Stearman65

Didn't get much response to my query on my KK Outlaw blog when I asked if anyone had used transparent coloured film, just one warning about how much it shrinks. I thought I might use it on the Outlaw as it would show off the building. HK do it at a reasonable price but don't have any in stock in the UK. Has anyone used theirs? **LINK**

My world Models 65 inch Pilatus kit was £130, the ARTF version is £220ish. The kit version has built up wings. The kit is very complete with loads of prefabrication, mostly laser cut. Fibreglass cowl wheels pilots & 95% of the hardware. Two versions of the kit, electric or I/C.

All fingers & thumbs today, so not a lot done. Mainly completing the second flap servo mount. Called at B&Q to pick up an acrylic sample pot for the grey interior, Found a decent sized tin for £2, but no micro screws, smallest I could find was 4mm. Walking back to the tills saw some cheap bits boxes so bought one of those also. Back home drilled the second mount for the servo & ground off some excess from the sub frame, the cheepo arbor fell apart. Finally drilled the mounting holes for the mount, ordered some screws from Ebay. That's it for today, almost ready for the covering film, although there are the flap & aileron control rods to fabricate first.

Posted by Nigel Banham on 05/03/2019 08:31:57: I have not used this forum for a few years and have forgotten how to add them! If you haven't already, click on the albums tab at the top & import your pictures into the album, 5 ata a time. Then go back to your post, click the camera icon & copy them into your post., easier than flying a Mossie!

Laundry day has come around again, so not much time for building. Decided to carry on where I left off yesterday & mount the flap servos. As these are non standard on the WM Pilatus, I had to start from scratch, although I had previously cut the holes in the trailing edge bottom sheets, basing the size needed on the £2 servos from Banggood. I made my own versions of the sub base to take the screws to hold the mount in place from 1/8th ply. These were then glued to the underside of the balsa sheet using aliphatic glue. After coffee, I measured up for the actual mounting plates & cut them from 1/16th ply. Then I measured carefully where the arms should protrude, drilled 2 pairs of holes & joined them to form the slots. Next, using more 1/4" ply scrap from the motor mount, I clamped the servo in position & glued the first pair of block in place, clamped them & finally removed the servo. I used aliphatic again & have left it to dry overnight.

Posted by Engine Doctor on 04/03/2019 15:58:42: Posted by Stearman65 on 04/03/2019 11:52:23: I more or less decided to cover it in transparent coloured film, which I haven't used before, but wondered if it stuck to the structure the same as opaque film. Tried HK, but they list it but don't have any in stock, has anyone used it & found any snags with it.? The stuff I used stuck well but be careful when shrinking as the shrink is VERY powerful and can distort the balsa structure . Hi Engine Doctor Was the film you used the film from Hobby King?

After studying the US plan last night I decided to order a set of the Ebay ribs, the thought of transferring the plan to balsa then cutting them out led me to thinking £13 for a set of laser cut ribs was a good buy. So I ordered a set. I more or less decided to cover it in transparent coloured film, which I haven't used before, but wondered if it stuck to the structure the same as opaque film. Tried HK, but they list it but don't have any in stock, has anyone used it & found any snags with it.?

Beware buying one of these, I bought the Fiesler Storch from them, which like the P51 is made by Dancing Wings Hobby. I downloaded the build info before deciding to buy it, but the pictures of the finished model hooked me in. The kit arrived in the original DWH box, no additional protection, obviously been opened by customs. The box was in a right state, (see the pictures on my FS blog) The wood is the usual laser cut ply & hundreds of tiny screws & hardware. I will probably build it for something to do, whether it flies is another matter.

Still feeling a bit grotty but couldn't miss an opportunity after the Andrew Marr show. Scoured the ever decreasing bags of bits & dug out the aileron servo mounts supplied with the kit. I hadn't opened the bag before & was surprised to find they were moulded in plastic. On close examination, they even had which wing was which marked. They were obviously too large for my Hitec micro servos, so I picked out some scrap ply, & the left overs from the motor box, (never throw anything away). I mounted a piece of 2mm ply to one arm & a piece of 1//4" ply to the other. I repeated the process with the other servo, then tried them in the wings. After a bit of sanding drilling & screwing I had the first fix. Will probably add a few dabs of epoxy to the ply to plastic joints next time I mix a batch. Flaps tomorrow, that will take a bit longer as I have to make my own mounts.

