Official Black Horse 1724mm Dornier DO335 Pfeil ("Arrow") Thread

[handyman220]

My Do 335 arrived today! I have to say the box is huge. Will open it tomorrow to check it out. Spitty motors are supposed to arrive tomorrow also. Great idea using the Tigercat NG for the DO 335, keep us up to date how it works out.

[OV10]

I ordered 2 of the Xwave retracts for the mains and the nose retract from the FW Tigercat, it has probably a 105* angle. My Do-335 should be here by tomorrow... by the way, wash your hands!

Hate to be the bearer of this info but the Flight Line Tigercat nose retract is merely a 90 degree unit.
It looks like it is more based upon a side view of the nose gear but that is how the retract is mounted in the airframe with a forward up angle.
It is the same retract as the mains on the Tiger except for that the trunnion which accommodates the steerable nose strut which is e-clipped at the top of the trunnion versus set screwed in hard.
The nose retract is also used on the FW AL37, 90mm F/A-18 Hornet and 90mm F-4D Phantom.
If you look at those product pages you can see that the nose gear is straight down.
Sorry

[handyman220]

Hate to be the bearer of this info but the Flight Line Tigercat nose retract is merely a 90 degree unit.
It looks like it is more based upon a side view of the nose gear but that is how the retract is mounted in the airframe with a forward up angle.
It is the same retract as the mains on the Tiger except for that the trunnion which accommodates the steerable nose strut which is e-clipped at the top of the trunnion versus set screwed in hard.
The nose retract is also used on the FW AL37, 90mm F/A-18 Hornet and 90mm F-4D Phantom.
If you look at those product pages you can see that the nose gear is straight down.
Sorry

Yep, I checked out the parts and confirmed what you're saying It might also not be able to handle the extra weight of the DO 335. Still thinking of using the Eflite 105 degree NG

[paladin]

i'm going to try this:

https://www.horizonhobby.com/eflg60195l

bush the 3/8 hole w a wheel collar on top of the bushing to allow steering. but will most likely be flown first w nose gear locked down. we'll see once it gets here.

Joe

[OV10]

Yep, I checked out the parts and confirmed what you're saying It might also not be able to handle the extra weight of the DO 335. Still thinking of using the Eflite 105 degree NG

I've been eyeballing the EF one also but it is just tough to swallow that $90 cost
It would be really a huge win for the modelers if Motion/Xwave developed a RM400-105 for an affordable cost of like fifty beans

[MANFRED]

Hate to be the bearer of this info but the Flight Line Tigercat nose retract is merely a 90 degree unit.
It looks like it is more based upon a side view of the nose gear but that is how the retract is mounted in the airframe with a forward up angle.
It is the same retract as the mains on the Tiger except for that the trunnion which accommodates the steerable nose strut which is e-clipped at the top of the trunnion versus set screwed in hard.
The nose retract is also used on the FW AL37, 90mm F/A-18 Hornet and 90mm F-4D Phantom.
If you look at those product pages you can see that the nose gear is straight down.
Sorry

Not a problem as I was planning on shimming anyways. AS far as the weight of the ship compared to the tigercat, do you have the tigercat? It is heavy! and tricycle gear generally do not take a lot of the landing stress on the nose gear... unless you land poorly. These are only $15.00 as well

[OV10]

Not a problem as I was planning on shimming anyways. AS far as the weight of the ship compared to the tigercat, do you have the tigercat? It is heavy! and tricycle gear generally do not take a lot of the landing stress on the nose gear... unless you land poorly. These are only $15.00 as well

I had the FL Tiger until the infamous garage inferno that claimed the majority of my fleet.
The Tiger weighed in about 9 lbs with 2 4S 4000 LiPo's and a couple mods to the airframe and gear
Yes, the $15 price of the FL/FW etracts have always been a more palatable price than the long standing FMS line or the much higher priced EF stuff.
But the short of it really comes down to the fact that these etracts all really need to be of more robust metal sided construction.
The days of the FMS etracts saw some salvation with the after market aluminum side plates made by Small Parts CNC whereas side plate fatigue and cracking was eliminated with etract longevity being greatly increased.
I can't distinguish the difference between them, but the FW A-10 nose gear(Type C) is basically the same as the Tigercat(Type E) however the Warthog weighed about 12 lbs.
With the Pfeil weighing in close to 15 lbs, the plastic case etract is gonna show it's problematic characteristics (cracked cases) real quick.
A bird of this weight and price really deserves an Xwave etract (what the others are proposing to use) or something similar to provide gear reliability.
That's is the reason for my subtle prod in the prior post for a RM400-105

