Getting started in the hobby! First planes, first impressions

[tudordewolf]

Maidened it today, 3 flights and I brought it back intact!

Excuse the blurry, shaky recording, I got nitro oil on the lens and didn't notice, and I didn't capture the landing. Priorities was flying, not recording.

 

[gandalfnz]

Maidened it today, 3 flights and I brought it back intact!

Excuse the blurry, shaky recording, I got nitro oil on the lens and didn't notice, and I didn't capture the landing. Priorities was flying, not recording.

Look at that, makes me so happy to see you fly that thing, and you are a pretty good pilot too!
I get discouraged when I see the wind sock that high.
You go up and right away you do loops and other maneuvers.

Talk about nitro fuel/oil getting everywhere, even on camera lens

I am one of those people that don't like to see engines covered in fuel/oil. I know this cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized.
I just pulled apart my LA15 engine from the Mini Ultra Stick, and sealed the backplate and the exhaust assembly, its not dry, no oil residue unlike before.
Will do this for every engine from now on, especially the LA series.

Congrats and as I said, very good flying.
How was the oil splatter on the plane?
The aero modelers club looks nice as well, where in the US is that?
I need to get myself a go pro!

 

[tudordewolf]

Look at that, makes me so happy to see you fly that thing, and you are a pretty good pilot too!
I get discouraged when I see the wind sock that high.
You go up and right away you do loops and other maneuvers.

Talk about nitro fuel/oil getting everywhere, even on camera lens

I am one of those people that don't like to see engines covered in fuel/oil. I know this cannot be avoided, but it can be minimized.
I just pulled apart my LA15 engine from the Mini Ultra Stick, and sealed the backplate and the exhaust assembly, its not dry, no oil residue unlike before.
Will do this for every engine from now on, especially the LA series.

Congrats and as I said, very good flying.
How was the oil splatter on the plane?
The aero modelers club looks nice as well, where in the US is that?
I need to get myself a go pro!

Thank you! The oil spatter wasn't too bad after the flight, mostly collected on the gear and tail, though during break-in I had to shield one of the gear legs to keep it from getting completely saturated. The engine started effortlessly and I gave it a 40-minute break in, burning ~400ml, after which it was hitting 12k RPM with an 11x6 prop.

My carb extension was oily inside after the flight and the engine was clean, so it worked as intended and contained the fuel 'burp' that normally escapes and blows over the plane. The engine bay in general had very little oil on it.

I took the idea further with a dome screen from an "herbal" vaporizer & some heat shrink, I haven't run this yet but I'm excited:

The screen is more open than it looks in that pic, very free-flowing despite having a fine mesh.

Other quality-of-life improvements are an XT60 soldered directly onto the end of my starter to use it with a 3S lipo, probably pretty standard practice these days, and an "extension cord" for my glow ignitor made from a glow charger's cord and an ignitor clip. I also use a 500cc syringe for fueling/de-fueling instead of a fuel pump; measuring the exact amounts in/out is built-in.

The club is Discover RC in Massachusetts, great bunch of pilots and a nice space to fly in. It's the club nearest to me and it's nearly an hour away. The wind isn't too bad if it's steady, I find it helpful on landings for slower touchdowns and a "longer" runway upwind.

I'll send out the film trimmer tomorrow, sorry about the delay with that, info to follow in pm

 

[gandalfnz]

Thank you! The oil spatter wasn't too bad after the flight, mostly collected on the gear and tail, though during break-in I had to shield one of the gear legs to keep it from getting completely saturated. The engine started effortlessly and I gave it a 40-minute break in, burning ~400ml, after which it was hitting 12k RPM with an 11x6 prop.

My carb extension was oily inside after the flight and the engine was clean, so it worked as intended and contained the fuel 'burp' that normally escapes and blows over the plane. The engine bay in general had very little oil on it.

View attachment 191393

I took the idea further with a dome screen from an "herbal" vaporizer & some heat shrink, I haven't run this yet but I'm excited:

View attachment 191394

The screen is more open than it looks in that pic, very free-flowing despite having a fine mesh.

View attachment 191395

Other quality-of-life improvements are an XT60 soldered directly onto the end of my starter to use it with a 3S lipo, probably pretty standard practice these days, and an "extension cord" for my glow ignitor made from a glow charger's cord and an ignitor clip. I also use a 500cc syringe for fueling/de-fueling instead of a fuel pump; measuring the exact amounts in/out is built-in.

The club is Discover RC in Massachusetts, great bunch of pilots and a nice space to fly in. It's the club nearest to me and it's nearly an hour away. The wind isn't too bad if it's steady, I find it helpful on landings for slower touchdowns and a "longer" runway upwind.

