Rosco

Don't worry Chris, I didn't get it either but then again, I'm not that old and my background in rc planes is not extremely long either. Carrying on with your build...... The cowl looks good to me. I must say that either you are a very clean worker or you do a good job of cleaning up the mess and then taking pics. I like the cleanliness anyway so keep it up. I guess now that I've been officially recognised as the 'weight watcher' then can I ask..... What is it weighing in at, at the moment with what you have so far? I'm looking forwards to your wing building too. Keep up the good work. RoscoEdited By Rosco on 18/07/2016 12:14:24

Edited By Rosco on 16/07/2016 14:24:00

I had a spare 5mins today, well, not really but I stopped at the local oval on the way past and took the Mustang up for enough of a fly to start getting a 'feel' for it. I've got a slightly heavier battery and speedy in it than what I had for its maiden. I did move the battery back a little to compensate for its extra weight but it seemed to be the slightest bit nose heavy. At least I know for the next time I have a fly but besides that, it still flew well. I even tried some inverted and some pretty loose knife edge. I filmed it all too. Unfortunately it is a dot in the sky for quite a bit of the filmed flight but I'll slap something together anyway. I enjoy putting vids together too. Until then, Happy flying RoscoEdited By Rosco on 14/07/2016 13:34:46

Hi DP1, Looks like they can handle a bit of a breeze too! I'm looking forwards to getting mine out for a proper fly. I had an issue with the batteries I was going to use so I've had to make some adjustments and the weight is a little bit more than before so I'm hoping it will still be ok? I'll put something together Vid wise, when I next fly it. Nice little vid of yours too Rosco

Covering?......Hmmmmm....I find covering models to be both exciting and hair pulling'ly frustrating! I've never covered a model and been happy! I do think silver is a hard colour to cover with but I also think it looks good! My little tricky to 'convincing' myself that it's ok is to draw panel lines on the covering as opposed to trying to 'imbed' or create them. I find it will draw your eyes away from the imperfections but will also add some detail. I purposely make them a bit thicker. It works for me. Rosco

Hello all, Sorry about my lack of posting. To be honest, there didn't seem to be much interest although I must apologize to those of you that did show some. I have not posted any pictures as it really is a straight forwards build and I'd just be doubling up on what the FT guys have in their Youtube clip. Anyway, continuing on.... It is now finished! Today I took the model up for a super quick maiden and quite literally flew for about a minute. She does fly and that is all I was intending on finding out. It actually flew very sedately and stable which I was quite happy with. It flew straight and level, just one click of up elevator and that was it. Seems like it will be a nice little flying machine! Now I know she flies, I'll paint it up and perhaps make a vid. Rosco

Hey Steven, You may find that your models flies well without any adjustments needed. I cannot say because down and right is not necessarily a requirement for the motor angle. It is generally what most setups use. How far down? How far right? It all comes down to how you like your model set up, although, like I've mentioned, it is the general consensus that this (down and right) is the normal. I try and build my models with no angles on the motormount bulkhead/firewall and add small washers to the appropriate mount 'legs' if I need too, just in case. It's better than building it in only to find it dosen't need it. My post was about making the adjustment but remembering that if you need to angle it down then the spacers/washers adjustment is done by adjusting the bottom of the motor as opposed to the top when the motor is on the front pointing the other way. Have I just made it more confusing!!? Rosco

Yes, agreed also. A spot to give a good solid grip but also easy hand/finger removal on release. Normally I find the best location for a hand hold spot around the balance point of the model. There are a few different ways to hand launch too. Sorry if I'm telling you what you might already know. I find that I do a sort of 'flick' at the end of my handlaunch. Maybe it's the natural unconscious tendency to keep my fingers away but it is something to be aware of.

