chris larkins Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 I'm still waiting for the ESC's to arrive so in the meantime I have mounted the motor pods. The instructions are in 'chinglish' and give very little clue about what hardware to use here, it says to use 3mm machine screws but there are many of these in the hardware pack of various different lengths, it is obviously a closely guarded secret about which ones to use. In the end I have tried to work out which ones to use, this may not be correct but in the end I used 3x10mm screws to fix the pylon struts to the airframe & 3x15mm screws with nyloc nuts to fix the motor pods. The captive nuts for the motor struts are already fitted to the airframe and the openings in the fuselage side are pre-cut, you just need to make a small slit in the covering for these to pass through. The hardware pack seems to be very comprehensive and is pictured below, it contains 2 x 50mm plastic spinners, 3 x 75mm foam wheels (rock hard), fibreglass control horns, velcro battery straps and even has some plastic servo lead locks. Edited By chris larkins on 27/04/2015 00:14:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 It looks a very nicely made kit Chris. It's a nice touch to add servo lead locks, but If you anyway need extension leads, THESE are so much neater and easier to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliffee Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Hi Chris. I notice that some guys have found the nose wheel mounting is weak - have you any thoughts about this? David. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Jones Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Looks like a nice kit but a shape only a mother could love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 Well it's infinitely better looking than a Wot 4! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by jolliffee on 27/04/2015 13:07:40: Hi Chris. I notice that some guys have found the nose wheel mounting is weak - have you any thoughts about this? David. I had read that this is a weak point, and looking at the way the model has been I can see why. It has clearly been built as light as they can possibly get it but the nose leg mounting plate is just 3mm light-ply with a few tabs at the top & sides, this is not helped by the rock hard wheels that are supplied and the noseleg which is a straight piece of piano wire and doesn't even have a coil to give it a bit of spring (what looks like and oleo strut in the pics is just a plastic moulding). I will look to either buy an oleo strut or make my own from some aluminium tube offcuts. I may also replace the wheels with some that have a bit of give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Pearson Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__53749__alloy_oleo_nose_strut_with_wheel_and_48mm_rubber_tire.htmlpeople have fitted these or similar. I have beefed up the bulkhead. No idea if it will help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by Brian Pearson on 28/04/2015 09:36:05: http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__53749__alloy_oleo_nose_strut_with_wheel_and_48mm_rubber_tire.html people have fitted these or similar. I have beefed up the bulkhead. No idea if it will help Thanks Brian I will have a look at those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 A few days ago I ordered a 10mm LED from eBay (£2.99 inc P&P) to use as a landing light, this is pre-wired and came mounted in a chromed plastic bezel and is designed to be run on 6v. As mentioned in a previous post the UBEC that I am using has a receiver switched output for an AUX function that is selectable at either 5v or 6v, I will wire up the LED with a socket so that it can be disconnected if I ever need to remove the nose cone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliffee Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by chris larkins on 28/04/2015 12:53:47: A few days ago I ordered a 10mm LED from eBay (£2.99 inc P&P) to use as a landing light, this is pre-wired and came mounted in a chromed plastic bezel and is designed to be run on 6v. As mentioned in a previous post the UBEC that I am using has a receiver switched output for an AUX function that is selectable at either 5v or 6v, I will wire up the LED with a socket so that it can be disconnected if I ever need to remove the nose cone. What a good idea - I will steal this is you don't mind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Nice mod, but now you'll need to fit a full nav light set too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 The ESC's have finally arrived (all the way from Hong Kong), I will get these fitted and wired up over the next couple of days then do a test on the motors to report back the figures obtained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I decided to get on with mounting the motors and offering up the nacelles / cowls and came across my first real problem, partly of my own doing. I'd decided to order the motors before the kit arrived but hadn't thought that the length of the motors would be a problem. Once the motor was fitted the cowl was taped into place and the prop/spinner loosely fitted, the problem was the 10mm gap between the back of the spinner and the front of the cowl which looked ridiculous. I examined the collet & motor and it was clear that the collet was not drilled the full depth of the motor shaft thus holding the whole lot 4mm forward of the front of the motor as can be seen below. I took the whole lot round to my friends house and used his lathe to drill the collet 4mm deeper which then allowed the collet to sit right up to the motor, the prop driver was then put in the chuck and we skimmed 2mm off the face which halved the thickness down to 2mm. These modifications allowed the spinner to sit approx 6mm closer to the cowl and reduced the gap down to an acceptable 4mm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Posted by chris larkins on 21/04/2015 21:40:04: The batteries look fine although the leads are huge (8 AWG), I haven't stripped the heatshrink off yet but I very much doubt the wire will fit into an XT60 plug which I normally use. I've had the same problem with a larger pack. i've used the XT-90 connectors which will accept 8 AWG without a problem and just made up an adaptor for charging. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Not too much to report as I have been busy at work over the last few days however I have been giving the noseleg former some thought. Others on the RcGroups forum have reported that the former is very weak and it does indeed look like an accident waiting to happen as it is so thin. I am going to cut another former from 3mm liteply and attach this to the front of the existing former this should stiffen it considerably and give twice the glue area to the fuselage sides, hopefully doing this and using a sprung noseleg oleo should prevent any issues. I made up a template from paper and then transferred this onto card to check the size. The template was then scanned into my laptop and is shown below, this could be printed out at 100% if anyone else wants to use it as a starting point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Jones 7 Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Well I couldn't resist! HKs Mayday sale knocked a sizeable chunk off the price so they buy button was swiftly utilised. Arrived swiftly and with no damage. Although the intention was to put it in the loft for later I, of course, unwrapped it and then measured up Duane, my pilot; discovered that, if I just cut this piece and measure up this... Upshot is I've now lined and painted the cockpit sides, made up a dashboard, ordered the instruments to go on it, animated Duane and mounted the FPV camera in his head, and designed and prototyped a moving control column. This winters project has become Spring/ summers! I really shouldn't be left alone! Edited By Chris Jones 7 on 11/05/2015 23:37:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Clarkson Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Superb choice in model and build looks fantastic. Can't wait to see the finished article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 Finally got one of the ESC's wired up temporarily, I will have to extend the motor wires by about 2-3 inches but I wanted to test the set up to see how many amps each motor will pull. The batteries that I bought have 8AWG wires and it will be very difficult to solder these into an XT60 connector, also these are rated for 60 amps continuous and there will be 2 motors pulling over 30 amps each through one connector. For the test I used a 4s 3300mah Nano-tech 25c li-po, results on an APC 11x5.5 were:- PEAK - 37.8 amps, 549 Watts, AVERAGE - 32 amps, 425 Watts. I didn't measure the thrust but on one motor it was impressive, with both motors at full chat I imagine this thing will climb vertically. The 70 amp ESC's that I am using are probably well over the top but there won't be much airflow over them so I'm happy that there is plenty of headroom on these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 There's now't like having plenty of grunt in reserve. With regards to the XT60 connectors, Hobbyking claim that 65A is ok, but I guess it's all down to how much heat is being generated through the plug. As you'll hardly be using full throttle in the Cri-Cri my guess is that they'll be ok, but you could always use XT90 plugs if you're not overly confident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 I would be happy to use an XT60 in terms of current but having stripped back the insulation on the battery wire it is clear that this is not going to work, an XT90 it will be! I have cut out the bulkhead strengthening piece from 3mm liteply and this is shown before and after, I have cut the holes slightly undersize and when I have epoxied it in place I will file these to the correct size to match up with the existing former. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Another small job done, the elevator has been hinged and the carbon fibre horn epoxied in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 That's a great idea about making the former doubler holes undersized. I'd have made them to the correct size and then had a nervous breakdown because they didn't quite line up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 That's why I cut them undersize as I knew that if I tried to do it exactly they wouldn't have lined up! The former has now been epoxied in place, whilst waiting for it to dry I have tried my pilot for size. This is a 1/3 scale chap that I bought off eBay for £8.80 inc p&p , he is available in blue or orange and measures 153mm wide x 150mm high x 89mm deep. I have named him Michel after the Cri-Cri designer Michel Colomban. I have just put him in there to gauge the size, as can be seen in the picture below he will need to go back a bit as the seat is in line with the canopy hoop (just where the hole in the cockpit floor is), he could also do with being a bit taller and I will probably add an inch or so of blue foam to his base then shape and paint it to match, overall though I think he will work and he even has an appropriate worried look on his face Edited By chris larkins on 20/05/2015 20:41:20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill_B Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 It's slightly worrying that he appears to be wearing lipstick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris larkins Posted March 13, 2018 Author Share Posted March 13, 2018 I have started again on this build after looooooong break, I'm determined to get it finished this time. I have started with a quick weight saving measure on the pilot, not much but every little helps. With a full base he weighed 184g but a quick pass with a blade to reduce the plastic on the base and he now weighs 168g, I left enough plastic to put a screw on each side to hold him in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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