I'll send out the film trimmer tomorrow, sorry about the delay with that, info to follow in pm

Loving the Macgyver stuff, what makes this hobby so great! Let me know how it pans out.
That mesh is a great idea, pretty sure it will do as intended.
I still think foam type filter like on Nitro RC cars would work as well, plus eliminate any chance of dust getting in during take off, or test running the engine on the ground?

I put together a nice field box for myself, assembled from many plane bundles I acquired (lots of them came with field boxes). Made it quite nice and tidy, with no fuel spillage when refueling is done. Refueling I do with electric pump, but a hand pump is also mounted on the other side, just as a back up. It has a nice tinted glass bottle, and fuel tubing connection to the bottle cap is done via metal fittings. Like I said, zero spillage and oil residue.
Yes, I have a few electric starters, some wired, some wireless powered by a 3S lipo. I mostly use electric and rarely a chicken stick. Once the engine is tuned right, a small blip with electric starter is all is needed.
I will post a photo of the gear once I get home today.

Your club looks very nice, similar to ours, lush and green, with trees in the background, love it!
Mine is less than half an hour drive. As you said, great bunch of guys of there, I spent hrs just chatting to them, the knowledge these guys poses is incredible. One guy even makes his own engines, from scratch. He is my go to guy when I have any engine issues.

https://www.nsmac.org.nz/

I got my wings yesterday! I can now fly on my own, no supervision needed. Was quite comprehensive to be honest, lots of moves to do, and theory as well.
We are now working on my sons wings, he can already take off, do circuits and land good.

Do you have any planes on moving onto low wing trainers, or do you plane to go straight to the P51?

I find high wing trainers not challenging anymore, and am ready for the next step, which is why I just purchased this FMS T28.
Already snapped off the rudder completely (can't be seen in the photo) while putting the plane in the car, need to figure out how to repair it.
Whether to use CA hinges, or get some "Foam Tac" glue and repair with it.
can't wait to give it a test run, been hammering the T28 in Phoenix, learning to always touch down with main landing gear first, then nose down. Tricycles are bit more tricky to land.

 

[Doom!]

Go wth the ca hinges. Just make sure the glue gets all the way into the slot. The foam tack won't work well with something that has to move a lot.

 

[gandalfnz]

Go wth the ca hinges. Just make sure the glue gets all the way into the slot. The foam tack won't work well with something that has to move a lot.

Thanks four your comment.

I have already ordered some nylon hinges to fix the ruder.
Some ailerons have also started to go, so I will break those off, then re glue back on with foam tac, and then apply the hinge tape from the bottom.
I think that should see it last a long time, with tape giving it support.

 

[tudordewolf]

Do you have any planes on moving onto low wing trainers, or do you plane to go straight to the P51?

I'm thinking I'll build a low-wing "Sonic" with an LA-46 for kind of a vintage vibe, then embark on the P51 build.

Congrats on the wings! Got mine too, going to the field any day that allows now. Tried my hand with a 50mm EDF Habu, the nose dug in at landing and cracked the fuselage. I've glued it back up and removed the landing gear, seems belly landings are the way to go. I really like that it uses the same 3S 2200mah cells as my other "main" electrics, I'm trying not to invest any further in that infrastructure and go all nitro. (I say, having just ordered a new dual charger...)

I've still got that skeleton of a stick and .020 cox motor on the back burner.

Like you say, it only took a blip with the starter to get the OS .46 going, even brand new, started on factory settings and tuned in quickly. I tried the chicken stick and started it backwards both times, I'll stick with the electric starter for now.

 

[tudordewolf]

Loving the Macgyver stuff, what makes this hobby so great! Let me know how it pans out.
That mesh is a great idea, pretty sure it will do as intended.

Ran it again today, it took about 300rpm off the top end, 11,700RPM instead of 12k even. I didn't really notice any drop in power since it's so energetic anyway. Managed to record a full flight, ending with a bit of a heavy landing, nothing broken though!

One of the club guys suggested I program in a high/low idle switch, high idle for flight and low idle for landing and taxiing, definitely worth the effort to implement it.

I also took the 50mm Habu out:

Eventually had a cartwheel landing that only ripped the nose off, will be an easy fix.

It left the nose looking like a pointy boot:

Another member suggested toothpicks inserted across the break for reinforcement, I think that's a great idea.

 

[gandalfnz]

Ran it again today, it took about 300rpm off the top end, 11,700RPM instead of 12k even. I didn't really notice any drop in power since it's so energetic anyway. Managed to record a full flight, ending with a bit of a heavy landing, nothing broken though!

One of the club guys suggested I program in a high/low idle switch, high idle for flight and low idle for landing and taxiing, definitely worth the effort to implement it.

