The Kyosho Calmato Alpha. A Few Reflections on Assembling and Flying the Model.

[David Davis]

I don't generally "do" ARTFs, however, my club had bought a Kyosho Calmato Alpha as a low wing trainer for beginners and the committee decided to sell it as most of the beginners seemed to be happy with electric powered foamie models. I got it at a 35€ discount. I had never assembled a Calmato but I had had a few flights with other people's models albeit, the larger version of the model and I found them very pleasant to fly. Those who had flown both versions felt that smaller one was the nicer aircraft. It is intended for a 40-46 two stroke engine and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the firewall had built-in side thrust. Such attention to detail is impressive.

 

I generally prefer four stroke engines but I have a number of nice two strokes, including a new Irvine 53, a new OS 40 V and a very nice OS 61SF, all waiting for their turn to be installed in a model. For the Calmato I decided to use my beloved Enya 50 fitted with a genuine Enya Q silencer. This combination produces a very pleasing sound. One thing that I can't abide is the sound of a noisy two stroke. One of my former lady friends described them as "flying chainsaws!"

 

The assembly was pretty straight forward, the instructions consisting of a series of drawings with text in both English and Chinese. All of the parts provided in the kit were of good quality, metal clevises for the rudder, elevator and ailerons for example. The parts were also supplied in re-sealable plastic bags with all of the parts for the various parts of the model in their own dedicated little bags so that you don't get the bits mixed up. The push rods to the tail control slide through pre-fitted plastic tubes with very little friction. I have deviated from the kit instructions in only two respects. Instead of using the supplied fittings which clamp the servo to the pushrods, I have used z bends and I have given the tank bay a couple of coats of solvent based exterior varnish.

 

I still have to fit the tank, switch, battery and receiver and to carry out all of the pre-flight checks, but I will get that done this morning. I am organising an Open Mic Night tonight so I'm going to be rather busy this afternoon. I plan to fly the model tomorrow. My camera is "hors service" but I'll see if I can get someone else to photograph it. That said, most of you know what a Calmato looks like and since Covid only the red colour scheme is available. There used to be a blue and a mauve option. I have attached a picture of my model lifted from the box art below.

 

I have been impressed by the quality of this kit. I trimmed out a few Kyosho trainers for beginners in the past; does anyone remember the pink ones? They flew very well and if this Calmato flies as well as they did, I'll be very pleased.

Edited July 13 by David Davis

[Kim Taylor]

Did you swap out the aileron control horn screws?

I've just assembled the same kit, although 'lectric powered, and the screws weren't long enough to really engage with the backing plates. I just bought some that were 5mm longer, and I'm much happier now. I've seen the same issue reported on other fora, so not an isolated problem. 

Other than that, I thought that it was a very nice kit, even if the method of fixing the LiPo was only half thought through. Not an insurmountable problem, and to be fair, it's an old enough design to have been i/c only when it was first thought of.

Hopefully I'll maiden it soon, when the wind stops blowing a hooli here. 

Kim 

[David Davis]

1 hour ago, Kim Taylor said:

Did you swap out the aileron control horn screws?

I've just assembled the same kit, although 'lectric powered, and the screws weren't long enough to really engage with the backing plates. I just bought some that were 5mm longer, and I'm much happier now. I've seen the same issue reported on other fora, so not an isolated problem. 

Other than that, I thought that it was a very nice kit, even if the method of fixing the LiPo was only half thought through. Not an insurmountable problem, and to be fair, it's an old enough design to have been i/c only when it was first thought of.

Hopefully I'll maiden it soon, when the wind stops blowing a hooli here. 

Kim 

 

 

I can't say that I've had a problem with the aileron control horn screws, they are short certainly, but they are long enough to engage with the holes in the backing plates and to protrude a little above them.

 

Where I do have a problem is in getting the centre of gravity right. Even with a five cell rx battery up against the firewall, the model balances on the main landing gear at least 10mm too far to the rear. I found this quite surprising especially as I'm using an over-size engine, it also means that I cannot use the fuel tank which comes with the kit but a six ounce red SLEC tank will fit. However, according to Enya's official website, my engine is at 315 grammes is 63 grammes or 2.2 ounces lighter that the OS Max 46AX which is the engine of choice for this model amongst my clubmates.

