I picked up my 2 new Icepoints from Ultra-RC on monday and have been rounding up the needed parts to get one up and going before the fall flying season is gone. Other than a misstep from Dave Brown models on the engine mount, (A friend was kind enough to lend me a mount ! Thanks John) I assembled the needed parts.
I will be taking pictures as I go and inform you about the good and bad as I go. I am installing a Super Tigre 2300 With a DB rail Vibradamp mount and using JR servos and Flying gear.

I started out by removing and recovering the bottom covering as it was Pink and To my 40 something eyes it just isn't as high Visibility
as I would like. I had little problems removing it as the covering was really just tacked down. the center of the 1 piece wing is glassed (center 1/3 that is) and that was the only location that I had any problems.
I went with a high vis yellow and red in a classic 4 check checkerboard design. I tucked the edges of the new covering under the top
covering and ironed it all back down so unless you knew it was pick you would think it came that way. I also took the time to go over all the
colors as it is a multi color finish, done with Ultra-kote.

Next up after removing the engine and gear from my Goldburg ultimate was engine mounting.
(not really per the steps of the instructions that I am Beta testing for Evil but I wanted to see if the old battered header I was going to use
would fit!) After discovering that the Dave Brown vibradamp mount and the ST2300 was 1/8!QUOT! too high from the rail mounts, I took the stand-off spacers and turned them down 1/8!QUOT! on my trusty metal Lathe. after that the engine sat right where it should.
the beam is set for the approximate right thrust (2 -2.5 Deg).
I made the needed cutouts for the carb needles and was surprised when the belly pan dropped right over the head of the ST.
Then I went to work added Blind Nuts for the 6-32 screws that would hold the mounts in place.

I fit the header and with some careful tweaking got it lined up properly. (This Johnson wrap around header had survived a straight in crash from my poor Excelsior this spring. It was quite bent but I was about to resurrect it enough to use till I can get a replacement.)

I then proceeded to cut out the front opening for cooling. I am Unsure where I will locate the exhaust vents at this time.

The it was time to install the wing and the horizontal stabs. (mostly for pictures.) But here I hit a fly in the ointment.
the supplied aluminum tubes will not fit in the sockets for the fuse and the stabs! (it is .015 too big!) I will likely custom turn a proper fit one out of solid aluminum stock I have and drill it to the same wall thickness as the supplied tube as I want to get the bird flying.
I have an email in the Importer to see what they have to say about this. I have some pics but they are rather large.
Once I resize them I will post them.

Glenn,
If you keep going at this rate you will be flying it next weekend :-)

Are you using a nose ring? and What pipe is that - looks small?

Regards,

Eric.

P.S. I turned my stab-tube down in my sherlline. It was oval. The original kit did not have this problem. I wonder if a 1/2" CF tube would fit?

I will fab my own nose ring, I was planning on running the engine and determining if I need to use one first.
the pipe is really a muffler for the 1.40 but I will be buying a real pipe soon. (I had this setup in the Excelsior and I turn 8200 with a 17-10)
I have since added a perry pump and perry pump carb to the ST and it picked up 300 RPM with that mod, once I get a real tuned pipe on it I suspect anothr 300 rpm is not out of the question. (17-12 here I come.)

Both tubes are 15 thou out. I contacted Brian at Ultra RC and they will be getting replacements fot us I guess.

If you think the tube will be okay turned down I will do so But I was worried it may not be sturdy enough turned down.
(I planned on fabbing a new one from bar stock and drilling it to keep the wieght down.) Let me know what you think.

I hope to have it flying this week. I build very fast (result of building semi-pro for 5 years) but I try not to skimp and do things right.
I will email you with some additions to the instructions like how to hold the stab tube in place, and full engine mounting. (but it likely doesn't need it with the indended market , Pattern nuts.)

I know a 7/16th will fit the 1/2" will be too big , I am not sure how much slop in the tube socket is allowable? I would think it should be a very snug fit.

HCRCFLYER,
Sorry to change to subject, but I noticed a Bravo 303 ARF by BlackHorse in the background of a couple of your pictures. How is the quality? Have you built and flown it yet? For the price, it appears to be a steal.

Thanks.

Jon Lowe

Jon no problem the Bravo that I have is the newest pattern type version. as far as I can figure there are 3 generations of this AC out.
the early pattern ones have a bottom hatch and the wings plug into the fise, and this version has a top hatch and the wings are still 2 pice but it sits in a saddle and the canopy then goes on top of this. (It is also Laser cut so look for the char marks on the cutouts to ID it)

overall it is a good flying smaller sport pattern. I am running a ST.91 in it
and have good vertical (practicing AMA 402 pattern) and it does the vertical manuvers well. and trimmed out good.
I was soso on it for a while (not locking in on a kline for example) but I upgraded the servos to the new JR digital 811 servos and it was night and day. locks right in and stops rolling when you want it to and has very few bad habits. some roll coupling. I programed it out with a rudder to ailerion mix. (about 10% BTW)

The wing could be lighter, but the fuse is very nice and light, supplied hardware was used and was decent quality.
I give it 3 out of 4 wing overs.

