Flair Cub

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I did not expect to be sent cross head countersunk as these did not comply with the suppliers website. The replacement slotted head screws they sent were countersunk also but I have to agree they need not have been.

[Geoff S]

If you're using a tinplate part at the bottom why didn't you just solder nuts to it and then glue it to the bearers? That way you have captive nuts to accept what ever bolts you choose to fit from the top.

I've done similar things but used fibreglass PC board (I used to salvage it from the bins at work but it's easy to buy new) and drilled holes in it and then soldered nuts onto the copper side, holding the nuts in place temporarily with bolts. Then it's just a matter of epoxying the plates under the bearers, again using bolts to hold everything in place until the adhesive sets.

Geoff

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I merely copied the arrangement recommended on my 1962 New Junior 60 Geoff. Some copper tape would have been useful or some old earth bar material but none was to hand. It's good that others are making other suggestions for these model plane building tasks as they may be useful for future projects.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

There were some very useful comments on favourite fuel proofer on this web site as this is the next stage on the plane, and my current feeling is that I will use some Z-Poxy finishing resin on the interior of the cowling despite various alternatives. Once dry I will paint the interior of the cowling with white Hammerite paint. Today I did a bit more sanding on the plane and ripped out some fibre material which was covering some lead ballast inside the cowling. The fibre was coated with oily residue and obviously could not be fuel proofed. Once the fuel proofing is dry I can finish off the fuselage and permanently fix the engine and throttle link. I can also test out the existing throttle servo which I hope to retain although I have got some new Futaba servos if there are problems. My plan is to set the plane up on my Futaba transmitter by copying a similar model and adjusting as necessary. There is an existing aileron servo which I can also test.

The fibre material cover removed

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Cowling is now ready for internal fuel proofing despite there being signs of previous proofing it still seemed necessary. I decided to sort the new fuel tank out and feed pipes first prior to the fuel proofing, in case new holes in the cowling were necessary. One job that I have struggled with in the past is the bending of the brass pipes that enter the fuel tanks. I though about full size plumbing and how plumbers avoid kinks in pipes using pipe springs, indeed I have one. The nearest item that resembled a miniature pipe spring I had was a very small diameter nylon snake which fitted inside the brass fuel pipes. This worked a treat and in no time I had set the pipe bends without any kinks and without any problems releasing the snake. After completing the tank I cut the fuel pipes serving the engine and threaded them through the fuselage using electrical insulation tape to bind them with a short length of a larger diameter snake in much the same way as electricians draw cables into conduits.

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 18/11/2020 13:46:49

[David Davis 2]

I've had two Flair Cubs, both given to me as incomplete projects and both featuring foam wings. They flew very nicely powered by an Enya SS 40 but I was very inexperienced in those days and I crashed the pair of them!

I think you're going to like the model Mike.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Yes David , refurbishing the plane has taken a while but having fuel proofed it today I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but after some hours the finishing resin is still tacky, I hope it's dry by tomorrow. I took note of your engine selection and have matched it with the Enya SS40. I will not mix the rudder with the ailerons as suggested by Jon of Laser engines. This could mean plenty of practice on the simulator. I will get a club colleague to do the maiden flight and probably take the transmitter from him if things are OK. It seems that the club members who started off with helicopters have had plenty of left hand transmitter use and subsequently fly planes better. In the past with slope soarers my left hand was used just to hold the transmitter.

How are you getting on with your Super 60 David, I assumed you might try it with your surviving Junior 60 wings. ? I have committed myself to building some Super 60 wings . The second hand wings I have are a mess and are the aileron types . I might need to salvage them if balsa supplies are a problem, but various people have commented that the aileron Super 60 is not so nice to fly? . It might need a bit of dihedral?

This is how the Super 60 looked 10 years ago, but don't be fooled by the appearance of the wings , they were constructed badly and the fuselage fell apart once the covering was removed.

 

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 18/11/2020 20:12:43

[David Davis 2]

Morning Mike

I gave the Junior 60 to one of my trainee pilots in France along with a plan of the model. I'll help him to build the model when I return in January as he's never built a proper balsa model.

My history with Super 60s is as follows. I bought something off an old boy decades ago when I lived in Devon. He gave me a very well built Super 60 fuselage. I bought a plan from Colin Buckle at the Three Counies Showground. Years later I completed the model, the red one in the picture below, and powered it with a Merco 35. This was adequate at my club flying field but it caused great amusement at Cocklebarrow one where it struggled to make flying speed in the long grass. I got a cheer when I finally managed to take off!

At the same time I bought another Super 60 from a bloke in Wolverhampton with two aileron wings. These were inset aileron wings. I believe that the model was a Penn Models Super 60, the grand daddy of all ARTFs. Penn Models used to offer ready to fly Super 60s finished in Cub Yellow with Red Solartex wings. It was powered by a 52 fourstroke.

