Peter Eve

Thanks, guys, I checked thro all your info and decided I was doing the right thing anyway - so why didn't it work? I had set the mechanical zero of one of the servos significantly different from the other and I was expecting too much from the travekl adjustments. Must be more careful in future! Just need some decent weather now. Can anyone fix that?

Not sure if it makes a difference but the RX is an AR7000.

Can anyone help with setting ailerons so that the down travel is less than the up? I have two servos with AUX 2 assigned to aileron using PM 5. I am finding that the Travel Adjust screen will set the AIL channel but setting the AUX 2 for the other is a problem. In the Travel screen, the AUX 2 seems ineffective but in PM 5 I can adjust the rate but the other aileron reacts to that adjustment. Can anyone solve this for me, please?

Hi Tim I'm really pleased you found my post because, frankly, the more I look at the model, the more I agree with your analysis, they are not ARTF and not for the feint hearted. Very little of the hardware is worthy of anything more than the bin, one of the best examples being the horn assembly for the flaps - it is no good and thant's all there is to it. I remembered Tony's excellent write up and didn't get distressed about that but them it just went from bad to worse. How do you make an aileron which is too big - and then ask the customer to send a sketch of the dimensions he needs! I hope they send one because, as you say, it is a beautiful model and I don't want to take a bodge up to the field which hasn't even flown and that will be difficult to avoid. I am almost certainly going to use an SC 120FS up front, I have two already which have given no trouble. A club mate has offered a Zenoah 26 but I can't raise much enthusiasm for having to get geared up for petrol and everything else is glow. This is another area which worries me. In the supplementary instruction sheet (which I eventually found in the brochure advertising pilots etc) it suggests that augmenting the fibreglass around the firewall might be a good idea for "big" engines. Once again the question springs to mind, why didn't they do that in the factory? I remember another post from a guy in Dubai whose engine fell out during about the third flight! Did you strengthen anything? Peter

Tony - how have you got on with your build? I just bought one and I'm quite appalled at the problems I've had for a realatively high priced model. The hardware in the way of clevises and pull-pull systems is not as good as I've had with kits half the price. YT have been helpful so far but one of my ailerons is 3mm too deep from front to back and I'm hoping a new one is coming but looks like it going to be a bit of a wait and now I find all sorts of trouble trying to put the various parts of the tail together where the hardware is concerned. I wonder what they'll do about that. I see Tim had to provide some better quality stuff but surely a manufacturer wants to keep his reputation intact? So, how have you found it? Pete

PS - the one in my photo is a Kyosho 90 which flew well but the retracts and their mounting were the source of its final demise! P

Mike, I'm just going through all this 2yrs later and I wondered how you got on. Did you buy the YT retracts? It begins to look as though they are worth paying the somewhat extra cash for. I have a seconfhand Zenoah on offer from a club mate, have you gleaned anything on the engine front? What did you use? And the big question - did it live up to the claims that it flies well? Cheers Pete

Thanks, chaps, I would have followed up the timing ideas if I hadn't taken it to the club this afternoon and one of the guys spotted a crack in the crankcase where the mounting lugs meet the cylindrical part of the main case. It seems pointless to do other than replace that and then, with the above help, try to get it al back together. To answer the other questions, there was no noises as the engine was rotated and it did tick over fine but, once warmed up, it would only go to about half revs. The knock sounds like a petrol engine with a big end gone'   I have now got the con rod out and all that side of the engine looks ok. The next few days could be quite interesting.   Thank you all who replied, if you'd had the "body" I'm sure you would have spotted the crack too.    

Hi Andy - yes, after the fist incidence of prop throwing I checked and found exhaust at 10 and inlet at 5. Resetting them to 4 seemed to make no dfference. I did discover today that the fuel I was using from the end of a gallon caused my Saito 100 to play up at low revs. I'm beginning to wonder if that could have been a factor. The banging sounded like pre-ignition.

I have 2 SC 120FS engines and they have been little trouble until..... just recently, at the end of a flight (fortunately) the one in my Chipmunk slipped its throttle contol link at the carb and went to full throttle. This lasted until I could get help to get a rage to shut off the exhast. So the engine got quite hot. I fixed the linkage and took it backto the field only to find that, as soon as I get to about half throttle, it makes a terrible banging and throws its prop. Playing with the main needle has done nothing to help. I have opened up the head and back plate but nothing seems amiss, my only surprise it that the con rod doesn't what to slide back far enough to free the big end. This seems to be due to the casting inside the piston so how does the con rod come off? Anyone any suggestions, either as to what might have happened or how to get it apart. please?

I can confirm absolutely all of the Doctor's diagnosisi! I have a Saito 100 which is on its 3rd cylinder the first 2 having been damaged in crashes and the manifold ripped out the thread. The answer to that, apart from not crashing which doesn't seem to be an option for me yet (!), is to make sure that the mauffler angles back from the vertical as far as the design of plane/cowl will allow.   I, too, have inadequately screwed the manifold into the cylinder which exacerbated the problem. On the third attempt I hope I have got all this right. So far, with the manifold as far in as poss, so good, but I did have to re-tighten the lock nut to the cylinder when the engine was hot and I had to have two goes at it. Now it seems OK and that has been the case in the past, always the need to re-tighten. Plumbers tape made no difference, I haven't tried epoxy but that's becasue I didn't need to.   So, take your spanners to the field, warm up, tighten up - and enjoy the day!

Mine flew on saturday with an SC 120FS pulling it around, plenty of power, why use more! But it did take 800g of church roof to bring the CofG to the prescribed point, At that stage, pardon the mixed units, it weighed 12.25 pounds. Local advice suggested leaving the u/c spats until I had got a good feel for landing (!) and I have found that the curvature where they meet the wing is not that of the aerofoil. I also notice from pictures on the web that they appear to be too long. Is there any useful experience out there on this issue?   Weather looks good for tomorrow! happy landings.   Pete

Thanks, Tim, I hadn't come across HP engines but, unfortunately, having followed your link, it seems this one is the 4 bolt head model which is no longer supported by spares from that company. I guess a new carb might be the answer and Just Engines are just down the road.   Maybe a replacement engine would be the easy option - unless anyone is hiding a needle anywhere. Pigs might fly!

I was looking at the pilots yesterday and if they're heavy as well as naff then they ought to go. How did you get them out, Danny, did you cut the complete floor away?   Looks like a good day for building where I am - absolutely chucking it down!   Cheers Pete