HCRCflyer,

Whatever prop you use for the ST 2300, try to keep the RPM somewhere around 8200-8500. That is where the torque seems to be the best. If you get in the 7000's, you will definitely notice a drop in power and a 17x 12 may be a little too much prop. I used this engine on several planes and the props I liked best where the APC 16.5 x 12 and the 17x10. Good luck and keep us posted.

Emory.

Well I have the 17-10 and used it sucessfully in the last pattern plane. we will see where the rpm's end up with the new carb and the pump,
and with the addition of a real pipe (using the stock carb with it's need for lots of tank pressure I used a .61 sized quiet pipe for a muffler.
I will be replacing it with a 1.40 sized pipe to see if there is a power increase as well. )
Just going to the perry carb and pump made a HUGE differance and the engine was running good before. I like the ST's and the price, well
lets just say thats a big help on the budget so I can run Digitals on both Icepoints.

Glenn,
The stab tube wall is pretty thick. I could have sanded enough off but wanted to make it a tight fit in all three places. Both stab halves and the fuselage. I left it thicker in the center. It is now nice and snug.

It is not unusual to retain the stab with the adjuster screws only. I prefer a pair of 2-56's in the tube for insurance and will probably add them.

Almost all of my wing and stab tubes have been thickened and thus tightened with CA.

A neat trick is to fit double edged carpet tape on the root rib. This helps prevent and stab-slop later :-)

The adjuster scews on mine were 3/8". How were yours to find?

Regards,

Eric.

P.S. I'm off to the Don Lowe Masters on Tuesday. If anyone down there would like to avoid some shipping charges ($70) . Just let Ultra-RC and myself know. I could get at least 4 in the SUV. after my wifes cases go in :-) - E.

Thanks for the info on the tubes Eric. I did Turn/ sand down one and got a nice tight fit everywhere much like you did. I also used the screws into the tube. Ultra-RC has been VERY responsive to the problem (working on the weekend with the factory to Identify and resolve the issue) They will be supplying Carbon fiber tubes as replacements. they should be incountry friday and they will be sending to Icepoint owners after that I assume. I am also working on an issue with the engine mount (3/8" spacer and the beam is built for a 1/4" spacer. )
I simply turned the spacer down the 1/8" but most folks don't have a lathe. (Eric and I aside.)

As this was an older mount I will be checking the new mount I have coming. If it is the same then something will have to be done on the next gen of planes to address it if they stay with this build. I would suggest a regular firewall then it opens a much larger choice of mounts.
I will be modifying my DB mount to look/work more like the MK with a top support to the rubber isolators and the engine mounts.
(a top plate if you will) Probly not needed but I am by nature a tinkerer/fabrication guy.

I have the rudder servos,pull pull all installed and the elevator servo/pushrod and elevator haves installed. the canopy is done and glued/screwed on and the engine compartment has been painted and sealed.

I also made an airscoop out of a wheelpant I had to direct air to the bearing side of the motor. (alot of folks have been having issues with bearing failure as we all know and I figured I would be proactive on this.

Took a break from packing the suitcases for Triple Tree, (Don Lowe Masters) and headed into the workshop today.

Ground out the engine tray to clear the mount and made a 1/16" ply did to space out the spinner.

Decided to make a variant of the mount.

Used two mounts to make one on the first version. Set the depth of first stand-off post on the lathe and cut them all to the same size. It came out pretty much to spec. Lined the spinner-backplate up with the nose ring.

Here are pictures of first mount. The idea is to provide a stronger rear support for the crankcase without adding a ton of weight.

Decided to use one-piece rear rubber support.

This is how it looks in the plane. Had to stop drilling - town-houses have thin walls - will complete in the AM. Feels much stiiffer already.


I will also fit a scoop to cool the bearings. I think that it really does make a diffference. Have measure bearing running at arounf 78F when air-cooled this way.

Nite all....

Nice work Eric. Did you make your own nose ring for the 160?

I shall try this set-up without a nose-ring first. I use the gold annodised aluminum nose-rings with a thinner o-ring for the OS 1.60. It will be easy to add a nose-ring to this set up.

The beauty of these wooden ARF's is that you can change a bunch of stuff and just iron on some new covering. One background plan that I have is to make a dummy center piece and fit plug-on Tempataion wings. (You always have a set of those lying around - right (VBG)). The center piece would bolt on like the current one-piece wing but have a wing tube and anti-rotation pins. You could do this without altering te original plane or wing ---- and this was before breakfast :-)

Regards,

Eric.

