Matt Carlton

Getting there. Bit by bit. 23oz without motor, esc and lipo. Expecting 3lbs AUW now. Loading 17.5oz/sq.ft Power = 450W, but will probably prop that back a bit.

Do you use, or did you use, EPA or ATV on your throttle channel for an IC model? That can throw off the programming of your ESC so that you don't get 100% throttle.

Bought these the other day, arrived the next day. £5.99 with free postage for 10 off 12" leads. Very nice quality, packaged in a nice protective resealable bag. Futaba plug/sockets but easy enough to snip the tab off for a JR/Hitec rx socket. Servo Extension Leads

This is it. I might have a look. Would be quite a nice electric model.

On a related, but tangential subject, has anyone built a Wot-Knot? Looks like quite a nice thing.

I'm not sure about a plan, I'd have to redraw it as there are some areas I'm not happy with and where I deviated from what I had drawn, but thanks for the compliment!

Then I got a bit bored.

Also a sort of vent under the fus for airflow over the ESC:

Not much to say really, just fiddling now until the covering arrives. Made a natty little 1/32" balsa tube to hold the Hitec Boda antenna:

You did, I should have been paying attention. I wasn't.

Spruce is pretty easy to get hold of in a variety of sizes, so no real need to find an alternative: https://www.slecuk.com/Spruce

My wife had a heart attack when I said for her to keep an eye out as I was expecting some snakes through the post.

I think there is an element of "caveat emptor" about some (not all) ARTF models which people can ignore at times. If a kit costs £150 and an ARTF of a similar model is £120, that rings alarm bells for me. That saving has gone somewhere. I'd rather pay a bit more for an ARTF if it meant having a bit more confidence in it.

Now that I think about it, of course you are absolutely right. I was thinking of the system as it would be without the outer being fixed in position. I apologise for that, I was incorrect. Oddly, I have always paid pretty major attention to securing the ends of snake outers so I must've known somewhere in my head!

The fact that a snake can flex to absorb changes in length due to temperature shows that there is some flex in the system. That said, I believe that Sullivan at least recommend supporting the outer every 25cm or so? So yes, whilst I agree that there is usually a minimal or at least, acceptable amount of slop in the system, a snake will, in my opinion, never be as accurate and consistent as a rigid, supported pushrod. But horses for courses in the end, we all have our own experiences and our own opinions and that's exactly how it should be ?

I think midway support is probably only necessary if there is likely to be particularly high resistance. Snakes can bow in that scenario, but in all honesty, I wouldn't use snakes in a high speed application anyway.

You could also run tubing for closed loop controls, then the lack of midway support would not really matter.

Absolutely true Ron, I think the point I was making (badly?) was that with an ARTF it is sometimes hard to tell and harder to correct, but a kit gives you a bit more control maybe. You can at least junk a duff piece of wood, rather than being stuck with it.

The other advantage of a kit is that you can be sure of all the joints and quality of components. With an ARTF, you never really know if there are duff joints or sub standard bits of wood in there. Hardware, in my experience, tends to be a bit naff in ARTF models as well and a kit allows you to change things to suit your needs. Take your time, enjoy the build and you'll still be flying it in many years time. There's a reason that the kit is still in production.

Many moons ago, some enterprising soul started making rather nifty twin reduction drives linking two motors to a common shaft to make a quasi horizontally opposed job, which I seem to remember seeing in a 240. I think it had two 45ish size 4 strokes driving what seemed like a very big prop. Sounded wonderful. I also have vague memories of someone producing a twin crankcase which you got as a kit with the crankcase, crankshaft etc and onto which you bolted the cylinder heads, pistons, conrods etc of two donor engines.

Sounds like a neat solution. Fury looks really nice, what is the covering?

I fly from a combination of grass and molehills so a bit of extra bounce isn't a bad idea. I did have a test sproing this evening and the 10G wire is surprisingly resilient. Not sure about the box in the wing but there's a reasonable amount of rake forward on the legs. Should ok. If it isn't, I'll find out quite soon I imagine.

Test fit canopy, made from two flat sheets curved to fit. Roughly sanded to shape (different coloured areas are bits of filler and seams rather than actual lumps and bumps) just need to finish it off then save the pennies for motor, battery and esc. Weight now 19oz, 50" span.

I think 3/16" balsa would be a bit light to replace 3/16" spruce. 1/4" square would be the minimum I think, possibly 3/8" x 1/4". Balsa is nowhere near as strong as spruce so you need more cross section to compensate. If the longerons etc are curved, then laminating them from 3 layers of 3/32" x 1/4" would work well and mean less tension in the structure.

Is that sheet?? If so that would be like a tank.