Does anyone have any experience with a Cox Mantis?

the engine area had been factory fuel proofed and there was a deck behind the firewall.  The balloon tank sat on the deck.  I removed the deck to make room for a plastic tank.

The engine. It started as a tee dee .049. It got a non-spi sure start cylinder, a radial mount, an aluminum carb body, a carb, a starter spring, and a merlin style clamp on head with a hot insert

I re-glued all joints with CA

I roughed up the firewall and epoxied a 1/4" ply mount for the engine mounting and spacing since I am using a radial mount

I put a little extra support behind the fire wall

The fuel tank area and engine area have been fuel proofed with thinned epoxy

Bob.
Doesn't look like you're getting much response from other members so I thought I'd keep you company.
I know nothing about the mantis but it's a neat looking aircraft, not at all what I expected from the name. Good luck with it.
Can I just ask, why have you chosen to use a Sure Start cylinder on a Tee Dee. Do you plan to use a muffler?

Rod.

I chose the sure start cyliner to avoid SPI for all the normal reasons. I probably won't ever use a muffler but I have found that throttle response, especially transition to full throttle after a prolonged idle, is much better and more reliable without a muffler.

Thank you for the company, I was beginning to get lonely.

Bob,

That is a neat little plane and had no idea such a thing existed. Lools like you are doing all the right stuff to build a good reliable model.

Good engine choice and I hope you have fun with it.

Ron

Hi Bob,
I've never seen nor heard of a Cox Mantis. It sure is a different model from what the Cox name usually brings to mind. And a balloon tank, that's neat, but I guess it was dry rotted by now. It'll be interesting to see how it flies.
Rusty

I was curious about this Cox model too.. and found these images. Did Graupner have a hand in the creation of this model by chance?

I haven't been able to visit the forum today. Cool plane. I'll keep my eye on this one, I'd buy and fly one for sure!

Fit90...I have never owned a Cox Mantis but knew a guy who did. I believe you will be a might disappointed in using an .049 TD , since it came originally with a TD09RC from Cox. My friend said it flew fairly well with the TD09RC, but was heavier than he preferred.
I'm fairly sure that the kit may have been made by Hacker in Germany or Czech Republic ? They did the RTF's for Norvel back in their day also.
I hope to find a kit someday myself. I have a TD09RC ready for it if it comes without one......
Steve.....

Looks like a nice little ARF , I had seen some of these on the bay but not thought to much about it , seems ARF are more about rebuilding the plane someone else started .... But it does appear that you know all the quirps and tricks to make it a good flyer , Thanks for sharing your build with us and would bee nice to see one in action . getback

i noticed the post when it first appeared, but didn't see any photos? Looks like a nice plane, but i also think it might be be a little doggie with a Tee Dee .049/.051. You might surf eBay for a O.S. .10 (or any .10 size R/C engine) that or go really light with components, small servos, battery pack, etc.. You also might look for a plastic clunk tank, as that metal wedge tank might cause fuel draw issues.

I will be using pretty light stuff. A small LiFe battery, a four channel Spektrum receiver, and three micro/sub-micro servos. I think it will do just fine on the tee dee .049. If not, then a Medallion .09 will be in order. I am also using a one and a half ounce plastic clunk tank. I think it is a Sullivan. I will post more pics this weekend.

I've never seen one of these but there is a lot I haven't seen... at least... that's what she said!

Here is the inside of the fuel tank compartment.  I chose to vent the fuel tank from below the fuselage.  You can see where some fuel line is on the solid fuel tube that runs out the bottom of the fuse. This tubing will attach to the solid vent tube coming out of the fuel tank.

Here is a pic showing the throttle hook up

Here is the fuel tank with the vent line hooked up to the vent that goes out the bottom of the fuse.  This is a Sullivan 1.5 ounce rectangular plastic, clunk tank.

 Here is a pic of the fuel tank and throttle completely hooked up.