Richard Harris Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I have always fancied a Piper Pawnee so decided to take advantage of the rubbish weather we have been having of late and scribble some drawings down. I have been pleased with the way my little Snap Dragon low winger performs so decided to stick to this usable size sticking with the tried and tested power plant. Construction has been slow as I am in the middle of a bathroom overhaul but today I managed to finish off the base colour covering. Span is around 900mm with a weight of 200 grams, construction is basic using mainly balsa and lite ply. Anyway, here are a few photos of my efforts so far: Basic fuselage structure Cowl is built in place then cut off Turnigy 5g servos in the wings All naked up against an Eflite cub Meet Oscar Dustman, a home made pilot made from foam and a toy figure head, Ear phones are made from depron and a metal tie wrap, He has turned out ok. Canopy templates 'in progress', will be transfered onto a pop bottle and cut out. As it is this evening And a shot next to Snap Dragon. I hope to get the trim on in the next week, keeping my fingers crossed that this weather will change to get a maiden in. Rich Edited By Richard Harris on 11/01/2016 20:25:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Todd Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 That's a little cracker Rich very nice, always fancied one myself although a little larger perhaps. Linds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Very cute John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Colbourne Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Hi Richard, That's a nice looking Pawnee; coming along nicely! Have you decided on a colour scheme yet? There are quite a few Pawnees in the UK, probably all of which are serving as glider tugs. The RAF Gliding and Soaring Association recovered theirs (G-SATN) recently, and I was privileged to have a tour round it at Halton last year by the person who did the work. It looks very smart now. **LINK** If black isn't your thing, then here are the other 33 UK registered examples. If you click on the reg you should get to photos of some of them. **LINK** G-PSGC is largely white: Edited By Robin Colbourne on 12/01/2016 00:00:52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Thanks for the kind comments chaps Robin, Thanks for the link, that gives me plenty to choose from I do have a roll of light blue solar trim to hand and there are a few blue trimmed examples on the list. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVC Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 That a cool Pawnee Richard. Any heads up about RCM&E plan? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted January 13, 2016 Author Share Posted January 13, 2016 AVC, If it flies and I am happy with its performance then I will submit the design for consideration. If it doesn't fly then I can always lose the wing and stick a set of rotors on top ! Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted January 18, 2016 Author Share Posted January 18, 2016 The canopy on the Pawnee is quite distinct so would stick out like a saw thumb if out of character which is why I decided to take a little time over it, well a couple of hours at least! Front and rear cardboard templates were sellotaped onto a pop bottle and cut out , a 1 litre bottle is that much smaller and gave me better results than a larger 2L bottle. Christmas is always a good to for recycling packaging and I managed to salvage some flat sheets of clear plastic from some kids toy boxes,this is what the side screens are cut out from. The front and side screens are edged in Litho plate and painted white. Oscar has been treated to a seat (made from depron) and a four point harness, the belts are the elastics off a used dust mask which I am using in my bathroom at the moment, nothing goes to waste in the Harris houshold! Not brilliant but perfectly acceptable for me. On to the trimming. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Looking Very nice there Richard Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Elliot Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Rich That's nice....very very nice, love that cockpit. Hope you get the plan published, everybody likes a Pawnee. I really don't know how you design and build so quickly, I wouldn't have been able to change a plug let alone a bathroom and build that in the same time you have. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Thanks Steve, Rich, As you know I am a firm believer in keeping models a simple and usable as possible, this model is simple as I could make it. The bathroom however is a different thing, in my wisdom I decided to spend 10 mins cutting a slot out in the wall to run a 15mm pipe up to a shower unit. All kitted out in the correct PPE a attacked it with my grinder. I am unsure whether you have ever ground red bricks but when I turned round I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. It took several hours to settle which rendered my time on the Pawnee pretty much useless for a few days to clean up the mess! needless to say I have now purchased a bolster chisel! With limited time I have managed a start on the colouring, pretty standard using solartrim wetted and slid into place. Until I know that it flies I will leave off the decals and any extra detail, on to the electrics, wing struts, hatches and all those boring jobs we have to do to get a model flight ready which sometimes stall a model at the last hurdle. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 I took advantage of a long awaited half decent day taking the Pawnee out for its maiden after work. Due to the long grass it was hand launched into the light breeze, a few clicks of down trim and it was away. The 2 s 500mah pack gave me at least 5 mins of scale speed flying which was fine for me. Aileron response is good and when rudder is initiated as well it turns on a 'six pence', it feels very lightly loaded. I had two flights and noticed a touch of left yaw on the down wind legs (easily corrected with rudder) so I will add a touch of right thrust. Unfortunately I was out on my own and without my camera girl so no pictures I'm afraid. Just a few finishing touches to add then sit and wait for a suitable day to take some snaps. As you can guess I am really chuffed with this one Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martyn K Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 That looks fantastic Nice one Richard M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Nice work, Mr Harris! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Jones Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Ahhrrr.......... I Join the club , No camera man/girl and waiting for some nice sunny weather . Ohh yer ........ Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Adams Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Would be nice to see that in RCM@E Rich, Would make a good indoor flyer to....If it were to be submitted is it worth giving your fantastic Uncanny design another go for resubmission as that was/is a great design from someone who is world renowned for producing auto gyros and being great at them to! BTW does anyone know when Riches Revolver is due? Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Todd Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Excellent, look forward to seeing this one in the flesh. Linds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Thanks for the support gents, very much appreciated I'm looking forward to taking her out again, I looked at my motor and ESC set up last night and they are 3 s capable. I have plenty of room in the front battery bay so it would make sence to purchase a couple of 450mah 3 s packs (they are less thatn a £5 each) to try out, obviously propped to suit. Always better to have a little extra power if and when needed. I am contenplating a larger version with flaps etc Steve, Revolver is me, I hope to get it all done and dusted when time allows me to. As for UnCanny I will ask David the next time I see him, it makes me smile everytime I fly it /well did fly it, but that's another story! It is a crying shame not to share it with others. Thanks again Rich Edited By Richard Harris on 23/02/2016 12:28:08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Nice little Pawnee Richard they are not the prettiest plane but I love them , as for a bigger version it would be good I built a 60 inch with flaps duster and full set of lights from a modified 48 inch control line plan it w as hard work but it looks pretty good I. Blogged it on here definite need for an up to date plan for a larger version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 Martian, Yes I have found the thread, looks really good I have now added the wing struts, U/C fairings, exhaust pipes (which double up as cooling holes), and dummy tailplane brace wires. Apart from waiting for decals that is pretty much it, a few shots taken this afternoon, hopefully a flight video will be next. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Looks great Richard, struts made it John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thanks John , I popped it in my car and managed to grab a couple of flights after work today, it was cloudy with not much light but I did manage to capture a bit of footage. Not the best as the camera was mounted to my transmitter so it was point and hope. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Jones 2 Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Great job Rich, yet again, love the details and struts Second the Uncanny suggestion, you need to fix yours and it's still the best Cannard.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 She has now got 15 flights under her wings, most of those undertaken over the glorious weekend we have just had. Loops, rolls, stall turns and inverted flight have all now been explored with good results. Today I handed the transmitter to club mate Andy who flew it for me so I could attempt to get some snaps, it was a little breezier but coped well. So that's about it, the model will be flown regularly over this coming season which is what it was built for. Maybe I will get round to a larger version at some stage. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Harris Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 My Pawnee flew its 40th flight this evening at the local park which happens to be just infront of the house. Wind was up and down and swirling through the trees but it handled ok considering. Managed to persuade young Debs out to piont the camera at the model, considering she is 32 weeks pregnant she did really well. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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