David Rayner

Maiden Flight! Sunday was a wonderful day to fly, so set for the maiden flight. The SC70FS fired up first go and was soon on song. So... Deep Breath..... With the very able Andy standing by on trims I opened the power up and... No nasty tracking and in the air at a walking pace and away she went. Now Earlier in the post I mentioned the two C of G positions. I was careful to set the 110mm recommended but was aware this was the most rearward so was a bit concerned. Pitch sensitive? New Pants! Andy took over and tried to trim it then brought it down for a look. I added 60g of weight to the inside of the firewall and now she fly’s well and i2 perhaps a bit nose heavy. I will carefully recheck the c of g and post again on this but wonder if 88mm is the correc tmeasurement. Once that scare was dealt with, I was able to make some initial impressions. This is an airframe that want to fly, it lift of quickly and floats in to land. The Flaps are not needed, so a great first Flap model to learn with. I have the Flaps set for 2s slow open and close and they does not seem to make a pitch change that I have seen yet. Control throws are sporty and expo and rates make for a smoother and more scale presentation. (at least under my thumbs) A hard pull on the up elevator produced a flick - so something to watch out for. The undercarriage appears robust and has just the right amount of bounce. The 70FS engine (the recommended size) gives scale flying but not unlimited verticals. it feels comfortable at half power and so ok. I can understand that some pilots may prefer a larger 90 size engine though. Overall first impressions are good and I am looking forward to getting more flying.

Thanks for pointing that out Mowerman, i have just seen the digital copy. I was also suprised about the flap throws in the manual , so the reviewers comment about 85 deg being "fun" will be worth a try. Edited By David Rayner on 28/01/2014 11:30:45

Just made my last post and had a reply from Seagull about the C of G. I was a bit confused as the manual says 88mm back from the LE in the text - in bold but repeated many times.The picture - of the actual model - shows 110mm back from the LE. Hmmm   A quick mail to the support team and they confirmed is was actualy 110mm, Very quick support - but a basic error! Edited By David Rayner on 27/01/2014 14:31:32

Here are some pictures of the oleo legs. It looks ok untill you realise the wheel is on the inside of the leg These are the legs out of the box The look good and seem strong and well made. After a bit thought i stripped them down and re-assembled the rights way round. And here is the assembled model on my very cluttered bench - next job the cowl. Gulp.

I was very luck to receive this as a crimbo gift from my wife. As I have an SC 70 FS looking for a new home it should fit the bill well. Here are my observations, now that I have a first radio connection and control surface operation. Content - Overall I think everything promised is in the box, except for the Spinner. As i usually source these separately this is not a loss - but color matching may be an issues. Quality - The hardware seems to be good so far. The covering is a bit rough in places. Still loads better than I could do though. Fit and build The wing joining Tube is too long - I have cut 5mm off. The tail wheel should be fitted before the horizontal stabilizer is glued in. Otherwise you will need to make extra clearance hole - guess how i know The under carriage mounting holes needed to be re-drilled and the grooves trimmed. The substantial sprung Oleo legs seem to be back to front. I have to dismantle them and see if they are easy to put right. I also had to correct the bends so they sat flat on the wing. The flaps hit the ailerons - however they are hinged. Most of the problems have been resolved - but the instructions are basic relying on pictures that are just about good enough. So this is really for people who have built an ARTF and are not concerned about getting the tools out. None of these issues are show stoppers. This looks like It will be a great looking plane when completed - and I will update this thread with my progress.

Hi all - Thanks for the very useful suggestions, To fill in some details. The white was dry - I painted it some weeks ago. I used a masking line tape I picked up at a club raffle - Not sure of the make. The black appears to have made the white paint liquid in places and mixed to a grey. This makes sense in a way as it will ensure a good bond between paint layers. If I follow the normal paint approach of starting with the lightest layer it would not be a problem, but that wont work in this case. The Tamiya range seems to be the way to go - so I will look into them. Does anyone suggest using a clear layer before the first coat when painting a canopy? I have heard of this for body lines as a way of sealing the edge.

Can someone help me avoid an ugly mess? I am building a DB Sport and Scale Piper Cherokee that comes with a vac formed clear plastic canopy. As I am newish to building I decided to build it without adding too much scale detail - so wanted to tint the windows. First job - mask off the canopy - ok. Second job - white spray job using Halfords best - OK so far. Then remove masks and spray with Halfords best black - Result Ugly mess as the black spray interacts with the white. I am spraying on the inside of the canopy - and this may be the problem. DB Sport and scale can supply a new canopy and will send me some offcuts to practice on. So can someone suggest an approach and paint combination that will save me from anouther mess? Many thanks for your help. http://www.dbsportandscale.com/Piper-Cherokee.htm

Hi Peter, I recently had the same problem with the same engin, So your not alone! I eventualy ran the engin in with the glow perminently energized and the very rich (read wet) mixture recomended. After 4-5 tanks of start stop I was able to lean it out to a steady run. The idle neadle still needs to be trimmed as the low end is either un-reliable or fast. However I know that I can keep tweaking this untill it is settled in.

Hi Tony, Just to add to your choices. I have started flying a Black Horse Gladiator as my first step into this style of flying. It was simple to assemble and flys well with an SC52FS though would take more power. If you looking for a low cost and non scary step into pattern I can recomend it.