plowed mine in today, perfect 3 point landing dead stick about 30 ft up in a slow climb. only problem with my point landing was that it was on the gear and the nose lol. broke the motor box completely off as well as shoving the gear 2" upward into the fuse and some wing pocket damage. no wing or stab dmg nor any to the fuse behind the front half of the tank plate. having a friend repair it for me at his leisure.

That is really sad to hear, hope you get it up again soon and that you have something new on your build table to keep you going until then,

Cheers
Pupmeister

Don, sorry to hear that! I hope you get up and going again.

Don
Buggar?????, hope you can fix it, if not buy another one at least you know how to build it LOL, plus you would have lots of spares.
If you do decide to build something different let us all know will ya.
Best for the future and Blue Skies
Lee

Sorry to here it Don.... any idea why she went dead stick? DL50 right? A flame out at the wrong spot can put any of us in the repair hanger if there's anything left to repair! Good luck with the rebuild.

well I got the engine cleaned up today and went through the carb .... no blockages or gunk or anything. I was trying to figure out how to test the Ignition for spark, any ideas?. As abruptly as she quit it seems like it lost spark , gonna take a look at my smart-fly optical kill also although the Indicator light was still working when I checked it at the field so I was just assuming that it still worked properly. I kinda think the ignition is the problem .

Don, unscrew the spark plug out of the head and reconnect the spark plug boot, hold it by the boot or the wire, with the ignition on, spin the prop, you should see the spark jump across the plug gap. The plug is grounded to the ignition box by the boot and wire so you dont have to hold the plug against the cylinder to make the ground. You should see the spark jump pretty easy if not, dim the lights. Let us know what you find.

You could put your tongue on the end!!!!!!!!! Living on the edge??? Just joking. Will be interested to see if it is the ignition!!
Lee

Lee, lets get to the cause of the accident before we cause any permanent damage[>:].

Oh alright then[]
Lee

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice from some of the people that have already built this plane. I am wondering if someone could give me the optimum standoff lengths that I will have to purchase for the DA 50.

Thanks so much!
Andy K

The std ones are fine that come with the engine, go back and read this entire thread and you will find more than you need to build this and make it fly really well, it is a grat source of onformation
Blue skies and good luck
Lee

Hey everyone,

After having this aircraft sit in my basement for the longest time, I decided to take the plunge and begin the build. What i find extremely frustrating is that I was specifically told from wildhare that there would be provided templates, etc. and that mounting the engine, for example would mean simply lining up everything with the firewall and that the provided templates would allow me to mount the holes in the manner that I needed to. NO one explained to me about the 1/4 " I had to move to the right, and since there were no cross hairs on my firewall (I simply have a huge hole in the middle), i simply went halfway on each end. Now, I have holes created exactly in the center of the firewall without the 1/4". I explained very clearly to Tom that my build experience is very limited, and that this was my first real giant scale product. He indicated that he would provide me with everything required, and that all would be self explanatory in the instructions. .... The instructions are pathetic.

In addition, he indicated that he would "throw in" the standoff mounts for the engine. I realize through my receipts that I was charged for this.

I guess some people will do anything for a sale....

Whats really aggravating is that I explained to the gentleman that I NEED templates, and that I do not have the build experience ...and that I need to ensure that the template will allow me to position the engine in the manner required.

I now realize that I needed a 1/4" right thrust...amazingly I found this out through reading this thread. Well I guess it's a lesson learned. Dont know what the hell to do with the fuselage now. I have VERY limited time (the plane has been sitting here unopened for months! ) , and when I finally get to a project, having this as the end result is extremely frustrating. Maybe I should have gone with my gut and gotten a hangar-9 or aeroworks yak. i guess I had to let this out

Thanks for listening

Andy

Wow that sucks, but why didn't you call Tom for the template a few more times? I'm sure he could fax or email a paper template. He doesn't exactly have a staff like Tower but he does try. For now plug the holes with some dowels and drill new ones whats done is done. By the way the plane does fly great although some prior building experience is required. Good luck, read the threads a few times, and always measure twice and cut once!

