Bob Cotsford Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Another maiden. This is a glass and foam job based on the '73 world Champs winning Blue Angel marketed by Sunshine Modellbau in Germany. If anyone's interested I'll link up some photos of the kit components. This is only about the second glass fuselage kit I've ever built, and will probably be the last. The components are beautifully made, no complaints there, but what a game getting everything in place in a completed shell, there is little access to the back of the engine bulkhead - you really need to have studied keyhole surgery to take this sort of thing on. Same at the tail end where you are glassing the tailplane in through a 1/2" wide slot where the rudder post will fit. So 64"span, 3.75 Kg yes 8 1/4 lb! OS61Sf and throttle pipe turning a 12*9 APC for 78dBa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Finish - Fuselage - Halfords hi-build plastic primer, 2 coats of thinned Solarlac Lux Blue and 2 thinned coats of Clearcoat. Wings/tail - mixed Profilm and Solarfilm Polyester with some added LuxBlue Solartrim to seal the blue film edges ps - the photos don't do justice to the colour match between wings and fuselage,must be the way the sun caught it! Hobbyking cheapo electric retracts driven by a 4.8v NiMh FrSky Rx, Futaba 3152 elevator, MG996 rudder, noname throttle, HB225BB ailerons driven by a 2000mAHr Life. So what did it fly like? From a gentle lift off it I flew a right hand circuit and flicked the retracts, then it needed 2 dabs of right trim. The CofG is about half an inch forward of the recommended position so it was a touch soft, but oh so smooth,a really impressive first flight. It needs a little more aileron moovement, currently it's got about 10mm each way so that can go up by 20% or so. Aileron only rolls are axial with little height loss and despite being porky it goes up very nicely. I'm going to enjoy this one especially once it's fully trimmed. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 17/02/2013 17:45:42 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dunning Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I wish more people could learn to appreciate what you have today. Even though it has a grp fuselage that does not detract from the point that the completed model has been produced using your own skills. That all turns to the ultimate satisfaction of a very successful maiden flight where all that effort is rewarded. Congrats on a superb looking classic model that is exactly what we are talking about with the UKCAA. Well done Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thanks Steve. I think a lot of people think that a competition standard design must be a nightmare to trim and fly - nothing could be further from the truth. To win competitions the models had to be smooth and easy to fly, and most of all predictable. Something a lot of ARTFs are not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bond 2 Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Looks very nice Which hobbyking retracts did you use ?comment on their reliability thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Walters Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Lovely looking aeroplane Bob - nicely finished too! Well done! Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 Chris, they're the 4.7Kg plastic units PRODUCT ID: HKD-514 on mains and a 3.5kg noseleg that I can't spot at the moment, and that's a timely question re reliability. The nosewheel retracts are pretty fragile, with the cases tending to split along their length. I got through two but they've since been replaced with a Lado 'built from girders' job. Can't praise the Lado units enough, but at the price they are they really need to be good! The HK mains had been perfect up until last Tuesday. I got carried away, ran out of tankage on the landing circuit and ended up in the rough just short of the runway. Maybe I should have put the wheels up but I thought I could just about make it... Anyway, the LH and nose legs needed tweaking, but then the LH main seemed to be sticking. With no load (ie no leg fitted) it works ok, but when fitted in the wing it's a bit hit and miss coming down so I've replaced it with another of the same units. I suspect it's not done the worm drive any good landing a 3.75Kg model in long grass. I've got the same units in a H9 Harvard/Texan/SN6J where they have worked just fine so far. Edit - I'm driving the retracts off a 2S liFe now , which they handle just fine. The lighter LiFe helped get the C of G back a bit. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 20/07/2013 09:08:20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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