Sea Duck cowling issues

[TroyC]

Ordered the Sea Duck and it arrived with some of the foam damaged. FT is sending another kit. Shout out for excellent customer service. I decided to work around the crushed pieces just to get the build experience and maybe it’ll fly. The build was challenging and though i‘m not getting any awards for best build, I was able to finish and took a maiden Flight today.
So my first issue is the cowlings are seated against the wing but the props hit them both. I had to crush the foam, quite a bit to get them clear, but this is just a plane to experiment with.
Has anyone had this issue? like to get it figured out before next build.
Also, are there any videos on power pod build, especially the way the motor mounts to the firewall? I installed mount to motor first then used the wood screws to mount it to the firewall. The issue is the bold heads keep Mount from sitting flush to firewall. Doesn’t seem correct to me but of all the screws this is the only way I was able to do it. Any help is appreciated.
the maiden was a handful. 100 percent throws and I forgot to add exponential. The bigger issue was with the battery. I only used the straps and they didn’t keep battery in place. On take off, it became tail heavy as soon as it left the ground and while trying to get it back on the ground, it got really nose heavy. Got it on the ground without too much damage. Just a dent in the bottom front corner of fuse. Got it back straight and reinforced with heavy tape.
If you could give me any direction on these issues I’d appreciate it.
Thanks

 

[Ketchup]

Ordered the Sea Duck and it arrived with some of the foam damaged. FT is sending another kit. Shout out for excellent customer service. I decided to work around the crushed pieces just to get the build experience and maybe it’ll fly. The build was challenging and though i‘m not getting any awards for best build, I was able to finish and took a maiden Flight today.
So my first issue is the cowlings are seated against the wing but the props hit them both. I had to crush the foam, quite a bit to get them clear, but this is just a plane to experiment with.
Has anyone had this issue? like to get it figured out before next build.
Also, are there any videos on power pod build, especially the way the motor mounts to the firewall? I installed mount to motor first then used the wood screws to mount it to the firewall. The issue is the bold heads keep Mount from sitting flush to firewall. Doesn’t seem correct to me but of all the screws this is the only way I was able to do it. Any help is appreciated.
the maiden was a handful. 100 percent throws and I forgot to add exponential. The bigger issue was with the battery. I only used the straps and they didn’t keep battery in place. On take off, it became tail heavy as soon as it left the ground and while trying to get it back on the ground, it got really nose heavy. Got it on the ground without too much damage. Just a dent in the bottom front corner of fuse. Got it back straight and reinforced with heavy tape.
If you could give me any direction on these issues I’d appreciate it.
Thanks

I don't know much about the sea duck build, but I'm pretty sure that you don't need to use the x motor mount with FT firewalls. You can screw the motor right into the firewall from the back (at least that is how the old C pack works). Also, how far in front of the motor pods are the cowlings? In the build vid they aren't very far forward.

 

[TroyC]

I don't know much about the sea duck build, but I'm pretty sure that you don't need to use the x motor mount with FT firewalls. You can screw the motor right into the firewall from the back (at least that is how the old C pack works). Also, how far in front of the motor pods are the cowlings? In the build vid they aren't very far forward.

I’ll have to take a look to see but filling the build video, Josh says to push pods in till they hit the stops.
if I didn’t have the x brace on and the hold off from bolt heads it would sit back another 1/4” I expect.

 

[TroyC]

Here’s a pic showing depth of pod.

 

[Ketchup]

I’ll have to take a look to see but filling the build video, Josh says to push pods in till they hit the stops.
if I didn’t have the x brace on and the hold off from bolt heads it would sit back another 1/4” I expect.

I'm not sure what this could be (again, never built a sea duck). Maybe somebody who has could help? Also, I know that removing the x mount will move the motor farther back. I just said it because you said yo had motor mounting issues, and that could be the problem, also it's usually a good idea to mount the motors properly (if the motor fits with the x mount and your issue is different, then it would probably be fine to leave it on). Sorry that I couldn't really help though. Good luck!

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Here’s a pic showing depth of pod.

Hey man I just built the duck again myself and I think I can help you out. I know i got lucky with min with how close the props are to the cowls on mine, But I put spinners on mine to get the blades away from the cowl by 4-5mm. If you need more then that though You could easily rebuild the pods, re-mount the motor with the props on and slide the pod in till you are comfortable with the spacing, then push the skewers through. You don't have to push them all the way back for them to work. You could even go one step further and figure out how much more room you need then build your new pods to reflect the change. Basically just add 1/4-1/2 inch to the length of the front of the pod to whatever spacing you need

 

[TroyC]

Hey man I just built the duck again myself and I think I can help you out. I know i got lucky with min with how close the props are to the cowls on mine, But I put spinners on mine to get the blades away from the cowl by 4-5mm. If you need more then that though You could easily rebuild the pods, re-mount the motor with the props on and slide the pod in till you are comfortable with the spacing, then push the skewers through. You don't have to push them all the way back for them to work. You could even go one step further and figure out how much more room you need then build your new pods to reflect the change. Basically just add 1/4-1/2 inch to the length of the front of the pod to whatever spacing you need

thanks, I’ll keep that in mind on the next build. Basically using this one to get things sorted out like this. Got the battery Velcro in and gonna take it out for another flight today.