I am about to start constructing one of these M.K. Kits for serious competition use, prefering the wooden fuselage to composite, and speed of getting the thing in the air for this season.
I would appreciate any input from other's experiance with this airframe. I'm sure it will go together superbly having delt with M.K. quality in the past but input on throws and trim etc would be appreciated with regard to flying the P & F 05 Schedules.
The airframe will have a Yamada DZ 140 running around 30% Nitro and any input on prop match to this airframe will be appreciated. Initially I was goig to go with an APC 15 x 13.
All input at an early stage appreciated as I dont have time to make any mistakes others might have learn't something from.
I will post pics as things progress.

Great choice of plane, MK kits are very good. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures!

Looking forward to this thread as I'm thinking along the same lines. I have an OS 140 turning a 17x12 APC at 7600 in a Protech Onyx. Model is a little heavy however. I have already built the small MK Alliance (powered by a YS63). This is a very impressive little model so the new Topstar looks a very suitable project for P-05 and beyond.

I have inquired as to this kit "M.K. Top Star 2" and have been told that this kit would not be released for a couple of months, if you have this kit and are currently building it, I would like to know where you received the kit from and if I might be able to receive this kit in the timely manner that you have. It appears to be a very nice airplane although I am not sure about the engine mount without provisions for a soft mount as I have always used the Hyde mount. Good luck with your project, look forward to seeing future emails and information on the building project.

Sincerely,

Tim

www.Probuild-uk.co.uk claim to have it in stock already. There's a guy already building one here: http://kobago05.hp.infoseek.co.jp/myroom/tops2.htm

The MK engine mounts are soft. The kits are designed around them and it's difficult to alter the nose for say a 45 degree side exhaust engine or a hyde mount. There's no firewall since the nose is also built around the wooden beams and is an integral part of the structure. It doesn't get much quieter than that. You don't get any resonance from the fuse like you do with a composite one, and no nose-ring is needed.

Yes, the MK mounts are so called soft mounts, but the vibration damping characteristics are real bad compared to
the Hyde mount. Real bad .... I have a MK mount in one of my planes and the servo current consumption is more than
twice that of a similar plane / similar engine with Hyde mount. And yes, this is with a super smooth running OS160 not a
four stroke. I wouldn't use the MK mount again even if a saved a lot of time during building...

The time I saved using the MK mount, is about half of what I will spend rebuilding the nose and installing a Hyde mount....

I have a friend who is just finishing a Top Star (not a Top Star 2).
He installed a firewall and hydemount.
If you can build a kit of this quality , you should be able to put in a firewall & alternate mount, if you choose.

Eddie

Hey Eddie,
Let us know how it flies, please!!!
As far as firewall mounted soft mounts in an MK kit - just a little more work. Mostly removing excess wood from in front of the firewall, but keeping enough to maintain integrity of the fuselage. Figure it all out before you glue anything together - much easier that way :-)
-Will B.

I obtained my kit from Pro Build in the U.K. along with most of the bits and pieces to bolt on.
Initial impression is of a lot of bits for the fuselage but it seems to be working out fine after completing the side sub assemley. Photo shortly.
I am sticking with the M.K. Mount for speed rather than change things. If it gives problems we will just build another fuse. The first Team Trial event in the U.K. is towards the end of April so I need to move on this one to get some stick time on before this event.

We tried using the MK mount on a YS140L, and compared to a Hyde or ZN mount, it was quite bad. The shakes and all, as oisf3a would concur. I reckon the MK Mount would work fine on the 140fz at best, if at all. And if you are going to be fitting a Dingo, perhaps you did consider the YS mount?

We did think about the YS Mount but decided to stick with what was shown on the drawings. I hope we can live with this decision. We can always machine some different rubbers using material we have used in the past on the Dave Brown Mount which seemed O.K. The construction is now at a stage that it is too late without some major hacking at the front end.
Anyway here is a pic. of the main side sub assemblies, must be almost half the fuse build time in this lot.

I can't yet speak for how the 120/140 size MK mounts perform. However I have used the smaller MK mounts in pattern planes with both YS63's and YS90/110's and have had no problems whatsoever - despite the scare stories which I have read on the net!

I have just competed the Mk 1 MK Topstar which I purchased from Probuild towards the end of last year. The kit was a delight to build and lived up to MK's well deserved reputation for top quality. The model is fitted with a YS140 Dingo on MK mounts. Although I have yet to run the engine I am not expecting any major problems. MK are sticklers for detail and are not the sort of company to market a product if it has not been well tested and researched.

Robert Wasson
Middlesbrough

Will (Flywilly) and all others interested.
My friend has his Top Star flying now.
It flies great.
No pull to the top or bottom in knife edge flight and only slight aileron coupling with rudder. He is currently flying it without any electronic mixing at all. He says he can trim the coupling out without having to use a mix.
He's flying the new FAI sequence with it.
Spoilerons on final really slows the plane down well.
I'll try to get a picture when I can.

Eddie

Hi Eddie,
Thanks for the update. What's it weigh dry (no fuel) and what engine is in it?
Now I'm really motivated!!!
-Will