DA #1 Customer Service

[jamesrxx951]

billpilotca;19776 wrote:

James - I did have the 170 in my H9 Sukhoi on RE3's. Finally removed it after it shook the firewall loose. Replaced it with a well used 150 and it flies the Sukhoi just fine.

That is good to hear about the 150. It flew my 42 or 43LB AW Extra 300 pretty well and figured it would be even better on the lighter Sukhoi. Did you notice a MAH drop when the engine was swapped? I noticed an increase when the 170 was installed.



BTW I hope no one gets the wrong impression from my post. I have relied on DA engines for a long time and they have served me well. Talked to Tony at the Toledo show several times and on the phone and Jeff at DA has also been very helpful on the phone on several occasions and after sales customer support is very important to me. That's why it pains me think of removing the 170.

 

[Robotech]

Hmmm. Went from a DA150/RE3 to a DA170/RE3 on mine. Only difference was a big increase in power and awsomeness.

 

[orthobird]

James,

i have two da 170 motors.

the 1st one is about 3 or 4 years old. do not know exactly how old it is, i bought it from someone who won the engine at a tournament. He had the motor, unopened from the bag, on top of his desk, heaven knows for how long. anyways, he sold it to me, brand new, for about 1000 dollars. this motor had never run, what i would call, great. this motor was put into an extra, now it is on its 3rd extra. i will tell you more soon.



i purchased a second da 170 directly from DA about 2 years ago. this motor was put into a bill hempel yak, and it is for sport flying only, no 3d. can do IMAC with it. this airplane weighs 36 pounds. 120" wing span. this motor runs great, excellent midrange, has never had a problem, and the needles have not been touched since i purchased it.



ok, let's go back to my 1st da 170.



this da 170 was 1st in a 3w extra 330 that weighed about 49 pounds. motor had plenty of power, but it could only idle and run full power. it had a poor transition. it had stock muffs. this airplane, after about 40 flights, developed tail flutter during flight at a fly in event. it went down, and landed upside down, like a pancake, into a lake. no damage to the engine.



this same motor was then put into a 3DHS extra 330 sc 119" ws, this one weighed in at 46 pounds. this one was with MTW re3 pipes. again, this airplane had a very tough time with transition, midrange was terrible. if i improved the mid-range by leaning the LSN, it would run better, but then all of a sudden, it would deadstick. so i removed the pipes, and went with the stock muffs. way louder, and i was practicing for my 1st IMAC event. again, i was trying to get the sweet spot to help with mid-range., and no dice. 3 days before the competition, i got a dead-stick in no-mans-land. airplane did not survive this one. again, no damage to the motor. but this time, i sent that one in.



and guess what???



The motor came back and it is a totally different engine. i have that installed now on my 3rd extra, this time, the 3dhs extra 330 sc 120" WS, weighs in at about 43 pounds. and this time with the tuned pipes again. it has a great transition, runs great, very reliable. with the new airframe, it has 41 flights, and about 43 liters of fuel through it. this engine is running strong.



if i were you, i would not give up on the DA 170.

 

[orthobird]

billpilotca;19776 wrote: I have always had good service from DA. At various times I have had to send in a DA50, two DA100's, and a DA170. Often have only had to pay shipping. Often engines came back with many new parts and no charge other than shipping. But if it was crash damage I paid the invoice and fully expected to. That being said charges were always more than fair and turnaround was always very good.



James - I did have the 170 in my H9 Sukhoi on RE3's. Finally removed it after it shook the firewall loose. Replaced it with a well used 150 and it flies the Sukhoi just fine.

firewall came loose, that is a problem. something is wrong there. was the firewall pinned? were you flying 3d and doing crankshafts with it often?

 

[orthobird]

i forgot to mention, in this hobby, i have never come across a company that has the service of desert aircraft. they are very very responsible, and then some. i also would like to say that the service from horizon hobby and from futaba service center are also awesome. BUT DA, there is no one like them, that i am aware of. Unlike HH and Futaba, if it is past the warranty period, DA will still service it and cover it. Just amazing!!!

 

[jamesrxx951]

Orthobird,



What did they do to the engine? Mine is one of the earlier (purchased 9/09) builds and not the latest. It has been sent in for all the updates when I had ignition issues when it was under the 3 year warranty, but it has always been the same. I would love to make it smoother if possible. Much rather keep it than anything.

 

[jamesrxx951]

It is hard to tell on the video that I took but you can see the aileron total defection but not the high rate of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLe5MJnTI9A&list=UUeBQhrRSEBC59xaKpttKgjw

 

[billpilotca]

jamesrxx951;19785 wrote: Did you notice a MAH drop when the engine was swapped? I noticed an increase when the 170 was installed.

James - cannot say I did but I did not have a lot of flights on the airframe when the firewall separated so I did and early swap and just repaired the firewall - did some additional pinning and it has been fine with the 150 in it ever since. I cannot comment on MAH consumption.

 

[billpilotca]

orthobird;19792 wrote: firewall came loose, that is a problem. something is wrong there. was the firewall pinned? were you flying 3d and doing crankshafts with it often?

No 3D, just IMAC sequences, greatest stress would be positive / negative snaps. Firewall was pinned but what I would have called minimal i.e. two dowel type pins each side. I just assumed it was an ARF thing and maybe not enough glue etc. Rest of airframe has been good.



I agree that there was more power with the 170, but not needed for my level of IMAC flying (Intermediate).

 

[orthobird]

James, are you doing that with your aileron?



yes, they did the updates, and that is all it took. i never had issues with the ignition.

are you using an IBEC or a separate battery for ignition with an optical kill switch?



do you have a velocity stack on it?