I also took the 50mm Habu out:

Eventually had a cartwheel landing that only ripped the nose off, will be an easy fix.

View attachment 191754

It left the nose looking like a pointy boot:

View attachment 191755

Another member suggested toothpicks inserted across the break for reinforcement, I think that's a great idea.

Hi there!

Your bravery to fly in such high wind is commendable.
I am thinking this is the reason why you keep walking away with "repairs needed" at the end of the day?
On you first with, the nitro, you can see the wind just drops you down into the ground, either that or you slammed hard on the elevator down.
That's quite lucky there was no damage to the undercarriage, not even bent landing gear. Usually a tricycle will suffer from such a hit to he ground.

I am not sure what is the purpose of high/low idle switch on nitro, first time I hear about this, as you need to constantly adjust the throttle while landing for altitude adjustment, especially on windy days like that. Otherwise, I just go back to idle and let it glide down.

That jet looks like a lot of fun to fly, I will hold off on jets, until I get the hang of flying the T28, then its warbirds and jets.
I'd love to buy a Mig29 or a Sukhoi 27, but prices are ridiculous to ship to NZ. You guys in the US get the best stuff at very decent prices.

Again, the club looks lovely, you can pretty much land in any direction, such a wide open space.
Our landing strip is quite narrow, which is not bad, really hones your landing skills.

I am just giving my T28 a once over, and making sure all control surfaces are good.
Modified the canopy a bit from below so it can accommodate a 5S (4s is standard recommended). It can be easily pushed to even 6S.
I measure on 5S if pulls about 45 amps on full throttle, 30 at mid. Gives me on average about 7 mins flight, with reserve.
Lets hope the landing gear on the T28 survives the next weekend.

To modify the canopy underside, I used a trapezoid bent wire and attached it to my soldering iron.
Worked great.

 

[tudordewolf]

Hi there!

Your bravery to fly in such high wind is commendable.
I am thinking this is the reason why you keep walking away with "repairs needed" at the end of the day?
On you first with, the nitro, you can see the wind just drops you down into the ground, either that or you slammed hard on the elevator down.
That's quite lucky there was no damage to the undercarriage, not even bent landing gear. Usually a tricycle will suffer from such a hit to he ground.

I am not sure what is the purpose of high/low idle switch on nitro, first time I hear about this, as you need to constantly adjust the throttle while landing for altitude adjustment, especially on windy days like that. Otherwise, I just go back to idle and let it glide down.

That jet looks like a lot of fun to fly, I will hold off on jets, until I get the hang of flying the T28, then its warbirds and jets.
I'd love to buy a Mig29 or a Sukhoi 27, but prices are ridiculous to ship to NZ. You guys in the US get the best stuff at very decent prices.

Again, the club looks lovely, you can pretty much land in any direction, such a wide open space.
Our landing strip is quite narrow, which is not bad, really hones your landing skills.

I am just giving my T28 a once over, and making sure all control surfaces are good.
Modified the canopy a bit from below so it can accommodate a 5S (4s is standard recommended). It can be easily pushed to even 6S.
I measure on 5S if pulls about 45 amps on full throttle, 30 at mid. Gives me on average about 7 mins flight, with reserve.
Lets hope the landing gear on the T28 survives the next weekend.

To modify the canopy underside, I used a trapezoid bent wire and attached it to my soldering iron.
Worked great.

View attachment 191885

View attachment 191886

View attachment 191887

View attachment 191888

This club's president said to me, "Around here, if you wait for good days to fly, you won't fly very much." I'm near the coast and there's a pretty steady wind most days. If it's less than 15mph, I'll give it a shot. The fact that the field is an hour away means I'm kind of committed to flying once I go, though I have decided to just fly foam on a gusty day. I have had some landings where the plane is stationary in a strong headwind and I have to wrestle it down with constant corrections, it's satisfying once you get the hang of it. I figure I may as well get good at flying in the wind.

Every time I re-watch that landing I cringe a little, that's definitely the upper limit of its ability to take a hit. The nosegear did bend, but only enough to save the plane, and it bent back without tools.

I might be overthinking the high/low idle, but I think it's a form of stall protection in flight, while still having the option to select a lower power setting so it doesn't get away from you taxiing, or overrun the runway on landing.

I've found that with even a little power the Avistar will sustain level flight, so I have to bring it all the way down to low idle to land it, but I prefer a slightly higher idle throughout the flight. It seems to respond to throttle more quickly. When I'm ground running it, if I let it sit in low idle for ~10 seconds and then go full throttle, it stalls. At high idle, it picks up easily even after sitting. Any richer or leaner on the needles produces less satisfactory RPM or higher temperatures, so I don't want to change those.

