H9's Sundowner

[rcplane]

That sounds great Craig!
I guess that to mean a certain cc's are going to be accepted.
I will check it out.

Mike

[mfuess]

Well, I flew my Sundowner again Sunday. My BME 50 ran like a top and I whacked everything that dared to fly with me. My flight recorder logged 134.2 MPH doing laps, and a dive speed of 152.7 MPH. I did end up burning a hole in my tuned pipe coupler on the third flight though. It was a good day inspite the coupler. We had about 30 pilots Sunday, and most everyone came over to gawk at the Sundowner even the Q500 guys. I overheard one of the Quickie guys say to a novice pilot, "when a big plane looks fast, it's really haulling ass". I got a warm fuzzy feelin' hearing that... Anyway, I'm pushing my BME and Sundowner to its absolute limit, and having a great time with it. I hope all you Sundowner owners are having as much fun as I am!

[CRG]

I think you'd gain more than a little more speed if you didn't have all that motor stuff out in the breeze. Not much you can do though with a motor that size.

Did anybody end up with solid data on the Moki 2.10? It's got to be close to 130mph, no?

	Quote: Originally Posted by mfuess
	Well, I flew my Sundowner again Sunday. My BME 50 ran like a top and I whacked everything that dared to fly with me. My flight recorder logged 134.2 MPH doing laps, and a dive speed of 152.7 MPH. I did end up burning a hole in my tuned pipe coupler on the third flight though. It was a good day inspite the coupler. We had about 30 pilots Sunday, and most everyone came over to gawk at the Sundowner even the Q500 guys. I overheard one of the Quickie guys say to a novice pilot, "when a big plane looks fast, it's really haulling ass". I got a warm fuzzy feelin' hearing that... Anyway, I'm pushing my BME and Sundowner to its absolute limit, and having a great time with it. I hope all you Sundowner owners are having as much fun as I am!

[mfuess]

You're right CRG, having all that engine stuff hanging out does affect its speed. There's nothing that can be done about it though. The good side is, I have lots of thrust available from that 18x14 prop spinning over 11,000 RPM (in the air) makes up for a portion of the drag. It's making over 25 pounds of thrust up there in the sky.

[mfuess]

I wouldn't be surprized "IF" a Moki 2.10 did get close to 130. But not without some help. Ignoring drag and other parasitic complexities, A Moki 2.10 would have to be capable of spinning a 14 pitch around 10,000 RPM's in the air and still have enough prop thrust (diameter) to overcome the exponential drag. It's certainly capable of it, but you'd have to earn every mile per hour as you approach 130. Been there, done that.

[mfuess]

I put another 4 flights on my Sundowner yesterday and it's running a little better each flight. The accelleration is mind boggling with the BME 50 at the helm. It's holding in the upper 130's for lap speed and will high-bank at slightly over 150 MPH (152.7 to be exact). I have about 40 flights on it now, with the last 12 flights on the Tuned Pipe. I do need to work on the noise part though. I'm hitting 129db when the engine gets on the pipe. Part of that is prop noise.

The Sundowner is running so well, I decided to invest in a real-time radio telemetry flight recorder. It transmits real-time data to a hand held receiver (on the ground) and displays, air-speed, ground speed, RPM, engine temperature, exhaust temperature, altitude, longitude, and latitude. It also sends information about the radio gear, such as individual servo load, volts, and amps. I can look at an entire flight on a Laptop computer afterwards and see precisely what it did. Ain't technology great?

[Flatlandman]

That sounds to cool! What system are you using?

[mfuess]

Eagle Tree Systems: http://www.eagletreesystems.com/Plane/plane.html

[mfuess]

I received my Eagle Systems Flight Recorder. I didn't install it in my Sundowner... I put it in my DA-50 powered RV-4. There was more room available in the RV-4 and it's less likely to go down in flames.

[mfuess]

I set up my Data Logger to transmit AIRSPEED, GROUND SPEED, Engine RPM, Engine Temperature, and all receiver functions. I also log GPS co-ordinates so I can look at my turn radius. I monitor everything in real-time. This is a pretty impressive Flight Recorder.

[Jkoch713]

Are you flying the SD full speed pylon turns with the BmE engine set up WOT?
just wondering how it is holding up>.


Also, a ZDZ40f3a (would weigh the same as a 26cc gt)
I would like to throw one in this plane if it holds up?
Justin

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Jkoch713
	Are you flying the SD full speed pylon turns with the BmE engine set up WOT? just wondering how it is holding up>. Also, a ZDZ40f3a (would weigh the same as a 26cc gt) I would like to throw one in this plane if it holds up? Justin

So far the SD is holding up fine when I do sharp WOT turns.

[Jkoch713]

I must say that SD is really neat to hear what you have done with it....
I don't think that the EVo35gt or anything else (exept a nitro moki) could even
come close to your setup......

THe 35gt is a HOG, and a slow one at that.....
Making the limit to only 35cc for the sundowner, especially with the engines
available in gas, is a joke.....

IF you want the 35gt to compete with the others, it should have been alowed to run a full length pipe, to wake it up....

to make a strait line across the board 35cc max (for nitro and gas and 4-strokes)
just doesn't add up! Then you have to regulate with size related props and all that mess.......

I am not at all griping to those that have this set up, I just wish that USRA would have thought about this 2008 rules that have been not released.....

pitty really.... NOw someone has to make a 35cc gas engine that is as light as the
26cc!..

Justin

[Leseirf]

I think you guys are missing the point of the Sundowner class. It's not about who can make the fastest Sundowner, it's about introducing people to giant scale racing. It really doesn't take much to get hooked on GS racing and the Sundowner could be considered the bait! There are a lot of people flying a lot of different motors in the Sundowner and the USRA board is trying to open it up so more of them will be able to come and fly with us. But they had to draw a line somewhere and 35cc is where it's at for now.

I'm one of those early adopters left with whats been called a "pretty blue & silver paperweight" that may or may not be competitive.

I'm solving the problem by moving up to the F1-GT class.

I think that's really what the board has in mind.

Miike

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Jkoch713
	I must say that SD is really neat to hear what you have done with it.... I don't think that the EVo35gt or anything else (exept a nitro moki) could even come close to your setup...... THe 35gt is a HOG, and a slow one at that..... Making the limit to only 35cc for the sundowner, especially with the engines available in gas, is a joke..... IF you want the 35gt to compete with the others, it should have been alowed to run a full length pipe, to wake it up.... to make a strait line across the board 35cc max (for nitro and gas and 4-strokes) just doesn't add up! Then you have to regulate with size related props and all that mess....... I am not at all griping to those that have this set up, I just wish that USRA would have thought about this 2008 rules that have been not released..... pitty really.... NOw someone has to make a 35cc gas engine that is as light as the 26cc!.. Justin

An Evolution 35 is a bit sluggish and its a very heavy engine. Moki 2.10's are impressive but I don't like glow fuel. So, I chose a BME 50 for its short stroke, light weight, gas burning capability that's particularly well suited for this kind of flying. My BME also runs exceptionally well on a tuned pipe yielding a little over 8.5 horsepower. The bottom line is, you just get more bang for the buck with a bigger engine.

But like Mike said, the Sundowner is an introduction to pylon racing and there has to be a line drawn somewhere. I understand that, and I totally agree for organized racing. But I don't need an introduction nor the constraints... I've been putting big engines in small airplanes for over 35 years and really enjoy it.