Rickles56

I installed my new DA-50 on my H9 Extra 260 today. What a great piece of workmanship those DA engines are! I still need to run the linkages and the ignition, but this photo shows what good work Desert Aircraft does on their product!

figueroa

My Feedback: (22)

Rickles56,
Nice install it's a shame you have to hide it under a cowl. I have a DA 100 and a DA 150 which I love.
Good luck with your DA 50.
jef

Rickles56

That's a fact Jef... They have that nice emblem on the crankcase as well. I installed a DA-100 in a buddies H9 33% Cap 232. He loves it too. Being in Tucson myself, I know a lot of folks with DA engines. DA is located here.

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

You will be loving it more when run it. DA50 is the best! Lean and mean.

Rickles56

I was over at the DA factory yesterday and that is one fun place to visit! They had tons of DA50's and DA100's that were being readied for shipping. Jeff told me they shipped out 50 of the DA-50R's the day before.

Their factory is like the ultimate R/C workshop you could ever dream up. They have parts and parts and engines and engines... HUGE! If you're ever in Tucson, you gotta stop by there to get the tour.

huggins

One of them is coming to my house, after nearly 7 weeks of waiting. I'm not complaining, as they told me it would be awhile and I was not really in hurry at the time. However, my project has ceased progress until it arrives. This is my second 50.

Mike

Rickles56

Maybe it was one of the fifty they sent out on Tuesday Mike! I am sure yours will be delivered soon, they had a bunch of engines being assembled as well. I had to wait 5 weeks on mine so we were both probably in the same shipping cycle. I went over there to pick mine up however so I got it a few days early.

mpwvp

Nice install, I was wondering did you have to remove the screws on the fire wall to get the standoffs to fit right?

I just got my DA-50 for my Extra 260 and I'm looking to install it over the weekend

Thanks for any insight that you can give me


-mpwvp

Rickles56

Yes, I had to remove the small bolts and nuts holding the aluminum angle corner bracket until I got the 1/4x20 bolts in for the standoffs. The I put the small bolts and huts back on with new locktite. I will have to remove the small bolts again if I want to take the engine out as well. The small bolts and nuts on the engine side had to be permenantly removed but the 1/4x20 bolts hold in the angle bracket so they are not needed. This is only on one side of the firewall as well. Once you get the engine centered you will see which side I am talking about. I also layed down some 5 oz fiberglass cloth on the firewall with thinned 30 minute epoxy before starting the engine install.

slowroller

I've got the same set up and I moved the screws on the right side to make room for the stand offs. I getting ready to install the servos and wanted to know how did you run your throttle servo linkage for the DA50 and choke? Also, H9 suggets putting the tank on it's side but does it make more sense to move the tank under the wing tube so it's closer to the CG?

Rick G

Rickles56

I decided that the 1/4x20 bolts where plenty strong to hold the aluminum bracket on the front side but reinstalled the ones on the side. Because I fibeglassed the firewall, I didn't want to make anymore holes in it than needed. I used a simple DuBro snap on ball link with the plastic Gold-N-Rod rushrods for both the choke and the throttle. I placed the servos on the tray that came with the plane after reinforcing it and modifying it for two servos. I decided to keep the tank up front for balance reasons. I had to add 2 oz of lead to the tail of my plane to get it balanced. If I had moved the tank to the better location you speak of, it would have thrown off the CG. The plane does perfect axial rolls no matter how full the tank is so it worked out fine. It is fairly close to the wing tube anyhow. I think it is just a matter of personal preference. (I added a photo of my throttle linkage below)

slowroller

Thanks for the pitcures looks like a great set up. This is my first gas install so your input is welcomed. On the one picture it looks like the muffler bracket is wire tied to the stand off or how did you secure it to prevent metal on metal vibration. Rick G

Rickles56

You're welcome, glad I could help. I am not sure which photo you are refering too but I can tell you the muffler bracket connects under one of the head bolts and to the side of the crankcase with a second bolt. The intake to the muffler is bolted to the exhaust port with two more bolts. It is as firm as any other part on the engine. I used High Temp Silicone sealant to make the gasket instead of using the provided gasket as per instructions. The only thing tie wrapped near the engine is to the standoffs where I ran the ignition wiring. Hope that helps.

mpwvp

Thanks for the insight, I'm going to pick up my pitts muffler it just came in the engine was on back order for a few weeks
so DA shipped just the engine by itself last week.

