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My DLE-170 started back firing. I changed the pickup sensor as that's what http://www.rcextremepower.net says was likely the case. He was right, pickup sensor fixed it!

Okay, got to working on this DLE 170. I changed the reeds to the Boyesen reeds I got from Ed @ www.fastcarbs.com. The stock reeds are stiffer and clear, these are more yellow. While I was in there I noticed that the impulse port hole was basically around 50% blocked. Partially by the gasket and mostly by the metal plate that holds down the reeds. I got out a small round file and went to work on it. The carb only uses the one side, so in the pic you'll see the hole on the right is stock and 50% blocked, the hole on the left is the one I worked on and it's wide open.

more... and we'll see how much difference it makes probably tomorrow. @Tavis says a lot.
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Oh, the back firing was cured by adjusting the sensor. Milton at www.rcextremepower.net said there was a run of bad sensors a year ago. He said people were back firing with those bad sensors. That you could test by turning the prop through and seeing when the plug fired (having removed the caps and then put a plug in one of them). If the plug fired when the magnet was entering under the sensor, in that case the sensor was bad. That the plug should fire when the magnet was exiting the sensor. I have a couple of new sensors on order. But, meanwhile I unscrewed my entrance sensor screw a little, and tightened up my exit sensor screw a bit. After that the plug would fire on magnet exit, rather than on magnet entrance. I flew five flights after that with no backfiring while priming or starting. Prior to that adjustment it was backfiring constantly while priming and starting.

I learned something new in the process... that RCEXEL ignitions fire when the magnet goes under the sensor... at any speed. You can turn it through as slow as you want and it will fire. It also fires once every time you turn on the ignition. So, I'll keep that in mind so as not to start it up when I'm not planning on starting it up.

Okay, this has nothing to do with the Yak54, haha, but I went flying tonight and the work on the DLE-170 paid off. Starts like a DA and runs great... way more power. This thing really sips the fuel, too... I could probably fly 20+ minutes on a 50-oz tank. :O

About the EF 110" Yak54... the included pilot is really big (same one that EF sends out with the 125" Extra, I think). And, doesn't really fit. Now the G-Force pilots are super cool and I have the 42% version in my 122" Extra. But, I wish its head was a little bigger so it would look more scale. Turns out that pilot fits in the 110" yak54, and the EF pilot has a bigger head and looks more scale in the 122" Extra. But, it's not nearly as cool as the G-Force pilot. So, I'm trying to decide if I can get along with the EF Pilot in my 122" Extra, or if I'm going to order another G-Force Pilot. :O lol

Okay, got back to the Yak54 for a couple of hours tonight. I'm going to use my 42% G-Force pilot in it. I still need to build a 1" tall box to go under him so that he can see over the cowl when he's flying! So, I figured that out, and that is the hardest part. haha

I finished up the little bit of cosmetic work I did inside the fuse, just trying to make it look a little more fancy.

I was thinking to just use a 6014 receiver, without any power distribution (especially with these 9380 servos, they just don't use any power). But, at the same time I didn't want the switches to be a power bottleneck. So, I'm thinking I'll go with this SmartFly Micro power expander and failsafe electronic switch.

An interesting thing about this little SmartFly Micro is that it has two channels with two servo ports each, and the rest of the channels have a single servo port. Meaning you could come up with an easy setup for using a MultiPlex Wingstabi Gyro for hands-off torque rolling. :sneaky:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snX2pMZlDl0

I've heard guys complaining about installing servos inside the stabs on a variety of different planes. I looked around the shop at what tools I had and found I had what I needed to make installing the stab servos quick and easy.

I tell myself not to, but I always end soldering Dean's ends for my elevators and ailerons. It is nice to have them on there. I have my four extensions run through the factory extension tube. This plane is pretty quick and easy to put together... if I'd ever spend some time on it. haha

All my experiences so far with ARFs tell me that I do not want my hinges glued in. Thankfully here they are not. Just drilled and the off brand hinges put in dry. This allows me to do three things:

1) add a hinge to each end of each control surface
2) use Robart hinges (a friend just had his included off brand round hinges disintegrate in just a few flights on another brand ARF, and of course my Pilot RC hinges fell apart pretty quickly, also my H9 rudder hinges fell out)
3) glue them in myself with a quality glue, in my case that means ZAP 30-min epoxy (never had a hinge even remotely start to come loose using ZAP epoxy)