anyone got any pics of their engine mounting methods in SSE's? i have the ARF and am about to the point of mounting the engine. I am putting an OS .55AX in it. i was gonna wait to do it last to help get the balance right without adding any weight, but it seems that even at the lowest point i can mount it with the supplied engine mounts the carb is gonna be way above the centerline of the fuel tank. not so ideal. i could mount it sideways, and that would fix that problem, but then there is a bit of an issue with throttle linkage, not to mention cutting out the side of the plane for the head. so if any suggestions and pics are out there, thanks for the input.

If it is way above the tank center perhaps you should think of an inverted mounting. Your throttle linkage would be the only change other than new holes for the mount. No cutting of the airframe needed, not to mention a clean look to the top of the airframe. The other option would be to move the tank mount to lower the tank.
Either way you may want to use a 3 line fuel setup (uniflow), because you may have a problem any way you mount other than the sidewinder setup you mentioned.
There are several threads by guys whom had made extensive mods to the SSE on RCU perhaps they can better answer your question. I have an SSE kit that I intend to put together next week while on vacation ,and am going to use a OS .55AX on it inverted. I will probably make up a cowl as well rather than use the stock "cheeks" on it.

I mounted mine sideways and did a custom FG cowl. Engine is a ST .45 with a Pitts muffler. It seemed to fly much faster than other SSE's that I've seen. Probably the result of better streamlining.

Nice looking plane YEL914!

I had a SSE ARF with a Super Tigre .45 mounted int he stock position. It ran very well; no problems at all. I wouldn't hesitate to mount it just like the instructions show.

I also put the same engine mounted sideways in a kit built SSE. Maybe I built the kit lighter, maybe it was the streamlining from the cowl or maybe it was the carb position but this SSE was noticeably faster using the same prop and fuel. It also had a Macs muffler on this plane, maybe that was a factor too.

One problem both SSE's had is prop clearance with the stock gear. I was running 11" props. With the .55-AX you'll likely be running a 12". This means even less clearance. Order some taller, stronger gear from tntlandinggear.com or someplace similar. You'll be glad you did.

order schmorder... i do fabrication on fullsize aircraft for a living. you can bet that i already built me a nice 7075 T-6 gear with a bit more clearance for the bigger props the .55 will swing. (in fact i have become the local landing gear fabricator for my buddies for the most part) but thanks for the advice.

yel914, i saw pics of your plane in another thread when i was surfing around before making this post. looks hot! i might have to do something like that. but truth is i wanna fly this thing now! i have spent a lot of attention to detail so far (well it is an ARF, but what there is for me to assemble i have done my best on) so maybe i should get past the impatience and do it right like you suggested. we'll see. thanks for the advice and pics all.

I have the .55-AX in my GP Revolver ARF. It performs great. In the lighter SSE, I can only imagine how much fun it will be.

that is the plan brother!

Troposcuba, so do the ARF quick and easy to get it in the air and do a SSE kit with all the mods for a winter build. Why have just one SSE when you can have 2?

That plane looks great I am not sure what sse stands for could you tell me
Most trainers have the tank lower than the centre line and they are usually
Ok. Could you post a pic of it fully built looks similar to my dads sportster
But better.

SSE stands for the Sig Somthin' Extra. http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXFG18&P=ML

It is a great little sport plane that is very maneuverable but still flys decent at slower speeds. I've had the ARF and a kit built version. Both are great.

I hear ya, but due to my (already illustrated) short attention span I will most likely be interested in another airframe rather than 2 of the same. only reason really that i could see having more than one of the same is the instance of totalling a plane i liked a lot and gettin another to fly while the first was being repaired. otherwise, there are just too many cool planes out there to fill the hangar with a fleet of the same plane. don't get me wrong, i fully realize that the same airframe can be drastically different from one to the next depending on how it is set up. I guess what i am trying to say is i want one of everything before i go back and start working on Noah's principle of 2 of everything.

either way, the wife is gettin back from 4 months in Iraq tomorrow night, so i think it might be a bit before i get back in the garage tinkering with the planes. but believe me that is a good thing!

Speedlover, Here's a photo of the whole plane. Unfortunately, I biffed it on the first flight of the season. Totally destroyed the plane except for the tail section. I have another to build-hopefully this winter. I liked that plane so much that I will probably always have one in the fleet! Troposcuba-congrats on getting the wife back!

What size spinner did you use? I had a 2.25" on mine and built a balsa cowl. the curve it had to make to meet the spinner always looked a little goofy to me. Yours seems much better.

no doubt, i definitely like your cowl. might have to do that later at some point. sorry to hear ya totalled it. i saw that in another thread. bummer.

the wife, you have now idea how happy that makes me to see her again after 8 months apart!

Spinner size was a 2 1/2". Larger might even be better.