^ I like this very much :)

Have fun cramming; that nose is not a large volume of space, lol !

Well, it's all stuffed in.
if you look close, you can see the receiver behind the servos.
That's the only place not real close to the ignition module.
Now we'll give her a coat of clear minwax . then final assembly, balance and range testing while test running the rebuilt engine.

Nick:)

(Pilot's complexion looks like mine after 26 years in the attic.)

Uh, you spent 26 years in the attic?

I think he meant the Closet. Haw :D

Nick,
He looks pretty good for 25 years in the attic. But hey you gave the plane a nice facelift...Maybe you could help him out. :cool:

Oh dear! I seem to have been caught with my participle dangling.

Nope!
If I can't help mine, he's stuck with his.

Pantry would be more accurate.
The only part worse than the face is the waist.:p

The smashed/rebuilt engine has been successfully test run!
So naturally the winds today are 15 gusting 20-25.
Gives me more time to more accurately set the low speed needle. (always a challenge)
Then reset the high speed needle. Then reset the low.... repeat till you hear the voices.
Then range test.

but for now, here are some nice finished product in the sunshine pics.

Nick:)

Verrrry nice, Nick! Congrats on bringing this bird back to life! I'm looking forward to hearing about the re-maiden. I had mine out today; it was one of those perfect spring days :)

Thanks!
If the weather cooperates, we'll be test flying this Tuesday or Wednesday.
I'll be sure to upload a Youtube video and link it to a post here.

Well, we made the maiden and though it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be, it wasn't that bad either.
First, the engine wasn't holding a setting very well, I wonder if I'm getting fuel foaming.
I held the nose vertical and tuned for peak then backed off a couple hundred, but on the first try, she got lean and cut off.
Second try, I thought we had it but she sagged again, but not as bad. I throttled back and landed anyway.
We didn't try a third time because the smith was hunting a lot and I wanted to add more nose weight before continuing.
we will try again tomorrow, hopefully, I added 6 oz. to the nose which brings the total weight to 7.5 lbs.
she has plenty of power at that weight and lifted off easily at 88 degrees, high humidity and light wind.
She has less than 1/2 a gallon through her, so I'm looking for more steady runs as we go.

Nick:)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fe3w-wcrp18&feature=youtu.be

A++ Always happy to see a successful maiden, or in this case, re-maiden flight. I imagine without the cowl it was a little tail heavy anyway.

Yup!
come to think of it, that 1/8" thick plastic cowl was on the heavy side.:rolleyes:

If you haven't discovered it yet, I have a great way of adding nose weight to ships that have no room left in the nose.
Take some #12 buck shot, mix it with epoxy (after weighing it to the right weight) pour it on a piece of saran wrap, then mold it against the firewall in a place where you can drill two holes and screw it after it hardens.
right now I have two of those wrapped around the top and side of my motor mount.

Nick:)

That's a good idea.

Today we went out and did it again, with a large difference in results.
First I had 6 more oz. of lead on the nose from last night. She now weighs 7.5 lbs.
But the FG11 was really dialed in today. One more click of rich had her yanking the heavy old smith around just like the enya .80 did.
But don't forget, this ship doesn't have a floaty flat bottom airfoil, it has a speedy semi symmetrical airfoil.
Lots of power!
So for those who were wondering what you can do with such a little engine....
Take a look at the vid.
The only limit is the space in the nose.

Had a good time and a ten minute flight only cost 2 oz. of gas and 110 mah out of the life battery.
Nick:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egbl4k0YQ5Y&feature=youtu.be

Just for kicks, I dug out the vid of the original maiden flight of the smith with it's Enya .80 FS, made in August of 1988,
The chatty 11 year old is my now 36 year old son Rocco.
here's the vid.

Nick:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbtV35LFawk

Hey Nick, I just got around to watching the first video. Congrats, my friend- you've done a very nice job bringing the old Smithy back to life. Respect! :) I can't wait to see it with the cowl on.

Mine has a glow Saito 62 in the nose, and with a 12x6 it's just a blast to fly. Seems like the FG-11 has similar performance.

Also, I just converted the onboard batt to A123 1100mAh, which shaved an ounce off dry weight and gave me more useable capacity- I'm pretty stoked. All my planes will get this upgrade soon. I chose the NoBS system, cos I really like being able to use the existing charge port for balancing. Super simple!

Please post up some pics once you get the cowl squared away. Awesome job, my man! :D

Many thanks for your comments.
I hate to bust your bubble, but, we can't find the cowl and have decided to let her fly "naked" as it were, for the sake of the engine's coolness.
Besides, now that we're sure that the FG11 is a good pick, we may do a new one after the engine's broke in good.

Now then....
Sorry to show my ignorance but, what is a noBS system?
I have purchased a 2500 A123 pack as my backup battery. (in case I don't like the Gens ace)
No need to shave weight since I'd just have to replace it with lead.

Nick:)

Well if you ever change your mind about the cowl, Fiberglass Specialties makes 'em. Somehow it just don't look right to me without one!

NoBS is www.hangtimes.com , quality A123 packs that allow you to balance-charge the pack inside the plane (very convenient).

Thanks for the link.
Always good to have another A123 specialist.
I've been using Taildragger RC for my packs. I have the two connection charger and just bring the pack's longer than standard wires out thru the cockpit for charging.

Re: cowl, most of the flying in the old days was without it too. So it looks funny to us to fly with it on. (plus the fact that it's just an old break in ship)
But if we build another, it'll have one, now that I've proved the Saito runs ok inverted.

Hard to believe the two pics are of the same ship.

Nick:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by taildragger1589 (Post 11814173)

Hard to believe the two pics are of the same ship.

Nick:)

---

Why would you say that Nick? Looks the same to me......:rolleyes:

Quote:

---

.........Re: cowl...........So it looks funny to us to fly with it on.........

---

Ah Man!:confused:
What a shameful feet letting that plane fly without it's face.....:eek:
We should ban you from the Smith Miniplane thread for flying that plane without a cowl....;)

Now---I am just pulling your chain -you know....:cool:

I know, I just flushed:rolleyes:

BTW, I've got her down for maintainence already. (the cost of restoring instead of building new)
The LG blocks are loosening and you know what's attached to the rear block..... The bottom wing hold down plate:eek:
So I'm drilling holes for epoxy and dowels just to make sure she doesn't lose her feet or become a monoplane.
The FG11 is finally mostly broken in and pulling hard and steady. Some days when the humidity and temp are way up, she's rich and needs one click of lean but other than that... I'm glad I went for it. (Though it is darned hard to start by hand, I have a starter with the batt strapped to it so it's not too bad)

I've run into a semi-dilemma...
I was playing with a Dubro 2" yellow spinner and discovered that the backplate nuts hit the sensor on the crankcase right behind the drive washer.
Does anyone know of a plastic spinner that has a flat backplate?
Also, does anyone know what size spinner the Smith takes? I don't have the plans anymore.

Nick:)

I'm pretty sure mine is 2".

2" looks best, but I have a 2.5" on mine simply becuz I had a Tru-Turn in that size. It looks fine, too.

I just put a 13x4W (wide) prop on mine, and it's awesome! Unlimited vertical, and it slows down real nice for short final. Also, the new A123 Rx pack shaved off an ounce of weight, so it's a little lighter which is always good.

Poor thing is looking a little beat up after 7 years; it's gonna be time soon to strip the covering and apply some Koverall. Mmmmm.... dope fumes.... :D

Nick, BTW- what starter are you using? Post a pic of your cordless setup if possible, please :)