Al,

Your regulator and prop(drilled for your engine) should be leaving out Tuesday(UPS). If you have any questions on those items give Bryan a call.

We know you had lots of choices....Thank you for choosing Top Dawg Aviation and Aerographix

Got the Tygon today, ordered two NGX spark plugs, will arrive tomorrow. Installed the Magic switch, fuel setup is done, battery is charged, just need the regulator. The cowl is cut, all servos are up and running (sort of) need to program the radio and adjust throws ect when the regulator arrives at the end of the week. The airplane is pretty much built, ground testing, servo setup is next. Also need to find the CG and make weight adjustments. Thanks for drilling my prop out today Dennis, you sure provide great service. Also, it was nice to finally talk to you today, I might get a graphics package from you down the line. Added some pics, feel free to throw out any suggestions on the setup. This is all new to me.

Lookin good Al.......just make sure you secure that pick up wire.

Thanks Dennis... Still need to button a few things up (like the pickup wire)... I know some are not going to like this but last night I broke out the Hobbico MKII field charger and read up on charging Lipo's. I found out my battery is a 7.4 volt, 2 cell Lipo which according to the MKII instructions can be charged by this unit. I looked all over for balancing information but was unable to find any on the web-site, instructions, packaging ect. So, I charged it last night, volt meter reads a full charge so here is my question of the day. How do I know how long it will last? I think the trick with these is that they show full charge right up to quitting time, is that correct?

Setting up throttle servo throw tonight, if all goes well. Will try gassing, defueling, then gassing again to see if the motor will start. My spark plugs NGK will be here by noon.

Originally Posted by Alerberg

Thanks Dennis... Still need to button a few things up (like the pickup wire)... I know some are not going to like this but last night I broke out the Hobbico MKII field charger and read up on charging Lipo's. I found out my battery is a 7.4 volt, 2 cell Lipo which according to the MKII instructions can be charged by this unit. I looked all over for balancing information but was unable to find any on the web-site, instructions, packaging ect. So, I charged it last night, volt meter reads a full charge so here is my question of the day. How do I know how long it will last? I think the trick with these is that they show full charge right up to quitting time, is that correct?

Setting up throttle servo throw tonight, if all goes well. Will try gassing, defueling, then gassing again to see if the motor will start. My spark plugs NGK will be here by noon.

You are thinking A123's with the dropoff right at the end. Lipos are able to be checked with your meter and will give a good reading of the power left in it.

One more thing... Correct me if I am wrong.. Close the choke, spin the prop till it burps, open the choke, spin till it starts. Correct?

Eric B... Thanks for the reply, that is good to know, and yes... I was confused

Originally Posted by Alerberg

One more thing... Correct me if I am wrong.. Close the choke, spin the prop till it burps, open the choke, spin till it starts. Correct?

Tis how me starts mine!!

Al....one other tip I forgot to mention if you haven't done it already, take that muffler gasket that came with your engine and throw it out!!(same apply's to all brands of engines) and put the muffler back on with high temp silicone. The reason is it will probably blow the gasket out on the first flight, the silicone wont blow out.

Let Us know when you get it FIRED UP!!!!

Originally Posted by Alerberg

One more thing... Correct me if I am wrong.. Close the choke, spin the prop till it burps, open the choke, spin till it starts. Correct?

You got it.

Just make sure you don't charge that 2 cell lipo past 8.4 volts total. As far as how long it will last depends....to start out with, I would put 2 8-10 minute flights on it...time them!!!. Then check your fuel level and charge the battery. A charger like the one I have mentioned before will tell you how many mah's it has put back into the battery, from there you can calculate how much time you can fly before recharging, but calculate a safety margin in there. When in doubt...charge up!! Never fully discharge a lipo battery, they don't retain a "memory" like nicad and nimh do, so it's ok to charge it from any state of charge.

Now you tell me about the gasket... I just put the cowl on last night for the first time and the prop, looks like that is all coming off again : ) Started er up last night. FIRST important lesson, DO NOT USE BUNGIE CORDS to secure the tail during engine run. I choked her till the gas line filled up, heard it fire after a few more flips, scared me... I jumped back a foot. Then opened the choke, spun it a few more times and she came to life. Only problem is it was a little rich so the whole airplane moved forward about 8", I jumped back so fast my neighbors must have been rolling. Learned my lesson, secure that thing down. It died the first couple of tries, had to pull the plug and dry it off, put it back in and it started on the second flip. Stayed running great, transition had a little gurgle in it, not sure if that should be smooth or not. The TMM engine idled just fine, stayed running no problem, mid range is a little ruff, full power is amazing, even for a short burst. Transition from low to high throttle is instant, the response is incredible, my g-26 is much slower. The prop blast is amazing, really gives you respect for how much power they packed into these guys. By the way, I am running Ams Oil at a 50-1 ratio, seemed to work good. Burned up a tank of gas dinkin around getting the throttle curve and shut down functions set. Shut her down with a big ol smile on my face. My wife just crossed her arms and gave me that look, you know what I am talking about fellas.

I learned a lot of important lessons on this test run, the first one I already mentioned, the second is WOW does this thing vibrate. You MUST tighten everything, my fuel tank was moving, ignition bat, ignition, receiver. I went back through and locked everything down. Much tighter than before. Also I realized some problem areas, first... I think I am supposed to cross the rudder cables so the angle is right for the slot correct? Also, I need to either raise the height of the servo or cut bigger slits because the cables are rubbing on the bottom of the slit. Ask me how that happend, because like a fool I followed the directions on where to install the connections, I should have eyeballed it. Stupid builders mistake (my part). Now for the cool stuff, I built a nice little rack system for my airplanes in the garage, it is working out perfect. I will take a pic and post it. New plugs are coming today, regulator is on the way, spinner was ordered yesterday. Real Su-26's have large spinners, I am wondering if 4" is big enough, I might want 4.5"

Can't wait to fly her, probably this weekened.

Wall rack... Also included a shot of Bill Leff's T-6. He was nice enough to give me a ride, the rolls and loop were great, the wingover on the other hand almost cost me a breakfast.

When I was home over the noon hour I found a pool of clear oil on the inside of my cowl? Very strange, could this come from the motor? Do they ship it with this oil inside, it must be leaking out somehow. Also re-looked at the pull pull cable rub, doesn't appear to be that bad, I might just let it be. My vent line has come loose from the tank, not a good sign, is there a better way other than zip ties to attach? Also, where do most people place this line, or should I let it hang.

Originally Posted by Alerberg

When I was home over the noon hour I found a pool of clear oil on the inside of my cowl? Very strange, could this come from the motor? Do they ship it with this oil inside, it must be leaking out somehow. Also re-looked at the pull pull cable rub, doesn't appear to be that bad, I might just let it be. My vent line has come loose from the tank, not a good sign, is there a better way other than zip ties to attach? Also, where do most people place this line, or should I let it hang.

Hmmm....not sure on the "clear oil"?????...there isn't any kind of oil like that inside the engine. You have smoke on that?. I usually cross the pull pull cables. Flare the end of the fuel tubing a little and then use zip ties on them. I loop my vent line(like a roller coaster loop) and then attach it to a drop fitting on the bottom of the fuse. The loop will prevent the tank from starting a siphon when inverted.