raideron

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Hi all,

For those that have the V2 46 Kat. with YS-63 (as far back as I could get)..
TT 2" spinner... How much weight was needed to balance say at 5&3/4"???

I was hoping to not add any weight, But looks like I need to.. All is as supplied.
I went with an HS-85bb throttle servo HS-425bb's on the ails and elev. and a
HS 635HB for the rudder.. I have the 6v battery and my receiver as far back in
the wing as I can get it and next to the root rib. I also slit and epoxied a carbon
fiber tube to the stock tail wheel wire for added strength which seemed to help
it alot.. I also C. A.ed all areas that fuel could get to, and also added strength,
guess C. A. works for that?? As listed above.. mine came in a tad under 5#s

Anyway hope to get in up and back) in the A.M.... Hope she flys like she looks!!

raideron

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Hi all,

Just got back from maidening my V2... Man she flys nice... one click of Rt. ail. and
up elev. and she flew hands off, inverted also:-)) Only flew a half a tanks worth on
the first flt.... But she does a nice inverted flat spin... nice harrier, And almost hands
off K.E & slow H.A.K.E... Lands like silk)).... Hovers like she's on a wire!! Even with
a first for me non-streeing tail wheel... My C.F. add on to the tail wheel wire works
great!!
I checked all and all looked great, so topped off the tank for another flt... All started
great for the first min. Then the YS dies, and I see something white falling((( She
comes in smooth as silk again on the dead stick and I see.... No fuel tank??? I head
out and find the tank and after checking the plane I see that the front tank strap
snapped just before the locking mechanism... No stress on it?? It was on the bottom
outside of the tank where as the strap came stright into it... I guess the worse part
was since the tank was full when it came off and fell, it cracked the tank( So no
more flying... Bummer!!!... So what's the chances of getting the tank replaced???

Man She flys NICE!!!!

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Good thing it wasn't the engine that fell off! That is a pretty nice tank and many have expressed interest in getting those aftermaket since they have the grooves built into them. Right now we do not have spare tanks but we will see if we can get some separately from the factory.

raideron

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks for the reply Mike.... So do I get another tank??
Do you want a test plane, to see how strong the build is????.......:-))

Well [:@] I can attest to the strength of the V2 [&o]...
After switching the tank from my Kangle profile, I was have a great time for
three days... But on Sunday.... Flying was great!!! I was flying at about 8' just
on the side of the runway practicing harriers and working on rolling harriers then
the YS started sputtering a bit, So I make a circuit at wide open throttle to clear
it and all sounded great... So I went back to working the harriers in the same
area of the runway.... I slow down and setup, as soon as she goes into the H.A.
the YS sounded a bit funny.. so I blip the throttle and she perks right up so I start
working on rolling harriers... She makes one roll..... Then that "BAD" sound.......
Which is.... "No Sound" [&o][&o][&o] The YS take a dump... [:@][:@][:@][:@]
The old YS Love/Hate......^&*#@* She drops the nose, I let her try and pick up
some speed, and pull up at the last min.... But as these profiles seem to do without
that prop wash... Very little response.. But she does "try" She hits in an angle like
leaning the plane on the mains and the spinner.....*$&#.... The thud did let you
know it was a good[:'(] hit.... But really, Very little damage...
But the area of the fuse that usually goes on nose hits did have some slight cracks
in the sheeting, and the RT. leading edge of the fairing was slightly pushed in
because of the above and the frt. Rt wing bolt tab did seperate slightly from itself..
All is repaired now[&o]... But you know how that goes... Had none of the same
covering.... So she is not as pretty... But hopefully she will fly close to the same???

Are you should you do not want a crash "test" plane??

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Hey guess what I found a spare tank! Shoot me your address and I'll get it to you. But next time you drop your fuel tanks, make sure they are empty and they won't hit so hard! ha ha Sounds like your YS is having problems when you pull lateral gs maybe? Might want to check the clunk setup in the tank. Maybe the tank line is too stiff and not following the fuel. I have seen this problem before myself.

raideron

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks Mike... I'll PM the address..... Nah... clunks/lines great..... Just needed
a bit more adjusting/nre "F" plug.... So I take it you don't want a test crashed
one?? ... Darn it....

