Eric, thanks for the info. If I may ask a few more questions

1. What kind of rpm are you turning with the 13x10?

2. Did you build plane per instructions or did you change any incidence settings? Are the incidence settings 0,0,0?

Thanks

I have not tach'd it recently. It just goes... I will next time out.

The Quest-2 requires no modifications to take a Hyde mount or the supplied beam mount. I made no changes to to stab and wing or engine settings. I don't have a spec sheet handy. I built mine before there were instructions!

I did put an extra hard ply plate in the front to strengthen the U/C plate. I do this on most ARF's.

Regards,

Eric.

Eric,
Do you know how this plane compares to the Excelleron 90?
I use to fly pattern a few years ago, the last plane I had was a 90 size Viper. I would assume the new planes on the market will fly better than some of the older ones. Any ideas?

Any issues with using RadioSouth CA hinges in this plane? The instructions call for epoxy instead of CA and was not sure if there was a reason for that.

I just got a quest, not sure when I will get around to building might be to selling it, if anyone is interested in buying it

I used CA. The G+Quest-2 instructions say use CA or Epoxy.

You can use the Mylar hinges of your choice.

The three that I built all still have their control surfaces intact :-)

Eric.

Sorry,
I couldn't answer this question when I built and flew the original Quest because I have not flown the Excelleron. Same goes for comparing it with the Quest-2. I would go so far as to say that I would rather fly either of my two current Quests than my Quique YAK-54 or my Funtana-90!

Eric.

Thanks for the reply Eric, I went ahead and used some RadioSouth CA hinges.

All I have left to do is install the cowl and finish balancing. I ended up having to mount the throttle servo as far forward as possibe as my plane is coming out very tall heavy. Going to pick up a bigger battery to mount on the nose to help get it balanced but, will still need to add lead. Kinda disappointed in that.

I would like to conceal the antea in the fuse in a tube, do yo see any issue with that in this plane?

I cut a hole above the wing-tongue slot in the former at the leading edge of the wing. This let me put the battery up against the fire wall.

What I do with the antenna is use a 36" long piece of 3/16" piano wire to drill a hole through the top of the cockpit back-wall and then through the formers all of the way to the tail. The antenna tube can now be inserted near the top of the fuselage and then front part re-routed back down to the radio compartment.

With a regular TruTurn backplate and the rudder servo as per instructions (Pull-pull), the CG was right on.

Regards,

Eric.

The end result is not good. To get this thing to balance I have had to add so much weight to the nose that the plane now weighs over 10lbs. This is with a ST 90 on the nose. I tried to keep as much weight of the rear as possible.

Is the cg right in the manual? It says 165mm and I assume that is measured next to the fuse.

Any sugustions?

MLC, I would not think one would have to add that much weight to get it to bal. This is not good. You sure you are going to have to add that much weight? Wow, 1.5 lbs...

Hope you find out it's something else.

Let us know,
if so, I think Ultra-rc should fix this problem if that is the case. Should not be that tail heavy.

Going get it ready to fly and see how it does. At worst I will have to save my penny's and get a big motor and just over power it.

The plane seems to be good quality, everything went together good with only a few minor adjustments. Nothing out of the ordinary for an arf.

Keeping my fingers crossed that after I fly it I can start to pull the cg back and pull some of the weight off.

so how much weight would you estimate you had to add?

MLC,

I happened to monitor this thread tonight and caught your CG issue. Something does not appear to be right. (I am not saying it is something that you personally did, these posts can easily be mis-interpreted). In all my experience with this model, I have yet to see nor have I heard of anyone having to add the kind of weight you are mentioning to get this plane to balance. The modifications in production on the G2 version resulted in a slightly lighter fuselage. In addition, the CG is coming out, with a YS 1.10 very accurately with all the equipment located in the recommenced positions. Have you made any modification to the location of the servos, etc? The ST 90 is a fairly light motor, virtually the same as the ST 60. Are you using the stock muffler, or a pipe? And last, I assume the model is complete and ready to fly......where is the location of the battery? Please advise and I will do everything I can to assist you with this situation.