Yep, same as the above posts. Easy to remember - the numbers on the prop always face forwards direction of the model. Also, If you need to make any after build thrust/motor alignment adjustments, remember its now opposite to a normal front mounted tractor design. RoscoEdited By Rosco on 07/07/2016 23:10:26

Ha...ha! At least I've got you thinking about the weight of things! 'build it to fly, not to crash' is something I saw somewhere and it is a saying that has served me well. But I do understand that some areas need to be solid, ie. The undercarriage mount/ing, so although I might have sounded silly mentioning it previously, there is some method behind my madness. I used to work on a couple of racing cars and weight was everything. I spent hours and hours turning a Porsche into Swiss cheese once after cutting holes in everysingle component that I could, just to get it a few kg's lighter. I even ground out 10kg's of excess fibreglass and resin from all the fibreglass parts. RoscoEdited By Rosco on 30/06/2016 00:38:18

Plug looks good Chris. One question though....... Have you made an allowance for the cowl to overlap the fuselage slightly on your plug? Rosco

Hello all, Just another quick one..... I've weighed up the parts with paper removed and it has weighed even less than my prediction. The entire airframe foamwork comes in at.......76g. I'm pretty happy with that. Now it's time to start putting it all together with some glue. Rosco

Hi Chris, I'm down in Australia and as far as I'm aware, the foamboard varies from country to country. I've not seen the FliteTest foamboard personally but my build off friend has and told me that its paper is like a thick piece of tracing/baking paper and the foam seems to be lighter (more aerated possibly). I am unable to do the full folds on my models as the paper just tears. I actually source my foamboard from a local art shop here (in Adelaide, South Australia) called 'Riot' art but the paper does not just peel off like the FT guys seem to be able to do with the US stuff. Just to give an example of the difference, another local office supply shop (called 'Officeworks') has foamboard that the paper easily seems to peel off of however the foamboard is much more brittle. I've just removed the paper from the wing top sections (paper removed from both sides of the foamboard) and they have gone from 18g's each, down to 10g's each. Rosco RoscoEdited By Rosco on 24/06/2016 13:29:09

Hello all, just a quick one...... I've weighed up my airframe parts and it comes in at a total weight of 139g. That is with the paper on it. As I will be removing the paper, according to my calculations, it should come in at about 83.4g if I use my conservative figure of 40%. My actual weight loss on my last test gave me a 43% reduction wich will make it come in at 79.23g to be exact. I'm curious to know what it will actually end up at and if my calculations are actually correct (I'm no maths genius!) If it does come in at 84g or less then I'll be impressed. Let's wait and see. Now for the paper removal part!....... Rosco

Thanks Chris but unfortunately any liquid that goes onto the paper just gets absorbed and the paper won't 'peel' off, it just tears away in a wet mash. I've tried several methods of removing the paper and the 'rub' method that I have stuck with seems to work best for me. This will sound weird but I find that It is actually quite soothing !!!! Like I mentioned before, it won't actually take me long to do it anyway as the model really is not that big. By tomorrow I hope to have both paper 'on' and paper 'off' weight' for anyone interested and maybe even have started gluing it up. Till then Rosco

Hi all again, Since my last post (approx 1 1/2 hrs?) I've cut out my parts! Working with foamboard really is that quick!! I think I've got every part cut out so now it's weigh time. Unfortunately, I don't have any scales nearby but when I get my hands on some, I'll be giving it all a weigh before removing the paper. The paper does not just peel off the foamboard that I use so it is a little bit more work to remove it but regardless, I prefer to remove it anyway. My technique is to wet the paper and rub it off. It sounds harder than it actually is and being a small model, it really shouldn't take long. Another thing that I have to do is sort out my electrics. Hopefully I can have them organised by my next post. Because I am building it as per the plans (and for friendly competition sportsmanship, I will be making the removable power pod. Until next time.... Rosco

