Hi,

I just received a message from Tony Tan, president of Pilot-RC, that my 40% Decathlon with custom color scheme will be shipped today. He also sent me some pictures of the plane. The pictures look very nice but slightly different from what have been posted on Pilot-RC or Chief website. The flaps, the navigation light, and the operable windows are new. Currently, I am flying a 37.5% Yak from Pilot. I am impressed by its flying character and construction. I can't wait to receive this new plane and start its construction. I will keep on posting after I receive it.

Armamentarium:

3W 106 with in cowl mufflers
Futaba 9Z-WC2 with Spectrum 2.4Ghz module
Spectrum AR9000 with Smart-Fly PowerExpander Sport
2 4000mA Li-p and 1 2100mA Li-ion
All servo JR 8911 but throttle
Sullivan smoke pump
Navigation light set from Pilot-RC
Pending:
Power supply for smoke pump and Navigation light
Regulators

Here are some pictures

Hope to see one at the Nall..!

I have seen the first one at Chief and it is sweet, should be at Nall

looking nice, Bet you cant wait to get it, Keep the pics comming

Chief will take one to Nall.

After a long three weeks of waiting, the DHL finally delivered my Decathlon. This thing is behemoth and dwarfs my 37.5% Yak. It comes with four cartons: one for the main wing, one for the cowl, one for the fuselage and tail fins, and one for wind tubes and struts. Everything came in good shape, but the indestructible carbon-fiber wind tube was cracked at one end. The DHL people probably used the tube for vaulting. Tony promised he would send me a replacement.

After taking everything out from the carton, the craftsmanship is very good. The aileron and flap have a different construction from their previous model. It's more like the C-ARF tail-fin design. The aileron is tight and has no play to it, but the flap is loose and seems rather imprecise. It might need some washers on the hinge holes later to improve the fit. The accessories that came with the kit are of much better quality than before.

I started my building right away. Of course, the first thing I did was install the landing gear. The plane is so big that in order to align the wheel pants, I had to attach two bubble levelers, one on the side of the fuselage and one on the side of the wheel pants, to help me align the wheel pants properly. After installing the wheel pants, I took the them off to avoid damage. With the fuselage standing on its feet, I started my engine firewall installation. I will continue my description in another post.

How is the progress comming with the decathlon? Looks great so far.

Any one home?

Hey Guys,
I just received my 40% Pilot Decathlon. I'm planning on setting it up (over the Winter) with a 3W106, smoke, HiTec 7955 servos, Smart-Fly Power System Eq6 and Duralite 4300mAh Li-Mn batteries.

If anyone has the 40% Pilot Decathlon or is planning to assemble one, please let me know. I'm sure I can use some help and I'm happy to share my ideas.

Actually I'm already off to a bad start. I've received 3 of the four Decathlon packages via UPS. They've misplaced my fuselage They delivered my wings to me, along with someone else's wings in a duplicate box. I've sent the extra wings on to their owner. Hopefully UPS is feverishly looking for my fuselage.

They found my fuselage. I got it about one week after the wings arrived. I'll begin assembling the plane in January. The craftsmanship from Pilot is terrific !

if you have question's , ask away ................

here is the pic of ours ...............

Welcome to the FlyingGiants

Hi Guys,
Thanks for welcoming me to FG and thanks for offering to answer my questions.

Somewhere along the way I've gotten the idea that there is no assembly manual
with the Decathlon. Since I haven't seen my fuselage box yet, I'm wondering if
there will be a manual? I'm thinking I can probably complete the assembly
without a manual; but, there sure are a lot of small white metal pieces that came along
with the wing struts that could prove to be confusing to me.

Originally Posted by ldhflyguy

Hi Guys,
Thanks for welcoming me to FG and thanks for offering to answer my questions.

Somewhere along the way I've gotten the idea that there is no assembly manual
with the Decathlon. Since I haven't seen my fuselage box yet, I'm wondering if
there will be a manual? I'm thinking I can probably complete the assembly
without a manual; but, there sure are a lot of small white metal pieces that came along
with the wing struts that could prove to be confusing to me.

you are correct , there is no manual in the box ..Tony will sometime have a downloadable manual at his site . the white pieces are for the wing struts/jury struts that are on each wing pannel , do not fly without these ..