Product Review 2003/09

September 2003 49
Steve Kulicki
P r o d u c t R e v i e w
520 Meadow Ln., Bath PA 18014
D&L Designs Dalotel
DM-165 Viking
Pros:
• Packing
• Engineering
• Kit completeness
• Ease of assembly
• Flying qualities
Cons:
• Minor instruction-manual
discrepancies
In the mood for a slightly different-looking Scale Aerobatics model? This 1⁄5-scale Dalotel DM-165 might work for you.
THE DALOTEL DM-165 Viking Almost
Ready to Fly (ARF) that I received from
D&L Designs arrived in two large boxes;
one contained the wing, stabilizer, and
hardware package, all wrapped in foam
rubber. The other contained the body
(entirely wrapped with foam) and the
vertical fin. There was not a dent or ding in
any part of this 1⁄5.5-scale Sport Scale model.
The Dalotel ARF, which sells for
$269.95, has a wingspan of 591⁄2 inches and
a wing area of 625 square inches. The
recommended engine is a .45-.60 two-stroke
or a 53-70 four-stroke. The model is
handcrafted in China from D&L Designs
plans and is constructed from balsa,
plywood, and spruce. My hat is off to the
person who constructed my kit because the
workmanship is impeccable!
The prefinished iron-on covering comes
in two designs: red, yellow, blue, and white
(air-show scheme) and yellow and white
with black trim (scale scheme).
The assembly portion of the construction
manual is four pages and consists of 22
steps. There are also four pages of pictures
containing 24 photos to get you through the
building process.
I will install an O.S. .61 and my new
Futaba 6DA radio, although any fourchannel
radio driving four servos would be
sufficient. Let’s get started and see how
close we can get to the 10-hour estimated
building time.
The one-piece wing has the ailerons already
glued in place. There is a rectangular stepdown
in the top of the wing near the leading
edge. Why is that there? Flip the wing over
and cut the covering to reveal the grooved
landing-gear hardwood blocks. The
preformed landing-gear wires are inserted
and held in place with two landing-gear
straps, then the supplied main wheels are
attached using wheel collars. The wing is
complete and feels light.
The only fault I found with the
construction manual pertained to the tailwheel
installation. Step 5 reads: “Rear hole
for tail wheel bracket should be 5⁄8 inch in
front of rear of fuselage.”
I did this and could not mount the blind
nut until I carved some of the tail post away
to accept the nut. A measurement of 7⁄8 inch
would alleviate this problem. There was no
diagram showing where to bend the tail
bracket. This is not a huge problem, but a
diagram would have been helpful. Cut the
film for the elevator pushrod wires and tap
the 1⁄4-20 wing-bolt plate, and the fuselage is
finished.
The tail group requires some attention, so
follow the manual carefully. The fin and the
rudder come hinged together, but you will
need to cut a hinge slot in the fuselage and
the rudder to hinge the two together.
The horizontal stabilizer and rudder-fin
assembly are epoxied together. There are
two pins on the bottom of the rudder-fin
assembly that go through the horizontal
stabilizer to make the alignment easy. Make
sure the fin and horizontal tail are mounted
at 90˚ to each other.
Mount the wing to the fuselage to align
the completed tail group. The horizontal
stabilizer must be parallel to the wing.
Measure from wingtip to stabilizer tip to
check for trueness. I used 10-minute epoxy
for this important step. With this operation
you have just completed the most difficult
The author found the O.S. .61 engine with S&W 10% glow fuel
plenty to pull this aircraft vertical with authority.
All of the model’s parts are ding-free and ready to assemble. The
kit packaging was excellent.
The prehinged fin-and-rudder assembly is shown. It mounts
easily to the rear of the fuselage assembly.
For the first test hop, Steve left the cowling off in case the engine
had overheating problems, but it didn’t.
part in the construction manual.