You might want to check this out? **LINK**

With the bit between my teeth now, having ordered the BB plan & thinking about it overnight, I checked the BB site for the kit price, which is in my budget. I was however disappointed to find it was a printed kit, not laser cut. I emailed BB & asked them to add a kit to my plan order & left it at that. Then after I'd done my Pilatus blog I had a look at some vintage posts & found another cutter, but he does ribs only. His web site is almost closed but there was a link to his Ebay shop. Yes he does ribs for the Outlaw. So I'll wait until the kit arrives & if I don't fancy cutting out all those ribs I may order a set from him. This Outlaw is becoming a Bandit on costs!!! **LINK**

Woke up feeling grotty, must have caught a chill in Ormskirk yesterday? I'd been pondering how to use the magnets I'd bought for the door, having failed with the supplied hinges. Didn't want to use magnet to magnet & get polarity problems, so I asked my wife to keep an eye open for a suitable tin. She came up with the lid from an empty jar of queen olives, so without much enthusiasm I set to to make some receptors for the magnets. After lots of measuring & pencil marks, I decided I could fit 4 to hold the door in place & probably attach a safety lanyard in case to door blew off while aloft. I glued the magnets to the door, followed by the queen olive lid receptors, result p*** poor. So I pulled off the receptors & as I was doing so, spied my drawing pin container. I tried a pin & magnet & yes, they gave better attraction than the queen olive lids, mustn't like garlic? So then I fashioned 4 strips of 1 mm ply to take the pins. For some reason, the ply didn't like being stuck to the pins with superglue, so I epoxied them in place. After coffee, the epoxy had cured, so attaching one at a time to ensure the magnet was central on the drawing pin, I glued them in place, & Voil'a, it works. May add a couple more where the hinges were? Over & out is incorrect when signing off, the correct word is "OUT", when I took my VHF exam many moons ago.   Edited By Stearman65 on 02/03/2019 16:26:59

I've bitten the bullet & ordered the BB one as well, I'll see which is best when BB's arrives.

Posted by Alan Gorham_ on 01/03/2019 15:40:41: No, Ben Buckle list all of the different sized variants: Outlaw, Pirate and Bandit. I have the plan from them and it's definitely the 50" Outlaw plan on the link I sent you. Hi again Alan, does your BB plan have the wing & tail ribs? I notice it has the full wing, this one only has 3/4 of the wing.

Posted by Stearman65 on 01/03/2019 15:34:00: Hi Alan It is a smaller version on Ben Buckle plans, this is the original at 54inch. It's mentioned earlier in the thread. Hi Again Alan, I think I may have mislead you, this is a 50inch version also, I think when I looked on BB site I couldn't find it. Put it down to a senior moment.

Hi Alan It is a smaller version on Ben Buckle plans, this is the original at 54inch. It's mentioned earlier in the thread.

Thanks KC. I had my fingers burned trying to build the TF Stinson Reliant in my bedroom, so I'm now limiting what I look at to 2m or under. Thanks anyway, the NIK looked interesting. Thanks.

The plan for the KK Outlaw arrived this morning from the USA, 7 days from ordering. It was however folded, despite having asked for it to be rolled. There was however, a note in with the plan saying he could supply them rolled at extra cost, also at any size. The plan itself is reasonable quality paper & the printing legible. But it was obvious it had been re-copied ad infinitum.