thanks for your message. A template was indeed provided...but no direction as to measuring 1/4" to the right. I simply centered the firewall, and created lines to measure up to the template through the center. Mind you, i do NOT have crosshairs in my firewall like many of you, and like the pictures that were posted. Instead I have a huge hole in the firewall. I wish i could explain to you the level of frustration that I feel at this point. I am furious...but have no recourse. Rest assured, my business with wildhare is finished unless there is some recourse here. I feel that I should not be filling holes in the firewall since all I did was to follow the directions given to me. At the very least....for bloody sake...tell your customer that it requires a 1/4" offset if you dont want to give me a firewall with crosshairs already built in. Whats amazing is that I repeatedly asked him about ensuring that it was a no brainer...b/c I ADMIT that I am not much of a builder. I guess his 'self explanatory' instructions were not to self explanatory after all

And..what about quality control with your product line? I also own a small business, and trust me...you dont have to be a large manufacturer to ensure that you maintain consistency with your product offering. Excuse my french, but why the heck do I have a hole in my firewall with NO line directions while others have crosshairs built in?

Incredible..

I feel your frustration, but fear that you may regret some of the remarks you are making. When you get into this class of aircraft, time and experience, I feel, are a must. I am not sure what changes there may have been with your plane, as my instructions were to line the engine up with the center of the cowl ring, with the cowl installed. Any changes from one plane to the next are not a lack of consistency, but a desire on Tom's part to provide us with the best planes available. When I had a manufacturing flaw in my cowl, I couldn't mount my engine. In my case, I contacted Tom and he had a new cowl delivered to me in just a couple days. Tom acted quickly and earned my respect, and likely another future purchase. Again, I feel your frustration, but work with Tom and let him show you why he has such a loyal following.

Andy

As Ruski said "although some prior building experience is required". You admit you are a little weak in that area. Tom is quite helpful and so are the rest of us. Take a few deep breathes and relax. It's a great plane and you will like it. With that said, would you take some pictures of the firewall so we can see the hole you are talking about, plus tell us when you got the kit. I have attached a picture of my firewall and if you look close you can see the lines marking the center of the firewall. The large hole was drilled by me for airflow requirements of the carb. If you don't have the lines, than you might have an older model requiring you to center the prop shaft in the cowl. Download Tom's generic manual which shows how to do that and the rest of the how to's for his planes.
http://www.wildharerc.com/downloads/...ric-manual.pdf
Take a look at the Sukhoi manual to see if it matches the one that came with the plane:
http://www.wildharerc.com/downloads/...c%20detail.pdf

Keep us post on your progress and ask questions when needed. BTW, the real PITA on this plane is mounting the landing.

Chuck

That "huge" hole in the firewall isn't all that big. Some would complain if there was no hole. I don't know about the directions and what they note because when I started this thread there were no directions. However, there have been numerous places in this thread where off-setting the engine has been noted, and in what amounts. I think at one point I even illustrated how to make a drill jig specific for any given engine. Then again, that may have been a thread of it's own.

You need to back up and start the engine mounting process over again, this time taking the time to read through a few of the rather copious notes contained in this thread, and throughout the instructions, and any addendums on the website. Any holes that may aready be drilled in the firewall are easy to fill using a wood dowel of the appropriate size. If you can't find a dowel the correct size, drill the hole out to a size that will fit a given sized dowel. This method has been used for decades to repair holes in props and firewalls and works rather well.

Nobody, but nobody, mounts an engine center line on a firewall centerline. Everyone knows that you offset the engine to compensate for right thrust built into most firewalls. Many even check first to be sure they do or don't have right thrust. Some even use the method noted on the Wild Hare site for centering up the engine. They stand the plane up before mounting the rudder and set the engine inside the cowl on the firewall and make the correct drill locations..... That method has been covered many, many times before, both in the forum and in kit directions.

Thanks so much for your response. I really dont know what more I can say. My time and experience building airplanes is very limited. Like I mentioned in my previous note, i purchased the airplane Several months ago, and just now am starting to take it out of it's wrapper.

I can understand what it means to be loyal to a company or individual..and it sounds like many of you are. I too purchased EVERYTHING from Wildhare...including the engine (DA50) mufflers, etc. thinking that I will have a one stop shop location. Needless to say, in my explanation of my purchase I told the owner very specifically that I need templates for mounting the engine. If it is not a no-brainer process, it is a DEALBREAKER for me. I am very conscious of my inability to build, and explained this to him clearly. I also mentioned to him that I do not want to stand the plane up (we had discussions about my purchasing the 35% sukhoi...and he mentioned that I simply have to stand the plane up to center the engine), and that I needed a template! If fact, I was going to purchase his 35% sukhoi b/c I have a 3W106 that I had purhcased a while back that's still sitting in the box. THE only reason I didnt is b/c he did not have mounting templates for the engine!