[Oxotnik]

Received the XWave RM400-90 for the nose gear yesterday and now have the nose gear installed, including the NG steering. Getting the pull-pull cables the right length was a bit tedious as the NG Steering Servo is pretty far forward in the servo back and there's not a lot of room up there to fiddle with tensioning the cables. I'm glad that I have small hands. LOL

I did finally get the pull-pull cables tightened up and to reward myself, I dorked out my 335, by programming the gear to retract on different delays. Why? Because I could. I'm such a dork.

Hopefully, my motors will be delivered this evening.

And if anyone is thinking about hiring a full-body pilot to drive their 335, the 1/7 - 1/8 scale WarbirdPilots pilot will fit. The seat will have to be cut out to lower him so that the canopy will fit over his head. Openings will also have to be made under the instrument panel for his feet to reach the rudder pedals. Easily done.

[handyman220]

I've been eyeballing the EF one also but it is just tough to swallow that $90 cost
It would be really a huge win for the modelers if Motion/Xwave developed a RM400-105 for an affordable cost of like fifty beans

Yeah eflites are expensive. I have one from another project so it won't cost me extra to try it out. My biggest problem is too many projects at the same time.

[Oxotnik]

For those considering the FlightLine Spitty 5055-390 motors. Test fitted mine a few minutes ago.

Mounting holes need to be drilled ~ 1/4” outboard of the existing 3mm holes. The length of the motor is just about perfect, to fit within the cowl. Maybe a small shim is needed, but not much of one.

[handyman220]

Looks like the motors were made for the DO 335. My set was due today but still showing in transit, most likely will be here tomorrow. Thanks for the preview Oxotnik.

[MANFRED]

For those considering the FlightLine Spitty 5055-390 motors. Test fitted mine a few minutes ago.

Mounting holes need to be drilled ~ 1/4” outboard of the existing 3mm holes. The length of the motor is just about perfect, to fit within the cowl. Maybe a small shim is needed, but not much of one.

What are you using for your battery setup?

[MANFRED]

Will somebody please produce some 3d main gear doors to cover up the ugly strut? Thank you

[MrSmoothie]

My Do335 arrived on Friday. I could barely drag the box from my front porch, through the house, through the carport, and into my shop. Um, and then what? I think the package size alone exceed my shop limitations.

I was happy with the double-boxing which appeared to have come through with only a few marks. However, I quickly discovered that my ventral fin had been smacked and crushed the lower fuselage at the leading edge. The tip of this fin was also fractured inside the covering. I saw somebody else had lower fin damage as well. The way they packaged this, such damage was inevitable. The tips of the two rudders go right up to the carton walls with just a bit of foam sheet. Any impact at all, and something's gotta give.

I put in a damage report to MRC, but I'm being careful about this. I do not want a replacement and will repair myself. I'm glad that MRC believed those of us on this forum who said a variation of "if you build it, they will come" -- or in our case, if you import it, we will buy it. I don't want to make them sorry that they did. But like all of you, I prefer to damage my planes myself!

To me, this should have been an easy fix on the design side -- make the ventral fin a separate piece, to be attached by the builder. I'd have made a ply tongue extend out of the lower fuselage to fit into a slot in the fin -- either glue or fix with two screws. Not to mention, the ventral fin is maybe the most likely part to be damaged flying, and this would have made a replacement part possible.

I was a little annoyed that the first layer of bubble wrap on the fuselage was attached with clear tape directly to the fuselage -- even carefully removed, it left a thick layer of adhesive on the covering. Typically I use isopropyl alcohol to remove adhesive, but this removes many paints as well. I did a test on the wing root and saw no effect on the covering, so that's what I used to remove the tape adhesive in three places.

My impressions: This thing is enormous. I still haven't had the guts to see if the fuselage will fit in my car (going over a fully reclined front passenger seat into the back seat. The wing panels won't be any problem.

