I get that feeling all the time watching builds come together over months around here - glad I could share that with someone else too!
I did get the landing gear reinstalled last night and the wheels are now about 1.5 inches further forward - hope to get her back in the air in two weeks to see how it works.
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Piotrsko
Master member
You're correct about full scale not being entirely relevant to models, however my Pacer was an Alaskan bush plane with log entries indicating the gear legs had been torn off a couple times with no indications of a prop strike. Not sure if the comment about "Bump" size is relevant in that case. OTOH, getting the gear too far forward has it's own set of annoyances, like super twitchy ground handling, and the inability to take off.
Ouch! Bush planes can't be too picky about landing spots though, or they'd never be useful
Yeah, design is always a balancing act - and once I started mucking with the plans to solve one concern (extended nose to reduce dead balancing weight), it always raises the possibility of unintended consequences.
I suppose if this new positioning doesn't work out well, I can always convert her to a tricycle gear layout
Piotrsko
Master member
You COULD leave the gear on backwards, but put huge balloon tires to climb over the bumps. in Alaska, they take 31" offroad truck tires and shave off the rubber, mount them on homemade rims .
Imho looks kinda stupid, but it does work. I think I have a pair of dubro 3" you could use.
Skids anyone?
Imho looks kinda stupid, but it does work. I think I have a pair of dubro 3" you could use.
Skids anyone?
Whelp, moving the wheels forward was bad. Didn't nose over quite as much, but wouldn't take off either. She survived a run-in with the tall weeds and the edge of the runway, and I flipped the gear back round and put one little washer under the edge of the bracket to put the wheels somewhere between the first and second setting. For the rest of the day there was still a 50/50 chance of nosing over when she hit a divot on takeoff, but at least she could takeoff that way. So I'm planning to remove the 3" wheels and have some 3.5" and 4" ones on order to see if that will solve the problem.
Once she's in the air, she's a sweet heart though. With the 3s2200 and 11x8 prop producing thrust in the low 60 oz range, and a takeoff weight of 58 oz, she's not super fast or crazy powerful - I spend a lot of the flight at 3/4 throttle or above - but she is smooth and controllable though loops, immelmans, and stall turns. The roll rate was not very fast, and I need to turn up the heat on the aileron throws a bit. I'm thinking of switching the power setup to an 11x6 prop on a 4s1800 that will almost double the thrust and see how she behaves - if I'm going to compete in the biplane fun-fly this summer I need to have some more giddy up
I also had some trouble getting the battery wires to tuck inside nicely and the motor tray was getting hung up and not locking. So this afternoon I cut off about 2" of extra length on the ESC battery wires and installed an XT-60 plug that's mounted directly to the plywood tray. Batteries slide in much better now
Once she's in the air, she's a sweet heart though. With the 3s2200 and 11x8 prop producing thrust in the low 60 oz range, and a takeoff weight of 58 oz, she's not super fast or crazy powerful - I spend a lot of the flight at 3/4 throttle or above - but she is smooth and controllable though loops, immelmans, and stall turns. The roll rate was not very fast, and I need to turn up the heat on the aileron throws a bit. I'm thinking of switching the power setup to an 11x6 prop on a 4s1800 that will almost double the thrust and see how she behaves - if I'm going to compete in the biplane fun-fly this summer I need to have some more giddy up
I also had some trouble getting the battery wires to tuck inside nicely and the motor tray was getting hung up and not locking. So this afternoon I cut off about 2" of extra length on the ESC battery wires and installed an XT-60 plug that's mounted directly to the plywood tray. Batteries slide in much better now
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planebreaker2000
Active member
Maybe shorten the tail wheel as to give you more chance to rotate for take off
TooJung2Die
Master member
Gorgeous. Green is my favorite color.
Up to 18 flights on the Dreamer so far, and she's a beautiful flyer! New landing gear alignment works great, and she taxi's around in 3.5" bumpy grass without a problem. I only have a pair of the 4 cell 1800 batteries so I only get two flights per trip to the field, but I'm smiling every time she goes up!
If you ever run across one of these kits, or get a hankering to build one from the plans, you won't regret it!
If you ever run across one of these kits, or get a hankering to build one from the plans, you won't regret it!
Zetoyoc
Elite member
That is great. Thanks for sharing. I had considered selling my kit but I think I need to build it now. I'll add it to the listUp to 18 flights on the Dreamer so far, and she's a beautiful flyer! New landing gear alignment works great, and she taxi's around in 3.5" bumpy grass without a problem. I only have a pair of the 4 cell 1800 batteries so I only get two flights per trip to the field, but I'm smiling every time she goes up!
If you ever run across one of these kits, or get a hankering to build one from the plans, you won't regret it!
SOB Racing
New member
Where did you get those magnetic hold down clamps?
The nice ones are from http://retrorc.us.com/buildingjigsystem.aspx - the sketchy looking ones I made myself
