RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Warbird: Yeah, I got home 1 1/2 weeks ago and had to dust off my planes, charge my lipos and hit the field. I flew her today and remembered just how much fun this plane is to fly. I left Cocoa Beach just as the weather was cooling off and getting nice.
Posted on: 11/1/2009 9:28 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9221300

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Thanks bud. [:D] I was just flying her today and it was a blast! That e-powered combo rocks!
Posted on: 11/1/2009 9:25 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9221285

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Wow, seems like you all belong to the bigger is better club[:D] My 17.3 lb AUW e-powered SD is running a turnigy SK6364-230 KV motor pulling 2100 watts (approx 2 HP) at WOT on an APC 19X12 prop and flys great!! Check out the attached vid and then tell me that this plane needs 3-4 HP to fly well... http://www.soaringunionoflosangeles.org/images/SuperDecathalonMaiden.wmv
Posted on: 11/1/2009 4:19 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9220562

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Bud, thanks for the FYI. We launched the sat fri 9/23, so I'll be going home to SoCal on the 21st of this month. Kinda hoping to catch biketoberfest though...
Posted on: 10/5/2009 1:26 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9148433

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Thanks for the pics, the plane looks great! Yeah, the show was closer than any I have ever been to and I have to agree, probably not the safest. But if you want to see serious danger, go to an airshow in Europe. My brother was in the crowd at Ramstein when the jets collided and he walked away, while others were scorched beyond recognition. Lucky guy. I watched Saturdays show from the beach, in the water, then Sunday's show from my 5th floor condo. All in all a small show, but a lot of fun.
Posted on: 10/5/2009 1:17 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9148403

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Found a couple more pics of the saber and decath. Note how low the saber is, you can see his shadow on the water!! Hard to see in the pic, but the water is getting kicked up. And here is a pic of me standing in front of our latest satellite build. Enjoy[:)]
Posted on: 10/4/2009 9:56 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9146893

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
The pilot was John Black and he was very good. The performers flew over the ocean and the Saber Jet from the Valiant Air Command warbird museum from Titusville FL did a high speed pass 20 feet off the water and rolled left with his wingtip almost touching the water!! He was the highlight of the show. I'll see if I got any pics of the decath and the low level saber pass.
Posted on: 10/4/2009 9:30 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9146800

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
It's all good bud[:D] Just playing with ya. I've had a blast flying mine and it just keeps getting better. I watched the real thing over the past 2 days at the Cocoa Beach FL air show. I'm down here for work and my condo was smack dab in the middle of the beach front show. This super decath was doing some awesome stunt flying!!! In comparison, mine has way more power...[:D]
Posted on: 10/4/2009 5:17 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9146227

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Warbird, LMAO that's some funny stuff...crawling to the recharge station[:D] Ya just gotta have spare lipos bud, charge when ya get home, while you're watching the game and not wiping slime off the plane.[:)] This planes normal AUW gas or e-powered is 17 lbs, so mine isn't exactly ready for the pig roast. Another benefit of e-power: your CG never changes as the fuel runs low and you never have to cut a cowl to clear the exhaust...to each his own. Now come to the dark side and go e-power.
Posted on: 10/3/2009 9:29 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9144467

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Well, for all the electric guys out there: I'm running 3 ea 3S 4400 MAH lipos for 9S series (2480 grams) and with my electric motor up front, I have to run the lipos in the middle of the cabin to balance the plane. That's with servos mounted in the tail. I think you will al be surprised at how nose heavy this plane is right out of the box. My AUW is 17.4 lbs with lipos. She is at damn near zero perfect balance and flys great, with almost unlimited vertical and very good aerobatic performance. IMHO, it really doesn't take a lot of motor to fly this plane scale and overkill will only get you a paperweight that's harder to fly. No insult intended to any of the gas guys out there, JMHO[:D]
Posted on: 10/3/2009 1:45 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9143685

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Great write up, I couldn't agree more. This plane is a good bang for the buck and flies even better! One other mod I did to mine was run a small length of cable from the door to the airframe. It keeps the door from laying open too much and popping the hinges out. This is a good mod for the e-powered planes, as you are always opening the door to swap out the lipos.
Posted on: 7/14/2009 12:49 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8932474