I lost both of them in consecutive weekends in France through flying across the disc of the sun on landing approach. Our runway runs east to west and I had not yet learned to turn before the sun.

The construction of the latest Super 60 is complete other than fitting the box for the LiPo, connecting up the rudder closed loop system and adding vinyl decoration to the top of the wing. Trish and I applied the top covering of the wing yesterday. Photos to follow.

Edited By David Davis 2 on 19/11/2020 07:58:41

[Mike Etheridge 1]

You may well hold the record for owning the most Super 60's David ? -I have some Merco engines but to date have only used a 49. I do have at least one 35 and a 29 plus some new unused silencers which I gather were not that effective ? I will be interested to know what your electrical set up is for the Super 60 and how it performs?

Having dried off and sanded where appropriate the finishing resin on the Cub, I foolishly tried to paint it with white Hammerite paint in my garage where the temperature was less than 8 degrees C. The paint had a thick consistency and when applied it looked awful so I had to remove it from the front of the cowling. I then read the paint instructions where it indicated that the ideal painting temperatures were between 8 and 25 degrees C. It also warned that the paint can cause drowsiness but failed to mention stupidity !. I have brought the paint tin indoors plus a tin of red Solarlac in the hope that the warm temperature will improve the viscosity of both ?

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 20/11/2020 12:56:19

[Mike Etheridge 1]

After 24 hours the Hammerite paint viscosity thinned at normal room temperature and I was able to apply further coats to the cowling of the Cub which is not perfect but acceptable. Prior to the painting I tried to re-fix the celluloid wind screen using some 'Glue and Glaze' for the first time, in the house rather than the cold garage. However the glue proved unsatisfactory for the job and looked like PVA to me and cost £6.50. I will revert to using Z-Poxy 5 minute Epoxy to glue the screen once the paint has dried.

[David Davis 2]

Posted by Mike Etheridge 1 on 20/11/2020 12:53:57:

You may well hold the record for owning the most Super 60's David ? -I have some Merco engines but to date have only used a 49. I do have at least one 35 and a 29 plus some new unused silencers which I gather were not that effective ? I will be interested to know what your electrical set up is for the Super 60 and how it performs?

Edited By Mike Etheridge 1 on 20/11/2020 12:56:19

Perhaps I have owned more Super 60s than anybody else but I've also wrecked two of them beyond economical repair and the current one, which is in the course of construction, rightly belongs to my partner Trish, also known as Miss Blue Eyes. She wanted to learn both how to build and how to fly. She's a natural on the simulator!

The model is powered by a French Twister 40 electric motor which I've owned for decades but never used. It dates from pre-LiPo days but with 10 cell NiCad producing 12 Volts and an 11x6 prop the motor draws 30 Amps. I'm hoping for similar performance from a 3000 3S LiPo, so with the model weighing 5lbs I'll be getting 60 Watts per lb which should be ample for the Super 60 in training mode. We are building the model in Somerset and I've left my ammeter at my home in France so I'm not sure of the exact current draw but there's quite a waft from the propeller when running it up on the garden table! We are using a 60 Amp speed controller.

 

She originally wanted the model to be finished in purple and pink but I persuaded her to accept her second choice of blue and white on the grounds that purple and pink are not available as Solartex colours! The follow up model however, will be a DB Sport & Scale Skyrider which will be film covered. https://www.dbsportandscale.com/skyrider-7793-p.asp Pink, purple and magenta may well be on the agenda for that model!

As for Merco engines, I wore out a 35 practising for my A Certificate. It was in a Telemaster 66 and I had a 61 in my first Senior Telemaster which I rebuilt from an old boy's post crash remnants!

I sold all of my Mercos and most of my other two strokes before retiring to France. I have a few two-strokes left, a Super Tigre 40 in the club's trainer, a few Enyas and Irvines and a couple of OS 61SF's waiting to be installed in suitable airframes.

I'm more of a four-stroke man these days.

Edited By David Davis 2 on 22/11/2020 10:08:24

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Mike Etheridge 1]

I would agree Doc , the finish I have got with Hammerite it not that good compared with the spray finishes I have put on other planes, but that said the finish overall is not good on the Cub fuselage ,it's just about acceptable but will not win any competitions.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Well done David and Trish with the Super 60, I am most impressed and look forward to a flying report.

I went through a period of buying engines on E-bay some years ago which was probably a touch of Hoarding ?. I did buy a Merco 61 with Chris Olsen's name and address inside the box. Needless to say the engine is very warn and I have never used it. I do have his last Uproar in my loft but that has an OS 46 with a tuned pipe installed. I also have two part finished planes of his hiding in the loft.

