Yak 54 3D 56"

[kenomiwhite]

Anybody had the experience of flying and building one of these? Its a nice looking bird. I would be looking to do 3D with it. Let me know if you've had any experience with this plane or NitroModels.



NEW!!! Reinforced fuselage and Tail
Wing span: 56 in / 1420mm
Wing area: 616sq in /39.8 sq dm
Flying weight: 5.2lb / 2400g
Fuselage length: 52.3 in / 1330mm
Engine Required: 2c 0.52 cu in 4c 0.75 cu in
Radio Required: 4 channels,5servos

Many pilots and groups have opted for the Yak-54 because of its relatively low cost and high performance compared to that of similar category aircraft! It is an adventure into the world of aerobatics and along with it, it brings style, charisma and presence.


Engine/Radio Equipment NOT included!

[joebob2]

I just got one of these last week. Haven't started it yet, but did take it out of the box to check it out a little. The fit of the hatch to the fuse really sucks. LARGE gap of at least 1/4" along about half of the hatch. There are a couple of broken formers and stringers in the fuse, too. You can tell they were broken during assemble because they tried to glue it back together.

I figured that for the price, I'd give it a shot. It may fly good. Some have said it does. I'm planning on going electric in it, so we'll see.

[kenomiwhite]

Thanks jobob2, let me know what you think after your maiden.

It sounds like the craftsmanship isn't there, but hopefully it does fly well. For that price, it might be worth the extra effort in the final build to make it sound as long as it does fly well.

[TEKE]

I had one, It flew good for about 20 min. total time. The major problem was that the elevator stabs broke on the maiden flight. I repaired the stab and 2nd flight the plywood at rear of fuse under the stab delaminated. The plane didn't have a 3rd flight unles you count the drop into the trash.
Nitro Models said this problem is now fixed, but I haven't seen any flight reports.

Carl

[Edge 540]

Ok, here's my experience.
We are using the 337 (Cessna push pull) for a collegiate competition. I think it is likely that we have spent more time working on that airframe than anyone ever has, will, or ever wanted to. And certainly more that is justified for a $200 Asian ARF. We are going to have about $4000-$5000 into a $200 airframe.

The aircraft is HEAVILY modified and I am probably more familiar with the construction than the builders. In the two ARFs that we have dismantled and rebuilt, the construction is OK. I would give the overall construction a 7 especially for the price. There have been several points on both airframes where it appears something was broken during construction and then repaired (stringer and a rib) you would never know unless you ripped them apart like we have. The wood is another story. Ply, such as the firewall is very brittle. We had multiple Blind nuts pull right through. (Yes, punched a hole right through the firewall!) They are strong in general and look pretty nice, but are not light. This is fine for a scale plane but I personally wouldn't go for anything aerobatic. The covering isn't monokote or ultracote, if that makes a difference.

We have stripped them down, done extensive lightening, and recovered them and they are pretty nice models. I may sound down on them, but I would actually consider getting a Cessna or something from them. With some work the have potential and it takes a lot less work to fix some of this then to scratch build. If you are looking for something really light and high performance though I think you will be a little disappointed although still a lot richer.

You just have to weight the cost with some of my comments I guess. Hope this helps a little.

[joebob2]

Did a little more inspection the other day and aside from the aforementioned problems, the rest of the plane looks OK. The LG plate needs a lot more glue and the wing tube needs deburring on each end, but the fit of the wing to fuse and the stab to fuse is pretty good. May need a slight sanding to get the angle right on the stab, but nothing major. The hardware is another story. You get wheel collars that are supposed to fit over a 4mm bolt, but the hole in the collar is no more than 1mm. Horns seems a little flexible to me, too. And the landing gear is made from bar solder or something. It has to be the softest metal I've ever seen. Definitely will not hold up under anything more than a greased landing. Wheel pants are some sort of molded plastic. Those will go in the trash.

As for the covering, it does look pretty good, but some edged are a little ragged.

It will probably be a little while before I get it flying. Finishing up my EF 74" Yak now, then need to save for my 25th anniversary next month.

[kenomiwhite]

Thanks Edge 540 & joebob2. Great feedback. Maybe I'll stick with the Funtana or Showtime.

[Bandit]

	Quote: Originally Posted by joebob2
	Did a little more inspection the other day and aside from the aforementioned problems, the rest of the plane looks OK. The LG plate needs a lot more glue and the wing tube needs deburring on each end, but the fit of the wing to fuse and the stab to fuse is pretty good. May need a slight sanding to get the angle right on the stab, but nothing major. The hardware is another story. You get wheel collars that are supposed to fit over a 4mm bolt, but the hole in the collar is no more than 1mm. Horns seems a little flexible to me, too. And the landing gear is made from bar solder or something. It has to be the softest metal I've ever seen. Definitely will not hold up under anything more than a greased landing. Wheel pants are some sort of molded plastic. Those will go in the trash. As for the covering, it does look pretty good, but some edged are a little ragged. It will probably be a little while before I get it flying. Finishing up my EF 74" Yak now, then need to save for my 25th anniversary next month.

Pretty much sums up what I've found so far with mine. I've started the build on mine already and I'm not very impressed with the craftsmenship.. but what the hey... it was only $124 and change... I'm a lil leary of the wing tube also.. To me it looks like electrical conduit that has been plated.. We'll keep an eye on this to see how it holds up. I'm stiffening up the horizontal stab even though they *say* they have strengthened this area in the new versions. The landing gear block will likewise get more structural stiffening.

If it flies good and lasts more than a couple flights (lol?), I'll be happy...

[ilovemetro]

I'd advise you if you were looking for a plane in this size range to go for a fliton edge 540 or extra 330 freestyle, both wingspans are around 59 inches.they're built light, and fly great 3d.

[Bandit]

Here are some pics of the mods I've done to the tail...

Stab Fillets.jpg

Epoxied the horizontal stab as one normally does except I cut back the covering a little larger on both the stab and the fuse to allow for applying filets of microballoons and epoxy.

Yak Tail Mods.jpg
Exposed the tips of the horizontal stab to lay in some fiberglass cloth with thin CA to harden the area where i'll attach flying wires to. Notice the two cap screws that will mount the tail wire bracket I crudely cobbled up with some scap aluminum.

Yak Tail Wires.jpg
Here are the completed mods

The more I work on it the more I see why I got it for so cheap. It's a turd.. but a cheap and attractive turd, for a turd.. I'm not gonna sink much more time or $$ into this than necessary until it's proven. The tail wires were made up of the included hardware for the control linkages that if not used here would of been thrown away.

If all goes well and it turns out to be a good flyer I'll go back and change out the wing tube, landing gear and upgrade the servos to digitals (JR821). For now it's getting some cheapo JR ST47BB I had laying around, the included landing gear and wing tube which are, to put it kindly... cheezy.