I want high idle to be almost enough power to taxi through grass, a perceptible light pull, with immediate response to full throttle, and low idle to be the true lowest I can tune for, though I don't necessarily want to bring it that low at any point during a flight. I may be overthinking this, maybe low idle cost me too much power and contributed to that heavy landing.

I haven't had the engine stall in flight, I even suspect it's less likely as the airflow actually encourages the engine to keep turning.

That's a nice T-28, good idea with the soldering iron. I bought a foam cutter on Ali that I'm thinking of using to turn old packing Styrofoam into plane-transport padding, shaped to the curve of the wing and fuselage, etc.

Jets are fun, the difference in wing loading and how that affects flight is very apparent. Both my Aeroscout and Habu run the same 3S batteries, but the difference in "power density" is clear:

 

[gandalfnz]

This club's president said to me, "Around here, if you wait for good days to fly, you won't fly very much." I'm near the coast and there's a pretty steady wind most days. If it's less than 15mph, I'll give it a shot. The fact that the field is an hour away means I'm kind of committed to flying once I go, though I have decided to just fly foam on a gusty day. I have had some landings where the plane is stationary in a strong headwind and I have to wrestle it down with constant corrections, it's satisfying once you get the hang of it. I figure I may as well get good at flying in the wind.

Every time I re-watch that landing I cringe a little, that's definitely the upper limit of its ability to take a hit. The nosegear did bend, but only enough to save the plane, and it bent back without tools.

I might be overthinking the high/low idle, but I think it's a form of stall protection in flight, while still having the option to select a lower power setting so it doesn't get away from you taxiing, or overrun the runway on landing.

I've found that with even a little power the Avistar will sustain level flight, so I have to bring it all the way down to low idle to land it, but I prefer a slightly higher idle throughout the flight. It seems to respond to throttle more quickly. When I'm ground running it, if I let it sit in low idle for ~10 seconds and then go full throttle, it stalls. At high idle, it picks up easily even after sitting. Any richer or leaner on the needles produces less satisfactory RPM or higher temperatures, so I don't want to change those.

I want high idle to be almost enough power to taxi through grass, a perceptible light pull, with immediate response to full throttle, and low idle to be the true lowest I can tune for, though I don't necessarily want to bring it that low at any point during a flight. I may be overthinking this, maybe low idle cost me too much power and contributed to that heavy landing.

I haven't had the engine stall in flight, I even suspect it's less likely as the airflow actually encourages the engine to keep turning.

That's a nice T-28, good idea with the soldering iron. I bought a foam cutter on Ali that I'm thinking of using to turn old packing Styrofoam into plane-transport padding, shaped to the curve of the wing and fuselage, etc.

Jets are fun, the difference in wing loading and how that affects flight is very apparent. Both my Aeroscout and Habu run the same 3S batteries, but the difference in "power density" is clear:

View attachment 191938
View attachment 191939

I watched your video a few times as well, not sure if you slammed it into the ground that hard by elevator down, or the wind caught you off guard?
The idea of flying in the wind is sound, good pilots can land in any condition I guess.
For me, for a foamie around 1kg in weight ( Our carbon cub), anything more than 15 knots is a no go, and just not enjoyable to fly.
I am sure that once we move onto heavier models, light wind will not have much impact, and will actually make it easier to land.

Your engine shouldn't stall when you transition from low idle to WOT. I would lean the LSN a bit more, should be able to idle for around 10 seconds, and then transition to WOT nice and smooth.
I have one engine I am currently battling, an ASP .15 that came off the Pitss plane, its the first engine I am not able to tune. It just gargles and farts when transitioning no matter how much I lean the needles.

I had to fully break away almost all control surfaces on the T28 apart from the elevator as they were all semi broken, and attach them back on with CA hinges.
Worked out great.
I have also tested the current draw and power usage when running on 5S and its 45A at full TH and 35 at mid, which is still way below the maximum the ESC and motor can take. Should have done this before ordering a couple of 4S packs from Aliexpress.
Decided to give HRB battery packs from Ali a chance, as I have heard good feedback about them at the club.

 

[tudordewolf]

I watched your video a few times as well, not sure if you slammed it into the ground that hard by elevator down, or the wind caught you off guard?
The idea of flying in the wind is sound, good pilots can land in any condition I guess.
For me, for a foamie around 1kg in weight ( Our carbon cub), anything more than 15 knots is a no go, and just not enjoyable to fly.
I am sure that once we move onto heavier models, light wind will not have much impact, and will actually make it easier to land.

Your engine shouldn't stall when you transition from low idle to WOT. I would lean the LSN a bit more, should be able to idle for around 10 seconds, and then transition to WOT nice and smooth.
I have one engine I am currently battling, an ASP .15 that came off the Pitss plane, its the first engine I am not able to tune. It just gargles and farts when transitioning no matter how much I lean the needles.

