| Type: |
Scale aerobat |
| Wingspan:
| 68" |
| Wing Area: |
850 sq in |
| Airfoil: | Symmetrical
|
| Weight: | 11.5 lbs |
| Construction: |
Light ply fuselage, built-up partially sheeted wood wings |
| Controls: | Aileron, rudder, elevator, throttle |
| Power: | Y.S. 1.20 NC four cycle |
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Power is a Y.S. 1.20NC. Final weight is a rather hefty 11.5 pounds (the added weight being the builder's fault more then it was the model's...I'm told typical weight with this engine is about 10lbs). I made some small modifications with this plane. I used the Du-Bro shock mount, which would have pushed the big Y.S. too far out to fit in the cowl. To compensate, I cut through the original firewall, leaving only a narrow frame I then added a sub fire wall behind this, to which the engine is mounted. I would have built the plane with this in mind to save some weight, but the thing was framed up when I bought it. I replaced the wire gear with aluminum gear (arg, more weight!). I had to replace the narrow ply gear block with a wider one to accommodate the new gear and 4 1/4-20 nylon mounting bolts. The wire gear transfers most of the load into boxes on the fuselage sides. To accomplish this with the aluminum unit, I drilled holes in the plywood mounting plates and stuck carbon fiber pins through the plate and into the ply gear boxes on the fuselage (I hope it works). The fuel tank, a whopping Dubro 24 ouncer (not necessary, but I had the room), is mounted on the C.G. This pushed the radio tray one bay back in the fuselage. Rudder and ailerons use Hitec 605BB servos. The elevators get Futaba 148 servos, which are mounted in the tail. Spinner is a Tru-Turn, cowl and wheel pants are R/C City fiberglass versions. Exhaust is the stock NC exhaust with the muffler can removed. The thing added so much weight to the header pipe that it kept vibrating loose, even with thread lock on it! So, I now basically have just a header pipe. It's a bit loud, but it does sound cool in the air.
As I am writing this, I've had the plane over a year. It's still a great flier. Easy to fly, with neutral stability, yet it has no bad snapping habits. It gives plenty of warning before a tip stall or snap occurs, and you have plenty of time to correct. I found this out when I accidental ran it out of gas in the air. I nearly tipstalled it and spun it in, but the plane dropped one wing tip gently, and gave me time to neutralize the controls and push the nose down for more airspeed. About the only bad thing is that it has a hard time doing really radical maneuvers like Lomcovaks. It just isn't as eager to tumble end-over-end as other planes. I guess this goes along with the nice tracking abilities this plane has. As for power, even at 11.5 pounds, the YS 1.20 will pull it straight up forever. It will accelerate out of a hover too, albeit somewhat slowly. I should also note that, even at that weight, the plane is very easy to land, whether in 3 point mode or on the mains. The only real problems I've had are with the engine. I had to return it to Futaba shortly after getting it because of a tweaked exhaust valve. Since then, everything seems mechanically fine, but I've never been quite able to get the engine to run well in the mid-range. It will idle down to a slow tick, and it has stump-pulling torque at the high end, but at mid-range it sort of struggles. One good thing I must say is that the YS has always been incredibly easy to start, and more incredibly, has never once quit on me (not counting the time I ran out of gas!). I cannot say that about any other engines I've owned.
All in all, this is my favorite plane so far.
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