rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Two more pictures of my rear facing clunk setup.
BTW...If you're wondering what the black grommet is for in the right most picture? It holds my fill line plug while I fuel up! ALOT harder to lose this way.

Dave Rigotti

causeitflies

Dave, thanks for the grommet tip. I just lost a plug the other day

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Marty,

I fly mine from a 900 ft grass field. Take off in about 150 ft. The little Wren Mk3 has lots of "grunt". So far I have used about 400 ft for the landing. I need some more practice. I also want to set the Idle of my Wren down to 45000 rpm. The damn thing just seems to fly forever . I have another field that I can fly at which has 300 ft square field. The surrounds are long grass about 18" high. So I need to learn to drop it in on the numbers and stop in under 300 ft.

I have done several touch and goes. This thing is amazing.

Regards

afterburner

My Feedback: (18)

Tom, John and Gary,
Thanks for the good info on small field "handling" for this jet. Although I'm not a turbine pilot yet, I'm committed to making it happen and from the videos and positive comments on this jet, I feel this would be the right kit to start with. My local field has a 450' grass runway and some days that doesn't feel like enough if you know what I mean. Of course initial flights wouldn't happen there but would like to have something I could eventually fly there. Thanks again guys.


Marty

tschuy

My Feedback: (1)

Marty,

You can't go wrong with this jet. I'm flying from a 300' asphalt runway with a 300' over-run on one side and trees about 450' off the other. Tight place for flying a jet, but the Reaction 54 handles it beautifully. My take-off rolls are about 120' and landings are about the same. For landings I'm cranking down the full 60 degree's of flaps with about 1/4" down elevator during the approach and this thing slows to a crawl, but still very maneuverable. You'll love how it flies and reminds me of the pattern days back in the early 80's but flying a little faster.

Cheers,

afterburner

My Feedback: (18)

Tim,
These descriptions of the slow speed flying qualities are making my mouth water! Now if I could just pull 4K out of my.......wallet, I'd be set. This project will take a bit longer for me than most due to cost but I'm probably going to order the kit and retracts in the next few weeks. I'm not even sure if Bruce has any kits in stock. I assume you need the retracts fairly early on in the construction of the kit? I feel like I did when I was getting ready to build my PT-40 trainer.


Marty

tschuy

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Marty,

Your flying budget sounds very much like mine. It took me about 5 months of saving for the engine. And then another two for the kit. For the retracts I prepaid for them at the same time I ordered the kit but still had to add a few more dollars since the price was a little higher then what Bruce had originally forecast. But it is not necessary to have them as you build the kit. Bruce provides some templates along with the kit that worked perfectly when it came time to install the original recommended set. If you differ from what is recommended then you'll probably need to order those at the same time. BTW the Robarts have been working great for me. But with my perfectionist side wish that Robart had been a little tighter on their tolerances when they put them together. As the nose gear set came the steering bushing was a little too loose by my standards and Dave Rigotti was very generous with sending me one that worked ten times better. Go with the digital servo's recommended by Bruce and you'll be glad that you did. They were a little costly too. My set ran me about $400.

I went with the CompactUnibrake system in my R54 and for the extra time, effort and money, it has been well worth it. They work very well for me. Look back into this forum and you'll see how they turned out. I highly recommend them for this aircraft. It might be tough to find a set of the phase 4's which worked perfectly with the 3/16" struts provided by Robart.

I'm so happy with my R54 that I've decided that I'm going to order and build another one!!!

Please feel free to contact me via my personal e-mail address for further questions.

Cheers,

afterburner

My Feedback: (18)

Tim,
Thanks for the info on the retracts and brakes. Thanks also for the "tech support " offer. I'm sure I'll be taking advantage of it when the time comes.

Marty

YLF

My Feedback: (2)

Hi all,

I'm sure this isn't a good place to ask since you all love your Reaction 54's but I would like to find one for sale that is built and flying or ready for the finishing touches. It looks like kits are out of stock right now and I don't like to build anyway but this looks like a great plane and just what I'm looking for to fly out of our club field.

