Bob Cotsford Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 It is odd that the tank bay floor is littered with slots for velcro straps or cable ties yet the only way to feed anything through is by way of a knock-out panel in the bulkhead and forceps. Also odd that the tank bung comes below the hole in the bulkhead, I've extended the hole down to eliminate the risk of the tank moving forward and squeezing the fuel tubes against the bulkhead. Odder still, I tried to delete the ad for the DLE last night but I see it's still there. Another 'undocumented feature' of the forum software? I feel drained this morning, the weather forecast keeps promising storms but nothing in the Midlands so far. I've just ordered some 3mm carbon pushrod sets, I'll use them on the elevator and aileron pushrods and the aileron link rods. I picked up a few packets of decent 3mm clevises at Cosford so I think I'm all set up, time to start gluing bits together now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Yes, the limited access to the tank bay was one of the first things I noticed - very odd. I like using Velcro, so that should be a challenge! I bought some Kavan clevices that are a straight swap for the useless ones supplied, I plan to use a C/F U/C and 5" wheels, and I'll leave everything else stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 What I might do is zip tie the tank to a ply board which will raise it, and zip tie that into the floor. I'm also thinking of putting a dual battery into this model for extra security. As I mentioned I am using a large 4200ma 6.6v LIFE battery up front , which will be wired to the receiver via a voltage regulator switch from component shop.com. I'm thinking of wiring another smaller 6.6v LIFE battery and regulator into another socket as an emergency back up in case of disconnection/failure in battery 1. My Futaba receiver I believe will be fine with that. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 20/07/2016 10:17:16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Agreed Rich I'm using Kavan ones too. Good idea using bigger wheels . I have swapped mine too for some pneumatic ones that suit our grass strip better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Well done Bob agree totally. I'm raising my tank so the tube ends arn't split by the firewall and to get it perfect relative to my carb centre line as I'm not using pressure feed on the Laser. I haven't seen carbon push rod sets before...would have saved me time! I just made mine up out of some carbon rod that I normally use for tail booms on mini helicopters and filed and epoxied them in to M3 connectors. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 20/07/2016 10:29:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Posted by Timothy Harris 1 on 20/07/2016 10:15:46: What I might do is zip tie the tank to a ply board which will raise it, and zip tie that into the floor. I'm also thinking of putting a dual battery into this model for extra security. As I mentioned I am using a large 4200ma 6.6v LIFE battery up front , which will be wired to the receiver via a voltage regulator switch from component shop.com. I'm thinking of wiring another smaller 6.6v LIFE battery and regulator into another socket as an emergency back up in case of disconnection/failure in battery 1. My Futaba receiver I believe will be fine with that. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 20/07/2016 10:17:16 I always use twin batteries. My petrol models have twin LiFe 1450 mAh batteries and they last ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 If I had the 3mm carbon I'd have made the pushrods using 3mm clevis adaptors but as I didn't have the rod to hand I just ordered pushrod sets. They're just 250mm lengths of rod with clevises and adaptors, plus locknuts. I got mine here though some LMS carry them too, as does RC World. On this size of model I've used one LiFe battery with twin leads and switches, twin LiPo batteries through a Hobbyking dual regulator failover switch, or two 1600ish LiFe packs through twin switches. With the telemetry available now I'm less concerned with a battery going flat than with the chance of a switch or plugged connection failing. Bigger wheels - maybe, a little bigger, but I'm thinking spats would set the model off nicely if I can match some paint with the orange film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thanks for tip Bob that's what I will do too then . Was wondering whether to put another lead in instead. The battery will be fine but was worried about switch or lead failure like you. The big battery won't flatten easily and I will have telemetry too. As it has two leads I can have a twin connection and just get a second voltage regulator switch. Thanks for link on pushrod. Spats would look great! I have until this weekend to make progress then it's family holidays ! Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 20/07/2016 11:31:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin McIntosh Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Telemetry will do you no good with LiFe packs since they will always read 6.6V until they fall off the cliff. I am now changing over to these using two 700`s or two 1800`s via HK failover switches. For some reason they do not seem to discharge anywhere near as much as NiMh`s previously used in the same models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I agree, i only use just over 200 mAh from each battery after a 1-2 hour session - admittedly not all spent in the air! I also changed my trans battery for a LIPO and it hardly ever needs charging! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I had the same experience as you Martin. On my World models spitfire 60 I have a very small 500mah LIFe battery running the retract servo only( separated power line from receiver) . It seems to use a tiny amount of capacity even in a full days flying. The 4200 ah battery I have in this should give me more than 20 flights in a day( no way will I ever do that ) . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I don't think it's that bad Martin. Yes, they do reach discharge more abruptly than Nixx chemistries but all the published curves show a distinct progressive drop off which should give time to land, not a sudden avalanche. I set low battery alarms to 6.3 and critical to 6.0. I've had the alarms sound on the test bench and everything continues to work at least a couple of minutes. If servo movement causes a voltage collapse then you need cells with a better suited current capacity for your setup! edit - looking at those curves with an abrupt drop-off, they appear to be low current long duty cycle curves. The higher the discharge, the more gentle the curve seems to be the common theme. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 20/07/2016 13:38:36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 A delivery from JE today so I can now get cracking... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Fit is rather tight and may require slight modifying to clear the throttle arm. Edited By Rich2 on 20/07/2016 21:03:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Put the tank in last night. I would say it's a pain in the ****. On this model . I ended up opening out the front "knock out" section a bit further on the firewall like Bob sensibly chose to do. I made a small tank stand with foam on top. I then zip tied the tank to that . Next I put the Kit supplied zip ties in and managed to squeeze the tank assembly through (with stand). Once all was in I tightened the zip ties from the access hole through the firewall using long forceps. I also added a wooden wedge glued to the tank bay floor to stop the tank sliding backwards. I had to raise the tank about 3cm to get it where it was supposed to be in the beginning so the tank bung is near centre of the circular engine cutout in the firewall and middle of tank is near carburettor centre. The designers should consider an outside hatch on the nose of the plane to provide access. I'm on holidays from next week so things might slow down. Not sure if it will be finished this weekend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 At least the instructions are good for a giggle. Page 9 stage 31 on gluing the central cabane in - "Run thin cyano around the joint to secure the upper wing mount in place". Sorry Mr Foss, but with the fuselage slot being something like a mm wider than the mount in places, thin cyano is NOT going to cut it! I've used my favourite thick CA, Wickes Mitre glue, at least it spans the gaps. I'm currently trying to think of ways to reduce the number of nuts, bolts and washers that will get dropped into the grass when assembling this model at the field. Captive U nuts seem to cope when used to hold car and motorcycle panels on, but they're not designed for repetitive dismantling. I think someone came up with the idea of using clevis pins with R clips on the standard size WotsWot, they have to be less fiddly than threading nuts and bolts close to the wing surface and they are used on the HH electric Carbon-Z Cub struts. On smaller models I've seen ball links used though I'm not sure I'd like to go that route on this size of model. edit - it was Colin Carpenter's idea to use R-clips, nice one Colin Meanwhile, on to fitting the tailplane. The fit is slack but not as bad as David's was. No way I'd think of using thin cyano, it's never going to fill such a sloppy joint. I think I'll try working epoxy in, that should do the trick. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 22/07/2016 14:28:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 ps - there are two ball-links in the accessories, but I don't see any 2mm threaded rods or adaptors to go with them, and I don't see them in any of the assembly photos - have I missed something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 The Central Cabane had me in a quandary too as mine was also loose . I was also worried about it snapping in a mishap ( crash)and potentially having to excavate it out. I decided to reinforce the slot with cyano then left it to dry before slotting the Cabane in . I also painted the exposed wooden base of the cabane with epoxy and gave it a light sand then it was a a fairly tight fit. I did put a dribble of cyano in afterwards too. I'm not sure what the ball links are for may be for choke or throttle? I am using bicycle gear cable and outers as usual for my throttle connection as I have lots of old off cuts. Will be interested to see what you decide on wing bolts . I have quite a few quality bolts from modelfixings.co.uk so will replace any of the dodgy bits too. I epoxied my tail plane in too ...fills the gaps much better! Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 22/07/2016 14:47:04 Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 22/07/2016 14:48:05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 That cabane has what looks to be a GF core laminated with 2 layers of ply each side - even so, the loop for the carbon wing joiner does look a potential weak spot. I wonder if they will be a stock spare part? It should be easy enough to replace in the event of an arrival, a knife blade run along each side should loosen it from the top sheeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Agreed . Before putting the cabane in I did trace round it and cut out a basic one from ply sheet. Will need laminating if I ever need it. Edited By Timothy Harris 1 on 22/07/2016 15:14:11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted July 22, 2016 Share Posted July 22, 2016 Posted by Bob Cotsford on 22/07/2016 14:04:23: At least the instructions are good for a giggle. Page 9 stage 31 on gluing the central cabane in - "Run thin cyano around the joint to secure the upper wing mount in place". Sorry Mr Foss, but with the fuselage slot being something like a mm wider than the mount in places, thin cyano is NOT going to cut it! I've used my favourite thick CA, Wickes Mitre glue, at least it spans the gaps. I'm currently trying to think of ways to reduce the number of nuts, bolts and washers that will get dropped into the grass when assembling this model at the field. Captive U nuts seem to cope when used to hold car and motorcycle panels on, but they're not designed for repetitive dismantling. I think someone came up with the idea of using clevis pins with R clips on the standard size WotsWot, they have to be less fiddly than threading nuts and bolts close to the wing surface and they are used on the HH electric Carbon-Z Cub struts. On smaller models I've seen ball links used though I'm not sure I'd like to go that route on this size of model. edit - it was Colin Carpenter's idea to use R-clips, nice one Colin Meanwhile, on to fitting the tailplane. The fit is slack but not as bad as David's was. No way I'd think of using thin cyano, it's never going to fill such a sloppy joint. I think I'll try working epoxy in, that should do the trick. Edited By Bob Cotsford on 22/07/2016 14:28:41 Yes, I changed my latest planes (Yak) wing bolts to clevices and R clips and love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Tailplane in - in the end I decided to take a razor saw to the section of rudder post blocking the tailplane slot so I could smother the mating faces with epoxy and slide the tail in from the rear. A rubber band around the rear fuselage to pull the top of the fuselage down and job's a good'un. Now I just need to epoxy the removed section back in. The only fly in the ointment is that removing the masking tape lifted a little of the brown film. Not the colour layer and adhesive, that is still attached to the purple film underneath it, the brown stuff delaminated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I've just spent F1 qualifying gluing 32 hinges into the control surfaces. I have a new candidate for least favourite modelling task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Hi chaps . Have spent done late hours in the shed this weekend finishing off . Luckily I had some lovely flying in Saturday with my trusty Black Hirse Chipmunk to soften the shed hours! My target was to try to finish for a maiden flight on Sunday afternoon. Luckily the sensible side of me stopped that as it would have been s rush job. I replaced all wing fixing bolts with quality SS Allen headed set screws from my modelfixings.co.uk selection boxes. Way easier putting in Allen headed wing bolts. I accidentally wiped the initial radio settings oops ! I had made so had to do that again. The weight came out spot on despite no added lead . I think the weight of my nose reinforcing helped . I also epoxy/glassed inside the cowl . I partially blocked one of the air intakes on the non engine side and put a slanted duct to direct air back over the engine . I probably didn't need to do that but it lookd betted to me than s hole with light at the other end I the cowl . I found the cabanes sloppy and think I will need to epoxy the loose clevises on . I had run out of my decent ones . Anyway good luck with your builds chaps . I will be out for a couple of weeks then come back and give it a maiden flight. Will post photos below 😊 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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