As for the Cub, I will re-fix the windscreen today having failed yesterday with the 'Glue and Glaze' which just did not go off.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Windscreen fixed but extra gluing is required plus some masked painting. I thought I would fix the engine permanently today and had anticipated a quick exercise. But due to carrying out the fuel proofing and internal cowling painting after installing the engine fixing bolts, it took me a long while to fix the engine due to creepage of finishing resin and paint which secured the fixing bolts leaving them without any flexibility. Also the lower crankcase on the engine would not fit between the bearers despite being OK when the bearer holes were drilled. So trimming of the painted bearers was necessary. Note the hammer, I was tempted!

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Doc, the crankcase on the Enya 400 SS is square shaped in front and behind the mounting lugs and as such it would still need to fit between the bearers with a bearer plate. The engine fits OK now and bolts up without issues. I think that bearer plates should be part of the cowling / bearer design in the first place, which is now the case I think with old designs such as the Junior and Super 60 ? However it did flash through my mind today that a bearer plate might have worked in this case but perhaps not with the amount of cowling I have retained ?.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Touching up of the painted cowling now complete and front windscreen finally completed and painted, so final fix of engine can now be completed and radio equipment installed and fixing of new clevices and control horns can follow.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Engine fitted plus the throttle snake. Having checked the fixing of the Hi-Tec servo, for some reason that is unclear to me, the previous owner had set the servo at an angle by adding 1/4 inch square of wood on the ply servo tray and under the front servo lug. To maintain the right level of the servo arm another square of wood needs adding under the other servo lug. Also the Hi-Tec servo arm is somewhat short such the snake would be bent unnecessarily throughout it's travel which may put a strain on the servo? . As I have no Hi-Tec spares it seems I will have to install a new Futaba servo with a longer torque arm to ensure the throttle snake does not snag.---Tomorrow's job plus installing the rudder and elevator servos. I need to do something with the silencer gasket as the one I have is damaged. Also the flight battery need an extension cable fitted prior to installing the fuel tank.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Nothing done for a couple of days as domestic chores have taken over and my wife insisted on a couple of shopping trips. However I have just opened a new packet of Futaba servo accessories and found that they also fit the Hitec servo which means I could retain it for the throttle control. It makes me wonder who copied who ?

[David Davis 2]

Careful Mike.

I rebuilt my WOT 4 XL and re-engined it with an old Laser 150 V twin. On it's first flight I put in a little right rudder on landing approach and the model side slipped into an uncontrollable dive into the ground. Fortunately the damage was only superficial.

During the rebuild I had replaced a JR servo with a Hitec servo on the rudder, but I had not changed the output arm. The arm had slipped on the splines giving me permanent right rudder.

This is when I found out that Hitec servos have 24 splines, Futaba servos have 25 and JR servos 23. **LINK**

[cymaz]

Posted by Mike Etheridge 1 on 28/11/2020 19:56:54:

Nothing done for a couple of days as domestic chores have taken over and my wife insisted on a couple of shopping trips. However I have just opened a new packet of Futaba servo accessories and found that they also fit the Hitec servo which means I could retain it for the throttle control. It makes me wonder who copied who ?

Resist the temptation Mike.

[Doctor Chinnery]

David - Thanks for that link - one of the frustrations when fitting out smaller models over the years has been the total lack of interchangeability of servo arms between older small servos - - - it brings out the Y O Y O Y 🤔 😤😤 in me. I guess it's my own fault by buying cheap in the past - when I can't buy additional servo fittings those servos just become scrap - a hard lesson learned! These days I tend to stick with Hitec and Futaba - at least their fittings always fit and as long as I use the appropriate servo for the job they've not let me down.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Thanks also from me chaps , most useful information. The only other time I tried to use different servo arms was on a Ripmax Yak 55 with the zip up cockpit. In the kit they provided elongated servo arms which I attached to the mini servos. On the first flight everything worked OK and the plane flew well (There is a video) but subsequently the servo arm controlling the elevator slipped and that was that.. No damage to the plane, but I have not resolved the situation, and no wonder the plane is no longer produced.

.

[Mike Etheridge 1]

Too dammed cold in the garage to work today, so I spent some time finding the new servos, extension cord, and receiver. It was just my luck that I found a packet of M3 nuts and bolts which included crosshead bolts with deep slots and Nycloid nuts plus spring and ordinary washers.

I got my Futaba 6K transmitter out of it's case and set up the Cub as the 8th model and copied the parameters of model 3 which is a largish trainer that I refurbished last year. Once I have installed the radio I can then adjust the 'throws' / ' end points' and introduce any servo movement reversals. The fail safe is set with everything on normal apart from the throttle which is set to reduce to 20%. The expos should be set for -30% which I will check. The unidentified trainer is below, I think the previous owner died also.