Well my repair was not bad... She flew as nothing happened this AM..

Jack211

Re my Saito 82a, which I cursed in these pages. Horizon Hobby Services returned the engine with new bearings, no cost to me. The tech said the bearings had corroded, my fault, and that I should ALWAYS put in after-run oil after every day's flying. Point is, Saito folks were as good as their word--better, actually. They didn't charge me for something that was my fault.

And I don't understand that. I fly that 82a almost every day. I had one stretch of maybe five days we couldn't fly. Every time I've checked the tappets or whatever, there's castor oil everywhere inside. I use Wildcat Premium (15% nitro; 18% castor/synthetics). So WHY should those bearings corrode? I understand nitromethane residuals are "corrosive," but from one day to the next? And how does one get after-run oil into the BOTTOM of the engine without taking off the muffler after each flying session? I can't believe you put it in the HEAD, by suction through the carb, and enough oil will seep past the cylinder to get the job done. You tell me.

Fly safe, fly well.

Jack

Jack211

AFSalmon, Mike:

I put my Kat into snow after I ran it out of gas (I ran it past me, close, to check the fuel there, but I must have been slightly off horizontal and misread the amount of fuel left. Damn, stupid). The port gear wire turned through the balsa when I landed her in snow. Any reason why I can't drill a 3/4" hole in that balsa, insert a 3/4 hardwood dowel in the hole, epoxy all, and put the wire gear back into it?

I DIDN'T want to put skis on her--to keep her light. And in calm winds, she doesn't "float" well enough to land in snow without endangering that gear. Generally, when I don't run out of gas, I can land on the road, snow-covered and slippery, but without incident.

Tell me what you think.

Jack

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Jack, that would be exactly how I would fix it as well. Glue the hardpoint in and sand it flush to both sides. Best if you glued it to internal structure as well and did not rely on just the sheeting to hold it in place. Sheeting won't hold it by itself. Heck, adding skis to the existing wire gear would be easy. I put foam skis on my Shock Flyer and fly that in the back yard. It's pretty cool landing and taking off on the snow! It's so smoooooooooth!

Jack211

Mike, I'm not averse to skiis. Without skis on our birds here we wouldn't fly at all--we get an average of 200" of snow/year--now at 129". I guess I just wanted the challenge of having to land on the road, no matter what, with the Kat .46--which is underpowered with a ST .45--an engine I enjoy. And trust.

I flew ages ago (no 3D then!), then came back to the hobby in Nov of 2004--and have flown almost every day since--and promised myself a new bird every month--uh... or a replacement for something I augured in. And still I get mesmerized by the bird, the wind and clouds--like yesterday--and forget to watch the clock. That happened yesterday, having fun with the Kat. Ah, well, why make mistakes if you can't learn from them.

Below are examples of our skiis, for those interested. They are cheaper than the Du-Bros and can be made quickly with a band saw, propane torch, and rivet gun. We use aluminum angle iron with aluminum rivets. We've been running THROUGH the aluminum rivets when we land on sanded roads. This year, no pic yet, we've gone to "Lexon" plastic, tough, and clear, but as the pix demonstrate, I have no prejudice against the thinner plastic of a drywall mud bucket's top. See the blue ones on the Magic model.

Thanks for the help, Mike.

Fly safe and well.

Jack

AFSalmon

My Feedback: (3)

Nice skis. I've only done that a few times but it was fun.......all except the cold itself! My EP katana is perfect for the snow and cold weather.

Jack211

I want to stand in for the durability of the V2 .46 as well.

I have 128 minutes in the air with it now. I really DO try to stay away from the ground. I was landing in cross winds yesterday, got her down nice, not far from my table, and went to hit the kill switch. My left glove has a hole in the thumb, of course, so I can feel the stick, and the edge of that thumb-hole caught the throttle, threw it full up, and jammed the V2 into the snow bank, on the edge of the road, three yards away. [Fortunately I was flying alone and no one was ever in danger--except the Katana.] This is not "soft" snow, but snow PUSHED there by the snowplow, so it's dense. But the V2 took it. I checked her out, cleared the carb of snow, and put her up again. The prop was fine as was everything else.