BTW - The recommended CG is 6.5" back from the leading edge of the wing, at the root (next to the side of the fuse). This will present a slightly nose-heavy position. CG will vary based on the type of flight performance you desire. The CG can definitely be located more rearward of the recommended location. However, I recommend the initial location for your first flights.

If you prefer to speak with me in person about this, please feel free to contact me directly. My information is located below.

Sincerely,

Ultra-RC
Brian Hughes

609-714-0040
[email protected]

Ultra RC. Hi have talked you about this very issue. You have stated that the quest would balance fine with a Saito 100 without adding weight and with the servos in stock location. If it bal. correctly with YS 1.10 which is about 7 ounces heavier then saito 100, will it still bal with saito 100 as well? Thanks for your support.

noahb,

As indicated in our multiple email transmissions, YES, the Quest will balance fine with the Saito 100. As we discussed, placement of the hardware / electronics is key. There really is no secret to success. Personally, upon assembly of the main airframe parts, I would mount the engine first. Once complete with the muffler, cowl, prop, and spinner...... I would "mock-up" the remaining equipment for accurate placement. Tape the servos in the recommended locations. Use the battery as your ballast. Move it around until you achieve the recommended CG.

As far as MLC's situation, I have not spoken with him yet. Therefore I can not comment. All I can say with certainty is that MLC's situation is not the norm. The ST90 is a light motor, BUT, we have many of them flying with OS 91FX's too. Again, I am not saying there is a fault here.....is it possible there is an issue, sure. If there is, it is a first. I would like to speak with him about it to fully understand what is going on.


Ultra-RC
Brian Hughes

Brian, All I can say is WOW, a company that cares.

As for my set up. I have not made any modifcations to the plane. I used RadioSouth CA hinges for all control surfaces. Used as little epoxy as possible when setting the horizontal stab. I have used the stock hardware expect the tailwheel. It is a Sullivan 6-12lbs set up with the stock wheel. I mounted a Hitec 475 servo for the elevator in the stock location. I mounted the rudder servo in the stock location and used a Hitec 645MG with the stock pull-pull hardward. The throttle servo is mounted all most all the way forward in fuse with just enough room for smooth action of the throttle push rod. The tank is in front compartment. I also mounted a refueler all the way forward in the front compartment. The motor has the stock muffler.

If I did add any weight it would only be on glassing the wing joint. Want to make sure that was good and strong.

Right now I do not have the cowl on (do not want to cut it for this motor if it does not work out) so I realize some of the weight I mounted would come off for that.

I have 15oz's mounted to the motor mount rails right behind the motor. I also have a 2150 4.8v NIMH battery mountd on top of that (like 4oz I think). A DuBro 2 1/2 spinner and 13-8 APC prop. The motor is as far out on the rails as possible (about 3mm from the end of the rails) and still have the cowling barely over lap the fuse so there is not a gap. The gap between the spinner back plate and front of the fuse.is about 2-3mm.

Please do not get me wrong, I think the quality of the plane is great. Covering looks good, all jounts look good, the incedence was even right on the money.

I was going to order a pipe and custom header but, decided to wait and see how it performs. If I start pulling wieght off then that will be the next thing that goes on.

As for the CG problem:

I have the original quest with both the elevator AND rudder servos mounted in the tail since I don't really like pull-pull. Up front I have a Magnum .91 2C with stock muffler (around 25 oz). The tank is a few inches in front of the CG which is rear of the stock location. My battery is a small 720mah pack mounted with the receiver at about the CG. I don't know what the CG is (maybe 175mm from memory) but I had to add ZERO lead. Flys inverted with a touch of down elevator.

Unless the new Quest has a much shorter nose, 15oz of lead and the battery up front sounds wrong. Are you sure you are measuring the CG correct, maybe converting from mm to inches wrong??? Something doesn't sound right.