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
Interesting point. I don't have any issues with the flight characteristics of my plane. I am running e-power, so the center mass of the motor is farther out on the nose than a gasser. This may explain why I didn't have any major balancing or control surface corrections. I set the CG on the balace stand and it was "set it and forget it" from then on. If you look at my post regarding the e-conversion of this plane, you'll notice that my lipo pack (2400 grams) is in the middle of the cabin and my RX pack is at the rear of the cabin. I am also running the heavier Dubro 6 inch inflated tires. This plane required very little trim and flys great. Let us know how your adjustments work out.
Posted on: 6/26/2009 7:34 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8882279

RE: RC Guys Super Decathlon coming
My plane balanced out perfect with the 9S lipo pack and the motor farther out in the nose, so I didn't have any down trim required. The model already has a couple degrees of right and down thrust built into the firewall. As stated earlier, another degree of down thrust will help you out. That's my .002
Posted on: 6/25/2009 6:52 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "Giant Scale Aircraft - General"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8880918

RE: Seagull Decathlon
I put my CG right in the middle of the factory recommended range and the plane flys great. I would run the plane a bit nose heavy for the maiden, then slowly move the CG until you find the sweet spot for your flying style. Moving the RX battery as little as 1/2 inch will have a noticeable effect on the CG and flying characteristics. You set the CG from the leading edge of the wing. Another helpful hint: put 60% expo on the rudder for the maiden. This will help prevent over compensating on the rudder during take off. Aslo, add 40% aileron differential and expo on the ailerons. [quote]ORIGINAL: Slats! Hi one last question just wondering what you guys found as the best balancing point for normal flight. I imagine with it being high wing you balance from the wing tips how far back are most people going. Thanks. [/quote]
Posted on: 6/10/2009 11:50 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8841101

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Yeah, with the functioning pilot door, you can't fly this plane without the cabin braces. There isn't enough support for the cabin top in the front. The braces are 1/8 steel wire and tie into the front former. Cabin braces would look good on the seagull. You could get away with using carbon fiber rod on that plane. [quote]ORIGINAL: cmoulder Top notch! I really noticed - and very much like - the functional forward cabin braces. Might steal that idea next winter and modifiy the Seagull to give it a more scale-looking cabin area. [/quote]
Posted on: 6/10/2009 11:43 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8841087

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Moulder: Here's the latest on the cub. The motor is mounted and the Fiberglass specialties super cub cowl is test fit. I still have to sheet the top of the cowl area.
Posted on: 6/9/2009 11:45 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8840123

RE: Seagull Decathlon
No. Just install it with no load. The bolt should easily go through the bracket on the fuse. [quote]ORIGINAL: Slats! Thats great. What about the tightness of the strutt. Do you adjust it to be pretty tight. Thanks [/quote]
Posted on: 6/8/2009 11:40 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8835306

RE: Seagull Decathlon
The strut attachment plates stick out approx 1/2 from the side of the fuse. Just enough to attach the struts and run the nut without hitting the fuse. I put one strut on either side of the bracket. You mount the wing and attach the struts to the wing, then bend the brackets at the fuse to match the angle of the strut. There are blind nuts in the wing for the strut fittings to thread into. Shine a bright flashlight through the top of the wing to find the holes, then use an exacto blade to cut the covering. I didn't use any spacer to close the gap between the wing and the mounting bracket. Most ARFS have a gap in that location. Just snug the wing bolts, check the wing for snug and you are good to go.
Posted on: 6/8/2009 10:44 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8835134

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Yeah, the struts are functional if you do hard aerobatics. We picked up the plane by the wing tips without the struts and noted a bit of flex, so I figured the plane would need them during an aerobatic routine. I also glued the adjustable rod in the brass bushing and used locktite on the set screw. [quote]ORIGINAL: cmoulder Mojavegold, no problems with them and I simply used red Loctite
Posted on: 6/8/2009 8:36 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8834826

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Looks good! The smoke is way too cool. Have you had any problems with the brass inserts pulling out of the wing struts? I glued mine in and they are still holding up well.
Posted on: 6/8/2009 12:31 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8834352

RE: Seagull Decathlon
X2 ^^^^ Forgot to tell him about the dihedral VS straight wing flying characteristic. Cigar and a 4 finger coctail sounds good right about now. It's gotta be five o'clock somewhere...
Posted on: 6/5/2009 9:09 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8828998

