RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

TED1,
Do you have anymore pics of the custom nacelles that you built? If so, could you please post them? Was looking at small 4 strokes. Like that OS 56, but $300.00 each! That's 150.00 for the plane and 600.00 for the engines, something just doesn't add up. May have to go with a couple of Saito 56s. Still that's $400.00 for engines, yikes! My wifes gonna have a cow!

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Mesa flyer, My Dual Ace has been flying for two years now with Magnum .52 4-strokes. Plenty of power with either two blade or three blade props. Our flying field here in Reno is at 5000' altitude. I think I paid $119 for one engine and the second for $99 off of ebay. They have proven to be reliable and plenty of power for this airframe.

Regards from old bird.

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Hey guys, i just bought myself a DA, running 2 55 ax's 3 bladed 10x7 props, retracts, onboard glow and possibly a camera in the plane. I'd think that the two 55 ax's should have enough grunt to make the plane boogy along quite nicely.

But the things that concern me is the ammount of power (this is my third plane (2nd with retracts)) and the fact that im going to be running close to 10 servo's in the plane (two engine, two aileron, two rudder and two elevator + 1 for the retracts). What size battery would you be using as i have got one 1600mAh 6 volt pack, and tempted to run a second in the system

Anyone with some ideas ?

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Hi Pilot boy
1600 6v will be enough just keep an eye on it to see how many flights you can safely get before a recharge.
I just run 2 x 4cell 1100mah packs mounted right up front and no lead.
You really don't need 2 servo's on rudder I use a pull pull setup.
With 55 2 stokes it will go like the proverbial.
I run 2x Enya 53 4strokers with 10x7 3 bladers.
Got any pics of your retract fit?
Cheers
Paul

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

pilotboy,
Yea, I would like to see the retracts install myself. Got any pics? Are you using 85 or 90 degree?

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

I too would like to see some retract install photos. I did do a canopy mod using a left over hanger 9 showtime canopy.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7396063/tm.htm

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Not yet, waiting for my springair 101HD's to arrive from the states (im an aussie pilot)

Once i get them, i will take some pics for all you to drool over :P

Also TED1 please put some more pics for your nacelle development, want to take that into consideration

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Also, the second rudder servo is nosewheel steering only :)

As for the battery i went and got another 1600 mAh 6 volt pack today (25 bucks a pop is cheap enough :)

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Picard, love your canopy mod! Improves the looks 100% over the stock cabin. I picked up a prebuilt DA (never flown) and have been changing a few things to get it to fly.

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

am running 55 axs on mine with 11 x 7 3-blades and it screams!

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Ichy,
I'm glad you liked the mod.

What have you been doing to your DA?


Picard

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Not much really. Trying to get everything trimed out. It did not come with a receiver or battery so am installing that. Replaced some servo arms. Purchased "y" harnesses for the rudder and ailerons. Also bought a "y" for the engine servos, but may change that to separate channels, after I see what control I have on the engines. Got out the heat gun and bar-b-qued it to get out all the wrinkles. It did come with evolution 46's. :D So, it is just about ready to test. Now between work and life, got to find the time to putter around on it! I am not going to make any mods on it until after I fly it for awhile, assuming it survives! [sm=omg_smile.gif] I did, however, dig up the canopy from an old 30% Extra 300 (RIP). Would need a huge amount of trimming, but you got my mind working ............

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

I lost my Dual Ace on takeoff last weekend (Forgot to change models on the transmitter)In a rush to get one more flight in.Every thing was the same as the other airplane I was flying except AILERONS!.You know what happened after that.Anyhow I ordered another Dual Ace and two OS 70 fourstrokes.The one that crashed had OS46 fx's on it and will be going in a Cessna 337 pusher puller.How will the 70's compare to the 46's? I want to run 3 bladed props on it ,what size would you recommend?

Thanks Rich

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Hi Rich
I run enya 53 four strokes (detuned) with MA 3 bladed 10x7 props (11,200rpm)and others use OS52 FS plenty of power.
I think OS 70's FS is way overkill in a DA.
Cheers
Paul

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Sorry for your loss. I wanted to use OS 56, until I saw the price tag. Ouch! May go with Saito's, won't know until Christmas. You'll have to let us know how 70's work out, IF you use 70's. ;)

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

picard 1,
Just read your thread on the canopy mod. VERY nice work. Changes the whole look of the plane, for the better, in my opinion. Much, much better.

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

I agree with some of you other guys, the OS .52 4-strokes seem to be a perfect combination. Plus they sound great !

Flew mine last Saturday for the first time. Per the general advice here at RCU, I set the initial CG at 100mm. What a sweet flyer !!

On one of the flights, I noticed a slight pull to the left. I had to input a little extra aileron and rudder control to the right, but she was still flying OK.

I brought it around and noticed the left engine had quit. It was still flying pretty good so I decided to see just how good it would fly with just one engine. I took it up high and did a couple of horizontal figure eights. It took some extra aileron control to get it to turn to the right, but it still flew OK.

After doing almost a perfect landing on one engine, I discovered the fuel filter on the dead engine had come unscrewed.

I know a lot of you guys are good on coordinated rudder control when losing an engine on a twin, but I'm just on the fair side. The reason I think it flew so well on one engine ? I programmed (slaved) in about 1/2" of left/right rudder movement using the ailerons as a master. I also programmed in -50% expo. into the ailerons.