I have mixed feelings about the "pre-weathered" finish. I can see where many will like it fine. I'd personally have liked to do that myself. If my flights are successful, I can see where, in the future, I might repaint this model.

The battery compartment is larger than I had been led to believe based on a few things I'd read. At this time, I'm thinking of a single, very large 6s lipo. I know a 6250 will fit, and maybe even a 7000.

I'm anxious to see how Oxo does with the two large motors -- I'm sure they will be enough power, if not too much. I've wondered about using a smaller motor on the tail -- can two dissimilar motors be run off of single lipo?

Here is a fairly recent video of an Aussie modeler flying his Black Horse Do-335. Note that he's running on 4s power, using two lipos (NOT in series). He has a link to a web page with more specifics about his setup. I think it's always helpful to see what worked for somebody else as a jumping off point. This, along with how things work for Oxo, will certainly help my decision.

https://youtu.be/3k8pfrBOYxM

[Oxotnik]

Nick, bummer about the damage to your vertical stabilizers. I was a bit surprised with I popped the top on my 335 and saw that the stabs were supported better than they were. Luckily, my V Stabs weren't damaged in transit.

[Oxotnik]

I'm scratching my head a bit in regards to spinners. I've purchased a pair of 5055-390kv motors (FlightLine Spitfire) and MAS 16x10x3 tractor and pusher props. I'm having trouble finding suitable spinners though. I picked up a couple Dubro 3-blade spinners, but the blade slots are too small for the MAS 16x10 prop. I could pretty easily modify the slots a bit to fit the tractor prop, but it'd be pretty major surgery to make them work for the big pusher prop. Are there any good off-the-shelf options out there for 3" to 3 3/8" dia 3-blade spinners that'd fit MAS 16x10x3 pusher and puller props? Or will I have to special order them from TruTurn (which is a pretty pricey option). It just doesn't seem right to be spending more money on the spinners than I did for the motors. :-/

[MrSmoothie]

I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, but I've been thinking that I'll eventually design and make 3D printed spinners for my DO.

I figured it was time to buck up and see if the fuselage fits in my car. Good news, it does. When loading, I took into account the eventual addition of the stab, cowl and props, and I think it will be just fine. Good thing there are two wing panels...

[Oxotnik]

In my opinion, this Do-335 is going to be a real PITA to connect wings in the field. Assuming that the Rx is placed on the raised platform behind the pilot's head, with the pull-pull nose wheel steering, the wing servo wires are going to have to be threaded under the servo platform and up through a hole in the platform between the pull-pull cables, so the the servo wires can be run upward between the pull-pull cables without the servo wires being chaffed by the pull-pull cables. Structurally, the wing is easily attached, but the wiring, not so much so.

If I were having to remove the wings on my Do-335 for transport (which, thankfully, I am not), I'd install multi-servo connectors at the wing interface. As I'm thinking about it some more, multi-servo connectors at the wing interface would make the wing mating process pretty easy actually.

[Twowingtj]

MrSmoothie Very good suggestion to have the ventral fin replaceable. A simple tounge and groove with some ply and some blind nuts could do the trick.

I chose to repair mine as well, although mine didn't have quite as much damage.

Thanks for sharing the vid. It didn't seem to be lacking for power on 4S. Interesting that he had to push the two 4S 4000 lipos all the way forward and still had to add 100g of lead to the nose.

[MrSmoothie]

If I were having to remove the wings on my Do-335 for transport (which, thankfully, I am not), I'd install multi-servo connectors at the wing interface. As I'm thinking about it some more, multi-servo connectors at the wing interface would make the wing mating process pretty easy actually.

I use using multi-connectors on planes like this where you have 3 or more things to connect per panel (assuming there is internal room to stuff the connectors back into). I use ElectroDynamics. They are not inexpensive, but they work really well. I've got them in my FW DH112 Venom, FW ME-262 and HobbyKing 1600mm FW-190A, all of which I have to remove the wing panels for each trip to the flying field.

Just this morning I flew my VQ Models A-26 Invader. I hangar it at my dad's place due to the size and that it fits in his SUV, so only fly it occasionally. As a result, I did not use multi-connectors -- and was reminded what a PITA it would be on a plane I fly often! At least I color-coded all of the connections using small zip ties, trimmed flush, of corresponding colors, or I'd go nuts.