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Sounds good. Didn't your mother tell you that smoking was bad for your health... I have to say one thing, Seagull makes a quality plane for the price. I only paid $120 for my Decath. [quote]ORIGINAL: cmoulder Ha! Maybe later! It would be nice to have one of each just for comparison's sake. Next is a Seagull Ultimate with an OS 1.20 4-stroke... and smoke, of course. [/quote]
Posted on: 6/5/2009 1:23 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8827952

RE: Seagull Decathlon
She lands a bit on the quick side, but you can run flaperons to slow it down. Comparing this plane to a cub would end at the statement, "they look similar". The cub is very docile and has a flat wing, this plane has a semi-symetrical wing and very different flying characteristics. You may, or may not need some rudder on takeoffs (depending on how heavy your throttle thumb is) and it does have similar yaw tendencies. It's tip stall is not as bad as a cub. If you ease into the throttle and make your takeoff roll as scale as possible, it isn't hard to take off. This plane is a lot more fun to fly than a cub. But if you like sitting in a lawn chair while you fly a floater, then the cub is for you. I like them both for different reasons. Sometimes it's nice to relax and float a cub around, or do bush landings and one wheel touch and goes.
Posted on: 6/5/2009 12:55 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8827862

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Moulder: nice job on the LG cover. Sure cleans up the underside of the fuse. Now, if you would just come to the dark side and go electric, that fuel slime wouldn't be an issue...
Posted on: 6/5/2009 12:50 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8827873

RE: Seagull Decathlon
I hadn't started a build thread on this one yet, because I'm shipping out for Cape Canaveral next week and won't be able to complete her till I get home. I'll get a thread going when I get back. There are a few threads on the BUSA 1/3 scale cub, but none for the 1/4 scale and none for a 1/4 scale e-power conversion. I'm also converting it to super cub with flaps and glass cowl.
Posted on: 6/3/2009 5:57 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8823203

RE: Seagull Decathlon
I maidened my Modeltech 81 inch super cub today. She's running 1125 watts on 6S lipo with an AUW of 8 lbs. Great flying plane, floats forever, got a 17 minute flight out of her!! Just mounted the scale gear on my 1/4 scale cub project and put the 6 inch Dubro inflated tires on. Should make a great bush plane. Boy have we hyjacked this thread... :O)
Posted on: 5/30/2009 12:26 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8811346

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Yeah, I know the feeling, lipos are expensive. The way I get around the cost is I run all my planes on multiples of 3S in series, 3S, 6S, 9S etc.. That way I don't have lipos that are specific to any given plane and if I smoke one, I haven't tossed out a very expensive large pack, just one single 3S pack. I run my helis the same way. I have quite a few packs when I go to the field. Another secret: Buy Zippy lipos from China, they kick a$$ on a budget and I haven't seen any difference in run time, power, or reliability compared to my expensive Polyquest and Flightpower lipos for 1/3 the cost. My field is limited to electric flight only, so unless I feel like making a long drive, I have no choice.
Posted on: 5/28/2009 10:28 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8807547

RE: Seagull Decathlon
I have a Turnigy motor running 2200 watts on 9S lipo with a castle HV85 esc. It's the same combo that I run in my 1/4 scale decathalon. It's way overkill, even on 9S lipo. That just means reserve power for my left thumb. My decathalon gets great vertical performance out of that combo. On 12S, it puts out 3200 watts. I figure this cub should come in around 18 lbs AUW.
Posted on: 5/28/2009 5:25 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8806767

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Here's the pic of the 1/4 scale BUSA cub fuse that I am building. It has been a straight forward build so far.
Posted on: 5/27/2009 12:28 AM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8801675

RE: Seagull Decathlon
Thanks! I like the battery door in your airframe also. I don't like removing the wing to swap out lipos, so I look for good areas to put a hatch. I have done a lot of gas to electric conversions over the past couple years. I just finished converting a KMP spitfire running on 9S lipo. It's a great flying plane. I'm building a BUSA 1/4 scale cub in e-power right now. I'm building it in super cub configuration with flaps, fiberglass specialties cowl and Wallace gear. The pilot door is my battery hatch. I'll post pics tonight. Next project is a scale Huey running 60 mechanics.
Posted on: 5/26/2009 5:56 PM by Author "Mojavegold" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8800590