So, if you know someone who may be looking to sell send them my way.

Thanks,
Mike

ylf-at-cox.net

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Dave and Tim,

Where are the Photos from Bardstown??.

Were you two guys in the Pub when all the photos were taken?

Regards

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
This is it for me! Too busy flying and making new friends! ; ) That's me with the "NATS" tee shirt on. My good friend Russ next to me. I think we are discussing my next demo flight as how many inverted spins I can do before I HAVE to pull out! (NAW....I think it was talk about how hot 85 degrees feels when you leave home at 65 degrees!

Dave Rigotti

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Dave,

Looks like you had a great time.

I have installed the Kevlar tank, (Clunk to the rear), and I will test it on saturday.
I am going to a jet Rally in September. It is called Jets Over Temora. Temora is a small town south west of sydney. We get to use the runway of the local airport. It also has a great aviation museum. They have flying displays every month and fly things like a Spitfire and canberra bomber etc.

http://www.aviationmuseum.com.au/


This will be my first Jet rally as a pilot.
Really looking foreward to showing off the R54. I must do a lot more practice.

Regards

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
Nice museum! The Cessna A37 looks like an interesting scale subject.
You'll have a great time at the Jet rally. Making new friends, demo flights, learning from others, etc. Let us know how the rear facing clunk works out for you.

Dave Rigotti

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Two flights today with the Kevlar tank, with the clunk at the rear. landed both times with only a minute amount of air int the UAT.
Plenty of vertical flight. Problem solved.

I also have got a handle on landing the R54 on a short field.

I took out ALL of the down trim with flaps. Now when I drop the flaps 60 degrees, (I only use flaps at low speed), I get a slight nose high attitude which is a perfect approach attitude. I also lowered the Wren Idle speed to 45000 RPM. I landed twice today and stopped without using the brake, within 150ft of the edge of the field. The model was flying very very slow with no problem.
Of course if you use flaps at a higher speed it will pitch up.

Regards

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
Glad all is working well! The extra fuel on board is just that much more fun you can have.

I'll try your flap and landing technique today. MAY get to shoot some video too!

Dave Rigotti

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Folks,
Just got back from the flying field today. Put flights 48, 49, and 50 on the Reaction 54. Didn't get to experiment much with the flap settings except I was using full flap on landing as there was zero wind this evening.

We DID have a RADAR gun!
Any guess on the speed of a Reaction 54 with a P60?

How's 135MPH is level flight?

147MPH from a shallow dive.....

163MPH from a full bore climb high, dive thru the traps!

I recorded 163MPH on 2 passes!

I'll post some video on Monday evening.

BTW..... landing was 26MPH

This thing really honks!

Dave Rigotti

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Way to go Dave.

163 Mph fantastic.

How much thrust does the P60 put out?

keep up the good work. I can't wait to see the video.

Regards

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Dave,

I had three more flights with mine today (#10.#11 and #12).
The landings are now perfect, almost walking pace with no wind.

I ALMOST put mine into the ground today. I think it is called "Controlled Filght into Terain". I was doing a full power fly past and it got a bit close. I sort if blinked and just missed the ground by about a foot.

That sure would have left a smoking hole in the ground.!!!

Anyway I have learnt a good lesson, keep your eye on the ball.

I have always been closing the throttle in the dive after a high split "S". When you were doing you high speed pass did you keep full throttle during the dive?.
How sharp was the pullout?.

I am scared I will rip off the wings if I do a full power dive.

Fuel tank now perfect, no air in the UAT at ther end of the flight.


Regards

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
These passes were done at WOT. Typical split S turnaround with a sweeping dive into level flight. No sharp pullouts or turns. Climbed very high to assure "terminal velocity" I worked up to the fastest passes. Most were in the 140-150MPH range. I'll post some video tonight. No hint of flutter or bad habits. I did add a filler block of balsa between the wing mount plywood plate and the saddle opening. This way the wing bolts are NOT trying to pull the plate from the boat tail, it is just retaining the wing when the bolts are tightened. This is the only "structual" change I made. At 163MPH she gets in and out quickly! Early on I did do some tight turns at WOT to she what will happen. NOTHING...rock solid. Go have fun!