I had to fully break away almost all control surfaces on the T28 apart from the elevator as they were all semi broken, and attach them back on with CA hinges.
Worked out great.
I have also tested the current draw and power usage when running on 5S and its 45A at full TH and 35 at mid, which is still way below the maximum the ESC and motor can take. Should have done this before ordering a couple of 4S packs from Aliexpress.
Decided to give HRB battery packs from Ali a chance, as I have heard good feedback about them at the club.

I think it was the headwind dying out suddenly, leading to a drop in lift and elevator response such that I was pulling back on the stick and it only managed to keep the nose level instead of slamming it in nose-first.

I crashed the jet in a semi-controlled manner, it hit the ground "level" while I was trying to pull it out of a dive after a bad roll. The wingtips, tail, and twice-repaired nose were fine and it stayed in one piece, yet the fuselage and center of wing section both split. I've since reglued it and am about to fly it and the Avistar, should be a calm day.

I've started to go all-Turnigy for my packs, I'm confident that their C and mah ratings are completely accurate, and their prices (at least at Hobbyking) are often cheaper than even the 'budget' brands, somehow. And when you see the pros flying giant-scale helis and edfs, it's always bright blue Turnigy packs. $6.99 for a 3S 2200mah 25C, $9.99 for the 40C model? (as of this writing, sorry future forum readers)

The ones I'm using aren't even warm to the touch coming out of the EDF, though I haven't been "pushing" it yet.

I haven't messed with any nitros other than that new OS motor yet, I have a Thunder Tiger .15 I got for cheap that hopefully just needs a cleaning and fresh o-rings.

Edit: and a smoother landing from today's flying:

 

[gandalfnz]

I think it was the headwind dying out suddenly, leading to a drop in lift and elevator response such that I was pulling back on the stick and it only managed to keep the nose level instead of slamming it in nose-first.

I crashed the jet in a semi-controlled manner, it hit the ground "level" while I was trying to pull it out of a dive after a bad roll. The wingtips, tail, and twice-repaired nose were fine and it stayed in one piece, yet the fuselage and center of wing section both split. I've since reglued it and am about to fly it and the Avistar, should be a calm day.

I've started to go all-Turnigy for my packs, I'm confident that their C and mah ratings are completely accurate, and their prices (at least at Hobbyking) are often cheaper than even the 'budget' brands, somehow. And when you see the pros flying giant-scale helis and edfs, it's always bright blue Turnigy packs. $6.99 for a 3S 2200mah 25C, $9.99 for the 40C model? (as of this writing, sorry future forum readers)

The ones I'm using aren't even warm to the touch coming out of the EDF, though I haven't been "pushing" it yet.

I haven't messed with any nitros other than that new OS motor yet, I have a Thunder Tiger .15 I got for cheap that hopefully just needs a cleaning and fresh o-rings.

Edit: and a smoother landing from today's flying:

I always hope when flying that when I start to bleed off the speed, the plane will gradually start to drop in altitude on its own, without the need for elevator down. However, when you have strong headwind, you have to bring it down with elevator, while applying throttle, and this is the tricky bit, especially on tricycles.

Took out my T28 yesterday, gave it to a very good pilot at the club to take it up and trim it for me. As soon he took off, plane began dropping its tail, it was almost impossible to fly and crash was imminent. He managed to land it, with damaged front landing gear servo, wing tip scrape and a broken prop. He did am amazing job of bringing it down.
The troubleshooting then began to see what's going on, and as per the manual, the plane is tail heavy, but doesn't feel like it when I hold it by the tip of my fingers 1/3 away from the wing leading edge.
I was sure that yesterday will be an amazing day flying that T28, but its back to the workshop. Love it!

I have received the film trimmer, thank you very much for throwing a few goodies with it as well.
Those filter caps I have already tested and I think are very good, they do a good job at keeping the carb sputter contained.
I could only fit it onto a 91 4 stroke and cable tie it, that AX carb neck must be quite wide, with that tubing diameter you used.
In the end I have had to remove it, because once the cowling goes back on, its impossible to remove, my concern is that once plane is left idle for a long time, that oil collected in the metal mesh will harden over time and restrict the air coming in.
Its excellent for use on engines with no cowling or have easy carb access.

Please let me know how much I owe you, and if you ever need anything from down here (unlikely but not impossible), you know how to contact.

 

[tudordewolf]

I always hope when flying that when I start to bleed off the speed, the plane will gradually start to drop in altitude on its own, without the need for elevator down. However, when you have strong headwind, you have to bring it down with elevator, while applying throttle, and this is the tricky bit, especially on tricycles.