Eric what did you use for the one pice rubber mount On the back of the new mount? I modifed my DB mount to more resemble the MK one with the top plate over the top of the
of the engine mount and that stiffened it up alot too. there is actally less movement on it than my last installation that had a gator RC firewall softmount.

I will try to get pics up tonight but I am almost done with it Just have to install the ailreions and servos on the wing and mount the belly pan and cutouts for the
hot air. I am also going to make a baffle for engine cooling on the belly pan. (you can see in the shot of the belly pan in the above pics how much room there is between
the head and the top of the pan. It can't hurt.
Then CG and final checkout. I hope to fly it wednesday if the weather and working on it pans out okay.

Got the fuse done except for the balencing and location of battery and reciever. wings just about done.
In figuring out the CG I come up with 7.2" for 25% (drawn out Mac method. ) sound about right?
I will be balencing in the am. and final assy. Pic s up tomorrow.
Note- cg changed after I realized I was half asleep when I did it the first time....

Just a quick update - I will get the pics and descriptions up tonight most likely. It comes out to 10lbs 10oz (with a heavy exhaust extension
that will come off as soon as I go to a real pipe.) I was able to get it to balance with just moving the battery to the firewall.
(7.25!QUOT!) just have to do a little finish up work (fuel proofing a few parts , and clean up the shop ) and it is ready to fly tomorrow.
This is with no trick carbon fiber parts and the ST2300 setup for power. (perry pump and carb) This is the finished tail section. an over all shot of the fuse with the belly pan.
shot of the gear.
One minor Nit on the servo openings on the wings- they are cut for giant servos! standard 4131's are lost in the opening. I made a new rear mount and finished it with balsa to cover the hole and then a patch of covering. On Number 2 I will do this before I recover the wing.
servo installation in the fuse. I used a standard carbon pushrod with a support in the tail for it to ride on and braced the bearing so no movement. simple no slop. (4-40 rods and hardware.)
Thats about it I will with any luck post flight pics tonight, at the least a few static shots at the field.

This plane looks prety sweet for $400......this qould replace my quest in the long run. Can't wait for the flight report!

Glenn,

Very nice. Should perform very well at that weight.

What is your opinion (0-10 rating) on the composite gear that came with the Icepoint?


TIA,
-mark

For the gear weight I would rate them a 7 finish a 10 I will see how they land tonight!
I was unable to use the supplied wheels because of the hardware supplied they would not fit int the wheelpant, And I didn't have a regular metric nut to sub for the locknut
that caused the problem, so I used a set of my regular pattern wheels that are narrower.
Overall I am happy with 90% of the hardware that came with the plane and the plane in general, only a few minor issues (the stab tube which Ultra-rc is replacing with a carbon fiber unit) and the servo openings in the wings. Other than that everything assembled and was straight from the factory. (stab and fin and wing where right on the money.)

That plane looks a LOT like a Tai Ji 140. I build one for someone a couple years ago. It was about $2000, but it was all paint, very nice...but heavy.

I wonder how it compares to the Tai Ji dimensionally? It looks VERY close.

-Mike

Well If I ever see a TaiJai 140 I will do a face to face comparison. The factory is 2Krc.com that makes them Ultra-rc is the importer.
It could very well be the wooden version if the TaiJai. Full up wieght on this one is 10Lbs 10 oz. And I really wasn't very carefull on wieght.

Glenn,
I like the looks of it. I've had a few conversations with Brian at Ultra about getting one of these, however I might wait until the 2 piece wing comes out next year. I'll probably just fly my Quest one more season, with the new gear and canopy it still looks good and flies great.

Keep the info coming,

Ken

IT FLIES! got 3 trim flights in today great conditions and I took my time checking things twice and it paid off.
The ground handling is very good and takeoff was uneventful, I had to add a few klicks of right aileron trim in an 2 of down, but it was nice and stable throughout. the ST2300 was running very well on a 17-10 regular (8K rpm on the ground on 15%)
and 1/2 throttle or less was used for cruising . It is a little nose heavy (7.5 inchs from leading edge right now.) and I am have moved the battery back for the next series of flights tomorrow.
Very little roll coupling, (little rolling and down) I am working on the mix to take that out. I am also reducing the mech travel on the surfaces as it is very responsive. Knife edge was great and straight and I pulled into an easy Knife edge loop (I rolled out of it at the top not wanting to push my luck) loops where big and round with mostly throttle managing them. stall turns where easy to do, and rolls where straight as long as I didn't use much rudder (It is very responsive and my radio doesn't have expo or D/R on rudder)

As it was a bit of a gamble to buy two of them right off the bat I am very pleased with #1 and look forward to getting back in competition
next season.

I give it nine props out of ten.