I have just purchased one of your kits and wanted to know what stand offs should i use on the engine its one of the DL 50cc engines (same demintions as Da) would the 3" be ok, or do i need the 2 1/2.

What size tires do you reccomend?

Once i get the kit I am sure to have more questions, is it ok to bug you with them?

Thanks for your help.

Craig, I think I used the stock standoffs that came with the DA50 with no modifications other than a few washers for offset purposes. I don't know what the exact dimensions are though. As for wheels I would recommend 3 1/2" wheels. Let me know when you get the kit and we'll be here to answer any questions.

According to the plans the engine layout shows 3" standoffs.

Any of you guys that have built this plane care to chime in and tell me what standoffs your using and if you all have adjusted the engine over to the left to compensate for the 3 degrees right thrust. It looks like there will not be enough room to slide the engine to left and still get the bolts in, and the standoffs look as though they would be setting right on the edge of the firewall.

Also what brand of wrap around muffler are you all using I've been using the jtec and it seems to be much larger than the one shown in the plans.

Craig, on both the ones we built for OMP we used the stock DA 3" standoffs and yes we did offset the engine to the left to compensate for teh right thrust. No problems with spacing at all. Also I used the wrap-around header from DA and the pipe they sell. They make three header offsets if I recall and you need the middle offset header.

The offset for the header is 25mm.
I know that the stock stand offs from DA are the correct length. Hope this helps.

Also we cut a lightening hole (oval shaped) right in the center of the 1/16" ply gear plate and this provided great access for a set of pliers to squeeze and release the hose clamps that connect the header to pipe coupler.

Did you cross your pull pull cables for the rudder?

Yes, I almost always do that on bigger planes. It seems to provide better geometry.

After looking at the plans I'm thinking i would need the 50mm drop to get the can down in the fuse. Acording to Da the drop is measured from the center of the exaust to the center of the pipe.

I think Da has 4 different drops a 0, 25, 50, and 75mm.

Mike did you use the tuned pipe and header or was it the header and canister muffler? Da said ther is about a 50.00 dollar difference between the two. The tuned system being more. And can you remember the brand that would help in knowing which system was used?


Any body else use this setup?

Oh and by the way what and how did you make the top of the canister tunnel out of? Did you make a removable bottom under the canister?

It rquires the 25mm drop.

It was the canister setup from DA. Also I did make a removable hatch on the bottom of the fuse behind the gear plate. Just remove the 1/16" sheeting and replace with 1/16 ply with cooling vents cut in it. You can even get fancy on the cooling vents if you want. I glued in a couple of 1/4 sq balsa supports along the edges so that the hatch was recessed and flush with the remaining sheeting. Used 1/4 sq basswood supports in the front and back so I could attach the hatch with small servo screws. Worked like a champ. In this pic you can see the vented hatch on the bottom.

Just to let you know, I'm going with a DL 50 and the Jtec wrap around pits. also here is what i have done so far.

Keep up the good work Craig and post some pics of your DL and header setup when you get to that point. I'm not sure there is much info on that combo yet and I think folks would like to see how it works out. I know I would.

Here are some more pics got the canope done waiting on muffler and standoffs to finish the fuse. its been slow going the past week.

Not sure if I am allowed to post in this thread but craigteffee, it looks like the holes for the rear wing bolts are awfully large. Any reason for that or are they just holes for the ail. servo wires to pass through?

Just holes for the ail. wires to pass through i have the rear bolt hole drilled but its hard to see it the pics.

Any thing to look out for?

how do you make sure the rudder fin post is straight before you glue it to the fuse, and what should i use to glue it to the fuse?

Good question and I use the same technique as giant scale planes. That is to position the fuselage straight up and down on the board and use some weight to hold it down flat. Make sure the sides are vertical by using a square on the sides. Once you are satisfied with this then glue the vertical stab in place using what ever glue you like. I just use thick or medium CA. While gluing use another square to make sure the stab is perfectly vertical. Also make a mark in thecenter of the fuse on the top where the front of the stab positions. this will assure you keep it straight as well. Center the fin post on the back and glue with CA as well. Hope this helps.

Here are some more photos. I just finished installing the fin and hinging the rudder and now its on to buildig the stab and fitting the engine and muffler. Can some of you guys that used the da or DL with wrap around pits show your pics of the engine and servo layout on the inside.

Also I am going to be building the wing for the single servo setup and wanted to know if there is anything i should beef up?

I have another question, I read that when building the stab not to drill or cut the hard wood spar, my question is what do i need to do here if i'm installing robart hinge points?

I have in the past had trouble with ca hinges breaking.

I have already drill out the rudder for hinge points.

I have already solved my problem with the hinge points, i doubled up on the balsa 3/8 X 1/2 at the rear edge of the stab so the hinge point will not go into the spar.

Great job Craig. The only reason I don't like to use the robart pin hinges on flat profile surfaces is exactly as you describe........drilling a hole in the rear spar of the stab would weaken it in my opinion. Anyway here are some pics of the muffler installation:

2 Quick questions. Where is your rudder servo behind or under the gas tank? Also, what size tank did you use?
Thanks.

Crash do you have any pics on your layout inside the fuse, rudder servo and tank size layout ect.

Here are some pics of my stab modifacations i added balsa across the trailing edge