After a wet day in Ormskirk waiting for my wife's procedure to finish, it made a pleasant change to get back to the Pilatus. First job was to finish beefing up the motor box. Then I painted the interior where it would be seen, & ran out of paint, trip to B&Q tomorrow to see if a match pot matches. Then the serious stuff. made a mount for the fuselage servos as the one provided is too wide. I used the 1/8th ply from my LMS which cuts nicely on the scroll saw & cut out a 50 x 62.5mm rectangle to take the metal geared micro servos I'd bought for the Challenger, which I will also use on the flaps & ailerons. This brought back the number of times I've done this in the past, like riding a bike, once you've done it it's easy. The hardest part was drilling the mounting holes in the cabin area, my drill is too long so I used one of the watchmakers screwdrivers to get a pilot hole then my fingers spinning a drill, time consuming but got there in the end., There was a short lull examining the KK Outlaw plan that had arrived from the USA, folded not rolled as requested. There was however a note with the plan saying he could send plans rolled but it's extra, he also said he could produce any size, After coffee & a quick examination of the mornings work, it was time to edit the pics & do the blog, maybe more tomorrow.

That brought some memories flooding back. First one I looked at "Der Jager" bipe, I may be wrong but didn't Maurice Thompson who was connected to Leeds Model shop build one of these? Thanks KC you've made my afternoon, nothing like scouring through old plans.

Thanks Mark. I was just searching around for something interesting as a possible project & without a catalogue or a model name, just a category (electric scale) there didn't seem to be anything reasonably new I hadn't seen before. I assume RCM&E still produce new plans, I don't read the mag' so I suppose I'm to blame in one respect. After I posted I did find a couple of sites offering plans & packs but nothing to tickle my taste buds, so to speak. Back in the day I bought & kept every edition of the US RC Modeller, not sure if they are still around. I suppose the ARTF boom has killed off plan building. Regards Eric.

I assume this never happened? Is there an RCM&E or RM plans catalogue available?

I've just been surfing for a small clipped wing cub builders kit & had another look at Sig, the kit & manual. In the manual, is a long spiel about what to do with a warped wing, which didn't fill me with enthusiasm for the kit, but may help Tim "If the wing develops warps during covering and painting, it should be straightened. One good method is to spray on a thin coat of clear dope on the warped half and allow to dry until it can be handled - but wait no longer than this. Block the wing up on a flat surface in a twist that has approximately the same amount of warp in the opposite direction from the original warp. For example, if the trailing edge is warped 1/4" down at the tip, block it up so that it is twisted into a position with 1/4" up warp at the same spot. The covering will be somewhat stretchy at this point, with the dope not completely dried out. The twisting can be done without much trouble and is started in the hands to begin the distortion required before fastening down on a flat surface. Weights will be necessary to hold the wing in this position for about 24 hours. Don't put the wing on wax paper or use it between the weights and the wing if you think the dope might be soft enough yet to stick. Use plastic wrap for this purpose. Wax paper will hinder the dope drying process and may leave a residue that will make it permanently sticky. When you first remove the wing from the twist it will remain for a while with the new oposite warp. However, the dope is still not completely cured and the internal stresses of the first warp still remain in the structure. In about a day, part of the first warp will twist back in the original direction. Hopefully. it will end up zero-zero when the dope has completely cured, which will take at least a week. If not, a futher adjustment may be required, using the results of the first attempt as a guide. It is a matter of guess work but the rule of thumb about twisting equally in the opposite direction seems to work out well in practice." Edited By Stearman65 on 27/02/2019 22:49:22 Edited By Stearman65 on 27/02/2019 22:51:44

Posted by Tony Harrison 2 on 27/02/2019 22:31:43: Site needs a more technically capable hosting platform, or something, with a better interface and simple uploads. I would agree, but re-working the software is probably more than RCM&E can afford. It took me a number of uploads before I got into a routine, now it's just a lengthy process but it works. If they ever do, I would suggest they look at http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/usercp.php Edited By Stearman65 on 27/02/2019 22:39:30

Posted by Steve Dunne on 27/02/2019 18:28:13: Thanks, Kim - that worked! 2 at a time OK, more not. I daily upload up to 10 pictures per day in batches of 5. It could be your file sizes are too large, I use 1920x1080 pixels per image, which is a 16-9 aspect ratio which is the same as a wide screen TV. I can set my cameras aspect ratio, but take my images at its maximum of 5152 x 2896 pixels then I can crop them to highlight which portion of the image I want to show..