Kudos to Mikey

I got my Hyper Viper yesterday, and Mikey, ya done good!!!

The looks are to die for, the wing is feather light, and strengthened in the center with a film decal that adds both strength and good decoration.

The tank is really neat, and the whole plane has an air of being better than anything C*x has done in the past. I may yet have to drop the asterisk!

I hope to fly mine tomorrow if the sun doth shine.

Thanks for the quick review Larry!,

Got mine on order this AM coming out of Tower's Nevada warehouse.
If it's as well done as the PT-19 re-issue it will be great!

Too Much Fun!..... and Nitro Fumes! Hib

OK, mine is ready, nay, raring to go! There is this wet stuff outside that some East Coast person must have brought with him that looks to prevent first flights. AAAUUUGH

The only critiques so far, are that you need some sort of thin, remote grabber to put in the screws on the tail and engine and the fuel hose installation is a bit of a pain if you don't remove the engine first.

I used cable leadouts. My installation used teflon CA dispensing tubing over the wire where it went through the bellcrank, and 1/16" dia. aluminum tube crimped over the wire.

The old Chipmunk spinner is too big, the one from the P-39 would be perfect, if you have one (I don't - GASP!). The stock vinyl nub spinner will do just fine.

I used the second hole in the control horn as recommended, but since I plan to fly on 40' of .008 cable (if I can) the first hole may be the right one. Time will tell, and screw together construction allows easy changes.

Weight was 10 ounces on my scale, 1/2 ounce over what Mikey had quoted, but who'se counting? Besides, the scale I used isn't that accurate. Anyway, that is at least 1/2 ounce under the last incarnation of the Super Stunter, and should be fully competitive in beginner stunt.

Modified with a Norvel engine, and 50' lines, I'll bet you could compete in intermediate.

I put it together all by myself, does that comply with the BOM requirements? Nobody helped me.....

Got mine this afternoon, and the 1 hour assembly time is about right. As Larry said, the most difficult part is the installation of the tail screw and the bottom 2 screws for the motor. I don't have my .008 lines made up, so will try mine tomorrow with the string lines that come with it. That assumes the the nasty weather Larry has in LA doesn't get to Tucson. I expect to have metal lines and one of Larry's handles available next weekend. Great job by Cox on this one. I assume most of the good stuff is due to Mikey's influence. I was going to swap the engine for a "Killer Bee", but guess I'll try the stock one first.
Steve

OK guy's here is the trick set up for the Hyper Viper.

(1) Remove the screen form the venturi. This adds a few hundred RPM to the engine.
(2) The best prop that I found was the APC 5.7" x 3". There may be others that will work but this one made it rock & roll.
(3) 35% Nitro Sig Champion fuel.
(4) 42' .008 lines
(5) Very lightweight handle with a line spacing around 3" or so. Depends what you like really.

For Additional Performance do the following:

(6) The High Compression plug with two head gaskets worked fine with only a light boost in performance. I still think there is more performance to be gained with the Nelson 1/2A plugs.
(7) Use a piston and cylinder from the TD .049.
(8) Cover the bottom fuselage with Fascal or clear tape. This will need to be replaced every flying session so you decide if it is worth doing or not.

Just like any big stunter make sure that the wing is level upright and inverted. If it is not tweak the trailing edge of the outboard either up or down wing until it flies level (be careful it doesn't take a lot).

Start doing a few simple maneuvers and get a feel for the line tension. If you think it needs more tip weight then add clay to the weight pocket in the out board wing. During my flight testing of the Hyper Viper three steel weights were too much and two were not quite enough on 42' lines. So don't be afraid to add a little more

Great input, Mike! Now I have to decide whether to dis-assemble my plane to get at the screen and switch out the piston and cylinder. Probably will. I already have the Galbreath/Nelson head, and APC prop and I'll use one of my RSM handles, of course!

With the engine hop-up and high nitro, is there enough fuel to do a full pattern?

I would think that careful application of clear Urethane paint around the edges of the tape or Moneykote on the bottom should render it permanent. Or is there enough junk blowing inside the fuselage to get to it from there?

Also, what is the plastic used on the fuselage? Polypropylene, ABS or Styrene?

I hope all is going well for you in your new position!

Best regards, Designman