Took out my T28 yesterday, gave it to a very good pilot at the club to take it up and trim it for me. As soon he took off, plane began dropping its tail, it was almost impossible to fly and crash was imminent. He managed to land it, with damaged front landing gear servo, wing tip scrape and a broken prop. He did am amazing job of bringing it down.
The troubleshooting then began to see what's going on, and as per the manual, the plane is tail heavy, but doesn't feel like it when I hold it by the tip of my fingers 1/3 away from the wing leading edge.
I was sure that yesterday will be an amazing day flying that T28, but its back to the workshop. Love it!

I have received the film trimmer, thank you very much for throwing a few goodies with it as well.
Those filter caps I have already tested and I think are very good, they do a good job at keeping the carb sputter contained.
I could only fit it onto a 91 4 stroke and cable tie it, that AX carb neck must be quite wide, with that tubing diameter you used.
In the end I have had to remove it, because once the cowling goes back on, its impossible to remove, my concern is that once plane is left idle for a long time, that oil collected in the metal mesh will harden over time and restrict the air coming in.
Its excellent for use on engines with no cowling or have easy carb access.

Please let me know how much I owe you, and if you ever need anything from down here (unlikely but not impossible), you know how to contact.

View attachment 192791

View attachment 192792

Glad you didn't lose the T-28, I'm glad I haven't run into a tail-heavy condition yet since it sounds pretty difficult to save.

The carb neck is quite wide on the 46AX, I measured it at 14mm, probably because it's the exact same carb as the 55 AX. Apparently that's the only difference between the .46 AX and AX II, they swapped the carb from the 55AX onto it and got another 1000rpms out of it.

Thanks for trying one of the air filters already. I'm probably going to mount the four-stroke in the P-51 upside-down, so that flipped air filter arrangement may work out after all. Good observation about the oil potentially gumming it up, I'll keep an eye on it with mine.

I was looking at the .46LA I'm putting in my next build and it has a much smaller carb neck, it may work with these Brodak filters I bought, which have a roughly 9.5mm base. I've started that build now, I'm hoping to get it onto the field within a few weeks.

Fun accessorizing, I found a bag intended for skis that had the exact dimensions of the wing for my Avistar, a bespoke wing tote for ~$30:

 

[gandalfnz]

Glad you didn't lose the T-28, I'm glad I haven't run into a tail-heavy condition yet since it sounds pretty difficult to save.

The carb neck is quite wide on the 46AX, I measured it at 14mm, probably because it's the exact same carb as the 55 AX. Apparently that's the only difference between the .46 AX and AX II, they swapped the carb from the 55AX onto it and got another 1000rpms out of it.

Thanks for trying one of the air filters already. I'm probably going to mount the four-stroke in the P-51 upside-down, so that flipped air filter arrangement may work out after all. Good observation about the oil potentially gumming it up, I'll keep an eye on it with mine.

I was looking at the .46LA I'm putting in my next build and it has a much smaller carb neck, it may work with these Brodak filters I bought, which have a roughly 9.5mm base. I've started that build now, I'm hoping to get it onto the field within a few weeks.

Fun accessorizing, I found a bag intended for skis that had the exact dimensions of the wing for my Avistar, a bespoke wing tote for ~$30:

View attachment 192794

View attachment 192793

Good going with the ski bag.
I made some foam holders for my station wagon, which allow me to just pop the plane in the car without any disassembly required.
I know it doesn't take much time to assemble, but I prefer not to do it and just take it out and fly.
Only two planes I can take with me at one time, as I need the back seats for my boys.
Need to figure out how to store a few more and a new holder needs to be made.

What plane is to accommodate the 46 LA?
When are you planning to buy those Brodak filters? Might grab a couple if not too much trouble, depending on what size carb neck they can fit onto?

Be aware that mounting the engine upside down is not ideal. They tend to flood quite easily, and the oil/fuel always drains into the plug element area, causing the "drowning effect" which makes the engine impossible to start. You then have to remove the plug, clean it and try again. Priming perfect is absolutely necessary.
I took me a while to learn how the correct sequence when starting the Jap bomber plane. Almost pulled my hair out, until I went and did a bit of research on the web.

I actually do no classic priming at all, which might take a bit longer until the engine fully sucks the fuel in, but at least it doesn't flood.
Also, I have installed a fuel line pincher on the side of the cowl, after realizing that when fueling the plane, it also tends to flood the engine.
Shutting down engine by pinching the fuel line is a must, but be careful with your fingers, again, fuel line pincher helps with this.

If I was doing a build today, I would do everything I could to mount the engine either side ways (90 degree) or max 120-130, but not 180.

Do a bit or research on this, and if you really feeling like you wanna mount the engine up side down, it can be done, just be aware it can be fiddly at times.

