Just saw the Phoenix models A26 in tower.

[WAYNE888]

I ended up saving the .32 setup for the Cessna 337.....The Invader has been upgraded to .46s and 80a Castles.
** Yeah...even the foam, twins....Dynam B26 for instance....or any of the B25s...they all have to be flown to the ground. I think that is typical for all those low wing, 30s and 40s designs,....the warbirds just that much more so. I expect it will be true for the BH Heinkel 111 in my closet too..
The Seagull Cessna has that Hershey Bar wing, and I suspect it will be more forgiving. That will be the first of my twins I fly...… when I get there.
I read about folks changing the air valve for a Robart air piece.....the air retracts are dependable after that. Electric not a bad Idea either....the most dependable I suspect.

[Oxotnik]

I have the Graupner He-111 (which is a previous version of the BH He-111). It flies really well and is pretty easy to land. It’s wing-loading is quite a bit lower than the Phoenix A-26. I put Aerodrive SK 4240 motors on my 111, and it has a ton of power. I can fly it either like a scale bomber or as a fighter; it kinda reminds me of my FlightLine P-38, when I start flying it more aggressively.

[Oxotnik]

I'd posted this in the RCG A-26 Thread, but thought that I'd cross-post it here as well.

On New Years Day, my club had a fun fly and I whipped out the A-26 for a crowd pleaser. We had a good turnout and the flying weather was beautiful (low 50's (°F), low winds, and mostly clear skies).



This was the third flight of my A-26. On the maiden flight, the left gear collapsed at touch down, due to a pheumatics failure. I replaced the pneumatic Mains with HK large-scale electric retracts, and the flight was nice and the landing was good, albeit a bit fast. On this, the 3rd flight, I wasn't nervous about flying the plane and got to actually enjoy the flying (instead of being wound up tighter than a drum). The landing... holy hell, that may have been my best landing EVER! Greasy Smooth! The video isn't much, as I was just flying a simple counterclockwise pattern and had edited out most of the flight, except for the take off and landing and a couple fly bys.

So, after 3 flights, here're my thoughts.
- I love the size and mass, and quality of construction, of this plane! It's very predictable and the heaviness and high wing loading make it very easy to make a good approach and landing, as long as you're using the throttle to control the altitude. (But, everyone who's flying a plane this big, should definitely already be skilled in proper landing technique, LOL)
- I had a horrible time with the pneumatic retracts. I'd even purchased a replacement pneumatic gear set (although discounted by HH/Tower, since I was having trouble with the original retracts). The piston cylinders are sealed, so that they can't be opened up for inspection/maintenance. The retract set if VERY inexpensive, compared to something comparable from Robart. So, I've pretty much decided that you get what you pay for with these retracts. I understand that others have had great success with this retracts. I tried, off and on, for over 6 months, but could not get them to work reliably. After the maiden flight, I gave up on the pneumatic Mains, and replaced them with HK large-scale electric retracts (motor/trunion, but used the stock structs and wheels). Other than needing to grind a couple new flats onto the stock structs and drilling some mounting holes in the plane's retract housing, the HK electric retract trunion was a drop-in replacement. The HK large-scale electric retracts are stout, robust, and seem to be very reliable. I am very happy with this change! Oh, the HK retracts were about a 1/4 oz heavier than the pneumatic retracts, which isn't a big deal at all in a17-lb plane, especially since the mass growth is at the Cg. I have left the Nose Gear pneumatic, and it works fine. I do need to add an orifice into the air lines to slow down the deployment/retraction of the nose gear though. If anyone is having concerns with their stock pneumatic retracts, I highly recommend the HK large-scale retracts.
- I love my power train: Sk3+ 5055-420kv motors, MAS 14x8x3 counter-rotating props, FMS 80A ESC (although the wattmeter has proven that the peak current draw is below 50A, static, If I'd have known this before getting the 80A ESCs, I'd probably have used 60A ESCs) and 5S-5AH HRB 50C batteries. I put the batteries in the nacelles and each motor has a dedicated 6S battery. I am thinking about running 12-ga wires between the nacelles, to make a parallel battery circuit as I'd prefer to know that both motors are always seeing the same voltage. Initially, I was a bit worried that the 420kv motors wouldn't swing the props fast enough to have the response that I wanted, even though the wattmeter showed that the power train was generating 1100 W, each, (2200W total), for 127W/lb, which is a good place to be. My fears were unfounded though. This power train seems to be perfect, as it has great acceleration and quick response to power application.
- The plane feels heavy as it flies, but in a good way. I have a lot of elevator throw available; so, I have to be careful not to bank-n-yank too much, as I want to keep the g's pretty low on a 17-lb aircraft. LOL Plus, making nice, scale, coordinated turns feels good. :-) I feel like the A-26, with this power train, should easily be able to loop. I'm not sure about rolling though. One day, after a few more flights, I'll take her up REALLY high and see what she does when I crank in full ailerons.
- Something else I did that I really like is that I went all high-voltage servos and RX in my A-26. So, I run the RX and servos directly from a 2S-2200mah LiPo, no voltage regulation. I'd forgotten that I was running an 8.4 vdc RX bus when I installed the HK electic retracts, but, luckily, they seem perfectly fine, operating on this voltage bus.
- I am using a pneumatic solenoid valve to control the actuation of the nose gear. I'm really liking this solenoid, as I don't have to piddle around with getting a servo to give the perfect amount of throw to actuate the pneumatics and I don't have to worry about over-torquing the pneumatics servo.

I don't think that any of the mods or features (except maybe the motors and props) are anything of my own creation. Most of it was done based on recommendations by others in the RCG and the HobbySquawk A-26 forums. I appreciate the information that's been provided by others and I even more appreciate those of you who have responded to my questions and gripes with very constructive information. It's great to be in community who helps each other. If anyone wants any more information on my setup, please feel free to ask, either here or by PM.

Best regards,
Chuck