Dave Rigotti

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
The P60 is rated at 13 1/2 pounds. Air temp was mid eighties with high humidity. Very little wind. I wonder what she'll do with a 18 pound thrust turbine AND some cleaning up? Those wing servos hanging out in the breeze has to causing alot of turbulence and drag. Maybe I'll streamline the whip antenna..... :-)) She is one tough bird.

Dave Rigotti

TommyWatson

My Feedback: (1)

Dave,

I think the wheel wells in the wings and nose would cause the most drag. I was thinking about some doors and some fillets on the wings and tail on my next one. I read somwhere that fillets get rid of a lot of drag.
Having said that I am not sure I want it to go too much faster.
Mine will fly straight up for as long as I feel comfortable. It gets real small real quick.,

I had a BVM Viper DF once and the gear doors made a lot of difference.

Should be easy to do on the R54.

Regards

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Tommy,
What you say is true. Yes you can go too fast. I'm REALLY happy with it as it is. I was amazed at the 163MPH too! I figured 140ish would be tops. The raw video gets you to say WOW! The 26MPH landing was before touchdown. I'm thinking closer to 20MPH, zero wind, is more accurate. A BIG 1450 square inch airplane landing at 20MPH is impressive. I'll just fly the heck out of it for now. Slightly over 9hrs turbine time on the ECU. The JetCat P60 fires up every time right now. Getting comfortable again with the present fuel tank setup. Very little air in the UAT. Many rolls, loops, etc. I'm bringing down the manuvers to a lower altitude as a result.

Dave Rigotti

BruceTharpe

My Feedback: (1)

Dave, I love it! These are the first radar-gun-confirmed speed numbers for the R54 and they not only sound about right from my experience, they are pretty darn close to what I was shooting for when designing the bird in the first place. Level WOT with 13.5 lbs thrust, 135 mph. Hmmm, that's 10mph/lb. thrust. I was hoping for 120-125 mph, but when the R54 was designed, RAM 500s with 11+ lbs. of thrust ruled the world.

The 163 mph passes would have been something to see! I understand the desire to see how fast a model will go, but the R54 wasn't designed for all-out speed. Believe me, I did the WOT dive testing, and you've pushed yours to the limit too, with extra thrust. It can take it! But as a general statement to all R54 pilots out there, I gotta stand by my recommendation to back off the throttle when your nose is down. Straight down, go to near idle; shallow dive, go to 1/2 or so... Consider it a good habit to get into for your next, faster jet.

Oh, and those landing speeds are shocking! I would not have guessed that low. Very interesting. Thanks for the report Dave, and thank the guy with the radar gun. Sounds like you had a fun outing.

Bruce
-------------
www.btemodels.com

rcguy!

My Feedback: (69)

Bruce,
These WOT diving passes are NOT the normal flight I perform. MOSTLY I fly at 3/4 throttle with full throttle on climb outs with "victory" rolls. Very few passes are WOT except for last evening. "A guys gotta know" type thing. Yeah it's nice to know it can take! It is really amazing the performance from my P60/R54 combo when you consider 10 square feet of almost 14% wing at 20 pounds wet! Most folks who saw a Reaction 54 for the first time at Bardstown commented on how BIG the wing was. The demo flights went well. The 400+ foot loops with ease are something!
Keep up the good work. I'll edit the raw video tonight and post them soon.

Dave Rigotti

Jetset

My Feedback: (2)

There was a gentleman at Bay of Quinte with a Reaction 54. All I can say is WOW! What a terrific flying machine! His was powered by a PST600R. After seeing that plane and studying it over and over at BOQ, I have to get one soon!
I just can't get over how nice this thing flies! Take-offs looked to be about 75feet and landings were at a crawl!
Very sweet plane!
Myles