I'm really anxious to get the motor installed. I was planning on having this guy
who has a lot of experience intalling these engines help me with the install
but I think I'm going to try and do it myself.

Thanks for your help,

Aloha

mpwvp

Rickles56

Good luck. Be sure you get it right, two guys at my field have had problems keeping the bolts tight. I hceck mine after every two flights just to be sure. I used lock tight on both sides of the stand off. Be careful you don't over tighten them as well. It's fairly straight forward so you shouldn't have any problems doing it yourself but it's always good to get some elses opinion.[8D]

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

Nice isntall job and sharp pictures! Do you use a macro lens?

I installed the DA50 on my Wildhare edge the same way, without the anti-rotation small bolts on the back. With blue lock-tite, the screws (4 1/4") hold well.

BTW, you may need to consider fully paint the firewall area with 2-3 coat of polyurethane paint. DA50 may leak fuel out of the carb and it can easily soak into the wood. I even coat the interior of the firewall.

--qc

Rickles56

Thanks qc... The standoff's I used came from DA and have threaded ends, 6mm or 9mm on the engine side and 1/4"x20 on the firewall side. I used the blue lock tite as well and so far it's tight. The firewall and firebox on my Extra 260 was already coated with clear epoxy or resin. I added the fiberglass to increase the strength. I didn't see any other areas that gas would cause a problem.
The camera is a Sony Cybershot P31 that we baught 4 years ago when we were house shopping. It has a nice closeup mode to it and it is only a 2 megapixel but the Carl Zeiss lens really makes some nice photos. It is fairly wide angle and only has digital zoom so it's no good for long shots. I have a Canon Digital Rebel EOS SLR which is a 6.8 megapixel and uses any of the nicer Canon lenses. It's a sweet camera but even on low res the photos are so huge that they have to be reduced to make them small enough to use on these web sites. So, I use that old Sony for web photos and it does a great job. I am thinking about sending it up in one of my planes one of these days!

mpwvp

I'm sorry but I have one more question to ask you .

when you mounted the motor did you measure the holes to make sure you had the correct offset or did you just eyeball it and
made sure it was center and and level.

I know that there is not really that much play room to move the engine side to side up and down.

I guess what i'm really asking, is there room to be a little off or does it have to be 100% perfect ?

I know what my skills are and I'm confident I can do it. I really don't want to mess it up.

I just would value your opinion.

Thanks again for all the help,

mpwvp

Rickles56

In the manual, it gives you the measurements to each side of the center lines and up and down from the horizontal center. Do you have the manual and is this the H9 27% Extra 260 and are you using the DA50? If so I can give you the measurements. I just used a ruler to mark the hole positions based on the instructions in the manual. The engine has right thrust built into the firebox so it does not look like it is centered. The holes are offset from center but that puts the thrust washer in the exact place you need it for a perfect fit on the cowl. The cowl has the right thrust built into it as well so your spinner will look correct as well.
Let me know.

andyc

My Feedback: (1)

Mpwvp

Just mounted my DA 50 on my 260 last night. I used this template I found in another thread on here some were. pretty easy to use. Just remember to print at 100 percent:

http://extremeflightrc.com/productio...20template.pdf

I ground the head of the small screw on the top right of the box to get my mounts to be flush to the front of the box. Removeing the screw wouldn't have been a bad idea in hindsight, I think rickles is right in say the 1/4-20 bolt shoul be plenty to hold the alluminum angle piece to the front of the box.

AC

mpwvp

Thanks a bunch for your help.

I finally figured it out, I guess was was trying to make it harder then it is.

It was pretty easy after I finally understood how to get the correct measurements

I kind of feel like a dumb ass.

Thanks again for all your help,

Aloha,


mpwvp

mpwvp

Cool,

Thanks for the template. I'm going to use it to mount my motor. I don't know why DA does not include this in their instructions?

Thanks for the help,

mpwvp