 

[tudordewolf]

Good going with the ski bag.
I made some foam holders for my station wagon, which allow me to just pop the plane in the car without any disassembly required.
I know it doesn't take much time to assemble, but I prefer not to do it and just take it out and fly.
Only two planes I can take with me at one time, as I need the back seats for my boys.
Need to figure out how to store a few more and a new holder needs to be made.

What plane is to accommodate the 46 LA?
When are you planning to buy those Brodak filters? Might grab a couple if not too much trouble, depending on what size carb neck they can fit onto?

Be aware that mounting the engine upside down is not ideal. They tend to flood quite easily, and the oil/fuel always drains into the plug element area, causing the "drowning effect" which makes the engine impossible to start. You then have to remove the plug, clean it and try again. Priming perfect is absolutely necessary.
I took me a while to learn how the correct sequence when starting the Jap bomber plane. Almost pulled my hair out, until I went and did a bit of research on the web.

I actually do no classic priming at all, which might take a bit longer until the engine fully sucks the fuel in, but at least it doesn't flood.
Also, I have installed a fuel line pincher on the side of the cowl, after realizing that when fueling the plane, it also tends to flood the engine.
Shutting down engine by pinching the fuel line is a must, but be careful with your fingers, again, fuel line pincher helps with this.

If I was doing a build today, I would do everything I could to mount the engine either side ways (90 degree) or max 120-130, but not 180.

Do a bit or research on this, and if you really feeling like you wanna mount the engine up side down, it can be done, just be aware it can be fiddly at times.

View attachment 192918

That's a really good point about flooding the plug, I suppose I'll try to get it at an angle where the exhaust port is at the bottom-most point to try and mitigate that issue, appreciate the tip.

With the Avistar's dimensions, there's just no way it's going in my car whole. I'm glad enough that I don't have to split the wing into it's halves & the wing tube, then it's just two nylon bolts to secure it to the fuselage. I remove the flight battery when I'm not using it, so it's handy enough that I do that at the start & end of my flying days anyway. Here's how it fits in the back of my SUV with the seats folded down:

A station wagon would be an ideal car for transporting planes, I got a trailer-hitch cargo rack to carry my field equipment since current it occupies the passenger seat...

The LA is going in a Sonic 53", about 1.3meters & 2kg.

It calls for a .25-.32, but the .46LA is a full 100g lighter than the .46AX, and all the other engines available to me in that size range are either on the small side (.25LA), or weigh nearly as much as the .46 anyway. ( .25FX II weighs 310g, SH .32 weighs 330g, .46LA weighs 350g, all counting stock muffler). I did the engine bay with film like I did the Avistar, and assembled my first CA hinges. Those are a bit of magic, really, seeing a drop of superglue instantly vanish into the joint and then it's still flexible yet totally fused into place.

I have those Brodak filters on hand, here's how they look on .25 & .46LA's - they were ostensibly designed for .15's, so I'll have to see if they provide enough airflow.

 

[gandalfnz]

That's a really good point about flooding the plug, I suppose I'll try to get it at an angle where the exhaust port is at the bottom-most point to try and mitigate that issue, appreciate the tip.

With the Avistar's dimensions, there's just no way it's going in my car whole. I'm glad enough that I don't have to split the wing into it's halves & the wing tube, then it's just two nylon bolts to secure it to the fuselage. I remove the flight battery when I'm not using it, so it's handy enough that I do that at the start & end of my flying days anyway. Here's how it fits in the back of my SUV with the seats folded down:

View attachment 192941

A station wagon would be an ideal car for transporting planes, I got a trailer-hitch cargo rack to carry my field equipment since current it occupies the passenger seat...

The LA is going in a Sonic 53", about 1.3meters & 2kg.

View attachment 192944
It calls for a .25-.32, but the .46LA is a full 100g lighter than the .46AX, and all the other engines available to me in that size range are either on the small side (.25LA), or weigh nearly as much as the .46 anyway. ( .25FX II weighs 310g, SH .32 weighs 330g, .46LA weighs 350g, all counting stock muffler). I did the engine bay with film like I did the Avistar, and assembled my first CA hinges. Those are a bit of magic, really, seeing a drop of superglue instantly vanish into the joint and then it's still flexible yet totally fused into place.

I have those Brodak filters on hand, here's how they look on .25 & .46LA's - they were ostensibly designed for .15's, so I'll have to see if they provide enough airflow.

View attachment 192943View attachment 192942

Yea, just be aware of the flooding issue, I was thinking of installing the engine sideways, but then changed my mind again, once I learnt the starting sequence properly. As long as its not completely upside down, you should be fine.

That Brodak filter, looks like it will do what you made the idle sputter filter for, preventing the fuel coming out the carb, like it does on the RC cars.

