Mike Etheridge 1

On a simple very old glider a Micro Mold Sprite, the all moving tail plane is provided in two halves linked with two lightweight metal rods. The rods are secured in one half of the tail plane and push fit into the other half of the tail plane having passed through the fin first. The forward rod passes through a tube sleeve that the rod can swivel about and the other rod passes through an arc cut through the fin. Does this make sense.?-Obviously your set up would need to be more substantial.

Always wanted a Christmas box , but thought it was money!

Servos permanently fixed in place and hatch released to access the servo, battery and switch cables. The cable from the switch appears to be too short or may need re-routing to link with the extended battery cable above the level of the servo tray. I had intended to fix a new switch anyway so I must check the cables on a new switch and the integrity of new switch itself as they do come in for a lot of criticism these days. I was not happy with the elevator control horn fixings as the original was fixed with two 8ba bolts that were screwed directly through a small plastic plate on top of the elevator and then straight into the plastic control horn. I have replaced the short bolts for longer types and have made final fixings with 8ba nuts screwed into the replacement nylon control horn with the addition of washers and sprung washers for integrity. The balsa push rod linked to the rudder looks somewhat weak where the forward metal rod is bound to it so I think I will strengthen it to ensure it does not fracture.

Ply servo fixings added and drilled. As the plane needed vacuum cleaning I brought it into the house, and before my wife noticed I cleaned virtually the whole of the ground floor of the house before I trained the cleaner into the plane's fuselage. I can now permanently fix the servos and connect the receiver. Christmas seems to getting in the way at present with the need to erect the Christmas tree which is almost finished, and the provision of external flashing lights to keep up with the neighbours. Hopefully I can get more done and another post in prior to the 25th?

It would be nice to bag a win and win a bag!

It would be ideal for me in my advanced years , but I suppose that applies to all of us?

Conclusion is that all the servos have to be fixed to the servo tray at the same height, so I have got to raise the levels of the rudder and elevator servos by about a 1/4 of an inch with small bits of ply wood. This is a result of ensuring that the throttle snake was set without bends, and was something that the previous owner of the plane must have encountered. Not a big task, but should be followed up with the fixture of the receiver and tests of the radio and the hopefully an engine test at last.

Having sorted out the throttle servo arm, in my freezing cold garage I worked next on the elevator servo located in the middle of the servo tray. The elevator control horn was broken so I decided to fit a new control horn prior to fixing the servo arm in place. The balsa elevator push rod would not operate properly by hand and it was obvious that the metal rod / clevis linked to the push rod was not set at the right angle to link up the control horn. So after some re-setting / bending of the metal rod eventually everything seem to fit in place. However with the throttle servo raised above the servo tray level it would seem that the elevator servo control arm might well clash with the body of the throttle servo. So this may be the reason why the previous owner had jacked up the forward throttle servo foot so the servo was set at an angle? .Tomorrow I will investigate the issue further hopefully in a warm environment? I decided to check my flight bag that I always keep in the boot of my car and sure enough some of the items I was missing such as the blue Hermetite / thread locker and new plus old switches were there and must have been there for several months as some were purchased at my clubs fly-in week end about two years ago!   Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 09/12/2020 21:54:50

I could just do with another model, one without legs or arms!

If I win I will Cell-ebrate ! Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 09/12/2020 13:35:41

It's a lottery, I think therefore I am (IN)?

I cannot believe that a made up Multiplex Twin Star with brushless motors now costs over £200. But that said my Twin Star 2 has been flying since 2006 and is still in one piece despite a mid air smash just over a year ago. I always tend to take it with me , it has rarely let me down and is the only plane I have flown this year due to club flying restrictions. So in terms of performance it has been worth what I paid for it at the 2006 Sandown Park show, but it cost nothing like £200. I have just checked, it seems the plane is now offered much cheaper! Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 07/12/2020 10:04:12

Yes this could be a luck tester for someone-even me, I'm in?

Thanks DD, but despite the large cockpit there seems to be little room for a pilot. He /she could sit on top of the middle servo and that would give a bit of added movement !-still looks worn at close range.

Three new Futaba servos now fixed to the servo tray and the servo cables clearly marked as access to them will have to be from underneath the fuselage with the lower hatch removed. As Doc Martin suggests the receiver can just about fit behind the fuel tank and just in front of the servo tray so once in place it can be accessed from above and routing of the two short aerials at 90 degrees can be achieved. Next step is to arrange the servo arms and drill the right size holes to suit the associated clevices. I was not happy with the throttle snake routing so I have made arrangements to adjust it and will re-fix it tomorrow at the servo end. The plane looks much better at a short distance but not close up! Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 06/12/2020 16:59:29

I will like a sight for sore eyes !-it's a yes from me!

Both look good Robin , I wonder if there any twists / warps on the fuselages and wings ? As written on the box lid, it quickly constructs, but not in my case it seems ! Good winter projects for some modellers!

My tools are kept all over the place so the bag could change things!

Cold day today so did a few jobs on the Cub inhouse. Having found yet more M3 bolts and nuts I changed the nuts on the engine mounting bolts to Nycloid types which basically amounted to abortive work but at least the Nycloid nuts should not loosen. I did minor work on the servo tray to ensure the throttle servo is not jacked up as it was in the past. I needed to sort out the damaged exhaust gasket on the engine but for the life of me I could not find my blue Hermetite having spotted it just a few days ago. I have given some thought to the radio receiver location and it would seem that there is little space available at the top of the cockpit .The servos have obviously been located on the centre of gravity position which makes sense but at the same time helps create the problem. On the plan it shows the receiver behind the flight battery and under the fuel tank so unless I can sort out another location I might have to adopt the same space and make use of the hatch between the undercarriage for access to receiver connections. As the 2.4 GHZ receiver has two aerials that should be set at right angles I just wonder how this might work out? All part of the fun though!   Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 04/12/2020 17:58:27