I've made a start on my build. I have printed out my plans and transferred them to the foamboard. I did think about gluing the printed plan to the foamboard as you said you did David but in the end I just used the pin pricking around the outline method (which I've never done before) and did find it easy to follow the pin holes but I did accidentally move the paper plan (only by a couple of mm) and ended up putting holes where they weren't needed! Not to worry though, I'm sure it'll be ok. One thing that will be different to the way the FT guys build is that I can't fold my foamboard over itself so in areas such as the LE of the wing, I'll just glue the bits together because I can sand it 'round' afterwards. The same goes for the fuselage assembly. Another factor in that is that I'll be removing the paper, making it impossible to do the bends without the paper on the outside curve. Next step is to cut out the foamboard parts and then remove the paper. I want to weigh the parts first with paper on and then paper off so I can give real world figures on how much weight it has actually removed from the airframe. RoscoEdited By Rosco on 23/06/2016 06:23:24

I don't know why you keep flying your model if you know that there is a consistent problem. As had been mentioned, Why are you doing two flights on one battery? I understand that you may need to land for some reason but common practice is to use one battery per flight. Do you have any other models with this problem? I'd run the setup you have and replicate the second flight on the ground (without actually flying it) and then individually swap the electrics to see if it has the same problem/s. Just a trial of elimination process really. Rosco Edited By Rosco on 23/06/2016 00:19:18

Nice work Chris. You are bringing back some memories to me! In a past life I worked in a crash repair workshop (for 12 yrs). I'm no longer in that industry but do find that every now and then, my old skills come in handy when I'm playing with my models! Your plug looks good. I've had no experience with the glass fibre used on models but I have had some fiberglassing experience. I don't know weather it makes a difference but using small torn bits to get around the concave curves helped with fibreglass. I don't know if this can be done with glass cloth though? Rosvo

Sorry, I was in a hurry before and the YouTube clip didn't embed with the smaller frame so here it is second time round! ..................     Rosco Edited By Rosco on 22/06/2016 14:20:59

Ooops, forgot......just incase..........here's the FT models just incase anyone wanted to see what we are aiming for https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eKV6_BgK08

Thanks for the tips David I'm especially aware of building things light (as Chris (McG6969) will testify) so I do have my ways of doing things. I'm down in Australia and the foamboard that I use apparently is different to their stuff and most likely to yours too. I will actually be using possibly a heavier motor?, a heavier battery than the recommended 3s 800mah, mine will be a 3s 1000mah and the 9g servos are obviously heavier than the ones recommended too (5g) so I will be carrying some extra weight but.................when I remove the paper from the foamboard, according to my calculations, I can lose up to 40% of its weight (I actually calculated 43% during my Ballerina build) Once again, thanks for the tips @Chris, welcome to the room....pleasure to have your presence, again Rosco

Hi David, Cheers, it's good to know that they fly well from someone who's built them. I'm just going to be using some electrics I've got in my parts box along with some servos that are in there too. The servos are 9g jobbies but I'm sure they'll be ok. We are building the Mustang because my friend already printed out the plans and he thought the flatter wing would be easier to build for him than the Gull Wing on the Corsair. We might build that next if he's still interested! I've got an 1100mm Corsair that is a really nice flying model. I might just have to fly it to get him keen on the Corsair build!! Cheers RoscoEdited By Rosco on 22/06/2016 08:02:13

Hi all, I thought I'd start a little thread about my Flite Test mini Mustang build. Myself and another one of my flying buddies are having a friendly build off just for fun. I have built models using foamboard for some time now and only now are some of my flying mates coming to the party! I honestly think my 2016 Rcm&e MB foamboard Ballerina got them interested even though they have seen my other builds in action for a few years. Anyway.....I am going to build it as close as possible to the FT recommendations,ie. no modifications. This should only be a short quick and simple build, so if anyone is interested, feel free to drop in every now and then. Rosco

No need for an apology Mr Miller. I thought that Chris had mentioned the 'cowl' plug before but it made sense that it could be 'the cowl' too.....good to know my brain is still there although some may disagree!!...regardless.....I still think the cowl will look good either way. Rosco Edited By Rosco on 18/06/2016 16:00:51