o/

Took a bit longer than anticipated to make up my mind on covering vs cost and avalibility etc, but I finally ordered my Porter yesterday.

After reading through this thread and a few others repeatedly, Ive decided to go with a DLE 30 up front, but I want to avoid cutting too much of the cowl away. Can one of you guys with this engine guestamate if this muffler would fit without cutting on the side?

http://www.troybuiltmodels.com/items/TBMDLE30PITTS.html

I also intend to go with a 3 blade prop (after break in of course).
Acky how did your prop experiments go? I saw that you were running a 16x8 and had a 16x10 for testing, which did you settle on?

The plane wont be here for a couple of weeks probably so hopefully I can get the engine/servos/prop/etc sorted and ready before it gets here.

Still haven't tested the 16x10 as I bought a Byron p-51 and have been spending all my time getting it flying and certified (and I robbed the ignition kill from the pilatus)
I have the pilatus all set for this weekend so will post back here the results - weather permitting!

The run in prop for the 30 is a 18x8 and in this plane it really halls around and great verticle to!
Now my porter has a strengthened firewall (it's about 20mm thicker than stock) so my exhaust measurement will be diff to yours oh and I had to extend the cowl forwards with a balsa ring to get a nice gap between the spinner and cowl
As for the exhaust there's about a 30mm clearance from the exhaust to the cowl at the front ( directly out from the forward exhaust bolt)
I used a flexible header pipe with one restrictor at the end of the corrugations ( the restrictor is the ones supplied with the American made 30cc rear carb rear exhaust - MWS??)
The silencer on the end is from dle engines Australia and it really quietened it down!
Heres some pics

Thanks for the info and the pics

Looks like that pitts I linked will be tight if it works at all, guess I will wait and see for the moment on that. My bird is on a slow boat across the Atlantic atm so I still have a bit of time to ponder.

I've decided to stick with the 16x8 3 blade as it gives plenty of speed (way faster than scale) and I think the 16 x10 will just make it faster?
Also I've decided that the exhaust I'm using is too loud at 90db it's nearing the limit for our field so I'm going to keep the header and add a canister under neath

I seem to remember seeing a PP with an exhaust running down the rhs of the cowling, might have been in the movie "Air America" and it was covered in.
You could make an exhaust like that.

Originally Posted by clive45

I seem to remember seeing a PP with an exhaust running down the rhs of the cowling, might have been in the movie "Air America" and it was covered in.
You could make an exhaust like that.

Some of the early porters, and spacifically the Fairchild military version (AU-23 'Peacemaker') had side exaust. The set up Acky is using could imitate that fairly well I think. (tho it would look out of place with the scale exaust built into the cowling, so they would need to be removed)

My first intent on getting this plane was to do a Peacemaker conversion on it. I may still someday, but I know it wouldn't happen fast enough for this flying season so ATM I am going to stick with the theme that is on it. (this was the main reason I was originally looking for the ARC instead of the ARF)


Here is a link to a few pics of a peacemaker with the side exaust. (its a modeling site, but shows enough to get the idea)http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/t/126441.aspx

Thanks for the research on the prop Acky, I was actually hopeing youd come back and say the 16x10 was best as I found a great looking CF prop I would like to use but the smallest 16" they make is a 16x10 IIRC. No biggie tho, Im still a long ways from worrying about the prop since my plane still hasnt arrived yet

Hi, I was able to take these pictures in Antwerp some time ago.
you would have to change the nose a bit...
Noël

Hmmm thanks for those pics....... Now I've got an idea! ..... I keep losing those dam cowl exhausts anyway!

My porter finally arrived today!

I'll be taking my time assembling, so it will probably be another month before shes ready to fly, but atleast the long wait for it to cross the Atlantic and clear customs is over.

I flew mine quite a loty this weekend. Finally got the Saito FG-20 (20cc gas 4-stroke) running well. It is a bit underpowered with this engine and I need the full runway for takeoff. Mine tend to veer on take-off and landing and needs elevator to keep the tailwheel planted.

I've got a 500mm tank and get about one hours flying from this, including half a dozen or so landings and take-offs. The plane is very graceful in loops, wing pivots and stall turns, and will come in steep and slow under flaps. No need to be stingy with epoxy in repairs or stengthening, as it will carry a fair bit of weight.

Anyway, good luck with your build. I'll post a few photos next time.

Some photos of Australian Army variant.

Some really nice shots there Mercer

Unfortunately due to a sick child in the house I havn't started my build yet

I did get a chance to finally unbox it and start planning out where to mount everything.

I have read throught this thread many times, but was still rather surprized at how little room is avalible under the cowl. Now I am starting to debate my powerplant options agian.

I do believe that if I stick with gas, the DLE-30 will be the best option, but I really dont want to cut away a huge chunk of the cowl to force it in. The problem here is more in getting the exaust routed than the engine itself. The Pitts that I linked from TBM earlier looks like it will be tight up agianst the firewall, if it works at all. I know some guys posted awhile back about getting a custom pitts from Jtech, so I am looking at that as one option. The other way of course is switching to electric. If I did that I would definatly look into dropping in a sound system to give it the true turboprop sound.(which does add a bit of cost, but really makes the plane sound sweet)
TBH the only real concern I would have going electric is getting enough flight time out of it. I am one of those guys that likes to go up and stay there for 15-20 mins, and I tend to say in the higher end of the throttle while I am up.

As luck would have it, I have not purchased an engine yet, so I am trying to calculate the difference in cost to put electron power in such a big airframe.

The other thing that surprized me is the framework inside the nose(between the cockpit and the firewall) My plane has a box inside the nose that looks like it is intended to be a battery tray. It is not attached to the plane in anyway, but is also just large enough that I havnt been able to remove it through the upper hatch. The instructions dont mention this tray anywhere that I have found. (atleast its not pictured anywhere, I cant actualy read my instruction booklet becuase its all in french lol) I Think I can download an English instruction booklet from the VQ site, and will do so tonight
Assuming its not mentioned in the text, Did anyone else have this tray in thier kit? I know the earlier kits did not have the hatch in the nose, so I assume that anyone with the older kit wont have the tray either.

Anyway, enough rambleing, I'll post agian once I have actually done some work on the plane and (hopefully) made up my mind on the electric vs gas issue.

Heres a couple shots of my unboxing for anyone that hasnt seen one with the Swiss covering.

[QUOTE=acky;20509836]Still haven't tested the 16x10 as I bought a Byron p-51 and have been spending all my time getting it flying and certified

Just out of Interest was that mustang, was that one from Allen in Melbourne?
I can tell you the history of the model if it's the same one.

[QUOTE=Big Nuts 181;20831996]

Originally Posted by acky

Still haven't tested the 16x10 as I bought a Byron p-51 and have been spending all my time getting it flying and certified

Just out of Interest was that mustang, was that one from Allen in Melbourne?
I can tell you the history of the model if it's the same one.

It Sure was!!! took some sorting - overheating and age issues but she is my fav plane now!!!! i fly it every weekend ! poor old pilatus stays in the shed.... but i have plans for it!

would love to know the history of the "stang" esp seeing as its an oldie - send me a PM!!

had to throw in a pic or two.. maybe a storage idea for someone else with two oversized toys!!!

HI guys. Just want to join in here with my PC-6 used as a towplane. Specs: Rimfire 50cc, Castle Creation HV160A, 12S LiPo, 21x8 Mejzelic, weigth is about 10kg.