Luton Minor + Sep 2010 free plan

[Terry Whiting 1]

Beuben,

 

Lucky old you, by that I mean  those ''calm Summer evenings'', I think I can count them on one hand . here in the UK 

 

Terry

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Terry,

We have had a few nice days in between earthquakes and snow and flooding....

But atleast if makes you thankfull when the nice weather arrives and is a good excuse to make some time for a build or two

Reuben

Edited By Reuben Kinghorn on 11/10/2010 19:40:03

[J V R]

I have decided to build the Luton minor, as all the other planes have Been low wings + of solid construction IE plank wings. Looking at the Plan I’m not sure about the rear section of the fuselage, it shows Stringers, are these covered with balsa or solar film, also I see that the Pictures that Foamie Dave has uploaded shows the planking on the top of the fuselage is this then covered with the stringers & then solar film.

[Foamie Dave]

The rear upper fusleage is solarfilmed (or oracovered ) directly onto the stringers, while the front is block balsa construction with film on top..just like the piccy : )

Edited By Foamie Dave on 16/10/2010 17:57:11

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Dave, where did you get your pilot from please?? I've typed Assagai into ebay as suggested but no joy!!

 

Is it me???

[Foamie Dave]

Hi Steve,

 

Dont panic, no its not you

 

The Assagai pilots are only made in small quanities, hence first come first served. Just do a search every few days or add the seller "happy-hopefulls" to your ebay favourites list

 

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/happy-hopefuls/

 

Ive managed to stock up on a few different sizes and styles over the past year  or so and I know Peter Miller is always adding to his collection so better be quick!!. I used a larger version of the same "Civy Acro"style on my big Foamy Ultimate Bipe and it fits a treat

 

 Hope this helps

 

 

[Dougy Giro]

Hi all, I'm a newbie, to this site and to RC aircraft!

I’ve got myself an Arsing Star which I’m being instructed on - haven’t gone sole yet!

I've never built from kit or plan before so I  decided to have a go at this Luton Minor build as it looks a nice interesting plane and a reasonably easy build for me to learn from! (Famous last words!)

I've built the wings, but how do you get the wire loop for fixing the front of the wing to the cabanes into the wing? Should I have put the wire in before the ply and middle rib?

On the first flight of my trainer I had to adjust the servo horn throws, how do you do this if the servos are boxed in? Is the bottom of the fuz one piece?

Where does the Li-po bay doubler go and what is it for? It it looks like the sides of the fuz, but cant see any double one the plan view. And how do you make the li-po bay door stay curved?!

Really sorry for the probably dumb questions, be gentle! LOL!

I think they’ll be first of many……!

 

PS, this thread has been a great help already. Thanks to all.

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Hey Dougie,

 

I've built the wings, but how do you get the wire loop for fixing the front of the wing to the cabanes into the wing? Should I have put the wire in before the ply and middle rib?

-I would say yes but you could put it in after by cutting a slot in lower wing sheeting for the wire loop to pass through and the same in the middle rib and then add a splint to either side of the rib to strengthen it.

 

On the first flight of my trainer I had to adjust the servo horn throws, how do you do this if the servos are boxed in?

-You will need to center the servo's first as after they are in place and the wing is covered you will have no access to them. I am going to make servo hatchs on mine that the servo's will attatch to and this will then be screwed on to the wing. This will allow the servo's to be replacable.

 

Is the bottom of the fuz one piece?

-Yes other than the battery hatch the fuse appears to be one piece.

I will be making an extra hatch underneath mine between B3B and B4B using a tab and small magnets or screws to hold it in place. This will give me access to the reciever and servo's.

 

Where does the Li-po bay doubler go and what is it for?

-The fuse doubler's go inside the front sides of the lipo bay to make that area double skined.

 

I'm also currently looking at the front engine cowling as another area I would like to modify as I like to be able to swap out the motor if required. My idea is to find a replacement plastic cowl from another plane and use that.... maybe a J-3 cub cowl or a GWS cowl.