I don't know how someone at OS thought that painting the LA engines in blue, rather then leave them in silver would be a good idea.
Its terrible, after a good scrub, the paint just comes off and it looks so bad, like a heavily worn old engine.
I need to figure out a way on how to strip that paint off.

With the LA, you want to disassemble the muffler assembly, apply gasket silicone everywhere and same with the back plate. Also, silicone where muffler meets the engine.
It will stay dry after that

 

[gandalfnz]

Hi there

Did you ever sort out a field box? I think these things are ancient now, with us having an option to buy small handheld wireless glow drivers and electric starters.
I carry mine with me, and yes it still has the old heavy lead battery, which I might look at replacing with a lipo. It has those U brackets that hold the plane on top of it, but I have removed that.
Electric starter I cut off the long wire and made it run on 3S. Works well.

Additionally I added a electric pump to a fuel bottle, since I am going to keep two types of fuel, one with more oil content for my plain bushing 2 strokes, and the other with much less oil be used on 4 strokes. Everything is made modular with XT60/30 connectors so I can quickly run everything off either the battery from the field box, or electric starter.

I know I said I will attach some photos, so here it goes.

 

[tudordewolf]

Hi there

Did you ever sort out a field box? I think these things are ancient now, with us having an option to buy small handheld wireless glow drivers and electric starters.
I carry mine with me, and yes it still has the old heavy lead battery, which I might look at replacing with a lipo. It has those U brackets that hold the plane on top of it, but I have removed that.
Electric starter I cut off the long wire and made it run on 3S. Works well.

Additionally I added a electric pump to a fuel bottle, since I am going to keep two types of fuel, one with more oil content for my plain bushing 2 strokes, and the other with much less oil be used on 4 strokes. Everything is made modular with XT60/30 connectors so I can quickly run everything off either the battery from the field box, or electric starter.

I know I said I will attach some photos, so here it goes.



View attachment 196753

View attachment 196754

View attachment 196755

View attachment 196756

View attachment 196757

View attachment 196758

View attachment 196759

I haven't gotten a proper field box, I use one of the same "long" milk crates that I was using for my surface nitros. I did the exact same with the wire on my starter, and also the all-XT60 logistics. I turned the excess from the starter's cord into 1 long and 1 short XT60 extension cord.

I've been meaning to 3D-print a battery holder for my starter to hold the 3-cell, but considering how briefly I use it, it's been easy enough to just hold them together in my hand.

I got a nicer dual-channel charger, the M6D for only ~$50 on Ali, which works nicely with the all-XT60 power logistics. I made a car socket adapter so I can charge my batteries on the way to the field, and a Makita to XT60 adapter so I can charge them at the field with my power tool batteries. This way I only really need 3 batteries that I charge on rotation while I fly, one of which I also tap for the starter. I'll get 5+ recharges out of a tool battery, and even at 2C it does it fast enough that by the time I've flown battery #3, battery #1 is ready for another flight, even in the EDF's.

I could also conceivably use the battery charger as a glow driver since it has the option of acting like a DC power supply.

 

[gandalfnz]

I haven't gotten a proper field box, I use one of the same "long" milk crates that I was using for my surface nitros. I did the exact same with the wire on my starter, and also the all-XT60 logistics. I turned the excess from the starter's cord into 1 long and 1 short XT60 extension cord.

View attachment 197048

View attachment 197047

I've been meaning to 3D-print a battery holder for my starter to hold the 3-cell, but considering how briefly I use it, it's been easy enough to just hold them together in my hand.

I got a nicer dual-channel charger, the M6D for only ~$50 on Ali, which works nicely with the all-XT60 power logistics. I made a car socket adapter so I can charge my batteries on the way to the field, and a Makita to XT60 adapter so I can charge them at the field with my power tool batteries. This way I only really need 3 batteries that I charge on rotation while I fly, one of which I also tap for the starter. I'll get 5+ recharges out of a tool battery, and even at 2C it does it fast enough that by the time I've flown battery #3, battery #1 is ready for another flight, even in the EDF's.

I could also conceivably use the battery charger as a glow driver since it has the option of acting like a DC power supply.

Sounds good. I actually need a dual charger as well. For the moment I got that extension board, that has like 8-9 XT 60 connectors connected in parallel, so I charge that way. Works pretty good. I think it was only a few bucks on Ali.

I am currently flooded with projects/restorations, too many started at the same time.

I keep buying planes, too many too list, but currently working on a SIG 4 Star 120 (glow to electric conversion) and 4 Star 40 complete restore, the 40 is going to be my first venture into 4 Strokes, with me putting a Magnum 61 on it.
Also, just about finished with my .15 800mm wingspan Pitts.

In love with the old SIG kits, I just find them with so much character.