Today I was playing in the wind, like Raideron, close to the ground. (She's tail heavy.) I did touch and goes watching the snow take on the tracked nature of successful practice landings--in wind gusting to 20 mph, by the way. It wasn't quite so bad close to the ground, but there's an 80 acre section of open field, so it can build, and roil. On one of those tries, close to the ground, the wind picked up a wing. I goosed it, too late. She caught the wing and cart-wheeled. No damage. None at all.

Taking off today from the road, with the skis, cross wind, I thought I could just angle the Kat across the road, rather than going ALONG the road, then lifting her into the wind to the left. Well, I didn't QUITE make it. I got just one foot high, three inches LESS than the snow bank, hit the snowbank with the skis, and went straight up. I immediately gaver her a vertical roll, then a loop, all okay, and flew the rest of the tank out. I didn't even have to bend the aluminum strap landing gear back. VERY TOUGH BIRD!

If you ever see my box, you'll know why I keep a tooth brush in it--to get rid of the snow around the carb and throttle linkage. Once I didn't clean it well enough, before I put the brush in the box, the throttle linkage froze in the air (on a Big Stick), and I had to fly at full throttle until I ran out of gas.

[Mike, did you see my post on the other forum, re: the new landing gear?]

AFSalmon

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Wow, that is some report on how tough this bird is. I'm glad you are having such a great time with the V2 Kat. What post about gear are you asking about?

raideron

My Feedback: (1)

Hey Mike.... Got it... Thanks!!!... I'm down for a while:-(.... My Radio went sour....
Guess I use the throttle/rudder sticks too much... I fixed one of the rudder wires,
now 6 months later another broke, and looks like the other is about ready..
Anyhow... Waiting for it's return from the shop...... That's almost like snow here in
the desert.... But worse... The sun is shineing and No wind [:@]

Jack211

I'll repreat the post here. Can't hurt, hm? As follows:

After I maidened my Kat .46 successfully, I dumped her in the snow after a flameout. In spite of our deep snow, off which we fly most of our planes with skis, I chose to leave the wheeled gear on the Kat and takeoff and land on the road. My high confidence cost me.

The anchors on one side of the wire wheel gear turned out, through the balsa fuse anchor. The manual SAID the anchors were hardwood, but what came out of the fuse was balsa. [?]

I determined to drill holes in the fuse and plug them with hardwood dowels, then drill them and reinstall the wire gear and attach skis on the wire. Well, when I drilled into the fuse I found both hardwood and balsa in the area, and I wanted a really good bond for those plugs. What I did was cut out the whole area, filled the vacant areas with ¼ inch balsa all around, THEN installed a plywood piece, built up from two pieces of ¼ inch ply plus a 1/16 inch hardwood piece. That dimension nicely fit into the fuse.

I used Borden's ProBond (their cheaper equivalent of Gorilla Glueâ„¢) to secure the ply to the fuse. With water the ProBond expands to fill holes and any poorly fit/sanded places. The whole bird will fall apart long before that ply piece comes out of the fuse.

With such a good anchor point, I decided to construct struts out of 1/8 x 1/2 inch aluminum strapping, and attach my high-tech plastic skis (made from the top of a 5 gallon drywall mud bucket). Next summer I'll reinstall the wire gear.

The next day I tested the gear and it performed flawlessly off the road and off soft snow, even when I ran into a snowmobile rut, touch and go landing in the field, and dumped the Kat on her nose [20 mph?]. The gear held, the plane held, and I was up again in a trice. The tail wheel is as it was, standard. The Kat needs lots of power to turn when taxiing on the snow, but the rudder does a great job.

See the attached pictures.

AFSalmon

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Oh yea, thought I replied comlimenting the retrofit. Was there a question I missed?

shakes268

What size spinner on this plane? Using a YS-63.

AFSalmon

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Most use about 2.5 to 2.75" spinner.