My Quest, which should be heavier then the new Quest, weighs in the mid 8 lb range (I forget the exact number). Unlimited vertical with the .91 2C stock muffler, 15% fuel, and a 15x6 APC.

MLC,

Thanks for posting. We definitely care.

Here are my thoughts........

Your hinge selection is fine. Tail-wheel change, very little difference in weight. Servo and hardware placement sounds fine. Weight added in glassing the wing should result in a neutral affect on the CG, for the most part.

Adding the cowl will help out significantly. Not that the cowl is that heavy, but it is glass with thick paint. Also, a tru-turn stlye spinner, or equivalent, will help out too (slightly heavier at the farthest point out on the fuse).

Sounds like your motor install is perfect.

My final thoughts......I would recommend completing the model 100% with the cowl installed and re-checking the CG. The CG provided in the manual is conservative and you will find it to be a slightly nose heavy position. I expect you will be removing all the added weight, and relocating your battery just behind the firewall either on top of the fuel tank compartment. As I do not know you personally, I am not attuned to your style of flying. If you are precision flying, I expect these comments to suit your needs fine. If you are more of a 3D flyer, I expect you will be moving your battery pack back further to under the canopy compartment area.

I do not recommend this to anyone flying this plane for the first time, nor do I recommend a drastic change, but we have a local 3D type flyer, flying this plane with a CG of more than 8" back. I have personally flown the plane, and yes, you can feel that it is tail-heavy. However, I can say with confidence, the plane flew very well considering this location. Even landings were not an issue.......very slight down elevator input.

I hope you find this information useful. There is a lot of personal preference that goes into setting up any airplane. Please report back to me your findings. Also, please don't hesitate to contact me with any additional comments or questions.

Sincerely,

Ultra-RC
Brian Hughes

609-714-0040
[email protected]

Thanks Brian, I think you are probably correct in that alot of the weight will come off. I really just want this plane to fly pattern and that was the reason for buying it.

I will stick to my foamy's for my limited 3D skills. They are alot cheaper to replace .

Brian or Eric,

Do either of you remember the CG range of the original Quest? I'm currently playing with my CG to make my inverted flight more neutral for the coming Pattern season. I have moved the CG from 7" back to 7 5/8" and I still have to put a lot of down in it to hold a line when inverted. Last night I moved the fuel tank about 6" rearward, from the stock location, to get it closer to the CG. I'll attempt to fly it today to see how much that helped.

TIA,

Ken Thompson

I think it is the same for both. The number 165-mm comes to mind.

Eric.

Thanks for the info Eric, I think I'll be ordering another one. My test today, with the rearward CG didn't go well. On final I hit just a touch of rudder, to bring the tail around, and it snapped out on me about 10 feet above the ground. It's all over for this one.
I think I went a little overboard moving the tank back to the CG, the plane was very tail heavy, I just didn't think it would snap like that.
Over 100 flights and it's history.

Ken

Sorry about your airplane . Saw a sign in a hobby shop that said "Nose heavy airplanes
fly badly, tail heavy airplanes fly once. Check your CG carefully."

tommy s

Tommy,
Actually, when I moved the CG back 1/2" it flew fine, but still dipped the nose on inverted. I had changed the CG by moving the battery pack. Last night, about 10:30, I moved the tank closer to the CG, and the late hour or old age or brain fart or the 4 or 5 beers or a combination of all of the above, kept me from moving the battery pack back to the original position. This afternoon I checked the CG just like your supposed to, with an empty fuel tank. Now I don't have that 14 oz. of fuel behind the firewall like I did yesterday, it's back about 6 inches. Again brain fart, Cg checks out, fill her up and let's see what she does. I took her out and started my take off roll, jumped off the ground in about 10 feet, I knew I was going to have a problem, I flew it around for about 12 minutes just to burn off some fuel and tried to bring it in, well, the rest is history. 100 plus flights, on the same plane, is pretty good for me anyway

On to the next one, I still need another pattern plane to go along with my Excelleron.

Ken