 

I'm left with a number of choices:

 

1. Fit longer screws to the engine mount and bolt some lead to the underside of the mount.
2. Choose from an Irvine 53, an Irvine 46 or a Thunder Tiger 46 which are all languishing unemployed in my cupboard. At 514 grammes the Irvine 53 is 99 grammes or 3.5 ozs heavier than the Enya. The Irvine 46 is 75 grammes or 2.7 ozs heavier than the Enya and the Thunder Tiger PRO is a whopping 150 grammes or 5.3 ozs heavier than the Enya.

[Andy Stephenson]

It's often misleading when engine weights are published, they usually leave off the weight of the silencer so you need to check whether this is included or not.

[David Davis]

14 minutes ago, Andy Stephenson said:

It's often misleading when engine weights are published, they usually leave off the weight of the silencer so you need to check whether this is included or not.

 

With the Enya engine and the silencer fitted the model is still tail heavy.

 

Both of the 46s have seen service in the club trainer.

Edited July 13 by David Davis

[Kim Taylor]

4 hours ago, David Davis said:

 

 

 

Where I do have a problem is in getting the centre of gravity right. Even with a five cell rx battery up against the firewall, the model balances on the main landing gear at least 10mm too far to the rear. I found this quite surprising especially as I'm using an over-size engine, it also means that I cannot use the fuel tank which comes with the kit but a six ounce red SLEC tank will fit. However, according to Enya's official website, my engine is at 315 grammes is 63 grammes or 2.2 ounces lighter that the OS Max 46AX which is the engine of choice for this model amongst my clubmates.

 

Happily (for me) I'm using a 4260 500kV motor and 3000mAh 6s LiPo, total weight 550g or so (or a bit more if using 2x3S 3200mAh in series), so it balances without any ballast. I've positioned the battery so that with the lighter option, it balances at the rear of the range in the manual, and obviously a bit further forward with the heavier option.

I hope that my careful planning 😉 will work out in practice.

None of which helps in your case - sorry 😇

eta Maybe stick (say) 100g of lead on top of the Enya and see how it balances, to see if the Irvine would be better, easier than swapping the motor out in the first instance.

Kim

Edited July 13 by Kim Taylor

[David Davis]

In the end I chose Option 1.

 

I found some lead amongst my souvenirs. One piece, weighing about 100 grammes already had two holes drilled into it. It must have been bolted below some other engine in some long dead airframe. So, out with the supplied M3 socket bolts, fit a couple of longer ones, thank you Model Fixings, two nuts to secure the engine to the mount and two more to fit the lead in place and now it balances. I will try the club's more sophisticated cg jig before flying this afternoon.

[Pete Crichton]

Hi Guys,

I have recently picked up a never flown Calmato Alpha, I am excited to finish installing the radio gear + OS 55.
 

My concern is how the wing halfs are joined together ?, reading the instruction build manual, there appears to be no mention of using Z-epoxy or 30minute equivalent epoxy to 'glue' the wing half together - the plane does have fibreglass tape on the top and bottom of the wing.

 

From you personal Calmato build experience, what would people reccomend?, should the wing halfs be glued or is the fibreglass tape enough ?

 

Appreciate your time to read, and feedback

[Kim Taylor]

I think that the design has enough strength 'built in' to the wing joiner tube and two dowels and retaining bolts, so no additional strengthening is required.

For my own Calmato Sport, I've built it exactly as per the instructions, so assembled it 'dry' and made the two halves secure with insulting tape.

To be honest, I toyed with the idea of leaving the tape off to allow the two wing halves to fit in my car easier, but bearing in mind that the fuselage is nearly as long as the wingspan, and itself won't fit in without moving the passenger seat forwards, decided against it.

Kim.

p.s. Has yours really got fibreglass tape over the join? If so, is it adhering to the base wood, or laid on top of the covering?................ just curious

Kim

eta

pps I love that the manual earnestly tells you that if the wing comes off in flight, you MAY lose control of your 'plane.

Edited August 31 by Kim Taylor
silly aside

[David Davis]

Mine is just assembled dry and bolted into position. With two dowels and two wing bolts it's not going anywhere.

[Kim Taylor]

Finally maidened my Calmato this morning. No dramas, couple of clicks of up elevator had it flying hands off, very smooth and stable. 

Needs the aileron throw increasing for my taste, but that's maybe just me.

Had a bit of vibration at higher throttle, which may be due to the spinner being unbalanced  - I've done the prop, so confident it's not that, but decided not to fly it again, until I've investigated. 

All in all, very pleased! 😋

Kim