the last few...for now..like I had mentioned, everything is completed and installed except the wheels and pants. So the final pics and weight of the plane will be this week...stay tuned.

Joe

OK...made alot of progress with tying up alot of loose ends on the plane. Nonetheless...everything is completed except the tailwheel steering. Really not a whole lot to go into as describing how to mount wheelpants, engine baffling, ect...so I will just let the pics do the talking.

Friday is the day...weather permitting

couple more shots...

so close I cant stand it!!!!

Hey Joe, Looks great! Im looking forward to seeing it fly.

btw, are you going to be at the Hucktoberfest thing that Chris Hinson is holding? I'll be there!

later

Hey Joe...She REALLY looks great. Your craftmanship is top notch. I'm looking forward to going out on Friday for the test flight.
Wayne

Lookin great Joe!
t

I have been to Ivo's factory for a week and its like a Ferrary factory, they make everything by hand, amazing.
They work in a so preciss way its unbelivable, my next one will deffenatly a Krill, i was thinking about the new Yak 55.

Adi

Thanks Wayne, Ty, and Chris!

Tonight should be the finishing touches.

Chris, I plan on being at Chris's event, how can I not, its my home field ;-), to take some tips from the pros!!

Hello Adi, yes I am very impressed with the Krill kits...I am excited to see a new breed of aircraft on the market..the new 55M. I am just not sure about the looks...from the videos posted from the EXFC...it looks like a very long plane...not sure about the knife edge capability either as the side of the fuse seems not as tall as other planes on the market...do you happen to have any photos of the new Krill or any insight? I am interested as well, but am waiting for more info, photos, and feed back to surface.

I will update tomorrow.

Thanks again guys!

alright, everything is done on the plane...tomorrow is the day if the weather holds out. I will verify and confirm all throws tonight, and weigh her in.

Joe

Well guys, my new Katana was weighed tonight and I am pleased with the outcome. I was hoping for 38 to 38.5 lbs, but I was not too far off....the fuse with everything on it except wings came out to.... 30lbs 10oz. The wings came out to 4lbs 2oz each. Grand total of 38 lbs 14oz.

Looking over the plane and how to shave the 14oz to bring the weight to an even 38 would not be that hard. Having not flown it yet, I am anticipating the plane to be slightly nose heavy, as I used heavier battery packs all the way around, and I am using the Tru Turn spinner again, but with a lightened backplate. If the plane does come out nose heavy, I will start with the spinner and replace accordingly.

Also, instead of using the 4" main wheels supplied with the kit, I used Du-Bro 4.5" wheels...so these could be replaced as well. And if one is truly anal about the weight, they could use different batteries as well.

As for the wings...cant do nothing there...mind you the wings incorporate blade spars that go out all the way to the tips, and this is with 2 8711's per wing half.

So, looking at the big picture, the plane could easily come in at 38lbs, less without cannisters. So in all, the plane sits in an ideal weight range that hangs with many wooden airframes of this size.

Here are few pics I took as well...the first few are of the Duralite switches, both are push button with LED's...the ignition switch also houses a regulator which is nice.

The charge jacks are from Earnst, most hobby shops carry these. The next few are self explanatory. The way the weather is looking, I may have to post pone the maiden flight tomorrow, we'll see.

Until then,
Joe

I will post some pictures i took of the Yak 55m today
I think that this is a great flying plane and it does great knife edge, the 3D is awesome, well when it is in Mark's hands what can you say.

Adi

Joe....the slots in your cowl are remarkable. Definitely not like the "Slut Slots" (according to John Schroder) that I have in mine. See you later.
Wayne

Perfect

slut slots...thats funny!

Thanks guys for the compliments...I did not maiden the 'Kat' yesterday as I was just not 100% feeling ready for it...I am glad I didnt as I was going over everything yesterday, I decided to check my thorws on the elevators, rudder, ailerons.

The elevators were not cooperating - as far as max travel was concerned...because I had used sub trim to center the servo arms...talked to my life preserver...Wayne Mathews and he suggested some things...so I took his advice and now the elevators are working properly...except for max 3d throw which they are slightly off...but I can handle that.

The rudder tray...I was not happy with some constant buzzing of the servos, so I decided to readjust the servo through the Powerbox Programmer and now they are working in sync as they should.

The ailerons were never set up in the begining, so I intialized the ailerons through the programmer and set the Ailerons to travel at 26* up and down, max travel...I am thinking I will need more, but I will wait till after the test flights to be sure.

So, it was a good thing I didnt go out yesterday as I would have probably not have flown once these things were discovered at the field by 'eagle eye Wayne'. Now the plane is set up and I am now going over all screws and nuts and wiring to make sure I didnt miss anything.

As you know I started out with 2 servos per stab half and then changed to one, through word of mouth and recomendations, but now I am hearing mixed stories and opinions. I am running a 1.25" servo arm, but the linkage is not on the outer most hole of the arm, it is one below..so more like 1 1/8". I also have the linkage close to the flight control surface..so I think I have some really good mechanical leverage...I think I will be OK, primarily flying IMAC work (Unlimited), I normally dont get on the throttle on horizontal lines, but as everyone know, coming around the backside of a roller can pick up some speed...I do not want to have to worry about flutter. Million dollar question.....should I go back with 2 servos per stab half?

My old Katana had 2 servos per half and all was fine, but I was hoping to eilimate the weight if it is not needed...here is a pic of my set up