE: TF Contender
 

Nav lights... left tip and strobe.

RE: TF Contender
 

Very cool Keith! Can't wait to see it fly. Looks like Chuck has a night flying partner! LOL:D
Finished the building and covering of my ultimate today. I will install radio in it tomorrow and be done with it (except the cowl, ultracote paint does not work on ABS plastic, i don't care what the lable on the can says. I am ordering a fiberglass one tonight.)

RE: TF Contender
 

Forgot to mention... The landing lights do turn on and off with deployment of the flap. The micro switch worked fine. :D

RE: TF Contender
 

Keith,

The navigational lights are a real nice finishing touch to a great looking Contender. Well done and good luck on the maiden.

Regards
Mike