I lost a real nice B-26 bomber last year after losing an engine and not getting on the rudder quick enough. Before I could discover which engine had failed, I made a turn into the dead engine. SPLAT !!!

I have programmed coordinated aileron/rudder control into all three of my twins. Now I've lost all fear of losing an engine. It seems to work for me.

Joe M.

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Thank God I finally made it to the last page!LOL! Guys, thanks for all the information on this plane. I just bought one for myself, and based on all the great info here, I will be making a lot of changes and making this a full kit bash. I've never really bashed an ARF kit before, so this will be a new experience for me. I am planning at least the following for my DA:
TT Pro 46's with 3 blade props and tru turn or other aluminum spinners
Retracts with a seperate servo for nose gear steering
Make fiberglass gear doors that work with the retracts
Change angle of side windows and recover them with clear Ultracote
Make new custom engine nacelles
Add pilot figures for more scale appearance
Add flaps( maybe split flaps), not flaperons
Change the outline of the fin for a more scale appearance
Add dowels to help align wings
Replace tanks with Sullivan flex tanks
Add pull pull rudder and 4-40 elevator hardware
I think this is a great airframe, and I appreciate all of the great information presented here. I have a project( BIY kit) that I'm trying to get finished before I start on this one, so it won't be another unfinished airplane, but it is calling my name to build it.
Thanks again,
Bryan

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Dorsal fin does look a little weird, but it is scale - Google photos of a Beechcraft Duke if you have any doubts ...
- RB8

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Dorsal Fin looks like a Beech Duke! Maybe I won't change it!
Bryan

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

You might find it hard adding real flaps to the wings - there's not a lot of trailing edge left inboard of the ailerons, unless you're planning on sacrificing some of the aileron to convert into flap?

You'll probably also find there's no need to add dowels for alignment, my recently bought ARF already had the ply "washers" glued into place which sets the incidence from the factory. It looks like Seagull's made a lot of the changes in later models that we've mentioned here.

I'd recommend a change I made as well - adding a spare engine mount to the fuselage firewall to mount battery packs on. Bolt a small piece of alum sheet across them and it makes a great battery mount and reduces the amount of lead you need to balance the plane. I'm running two packs in parallel (with two separate switches) as well as a Sub C cell to feed the on-board glow.

Matt

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Sounds good! I may also be able to use a belly mount nosegear retract on the engine mounts if I'm careful.
Thanks,
Bryan

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

Heyas.. a quick prop question for those out there that're cleverer than I am... I'm a pair of Super Tigre 40's in my DA, with 10x6 MAS props. It flies fine but takes quite a bit of runway to get up to speed. Super Tigre recommends up to 11x5 props which (from what I've read) will give me more power but less speed. If I read that correctly it'll pull harder for the same revs which should make take offs a little easier, at the cost of some top end speed. Ground clearance is an issue though (I fly from a grass strip and the 10" props come home with green tips now!). I was thinking instead of going up to the 11x5 I could use a 10x5 3 bladed prop. Am I on the right track, or barking up the proverbial tree? Every time I mention 3 blade props at my LHS they all frown and mutter about 2 bladers being more efficient.

While I'm asking about props, I might as well ask about spinners. One of the tacky red ones that came with the ARF kept popping out of it's base plate's groove whenever I spun up the motor, so I went out and bought some Du-Bro ones to replace them (white so it matches better than the tacky red), but I found the Du-Bro's base plates had an extra shoulder at the back which rubbed against the nacelles. I solved the problem on the day by flying without spinners but when I got home I used a hole saw in my drill press to cut out the centres of the red spinner back plates leaving me with disks about 1.25" diameter, and used them as spacers behind the new white ones. This of course moves the props further out - with the prop nuts tight the end of the shaft is flush with the end of the nuts. I've spun the engines up in my back yard today without an issue but not flown with it. I really don't want to remount the engine further forward as that'll mean cutting the holes in the nacelle again (ugly) and messing with the COG (messy). Are these "spacers" going to cause a problem, and is there a better solution? Would I be better off having some machined out of aluminium (for more precision, the plastic cut out with a hole-saw's pretty rough). Keep in mind that if I get the 3 bladed props I'll need spinners to match and the only 3 blade spinners I can find are Du-Bro's (other than Tru Turns which cost more than I'm willing to spend).

Matt

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

I'm planning to use vintage ST-40 blueheads in my DA, Sandman, and have run them in on my trusty Alpha trainer. I first tried a 10x6 prop and like you say, it takes all the runway. 11x5 is much much better. I think it's a matter of thrust, with the 11" prop disk sweeping a lot more area and producing significantly more thrust than the 10" prop. If that's the logic, I don't think a 3-bladed 10x5 will help you. We have a grass field with a paved runway and I like to use larger wheels, so I plan to mount 3 1/2" Sullivan Skylites to overcome any clearance problems that arise from the 11x5 props.

Btw, I originally tried a 3 bladed Evolution prop (10x4, I think). Worse than the 10x6 2-bladed prop!

-RB8

RE: Seagull's "Dual Ace"
 

For what it's worth.......I'm using Evolution 46's, Graupner 10-7 3 blades, 15% nitro and I'm airborne in about 125 feet flying off of pavement.

Ken