Much of the work on the control systems
has been done for you. Elevator pushrods
are prebent, although they have to be silversoldered
together. These two rods are then
epoxied into an arrow shaft to make the
completed pushrod.
One of the hatches in the bottom of the
fuselage allows for easy access to the rudder
bellcrank. The pushrod that runs from the
rudder servo to the bellcrank is preformed.
Pull-pull cables attached to the bellcrank
activate the rudder. With most of this work
done for you, I think you will find installing
your radio easy.
Follow the directions carefully when
installing the engine. Directions are given
for two-stroke and four-stroke engines to
ensure the correct amount of side thrust. The
throttle servo fits neatly in the hatch at the
front of the fuselage.
The fiberglass cowl is the only “heavy”
part of this kit. It fits on a 1⁄16-inch lip
around the front of the fuselage and is held
in place by three 4-40 bolts with blind nuts. I
used a Dremel hand tool to remove
fiberglass material from the engine-head
area, muffler, and needle valve.
Place the servos with the supplied trays
in the fuselage exactly as indicated in the
construction manual. Hook up the existing
pushrods and adjust the throws as indicated.
Do the same for the aileron servo.
Position the fuel tank on the center of
gravity (CG). What’s this? It sticks up above
the wing saddle! Remember the rectangular
step-down in the top of the wing I referred
to earlier? This encapsulates the fuel tank.
The engineering that went into this kit is that
fantastic! Pull-pull, rudder, access hatches
for the throttle servo, and rudder bellcrank
are also excellent!
I mounted my battery pack and receiver
behind the elevator and rudder servos
because of the extra nose weight of the O.S.
.61. It balanced in the middle of the CG
range. The Dalotel was also balanced left to
right per the instructions. The flying weight
is 5 pounds, 14 ounces. The total building
time was 111⁄2 hours.
I asked Stan Raulktis of S&W Hobbies to
help me with the first flight. Stan is a former
Fédération Aéronautique Internationale
Radio Control helicopter pilot. We filled the
Dalotel’s tank with S&W 10% fuel and fired
up the engine.
The first attempt at a takeoff from the
grass field resulted in a nose-over that killed
the engine. Once the engine was restarted,
full up-elevator was needed to get the
Dalotel to roll forward. As the airplane
started to roll, the elevator was released then
added slowly for takeoff. Rollout was
straight with a tad of right rudder.
With one click of up-elevator and a click
of left aileron, the model was flying straight
and level. High-rate elevator and low-rate
aileron throws were used for the flight.
High-rate aileron throws made the model
feel slightly touchy and were unnecessary.
The Dalotel felt “Patternesque.” We
pointed it where we wanted it to go, and it
flew like it was on rails. We rolled it
inverted, and it flew straight and level with a
touch of down-elevator. Stall Turns revealed
an authoritative rudder. Snaps were
predictable and stopped as soon as the sticks
were released. The Dalotel slowed easily for
the first landing attempt, which resulted in
another nose-over as it was coming to a
stop.
The landing gear were bent to get the
50 MODEL AVIATION
wheels farther ahead of the leading edge.
The second takeoff was straight, with no
tendency for a tipover. With a .61 you can
pull the airplane vertical, ease off the
power, and hover it. Get back on the
throttle and the Dalotel will pull vertical
again.
Double snaps in a vertical line proved
to be a piece of cake. Immelmanns are
extremely easy, and knife-edge flight is
straight with no pulling tendency. This
airplane’s aerobatic potential is limited
only by the pilot’s ability.
The Dalotel slowed for another landing,
and it was stable with no hint of tipstalling.
The landing was a beautiful threepoint
with no tipover.
I am impressed with this kit. Packaging,
engineering, and accessory packages
were first-rate. The important question is,
How well does it fly? The Dalotel flew
great! MA
Source:
D&L Designs
1145 E. Kleindale Rd.
Tucson AZ 85719
(520) 887-0771
[email protected]
www.dldesigns.net