New planes for 2007?
 

Tom,

Any update on a new ultimate and/or 50cc Sukhoi for 2007?

Thanks,

Jim in Dallas

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Right when I had the wife all talked into me getting an ultimate, they ran out so I'd be interested to know regarding those as well...<grin>

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

I've seen pics of the new smaller Sukhoi. Looks great, but I did not hear anything on release dates.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

An Ultimate that could be flown with something like a ZDZ 80 would be awesome!!!! LoL

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

BME aircraft had a 100cc Ultimate, they ended up having a fire sale on them.

TF

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

OK y'all (that's Texan talk) here's the plan for 2007.

Next shipment will be 102" Sukhois, 41% Extras (flame and yellow), and 64" Ultimates, due in late March or early April. There will also be a few pieces of the new 85" Sukhoi and a few 91" Caps.

Immediately following will be restocking Edge 84, Extra 300 84", Extra 300 121", and quantity of the new 85" Sukhoi. Probably mid-May for these.

I have 3 new 100cc planes in development that should become available in early summer; A 35% MX2 that has been flight tested, 39% Giles G202 awaiting decent weather for testing, and a 105" Extra 300 that is a scaled down version of the 41% Extra 300. It has the pocket hinges and is just a superb airplane. I have the prototype here and will get to it soon.

Please note that the full scale Giles is a tiny airplane, only 22' wing span, so 39% scale is still only 103". The MX2 and Giles are both very light and should be OK for the big singles like the new DA-85 or ZDZ-super-80. The new Giles is 10" larger than the old one yet is lighter.

Other items include the probable return of the baby Edge and an electric/glow 73" Extra 300. No dates on them yet.

TF

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Tom,

I've been asked this question a few times already and figured it's time to run it by you. Have you considered applying the new pocket hinge design on all the planes from 28% and up? I'm aware that it would effect the pricing structure (upwards) but it seems to be a feature that customers are interested in.

Any thoughts on this as to whether it would work for the smaller planes with regards to weight or be an effective marketing tool?

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

I have seen the term "pocket hinge" several times and was wanting to know more about it. Sounds very interesting. Any links or pics I could check out? Also, what's the semi target cost of the 64" Ultimate looking like?

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Sounds great, Tom.

Do you have any pictures or artwork you can share with us on the ultimate and small Sukhoi?

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

That's quite a list of planes, Tom! Keep up the great work. Thanks for the effort.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Wow a new Ultimate! Time to pull out the plastic :)

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

The ultimate is the same plane we sold last year, 64" span for light 50cc. Some minor improvements include ring mount fr cowl, hatch in the rear to mount batteries if using a heavier engine, and with luck a little lighter weight.

First photos of smaller Sukhoi attached. This one is done as the Honda scheme which really needs graphics to look right, the full scale plane is also shown for illustration.

Regarding pocket hinges on thesmall planes, I'm concerned that it will add too much weight and cost. I am considering having the planes hinged at the factory though, that's always the most time consuming and least fun job.

TF

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

I like the pocket hinges that you are moving your planes too. Its much nicer than just about anything else out in there in the same class and the pricing is great. Kudos!

Ah looks like the pictures from the Al Ain airshow. They certainly know how to put on a show there.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Ok... I did a search for pocket hinges and found that many refer to them but with no explainations. I found one that said "prehinged at the factory" is this the case?

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

The hinge methods of the new 35% Sukhoi and the 41% Extra are what is being referred to as pocket hinges. Comp Arf uses a similar method on some planes.

I have not seen the revised version that has been applied to the Sukhoi, but I understand that it is better than what I worked with on the prototype. The new method prevents wear issues. For the simplest possible explanation, the pocket hinge is a series of tabs on one side with a tube running through them on the other side as a hinge point. There's more to it than that but that will work for the short version.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

That helps alot. I can see how that would eliminate wear and I look forward to seeing them on the new planes. Thanks

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

What is the 85" Sukhoi gonna cost?

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

If I decide to equip it like our other planes it will be asimilar price, something around $450. But I'm considering what I might add to the plane, like pre-hinging, CF wing tube, control horns, etc. These things could affect the cost a little.

TF

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Here's a photo of an aileron and wing. You can see how the aileron LE fits into a pocket in the back of the wing.

This is the old style hinge without the bushings. Newer ones have brass bushings and the tabs are more than twice as thick.

TF

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Add to the equipment list a super light tailwheel and a carbon fiber or fiberglass spinner and the purchaser won't have to go shopping elsewhere for all the good stuff. Plus it's all rollede into one shipping charge. Now that saves some time and money!!

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Silver then some one like me that has the spinner has to pay that little bit extra for some thing we already have.

What type of control horn you thinking of adding Tom; the phenolic double truss type? if you go with these maybe have the proper hard point for a screw type control horn also just in case i break the phenolic or like the screws better.

I really like the CF wing tube and cf parts though, and that cowl ring is worth its weight in gold as far as im concerned. I dont know what every one else wants but i like the prehinged surfaces. That takes a whole day off the build time. Another thing you can do is have the hinges preglued into the rudder or into the vert stab and ready to be glued into the vertical stab or rudder after its unpacked from the shipping container. Yet another gem from my R&D add a tiny lite-ply piece on the rudder underside right to the tip of the hinge line and include a control horn type piece that would get the tail wheel springs on the hinge line and not back as much as 2 inches. plus it will save weight over a screw for the tail wheel springs. I got a million ideas like these, and i come up with more and more each day lol.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Tom, as they say. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'd seen that setup before but hadn't heard that term, (only been doing this 4 years). I appreciate the info and look forward to buying my 3rd WH.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

For the tiller arm tail wheel drive try this..cheap easy strong and very easy for the manufactuer. You can make it as long or short as needed.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

Well I've got to admit that I was curious about "pocket hinges" and had not been able to find out what they were... :eek:

That's exactly the way full scale stuff is hinged!

The only difference is that full scale stuff has a bolt/washer/nut for each hinge point that would not be possible to do with a model without adding a bunch of weight and difficulty installing the control surface.

Thanks for the pic Tom.

RE: New planes for 2007?
 

What do you expect the 85" Sukhoi to weigh?

Oh, and what's the diameter of the cowl?