question for Spectra G owners

[paulw1283]

How do you guys like the Spectra G so far? Does it vibrate a lot? Someone at my fields say gassers vibrate a lot. I would be afraid of it shaking everything loose. Do you have to check everything often?

Is it really hard to set up and how easy is the maintenance? The person at my field say XCells are really hard to maintain because there are a bunch of parts.

What do you guys think?
Thanks

[ClayK]

See signature below. Mine should be up by this coming weekend.

[carey shurley]

How do you guys like the Spectra G so far? Does it vibrate a lot? Someone at my fields say gassers vibrate a lot. I would be afraid of it shaking everything loose. Do you have to check everything often?

Is it really hard to set up and how easy is the maintenance? The person at my field say XCells are really hard to maintain because there are a bunch of parts.

The zenoah motors are going to inherently vibrate more than a glow motor, there's a lot of big heavy parts moving around as compared to a .90 sized glow engine. However that being said, if you set them up right and get it tuned happy they'll run pretty smooth.

As far as setup, theres a lot of documentation with the kit on getting it setup and a lot of help available in the forums. As far as maintenance, there isn't a lot to be done. Once they are mechanically setup, they'll stay that way for a long time.

[Gary O]

Paul,

The Miniature Aircraft makes the best equipment on the market, and no, I'm not sponsored by them or anyone else. I've just flown pretty much everything and they have it all. Just make sure you have your setup right and you will get a lot of good hours out of the machine.

[paulw1283]

Just curious, can the Zenoah engine run on gasoline with higher ethanol percentage or pure ethanol?

You know, with the country moving toward ethanol and everything...

[bigrcr]

Yes, the Zenoah can operate on "gasahol" although I personally don't like it.
The motor will run on pure ethanol as long as it has been converted to do so (ie.- turned into a glow motor). I know that there is no advantage in doing this as you would have to carry much more fuel and would most likely not enjoy the experiences ( too frigging troublesome).

Later,

[paulw1283]

do you know how fast the Spectra G can go in forward flight? (approx. max speed), not counting dives.

[Tom Fiddler]

Actually the Zenoah engine is very happy on Methanol and Klotz oil.
Not to be confused with Ethanol.
You still use the spark ignition and it will make about 10-15% more power.
Runs very cool but uses 2 times the fuel.
15 minutes on a 16 OZ tank.
We ran a Bergen gasser on methanol and it worked great.
You will need to get the Carb off of the glow version of the G-23 (yes they make one).
Most Gassers will go 60MPH in foward flight if set up correctly.
99% of Gasser pilots use Coleman camper fuel and Amsoil oil.
No Stink like gasoline and works great.
Yes I love Gassers.

[paulw1283]

Which engine installation should I use? pro/con of each...

thanks.

just a note...it seems we can't see the fuel tank no matter which configuration we use, right?

[CustomPC]

You can see the fuel tank if you mount the motor forward facing as the tank is behind the motor.

What i've read is that the rear facing config with a NiCd or NiMH receiver pack is neutrally balanced (good for 3D) whilst the forward facing config is slightly nose heavy (which is good for sport or F3C type flying).
If you use a LiIon RX pack and Reg you save some weight on the nose so that balances out the forward facing motor.

The forward facing setup requires more canopy trimming. It also places the spark plug under the RX which may or may not cause issues (depends on your individual setup).

I also like that the fuel lines are much shorter and neater with forward facing and you can fit a Dubro or Sullivan 16oz tank behind the motor for more run time.

If you plan on getting the TRM tuned pipe when it's available, then it is designed for forward facing .

[paulw1283]

so the vibration is almost unnoticable?

[shoganai]

my spectra g is great. i have had several different brands of gassers, and all have their strong points. but this one is my favorite. the quality is outstanding, and it flies great. mine is still breaking in, and the vibration is visible, but not bad at all.

[Brett]

so the vibration is almost unnoticable?

So how do you tune this to eliminate most of the vigration. Whats a clue of to much ?

[ClayK]

Got mine flying at Chattie last week. Continued tuning this weekend at MHA. No forward flight yet on her, still chasing down some tail twitch issues that I think are due to vibration and the gyro. Will know more once I change up the mounting material.

[CustomPC]

What gyro are you using?

A gentle tail pulsing is a sign of being rich. The power changes slightly as the motor 4-strokes every so often.
High frequency vibes are a sign of being too lean.

[ClayK]

611

[paulw1283]

how come the Spectra G come with a metal tail boom and not carbon fiber?

[CustomPC]

It's stiffer and absorbs vibrations better than a carbon fibre boom.

It's also cheaper to replace if you crash.

[carlos]

According to John Garst (in his Spectra G build video) the carbon flexes more.

[bigrcr]

Yes, The aluminum boom is stiffer (and a bit heavier).

later,