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Seagull Boomerang Tail Dragger Conversion


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Hi guys,

I hope this is the right area for posting this but I wanted to share with you how I converted my Boomerang to a Tail Dragger.

I find it much nicer to land, although its a little bouncy due to my hard landings but at least I do not get any bent nose wheels.

As you can see there is no tail wheel, just a piece of original U/C bent into shape. There is a piece of ply held on by Epoxy glue and there is a 90 degree bend which goes into the ply to stop the tail piece moving.

I also had to removethe fuel tank and epoxy a small rectangle shape of ply inside the fuse where the new U/C will be bolted onto. The U/C is now held on with 3 bolts going through the U/C, Fuse and then through the Ply wood. Seems very sturdy. Ive had about 10 flights, very hard landing and has not damaged at all.

Cost to change, about 10 pound.

Parts included:

U/C Bracket

Spindles

Small piece of PLY

Epoxy Glue (I used 5 minute)

Wheels, just used original wheels

Thanks,

http://forums.modelflying.co.uk/sites/3/images/member_albums/33159/DSCN2252.JPG






http://forums.modelflying.co.uk/sites/3/images/member_albums/33159/DSCN2249.JPG

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Hi Guys,

 Yeh sure, I purchased the bracket and spindles from Moor Models in Croxley Green. 

http://www.moormodels.co.uk

 I also purchased my Boomerang from their for just £38 !!

 I think the U/C was about £6 ish and the Spindles were £5.

 I believe they do postage too so just give them a bell and I'm sure they will help you out, they are nice  folks in there!

 Cheers,

 Matt

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Hi I'm very much a noob so please excuse the, possibly dumb, question. I've been lead to believe that a trike u/c is easier to learn with than a dragger so I'm learning with a Boomer. I have been advised by my trainer that my next model should be a low-winger with a trike as draggers can be a pain on take off for learners. I'd really appreciate some feedback.
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  • 2 months later...

Those chaps have made some pretty good jobs of their conversions but to answer your question -it's usually a training need. 

If you learn or are taught to land correctly then there is no need to carry out such a conversion. Having a genuine preference for tail draggers is another thing altogether which it's early days to establish if you are still learning. Removing the nose leg means you can't bend something that's not there but carrying on making the same clumsy landings means you can nose over (possibly damaging the fin or worse), break props, break engine mounts, suffer nose damage, rip out the main undercarriage and perhaps worst of all, miss out on learning how to approach & flare for a landing correctly. The benefits are something of an illusion because if you can do a 3 point landing with a tail dragger then you can land a trike undercarriage without damage too. A trike can generally be landed with less of a flare than a tail dragger and so is actually easier to land; removing the the noseleg just disguises the failure to flare and introduces some of the other problems I have already mentioned instead. In other words the answer to bending the nose leg is not to remove it, it is to learn how not to bend it. Just like when learning to steer a motor car and it seems to be going all over the place, the answer is not to remove to steering wheel is it? - No the answer is to learn to steer it through practice & tuition. It's also worth watching full size aeroplanes landing and then copying them - you won't see them landing nose wheel first!

There are a number of other benefits with a trike including easier ground steering (which with the right training will not be the often misstated "more trouble than it's worth"), it's more difficult to nose over, it does not require the tail to be controlled by use of the elevator during the initial take-off run and you would not get an unexpected steep early take off through holding in too much up elevator to keep the tail down during the take-off run.

There's a lot of people who will disagree with me on this & I'm expecting some stick from some that couldn't give you answer before now but if you stay with the sport & remember these comments then one day you may well realise I am right.

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The steering will take a few knocks but repeated noseleg first landings must cause some damage sooner or later. If you lock the noseleg then you will need to steer with the rudder which is not very effective at the sort of very slow taxi speeds you should be practising prior to learning to take-off.

A common problem with steerable noselegs is that they are often fitted incorrectly - the flat part of the noseleg must be contact with the collet screw, if it isn't then the noseleg will definitely move in the collet. Attempts to stop this movement result in over tightening of the collect screw and a stripped thread. Should you be unfortunate enough to strip the thread on the collet then don't throw it away - they can be hard to replace which is the biggest problem I have come across, however the original can be gently pressed out of the steering arm, rotated and re-inserted so that the other threaded hole in the collet can be used.

The range of movement of the nosewheel does not have to be huge so there is no need to use the furthermost hole away from the centre of the servo arm. Using the 1st or 2nd hole out will give enough movement and will provide better torque from the servo. (The amount of torque decreases the further you move out along the arm.).

It is possible to learn to fly using the boomerang without suffering any damage to the noseleg or steering. I strongly recommend either following Andy Ellisons training course (http://www.modelflying.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/369/v/5/sp/) or the BMFA "Up and Away" booklet

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I agree with Ian, leave as it is if you are learning.

If you do find problems with the U/C then replace with better quality units.

I have converted to practise landing and take offs with a taildragger before the first flight  my P-40.

I am a born again flyer after a break of 30+years and I am getting back up to speed with my flying skills.

The site I fly from is a spoil heap with a bit of top soil thrown on to landscape it. The grass is cut once a year by the local farmer. It is very rough full and  of pot holes . The taildragger configuration gives better prop clearance and a shorter take off run.

The first two flight with the Boomer produced a bent nose leg due to the rough surface,I have had no problems since converting .

Before cutting

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/kelly2uk/P1010008a-2.jpg

 After

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/kelly2uk/P1010005ab.jpg

Happy flying

Kelvin

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My only alteration to the undercarriage was to fit 4" wheels and as yet to be tried.  This was based rightly or wrongly on posts that suggested the bigger tyre was benificial on grass strips.

I was aware of the flat on the nose wheel  and will cut down hole on the servo ar

Thanks again

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Hi Ian,

Yes, I also have the Ripmax 109 (see my build blog)

Hi Hamish,

A bigger wheel, rubber rather than foam will help on grass.

The main thing is to set up your model to suit you. The Boomerang is a trainer so the U/C should be strong enough for a beginner to land a bit heavy sometimes. You may find the U/C fine as it is, if not replace or modify.

I alter all my models to suit me , for instance I have scaled up my Spitfire and 109, reinforced the motor mounts, used a different spinner etc.

Seek advice but in the end its your model .

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/kelly2uk/P1010001-5.jpg

http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc2/kelly2uk/P1010013-3.jpg

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I wouldn't say changing to a tail dragger configuration was cheating, its just different. I find tail draggers just as simple to land as a trike gear set up. I went from my trainer to a 3d low wing taildragger and could land it quite smoothly on the first flight, not really noticing a difference the landing just kind of happened lol
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  • 4 months later...
I flew my first low wing tail dragger (Pulse XT40) this week and coming from a Boomerang trainer i was amazed just how quick it was airborn, nearly caught me out too. It has the same 52 size engine as the Boomer but it was like it was launched from a gun.I reckon it was up after about a 10ft accel if that. Biggest difference was the landing though....It just wanted to float and float....it took 3 times around before i got the approach right. And there was me thinking about dialing in some flaperon for landing...NO NEED!!
Loving the model though. I think me and it are going to have a lot of fun over this summer.
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  • 12 years later...

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