Tim Ballinger Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Think you might be needing a lady pilot to compliment the pink 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Ballinger Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 Looks an excellent finish Lucas. Does this come in a spry can or are you using an airbrush? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 The pilot has been waiting for over a year until the cockpit gets ready: She will need some more clothes to survive flying in Norway, but we will fix that. Lucas spraying was done with a rather inexpensive touch-up HVLP airgun from BILTEMA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 Painting finished: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 22, 2018 Author Share Posted March 22, 2018 Fuselage covered (minus the side you cannot see on the picture) I choose to do top en bottom først, since it is easy to make a straight edge on the top of the side covering. Do not come too close, but from a meter or more it looks good. Cheers, Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trebor Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 The workmanship is spot on but please don't paint a rainbow with sparkles and a unicorn on it. I liked the grey undercoat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 +1 for the grey, don’t like pink! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwain Dibley. Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I like it..!! You will see that in any weather Matey.... Give the pilot a pink shirt to match, and it's all good to go. D.D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trebor Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 She needs a fake leopards print fur coat with big gold round earings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 +1 for Trebor... and of course a load of Swarovskis on the coat collet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 Colours engage, that is for sure! A pink helmet maybe. I know how to spray now. Off course any 1/6 scale Swarovski's that come in the post will be used. But how do I do the cockpit coaming? I have read about using fuel tube but that does look rubber, not the leather one often sees on open cockpit coamings.I did skip that on the Ballerina Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Hi Lucas, Sorry but The LotH's Swarovskis are genuine 1:1 scale. But you can find some 'small' ones on 'bling-bling' shoes or fancy holiday T-shirts. Regarding your coaming, I made my Ballerina's one with a 5mm OD flexible tubing (with a slit length wise) covered with crêpe paper. A bit of weathering with a few shades of beige/brown and black to give it a kind of worn out/cracked suede appearance. You could of course use a tiger pattern to match the fur coat... Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 27, 2018 Author Share Posted March 27, 2018 Now are we in the ARF stage: Not long now before ready for trials. Cheers, Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 28, 2018 Author Share Posted March 28, 2018 The flappy bits flap: Quite please with the rudder horn. It looks much better the the elevator horn. Since it did not take much time to make I think I will more often make my own horns in the future. Happy Easter, Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Ballinger Posted March 28, 2018 Share Posted March 28, 2018 Rudder horn is definitely classy. Is your weather going to allow an Easter maiden ? Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted March 28, 2018 Author Share Posted March 28, 2018 Not likely Tim, there is still half a meter of snow on our strip. And the ice on the fjord/lakes gets ugly, with pools of water/ice between snow. late April I guess. Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share Posted April 4, 2018 One last big job (and one that scares me a little) : mounting the upper wing. Mount all struts first: Then the upper wing in place (without glue): Happily everything fitted and it is not difficult to get the incidences of both wing alike. Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Ballinger Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Are you sure you will have room for all those batteries 😉 Still not wild about the pink but looking good. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share Posted April 4, 2018 with those batteries I will need some weight at the tail end! But probably 2 hours flight times.... I have glued the center 4 lugs. With slow epoxy, to make sure I had ample time to adjust the incidence to make it equal to the lower wing. Check and check again.... And then do not come near the model! Time for the interconnection rods between the ailerons: Threaded one ball link and glued the other. Should be a slop free adjustable link this way. Lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 Ready! Mounted everything. A disappointing amount of weight is needed to get the CG on 70mm from the leading edge. I glued 80gr. into the firewall (stick on steel weigths used for balancing car wheels are great for this), and will for the first flights fix another 80gram to the battery. Quite often I move the CG more aft after the first few flight to limit the amount of push needed when flying inverted. Let us hope that will be the case here too. The powertrain pulls 38A (about 500W) which a half full battery. Should be enough I think. The ice is not reliable anymore, and there is still 30cm of slowly melting snow on our strip. It will be a few weeks until the maiden. Regards, Lucas Edited By Lucas Hofman on 08/04/2018 15:05:58 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Maiden at last: Late in the evening, with little wind. CG a little too far backwards, but still controllable. Stall is a non event (thanks to the thick airfoil I think). And after landing: Ground handling is not too good. She is very sensitive on the rudder on take off and tends to nose over. I will try with some bigger wheels and tilting the undercarriage so the axles come 20mm more forward. But she flies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Maiden at last: Late in the evening, with little wind. CG a little too far backwards, but still controllable. Stall is a non event (thanks to the thick airfoil I think). And after landing: Ground handling is not too good. She is very sensitive on the rudder on take off and tends to nose over. I will try with some bigger wheels and tilting the undercarriage so the axles come 20mm more forward. But she flies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Gray Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Well done Lucas, she looks even better on the field. Video next time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Ballinger Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 There at last Lucas. You must be pleased posting twice! Ground handling sounds much the same as mine. I have a tail wheel viz skid. Not sure if that helps or makes it even more sensitive. .. and I went through the same wheel & U/C updates too. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas Hofman Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Posting twice was more tired then pleased, I think. Two more flights early this morning. Now with 40gr more lead in the nose. Feels good now. A slight pull-up when idling 45 degree down and a little push needed in inverted flight. She turns much tighter then the Ballerina, but I start to be convinced that no inner wing stall will occur. It is possilble to spin, easier than Ballerina. Recovery is automatic when neutralizing rudder and elevator. The powertrain gives enough oomph for big cuban 8's, but will run out of steam on a contiued inverted 45 degree up-line, as expected. When landing with a little power and - at touch down - full up elevator a nose over is avoided. But with no power she goes. That said, our strip is mostly moss, which has more friction that grass. I think we will be friends. But first the landing gear needs some work. Regards, lucas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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