3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

Hi,

There is a hobby store that has the Pizzazz on sale right now, and I was wondering if they are an acceptable plane to perform basic 3D maneuvers with? I've seen videos of then TR & KE, but that's about it. What else can they perform marginally good at?

I have a 60 size Stinger right now, and was wondering if they fly anything alike?

...Oh, I'm just finishing up a UCD right now, too. But I have an extra engine around, and was wondering what you thought of the Pizzazz as a second throw-around plane...especially because I can get a REAL good deal on one!

Love to hear your comments?

Thank You,

Mark

bentgear

Pretty good at waterfalls, flat spins, blenders, harriers, etc. Had a Saito 72 on mine.
Ed M.

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

bentgear

Thanks for the reply!

Do you think for $99 I should pick one up then?

I was planning on putting an ASP 80 4-Cycle in it, that I had lying around. It's a little heavy at 22.2 ounces, compared to the Saito. But from what Ive heard, the Pizzazz should be able to handle it.

How much does the Saito weigh, anyway?

therotund1

$99 is a deal. I bought mine for $129. One of the guys at my club has an OS FS91 on it. I've heard flutter before, but, I SAW flutter on this one. Full throttle and downhill the whole tailplane shook! On inspection, no apparent damage. This thing also bit the fence once. An inadvertent throttle run up. Put a dent in the RH leading edge. He massaged it out, flew great! This is one tough bird. After seeing this abuse, I had to have one! Mine'll get an OS FS70S2. I'll post a report when she's up!

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

Thanks for the reply therotund1!

Sounds like another resounding GO FOR IT for the Pizzazz!

Maybe I'll buy it today then?

Mark

therotund1

The only bad things I see in my unassembled Pizzazzzz are...

1) Lose the open center hinges supplied. You'll see what I mean. Use GP or SIG full square CA or, DuBro flat nylon, hinges.

2) The engine actually mounts to aluminum straps that attach to the fuse. I'd like these straps to be a little beefier but I'll probably use 'em anyway.

That's it! All the rest is great! Since your LHS has it on hand, open it up and start eyeballin'! Don't forget to wipe up the drool before you put it back in the box...

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

I have a question concerning the engine mount used on the Pizazz...

I hear allot of people talking about the poor engine mount on this plane. Would it be possible (and better) to try and fit a normal composite engine mount on the plane, or should I just go with mounting the engine the way it comes?

Mark

Boricua 007

Yea man I think is better cause I do it, but you need to use a dremel to take out that plywood, but no problem
And if you want to taxi better with the pizazz buy the Dubro Nylon Gear is good....

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

Thanks Boricua 007!

I'm suppose to get my plane in tomorrow, and I definitely will take a look at the landing gear when I get it.

Did you have to beef-up the Firewall, or Landing Gear Block, to bolt on the new Engine Mount and Nylon Gear, or were these areas strong enough the way they come?

Goinstraightup

My Feedback: (26)

Romeo,

I've assembled and have flown two of these in the last year and really like the plane. The first was a rebuild so it was a little heavy. That one got an OS 60FP and a standard Airtronics Vanguard radio. The second is new and has a Futaba 6 channel computer radio and a Saito 72 on it. On both I cut a 7/8 dia. hole about 3/8 inch ahead of the main spar in the radio bay. This makes routing the aileron servo wire and all the rest of the servo leads way easier. Also on both, I routed the antennae through the side of the plane instead of through the hatch . I pile drove the 60FP powered one unfortunately. The 60 powered one had a bit better vertical than the 72 4C one, but both were a blast. The 72 powered one is owned by a student of mine and I did the test flights on it just this weekend. Oh, my 60 powered one had a wicked buzz (not flutter) that was always there. Some other people have had this in there Pizazzzzzes. The 72 powered one did not have the buzz. Also, I mounted the engine of the 72 powered one per instructions with the hardware they had and the 60 I mounted to the fuse in my own way. I borrowed the CNC here at work and I made a cool panel for both. Send me a PM if you want pics of both of these planes. I really miss mine. It was a blast!!!!

LancelowDowell

I had one.... an unfortunate radio glitch put it in a lake :-p

Anyhow, quite a few guys at my club are starting to fly these. The craziest of them are running saito 91's in it. Just so you can get an idea of how overpowered it is, he just gives it a little underhand toss and fires the engine and off it goes. Just about any 3d move you can think of I've seen him do on this thing.

Another fix I've heard of people doing is replacing the aluminum motor mounts with steel. Just mill them out yourself if you have the tools to do it. It will add just a little bit of weight, but the increase in strength you'll get for it is worth it.

As for beefing up the motor mount, if you keep it how they have it, I don't think you'll need to beef it up. If you put your own mount on the firewall, you may want to glass it or something along those lines. It's kinda fuzzy right now, and I can't remember how well the firewall is mounted. But those 2 rails that run along the engine are rock solid.

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

Thanks for the reply LancelowDowell

It seems that I'm getting mixed reviews on whether to keep it as is, or rework some things on it?

In any case, I should be getting it in tomorrow, and then I'll give it a good look-over (I tend to over-analyze things anyway). I'll let you know what I end up doing.

One things for sure...It sounds like a whole lot of fun for only $99!

Boricua 007

ok 3D Romeo,
if you want to do some more work go for the nylon engine mount but if you can find some steel piece go for it and you don't have to drill all the ply that hold the stock engine mount....
you choose:
1. nylon
2. steel

3D Romeo

My Feedback: (111)

Well, she's finally here!

After looking it over, this is what I'm planning on doing:

1) Throw ALL the stupid hinges away! I still don't know whether I'm going to use Great Planes Nylon Pinned Hinges, or just a better grade of CA Hinge. Has anyone tried Sig EZ-Hinges, and if so, how are they working out? I know the Radio South CA Hinges would work...but I don't have any of those.

2) I'm planning on using the wood engine mounting rails. But I'm going to make steal mounting brackets instead of the slotted aluminum brackets that come with it.

3) I looked at the Landing Gear & LG mounting, and they both look very strong, and usable (Just a little heavy). Are people just replacing them for prop clearance? I'm planning on using an ASP 80 4-Cycle engine, and I think I'll be using an APC 14 x 4 prop.

4) I would like to put (2) servos in the tail, for the elevators, instead of the split pushrod, and was wondering how this would work out for balancing the model? The ASP 80 engine weighs about 22 ounces...So it is kind of on the heavy side.

5) I'm going to replace the tail wheel with a spring tail asm. (just my preference)

6) The manual says to put the CG at 3 1/4 to 3 3/4...is this right? What are you guys putting the CG at?


Well, that's about it...

Could you please let me know what you think of the way I plan on setting my Pizazz up, and if you have any comments on something I'm planning on doing, or something you would recommend that I do...PLEASE let me know. I haven't started putting it together yet, and now would be the perfect time to make changes.

Thank You,

Mark

P.S. - It does look built & packaged really well for an ARF. My last one was a UCD.