freeonthree

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I recently aquired an old (approx 20 years) Balsa USA EAA Biplane with an XYZ 26cc gas engine. I have replaced alot of parts including wheels, receiver, fuel line and stuff, plus I resoldered the landing gear and struts. This plane has been road hard and put away wet. It's been up a few times recently, and flew pretty good, but didn't run quite right. I just rebuilt the Walbro WT-220, and now it runs perfectly. Now we have a week of yukky weather coming, but we'll be out there doing loops and rolls soon.
I'd like to hear from other EAA Biplane owners, and share experiences. Dennis

freeonthree

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Looks like i've got a real antique here. Maybe im the only one out here with one of these. Time will tell... Dennis

TFF

They still make the kit and I have seen a few. Good flying.

freeonthree

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Yeah, they have a new cowl for $17.99. Im gunna get one. This one has been thru several engines over the years, so there isn't much left of it.
I was amazed to see they still make the kit. Im not a kit guy mysef. Im way too lazy for that part of the hobby.
It will be interesting to see if there are any other EAA Bipe flyers out there. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Dennis

TFF

I thought of building one into an Acrosport 1 as I have the full size plans. I think many dont know what one is.

freeonthree

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Yep, same plane really... Just got this old bird in the air today for the first time. Just needs a wee bit more tweeking on the carb. I can't believe how nice it flys. It practically flys itself.
Ignor the time/date stamp, it's not really the day after tomorrow. lol Dennis
Here's the first day up, today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRWDpj2ggE

beepee

Dennis,

I still have mine that I started building more than 25 years ago. It's first life included an Enya 120 4S for power with lead in the tail due to the engine being a bit big. Flew nicely though. Quite forgiving. For it's second life I converted to an Echo 22cc gas engine (heavier still). For this engine I moved the firewall back almost 3". Balance came out spot on, so there was no real weight penalty. At the time of all this work, I added top wing ailerons. That was a very beneficial move. Roll authority obviously improved. Power is down slightly with the gasser, but it is still a joy to fly. It is still in my fleet and one of my favorites, but as long as I am here in The Cold Country, it remains in storage pending return. Patience ...

Hope you continue to have fun with it.

Bedford

freeonthree

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This firewall was shortened about 3 inches also, when my friend Greg had it. Small world. I read where thats quite comon with these. I don't need this much power, I like to putt around slow and relax. I must be getting old or something. Im very pleased with the way it flys and lands, but it's got more power than im used to or need. Thats ok, I like being able to fly around at 1/2 throttle, and having a bunch more in the kitty just in case.
Got some pics of your EAA ? I'd love to see it. Dennis

Wayne22

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My dad built one years and years ago...I think he only had a .60 on it, but as I recall, it flew very nicely and one of the few biplanes that actually had a glide ratio......

freeonthree

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It does float pretty good for a bipe. One of my mounting ears broke off the mounting bracket of my XYZ 26 today or maybe yesterday, not sure. I noticed a new noise suddenly, yesterday. I think the reason is because it has 2 nylon and 2 aluminum engine spacers.
Im going all nylon. Im going to see if the local blacksmith shop can weld it to hold again, he's very honest and knowlegable as to what works and what is a waste of time. If he doesn't think it would be a good repair, I will buy a 3 1/4 X 2 1/2 aluminum plae of 1/8" and fix it for life.
If he thinks he can weld it good, then i'll give that a try. Only took 10 minutes to remove the engine and the mount. I guess it wasn't really ready, oops ! The ears broke off my SV 26 crankcase (no bracket), so I got longer case bolts and attached a plate to it.
3 of us got SV 26's at the same time. I use the supplied aluminum standoff's, they used nylon one's from the hdwr store, and none of their ears ever broke off. I think nylon may be the way for me to go this time. Dennis

beepee

Well, I think the one picture I have is uploaded. It is a fun bird. I have thought about scaling it up to about 80" WS with a nice big gasser. Should be a fun project. I still have the Balsa USA plans that came with the kit.

Bedford

freeonthree

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That looks nice. but the pic is pretty small. I can't seem to enlarge it, rats ! Mine is pretty beat up. I just silver soldered that ear back on the engine mount. I clamped the parts in the helping hands and let the acid get into the joint, then heated good and applied the silver solder. It filled what gaps there were and totally soldered the crack, but not outside the joint where the paint was, cool.
I can't seem to break it off, so maybe it's ok. Gunna get 4 new nylon spacers, and give it a try. I'll also get an aluminum plate and make the mount from hell, for when my repair fails tomorrow. lol

