Cliff Bastow Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 I have been gifted this by a club member who damaged it on its maiden and could not be bothered to repair it! The white areas are where I have started repairs. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 9, 2023 Author Share Posted August 9, 2023 The previous owner said he thought it was tail heavy but it seems ok to me. To me it appeared to stall on take off. The damage includes broken top to the fin, bent u/c legs and damage to both wheel pants and worst of all one of the wing fixings is badly bent. Talking to the previous owner he stated that he had tried to fly it on two 4s connected together to give an 8s power set up which is what he had been told by the person he bought it off. However on inspection I can find no connection between the two batteries so it is actually running on 4s. I do not know if the previous owner misunderstood the builder or if he was misled. Having talked to George at 4 Max he thought it was underpowered on 4 s with the fitted motors and esc and recommended a 5 s set up. This would seem to back up my theory that it stalled on take off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 9, 2023 Author Share Posted August 9, 2023 Looking at these photos I can see I must spend less time playing with toy aircraft and more time tending my lawn! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 It really look nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 Yes, nice freebie. A lawn is merely an underdeveloped hayfield. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 11 minutes ago, Don Fry said: Yes, nice freebie. A lawn is merely an underdeveloped hayfield. More like a scale model. 🤣 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Thompson Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 1 hour ago, Cliff Bastow said: Looking at these photos I can see I must spend less time playing with toy aircraft and more time tending my lawn! Now let not be silly, we don't want talk like that 🤣 Very nice looking model BTW. Did George mention his De Havilland DH.86 Express? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyB Posted August 9, 2023 Share Posted August 9, 2023 2 hours ago, Cliff Bastow said: I have been gifted this by a club member who damaged it on its maiden and could not be bothered to repair it! The white areas are where I have started repairs. Wow, that’s a beautiful model and a very generous clubmate; can I be his best friend, pretty please?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 The mystery deepens with this model! The guy who gave it to me said that the person he bought it off stated it had never flown but was maiden ready. However looking into the damage to the wing mounting I found clear evidence it had been repaired before, patches in underside wing skins and you can see where one of the wing tubes has been repaired by fitting a sleeve over it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyGnome Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Maybe the original owner never had a successful flight..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Beginning to think perhaps it is not such a good gift after all. I will have to give it a good look over! This is the problem with second or third hand models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 I am a bit hesitant about spending £200 on batteries and props if the model is no good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Ah ! De Havilland!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 The previous owner said it was plan built but I cannot remember whose plan he said. Anyone any ideas? It is 113inch span by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Hmm! Plans from both Bates/Sweitzer and Martin Tuck are 96". Have you measured the span as 113" or going by what has been mentioned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Yes I have measured the span. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 8 minutes ago, Cliff Bastow said: Yes I have measured the span. Strange! Maybe the builder did mod the plans. I have not come across a DH 89 at 113" and I had been looking for long prior to getting the plans/short kit and moulded parts for the Bates design Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Robson Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Many years ago Richard Crapp built a large model Rapide, not sure of the size but he may have made the plans available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RottenRow Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 My first thought on this was also an enlarged version of the Martin Tuck or Jerry Bates (Sweitzer) plans, but the top wings split in a different place to both of those, so unlikely. I am part way through building the MT version and the construction is different to the model in the photos. Yes perhaps a version of the Richard Crapp model, I remember seeing that at Old Warden, probably back in the nineties. Richard's was to 1/4 scale though, so bigger than this one (about 144"). Good luck with the repairs / refurbishment. Brian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Yes could be, modified I guess. I am not sure about this model now the more I find out about it! Don’t want to look a gift horse and all that but! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Bates design calls for single piece wings, top and bottom. Builders modify to thier own convenience. I would say, persevere with correcting the issues you come across, it will be less time taking compared to building one from start. I am sure, in the end it will be rewarding when it takes to the air 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Fitted arc and flight battery tonight to try a few things. I had no elevator or rudder although I could hear servos working. Peering inside through the door I could just see that the servos complete with rails floating about loose! I don’t know if this happened in the arrival! Or if it was the cause! There is no real access into the rear fuselage so I am going to have to cut into the underside and make a hatch. it looks as if the hard wood servo rails were just superglued to balsa fuselage side rails, not good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 10, 2023 Author Share Posted August 10, 2023 Sorry that should read rx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Fry Posted August 10, 2023 Share Posted August 10, 2023 Cliff, I feel for you, I’ve also suffered from attacks of dreams, and sorting them out. Brutal fix, what is its G rating. Assemble it, and load it with 4G? If it breaks, saves time. If it survives, and a eyeball says it’s straight, it’s a huge winner potentially. And then has to be worth a few quid to potentially be cock of the flight line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliff Bastow Posted August 18, 2023 Author Share Posted August 18, 2023 On trying a test fit of the outer wings I have discovered that there is no positive fixing for these, it just relies on the inner rigging wires being tensioned to pull the wings into the centre section. Really not sure if this is acceptable. Thoughts anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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