Good to see you back on here Ramstein44. By the way, I ended up owning the 190 that you built. I expect to get to it this winter and have it in the air again next spring.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2035146

Awesome...

Had a great day at the field with the fw today. 3 fantastic flights. 1 landing that had the smallest little hop and that damn robart gear bent the pin again! I normally don't rant , but this is total bs. Either they start using a harder steel for the pin, or add that second carrier block. Everyone at the field was stunned to see the gear bend on that landing. Robart, for $500 I expect a much higher quality product and you will definitely be hearing from me first thing Monday morning. I am pissed.

Video from today

http://youtu.be/Mk-XGQ5trRI

I know you can send your Robarts to Down and Locked and they do a few small mods to greatly improve the stock Robart mechanism....not expensive....maybe $50-$100 as I recall....It was an option I was looking at, but after all the comments here, i just went with the Sierra's....they are amazing.

Read about what Joe at Robart says about this earlier in the thread .....and the solution.

Andy's been hard at work. Got an update showing airlines/retract install, along with more complete engine install and venting options along the side of cowl. We're using the Sierra Air valve which has a variable flow to slow the retracts to scale speed. Things are coming together really nicely.

Darn, I can't find it...got a post #?

Is there anyone out there that used the Saito 84cc, that can address how much pre-running or break-in of the engine you did before your Maiden flight. We're about ready for our Maiden, and with all the $$ tied up in this one in accessories, I'm a little more worried about the engine running on the Maiden that normal....usually, I prescribe to the theory of running a bit rich and just go fly....put 2-3 gallons thru it this way and gradually lean out the motor as it tells you it needs to be leaned out.....Just looking for others' insight here with this particular engine as it's a very different setup.

30:1 non synthetic with 91 octane gas for the first 2 gallons... don't go too rich on the needles and foul a plug... taxi test and engine run-up... wait 20 minutes and if the wind is right and you feel confident... line it up and go! do not drop below 1/2 throttle for the flight and keep the power on final and chop it... plane rolls out... you accept the applause.. go get your plane.

I suggest the following after my experiments on this engine;

-Put oil into crankcase before start. Very, very important !
Follow the manual on what type of oil. The conrod bearing is of the type that needs oil, and the correct type.
-5% oil
-At least 4 rounds on H needle; You need to increase setting on the H needle more than you are used to from a standard
Walbro.
The result will be more petrol usage than normal on the first flights, but thats better than an engine that starts hesitating up there.
Land after 5 minutes and inspect petrol usage. Lean a bit.

-Do not use petrol with alcahol in it.You know, that Bio-stuff (5% ?) they put in the petrol nowadays; It will give cooling problems.

Actually, in this case, I found the manual to be quite rewarding to read, A rare experience.

Good luck on the first flight! Probably, hopefully, an exciting experience that will fill your heart with joy.

:):):)

I can reach the trumpet with my finger, choking the engine.

Thanks Sparky and Kwik....especially the reminder to prime the engine with oil prior to initial start....didn't think of that.
It's coming together nicely....all servos in, fitting switches, batteries, and now Andy's fitting the cockpit with the really nice kit from IFlyTailies. Its incredible.
What glue did you all use on the plastic parts in the cockpit...Testors, Welder, Canopy Glue, etc?

Slowly getting there too, finished fitting the engine.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2038224http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2038221http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2038223

Enjoy the journey, it is worth the effort.

Has everyone used the stock pushrod and clevis setup for the rudder and elevators? I hate soldering a clevis on the end of pushrod.

I am finishing up with the build on Brad's plane. I used a pull-pull setup for the rudder and Dubro solder on 4-40 adapters for the elevator with heavy duty 8-32 threaded posts. It meant I had to put new covering on the tops of the elevator and aileron surfaces to cover up the head of the 8-32 bolts, but very clean and strong install. For the rudder pull-pull, I had to install one new tube to the rear for the opposite side since only one is installed for a push-pull setup. A little tricky, but not bad.

Thanks. Just not a fan of a clevis on a plane this size.

Also, I hope they fired the person that designed the way the cowl bolts on to the fuselage. I am giving up on the 2 middle bolts and just going with 4 bolts, hopefully that is enough.

Hey Reverend, COOL Prop....where did you get that? Brand? Size and Pitch? Ray English says to use a 23x12x3, which is what Andy and I have on ours, getting ready to run....Most 3 blades are running a 22x12x3 I think....but yours has that old WW2 style curvature to it. Get Andy to tell you how he did the mod to work the Choke....he used a pulley/bearing connected to a servo to pull the choke without interfering with the throttle movement moving full throw. It's cool....ProMark Graphics has a full page of FW190 Nomenclature and a legend of where all the markings, oil pressures, Oleo Strut measurements, etc. go, for the entire airframe.

I agree, and went with a bolting means from outside the cowl from the rear forward. Two bolts are in the wing saddle and two are on the top deck under the removable top. Much easier and straight forward.

Here's Andy's final cockpit efforts.....WOW.

I swear the person that designed this cowl installation never actually tried bolting it on. I think I will scrap the clevis and solder on some 4-40 Dubro adapters then use heavy duty ball links on all the control surfaces.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2038624Guys, I have a NIB FW303A left over, ordered two by accident. This should be the 2nd generation October 2014

Rounding into Home Stretch....Only a few small details left...went ahead and added a Spektrum 8ch add-on module....first time I've used that, but we had 13-14 channel requirements, and didn't want to use Y-harnesses.....It's working great. Andy made very nice baffles....probably will paint black or silver. Note his exhaust exit on the side of the cowl.

you sure that's enough to pull the hot air out of the cowl?

We think so....both have done a lot of cowled motors....and there's a lot of air going back into the body of the plane as well. With the baffle, the exit is larger than the intake, and that's the goal....Try to get 3:1, but that's not possible with this one....If I have to, after some testing, I can open up the vertical plastic slits, and that would definitely be enough, from a mathematical standpoint. We'll see.