freeonthree

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Got an update on the mount. I put the engine back on and fired it up in here on the bed. I let it run for about 5 minutes, and did two 15 second WOT's. Turned it off, and the ear was broke off. Maybe welding would have held, if he could even do it, I forgot to ask when I was there today picking up an aluminum plate to make a mount. Got the plate drilled, came out perfect, but I need to space it out 1/2 inch from the case, or the muffler won't go on. (The stock stamped steel mount stands 1/2 inch thick). I got the 1/2 in spacers, but now I need four, 2 inch long, what appears to be 5/32 diameter allen bolts. They measure .1515. Im taking one to the hdwr store tomorrow and see if I can find hardened bolts of whatever they are. They shouldn't be SAE, I wouldn't think.
I saw that Hobby King had 2 of these stock engine mounts, so I bought both of them. Probably take 20 days to get here from China, thats my luck, so im going to try to make this plate work, if I can find the bolts/studs and nuts, whatever to make it work. Who knows, maybe it will work out good, and I will like the plate better. I know it won't break, no way ! Note to self... Silver solder is for landing gear and struts. lol
I put more scotch tape on a few more little holes I found in the monocoat, so she's lookin real sweet for a beater.
Doesn't look like any more EAA Bipe owners are gunna show up. Maybe there arn't any others. Time will tell. Dennis

freeonthree

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Im sad to report that the old EAA is dead. We think the ign was interfering with the aileron servo's. It flipped upside down during an approach and comitted suicide. Guess I didn't replace those servo's in time, oops ! At least I got this years crash out of the way, and I only had 200 in that plane. I gave the engine and other good remains to a friend, then he gave me a new electric Pitts he won't finish because he's strictly gassers now. He's got a motor for it, and I just ordered an ESC, so it will be up in no time, and I still have 5 planes. Life is good...
On the bright side. The new engine mount plate worked great, and all was still tight, even after the crash. Dennis

Ulite

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Just acquired an EAA bipe at the Perry, GA swap meet. Plane is built and quite nicely I might add. Can anyone give me the control throws? Thanks. Ken Ronig [email protected]

freeonthree

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Mine died due to servo failure a long time ago, but it was something like ele and ail 1/2" and rudder 1"

freeonthree

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After mine crashed, it got replaced by this Great Planes Curtiss P6E Hawk.

Ulite

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Thanks. That should help to get it trimmed. I have a P6E powered with a G26. I love it. Penetrates the wind nicely for a biplane.

freeonthree

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Actually you need all the rudder you can get, so scratch the 1" deal. Gotta be able to turn on the ground.
My P6E Hawk only has a G20 on it, but could use a G26. It does ok, but more power could be put to good use, thats for sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miFPFOWjdSc

MikeMacDonald

Hi Dennis,
Building one at this moment ! Have a YS 140 with a pipe will try to post pix tomorrow, I guess that I'm going to have to take the chainsaw to her nose, if this engine is going to go in without a pound of lead in her tail !
The kit is very old and as a result the timber is dead dry, shrunk in places and the die cutting wasnt the best, I should put cap strips on the ribs but too much of a hurry to get it in the air

Cheers for now Mike

ourwing01

Just purchased the kit from BUSA. Plan to begin build this winter when everything outside stops. Setting up basement for build now. I will keep you up to date as the project progresses. I was formerly associated with EAA so this project came naturally. Thanks for the blog. Mike (ourwing01)

beepee

Mike,

Congrats and have fun with the build. I still have mine after more than 20 years from first flight and it is one of my go-to planes. Now doing a renovation after long-term storage including installation of its 4th engine.

A recommendation, which I likely posted above, but too lazy to look for - depending on your intended engine, don't be afraid to move the firewall back. Mine is now back almost 3" since flying with gassers hung on the nose. Second, if you want crisp aerobatics, don't be afraid to add ailerons to the top wing. I did and it made a big difference.

I enjoy mine so much, I am considering building another, or possibly scaling it up 20% and building from scratch.

Cheers,

Bedford

ourwing01

Thanks for the encouragement. I am new at building so I will ask what might seem silly. Is there somewhere I can go to get details on adding the ailerons to the top wing. I have been told that by several that it should be added. Also, I am considering a 4 stroke engine around a 120 in size. Several have talked about moving the firewall back as well. Hope to get started soon and will post pictures.

Mike

beepee

Mike,

The ailerons in the upper wing is a pretty straightforward modification. You can use the lower wing ribs with ailerons as a guide to create cutout patterns for the upper wing ribs. I made my upper ailerons the same length as the lowers (same number of ribs).

My first engine was a 120-4 stroke and it was more than enough power (read: just about right). The firewall was in the designed position and I needed a lot of lead in the tail to compensate. When I installed its first gasser (a relatively heavy leaf blower conversion), I moved the firewall back. More precisely, I installed a second firewall a bit wider to match the taper-in of the sides, then glued in all the reinforcements. Only afterwards did I cut off the original front end and firewall. Building from scratch you will not have to go through those extra steps. Just throwing out a rough guess, I think moving the firewall back around 1.5 to 2 inches would work well with the 120. The main thing is the EAA Bipe has a long nose as designed and looks just fine with it shortened.

Bedford

ourwing01

Thanks for the advice. Can't wait to get started.

Mike