This is a great plan and an attractive model, I will be starting my build in the next couple of days and will add photo's on here if that helps

-Reuben

 

[Foamie Dave]

What he says

 

Couldnt have answered em better myself. Cheers Reuben

[Dougy Giro]

Nice one Reuben, thanks for the swift reply, most appreciated.

 

I like the idea of having access- not sure why though. It just seems there should be access.

 

I know Foamie Dave says "amend to suit" type of thing, bit i dont want to make any daft mistakes, althouyght this is why i'm trying this one - ie to learn from, without costing teh earth.

 

Yeah that cowl and etc look to be the worst bit to me..... What should i use to "carve and hollow" the block?

 

Thanks again chaps.

DG.

 

[Foamie Dave]

The cowl isnt as hard as it seems. Just take your time and use a sharp craft knife to whittle away to get the basic shape, then a thin blade scalpel to neaten it up,  finishing off with sandpaper and lightweight  filler

 

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Dave,

Thanks I have learned a lot off this forum and my first scratch build was an RCM&e free plan so its nice to be able to give some advice back

 

Dougie,

Yeah that cowl and etc look to be the worst bit to me..... What should i use to "carve and hollow" the block?
-Build your nose area up out of  thick sheets to make a block, leaving the inside where your motor is as large as possible, then just carve, sand, and shape the outside to suit. I like to use small sanding blocks with different grades of sandpaper on each side.

-Reuben

[Dougy Giro]

 

Thanks again chaps. I'll give it go!

 

 

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Here's a couple of photo's of my build so far

I've added the servo hatches and now have the nice job of sanding the aileron edges.

Next step is to start the fuse....

-Reuben

 

[Dougy Giro]

Thanks Reuben, looks good to me !

 

I see what you mean about the front hanger wire, i havent done mine yet.

Been busy, gonna hack............... sorry, i mean carve the cowl tonight! 

 

Just one point of interest (it doesnt really matter coz i've doen mine now) - Should the fuz sides go right upto the front end? (ie not stop at the firewall area)

 

On Foamie Daves pics the sides look like one piece.

 

Thanks again for the pics.

 

Dave

 

 

 

Edited By Dougy Giro on 05/11/2010 12:36:35

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Thanks Dave,

I also thought the fuse sides would go all the way to the front but I've also followed the plan and stopped mine at the motor bulkhead.

I'm still planing on having the cowl removable.

-Reuben

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Another update

I've made a start on the fuse and its going together nicely.

-Reuben

[Foamie Dave]

Looking good mate

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Thanks Dave,

Its been an enjoyable build so far and fairly relaxing.... the only slip I've made was when measuring the slot for the control rod snake but its nothing that can't be fixed, just glad I did a test fit before gluing the sides in place.

Tomorrow I should have the basic fuse finished and then I can start making my removable cowl and dummy engine, I found a reference to some of them being powered by VW flat 4's and as I'm a former vw addict its only fitting to make a dummy one for my model

My pilot also looks a bit small so I may have to look for another one or have a go at making one from foam.

-Reuben

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Another fuse pic

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Not a lot of progress made this week due to the weather being great but now the winds been up for a couple of days I have been able to spend some time building

I have finished the motor cowling and now just need to do a final sand and finishing on it and make a dummy motor.

I used two dowls mounted verticallly to locate the cowl and two magnets to hold it on.

I also had a go at making a pilot and it turned out ok..... looks even better at 20 feet.

-Reuben

[Foamie Dave]

Must admit the removable cowl is a brilliant idea, and rather well made too by the looks of it.

Gotta love that pilot with his shades, looks like its all coming together rather well , excellent job Reuben

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Yeah, looking good Reuben....what motor have you decided on...looks like quite a powerful unit you have there.....

[Reuben Kinghorn]

Thanks Dave,

The idea with the removable cowl is that I may need to swap out motor and I like to adjust the down/right thrust. I'm definitly enjoying the build, but not rushing it

 

Steve,

Thanks, the motor is a dynam KDA22-15, its 1050Kv and is my favorite motor for park flyers, I even had two of the on a twin which was great.

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=2105

 

-Reuben

 

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Wow...quite a powerful motor then....be interesting to see how it goes.....

 

Love the removable cowl....methinks I will do something similar....