I replaced the SuperTigre .45 I ran in this plane last year with an RCV 60SP. The RCV is turning a Graupner G-Sonic 16x12 bobbed to 14" diameter. Turning this prop at around 5100rpm, she flies nicely with lots of torque. Not as fast as the little SuperTigre turning over twice the rpm, but the torque of this engine lets me power through pretty large loops with ease. I'm a big fan of that 4-stroke rumble and big prop too! Once you get these little Zekes properly balanced, they're a lot of fun to fly!

I own two of these little bad boys myself , and they are a great flying scale plane , despite some mixed reviews I LOVE THIS PLANE ! Looking good buddy ! what was you finish weight ? and did you use the pull pull on the rudder ? what did you think of it ?

a few pic of one of mine

Very nice!

My finished weight is 7lb-6oz. It was at 7lb-2oz until I made that spinner for it. It is wood with an aluminum backplate. I just couldn't find one that was shaped correctly.

I did use the pull-pull system for the rudder. It has worked pretty well for me. I didn't think much of it in the beginning.

what size prop did you run on the super tigre 45 ? I ran a thunder tiger 46 with a 10x8 MAS and it just didn't seem to have the preformance I has hoped for. how was the climb ? scale flight ? and overall speed ? using the super tiger ?

My favorite was an 11x7 MAS. It would haul with that prop. I also used 10x8 MAS with good performance. Of course, the SuperTigre is on ball bearings and has a HUGE carb for such a small engine. I don't know exactly how fast it would pull the plane, but it was much faster than scale. I usually ran her at half throttle, firewalling her for large loops. A fellow flyer thought she would do 90mph! If that SuperTigre was pulling her at 90, then I estimate that the RCV 60 is pulling her around 65-70. I do know one thing. My friend was flying a lighter plane with an OS 55AX and he couldn't catch me with the RCV 60. And the SuperTigre is a good deal faster than that! It is a screamer. I could go vertical for a very long way. Large loops and chandelles, no problem. A high yo-yo was a beautiful thing to watch.

Now I've been told by other modelers that, with SuperTigres, you either get a good one or a bad one. Mine is a good one. Once the carb is set, I hardly have to touch it. Just check before the first flight that you're not too lean, and haul! They are notorious for throwing mufflers. Use lock nuts for sure.

I, like you, really like this little plane. When this one is done, I will certainly buy another to replace it. I would recommend it to anyone. Just get that CG right from the start!

"When this one is done, I will certainly buy another to replace it."

Looks like I jinxed myself. Last Friday my flying buddy and I both lost our birds to radio interference. My Zero half rolled upside-down and headed for mother earth. As it dropped below the tree line and out of site I gave it full up elevator, just hoping it would re-link in time to come out of the dive. I then heard the crash. When I found it, it had almost done just as I had hoped. The plane had skidded on its belly for about 20 feet. Just 3-4 more ft. of altitude and it would have made it. My friend's bird half rolled upside down while landing and went in about 15 sec. after mine. It was at about 40 ft. elev. on final approach when it rolled. We've yet to figure out the source of the interference. I'm still using FM but my friend's setup is 2.4Ghz. That's really puzzling! I tested my receiver battery and it was fine. I then range-checked what's left of my plane, and the receiver and remaining servos checked out fine.

Oh well, time to buy another .50 size Zeke and start again.

haven't seen a recent build thread on this plane in some time you should consider posting one when you buy a new one

I went ahead and purchased the NitroModels .50 Zero. It's a CMP knockoff for 88 bucks. The paint is glossy and will need to be toned down with some steel wool. Unlike the CMP, this one will require painting of the canopy framework. A little creative weathering wouldn't hurt either.

I may do some bashing on this one. I'm thinking of using rotary aileron drivers to get the linkages inside the wing and maybe go with some internal pushrod mechanisms for the rudder and elevator. I'm also thinking of adding flaps. We'll see on the mods, as I want to be flying before long.

Just finished the NitroModels .50 Zero. Pretty nice arf to be a CMP knockoff. I think they even copied the CMP instructions and put their logo on them. These instructions even had the same CG misprint as the CMP instructions! A few of the parts were missing (ie., copper tubing exhaust stacks, wing servo covers) but I was able to improvise.

I didn't have to dull the paint like I thought I would have to. I went ahead and put all of the tail feather controls inside the fuse and installed rotary aileron drivers inside the wings so no pushrods and horns mess up the nice lines. By installing the rotary aileron drivers I didn't need those missing wing servo covers either. Those purhrods and horns were the only items I didn't like about my previous CMP .50 Zeke. I left off the plastic retract wells so that the strut covers would retract flush with the underside of the wing. I may have to go back and make some well walls. We'll see. The little bird tips the scales at 7 lb.-6 oz., the same as my CMP with the 60SP. I balanced this one the same as the original CMP version (85mm behind leading edge) so now I just need to check my throws, run the RCV 60SP a little, and take to the air.

looks really good-anymore info on the internal servo drives?

I make the drivers myself. It's basically 2 servo arms bolted back-to-back with a spacer between. The outward facing servo arm is then screwed to a circuit board standoff with some epoxy around the threads of the screw. The spacer center is drilled out so that the spacer fits around the screw head that is screwed into the circuit board standoff. The other end of that standoff is drilled and tapped for set screws and a stainless steel welding rod is inserted and the set screws tightened. The outer end of the welding rod is bent (at the point where it exits the wing) at appoximately 32 degrees and this portion fits into a pocket in the aileron. The pocket is made of circuit board material (or G-10). The aileron is relieved to accept the pocket. To order the parts, go to www.irfmachineworks.com. You can get everything but the servos. These pics are of a rotary aileron driver I made for my .60 size Corsair a couple of years ago. Notice that the outer part of the rod connector is made of G10. On the Zeke, I used the back-to-back servo arms in lieu of the G-10 outer portion of the connector. It takes much less work using the latter method.