So, with that said...and with his clear explanation to me for just simply centering everything up and drilling the holes (mind you, the discussion is now not to use the stand up cowl centering method mentioned earlier)...there was never a discussion ANYWHERE about a 1/4 offset to the right! Maybe the instructions should include a link to a build thread on RCU! INCREDIBLE! I dont have the crosshairs like many of you do. I have Sukhoi #56 so Im not sure if there is an updated product after this. It sounds like there is. But, please SIR PLEASE TELL ME THAT THERE IS A 1/4 OFFSET IF YOU WANT TO ME 'LINE IT UP AND DRILL'!

Andy

Andy, I understand your frustrations. Do you have any club members or friends that might be able to assist you in getting this bird in the air? Once it's airborne, I think your frustrations will fade. All "ARFS" require a certain level of build experience. Nothing ever goes as planned. That's why they make models in the "RTF" fashion. For people that don't have time the time or experience to complete a build like this. A large model like this DOES require a certain level of build experience, from the engine installation to installing the radio gear. Some good advice has been given here. Take a deep breath, plug the hole and go again. If your this frustrated already, your gonna have a tough time as you have a long way to go.

Andy take a step back and take a breath this bird is great... The stand up method is the best but since you did not want to do that well you have to rely on a template. You have stated that you do not have much building exp that's fine. We ALL make mistakes me more than anyone and if we did not fail we would not learn anything I have LEARNED ALOT .. If building causes this much tension then I would find someone else to help you because the landing gear will give you fits... I did not build mine my friend built mine because like you I am still working on my building skills mainly setup stuff mostly but thats the great thing about this hobby you do not have to look far to find someone that will help you in anyway they can ... I have learned so much on RCU !!

I understand that maybe there was no template in the kit but i'm sure Tom did not mean for it to not be there for you. I'm sure Tom cannot go through every box and insure every peice is in the kit nor would I expect him to. I also feel a simple telephone call to Tom would of had a template in the mail to you right away. Have you tried to call Tom about the template? If he refused to send you a template then maybe I could understand some of your frustration but Tom's instructions are by far some of the best in this size and class airplane. I know I have assembled 2 wildhare 50cc airplanes in the last 12 months.

I also know know for a fact as I have a friend that purchased a Wildhare Extra that was having a problem understanding the mounting procedure of his engine so he got on the phone with Tom and Tom talked him through the mounting no problem.

I'm not sure but it sounds like your in way over your head. Maybe you should ask some other builders in your area for some help. If you cant follow the instructions (with or without the template), I'm afraid to hear what problems your going to have setting up the control surfaces. I personally think your expecting the airplane to kind of go together without any thinking or knowledge and that simply is not the case.

In all you have a easily remedied situation. Epoxy dowels in the hole you drilled and redrill, why dwell on it, fix it and move on, or sell it and be done with it if this has you that flustered.

You won't be disappointed with your Sukhoi, I miss my Wildhare Sukhoi. Its on the table being repaired after a dumb thumbs move by me.

Hope everything works out for you,

Jim

When I did the plane for this thread I had no cross marks either, but it's easy to work around.

Cut a sheet of plain white paper to fit the face of the firewall. Now you have something to mark on. I don't have a template and have since passed the plane along to someone else but perhaps a Sukhoi owner reading this thread will provide the off set from center for you.

Regretfully I'm forced to agree with n57tc. I too believe you're into a plane that appears to be well beyond your ability. Truly you need to find someone near you with a lot more experience to get you through the parts assembly and assist with the first flights.

Thanks so much for your advice. The better thing for me to do is to purchase an aeroworks plane with a half-way decent manual and be up and flying in a week.

I want to sell my plane...it's completely brand new except for the mounting holes. I will sell it for 300 for anyone interested

This is the last wildhare product I will ever own

Thanks,
Andy

I will be looking for a post on the Aeroworks forum when that goes bad also LOL Good luck !!!!! Hope it works out ...