Half-A-Hec

Howdy All,


Haven't posted for a while. Pretty busy with the new baby and the home remodel. The dust if finally settling and my life is back to normal? Anyways, I am considering building either a Sterling Models PT-17 Stearman or Great Lakes Special Bipe. These kits have a 22" W.S. and are designed for rubber power. Has someone out there ever built one? Do you think they would make a good RC conversion. I haven't decided what to use for power but I am leaning on E-power. I know, I know. The PT-17 Stearman has a crop duster feature that releases talc powder. Could be cool to buzz the field and dust everyone!. I really like the appearance of those models.

thanks in advance


Hec

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

I gotta admit the talc crop duster is the one I'd do. But we are going to strap you down and beat the soles of your feet with GWS props if you do it electric.

Half-A-Hec

PT,

Man thats what I call tough love. I traded all my Cox .020's to Mclintock[]. The smallest engine I own now is a Norvel .049 RC. That maybe overkill for that Stearman. Maybe I can mount the prop on backwards!. Don't ya think that a smooth running lectric would be more foregiving to a rubber powered airframe?


Hec

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Hey, you're Half-A-Hec! Mount the Norvel .049 on the and see what happens! I mean geez, you're not Half-Amp-Hec![sm=lol.gif]

mclintock

My Feedback: (3)

Those .020 were 1/5a, so he had to get rid of them..[&:]
Is the Great Lakes a Sterling too?

I think electric is great for things originally intended for rubber.. It's when you slap electric in something intended for glow that things get weird.

Half-A-Hec

PT,

Build Lite gave me a GIANT Roll of Doculam. I was thinking of covering the Stearman with that stuff. Have you ever tried it? Any tips for using it?


Hec

Half-A-Hec

Here is a pic of the kit. I wonder how scale it is? Should be a fun project?[&:]

Hec

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Hec, I bought one of those boxes with two 500' rolls in it and gave one to Flyswatter.[sm=lol.gif] It's extremely light and doesn't sag in the hot south GA sun. It takes paint if you scratch it up first. I used Nelson Hobbies paint with the crosslinker for high nitro. It's a great match to doculam because it doesn't weigh hardy anything, either!

Here's one tip for using it. Because it's so light and clear once you heat it, you can get wrinkles in it without ever seeing them. Cut a larger piece than you would with 'kote and tape it over your piece onto the workbench. Work out the wrinkles before you put the heat to it. It will shrink, but has alot of power. You don't want to do alot of shrinking over a light weight airframe like that or it will crush it. Using the pre-taped method and lower heat (250deg to start, go up from there) it's pretty easy to use.

All-in-all, it's a great solution for small, invisible airplanes or small painted airplanes.

Half-A-Hec

PT,

I didn't realize that it was strong enough to crush an airframe. I haven't played with it yet but I am chompin at the bit to try it out on something. So are you saying that you cover as you would with Money Coat? How much lighter is it compared to Econokote and the like?


Hec

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

It's way, way lighter than either of the 'kotes. With the 'kotes I cut it about an inch oversize and apply it directly. That results in needing alot of shrinking to get it drum tight. By taping it to the desk you can get it drum tight before sticking it down. Aside from that it's pretty much the same.
It is pretty predictable when shrinking if you sneak up on the temp setting. Don't worry, it's easy enough that I nailed it the first time. Used it a couple of times so far and like it for most things.

Sneasle

ooo.. sounds like nice stuff..

where could i get some?

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Sneasle, it's laminating film. There's different kinds and Doculam is the one I have, others may work, but most don't. You'd be best off googling for it. Reasonable prices are about $40 for the material, then shipping will cost a pretty good bit. 24"x1000' of film is pretty heavy. Don't forget to add the cost of paint into the equation, though. Either epoxy paint like "Klass Kote" or WBP-U like "Nelson" is going to be necessary. Both are expensive, but the Nelson paint is eeeeeasy to work with. It thins with water and with the crosslinker, it's supposed to be fuel proof up to 50%.
The other option is to make an WWI "invisible airplane".

KidEpoxy

Gahh
The place I'm looking at getting Doculam is in ~Dallas and I'm just a few hours away in San Antonio... is it really worth $13 to try a willcall... grrr, just a smidge too far... they might as well be in NYC.

Between Moving, Tires, AutoInsurance, and everyones favorite Intermittant Stall $300repair... getting to fly is hard on a PizzaGuy wage. Seems I spent my Doculam cash on joining some model club for insurance . I cant belive its almost 6 months & I still havent gotten any Doculam.

flying poodle

http://www.laminatorwarehouse.com/doculam_coverlam.html

This is the place I have book marked, but have never ordered any for myself.

Sneasle

that place actually seems to have a real decent price for this stuff

SGC

Apparently doculam can be dyed useing "Rit" fabric dyes in hot water, this gives translucent colours. Anyone tried this ?
Stewart

ptulmer

My Feedback: (5)

Aside from being a alot more difficult than using floral spray, wouldn't the heat shrink it?

SGC

PT, apparently the glue /shrink temps are higher than the boiling point of water . I have seen sheets of doculam that were dyed this way , a guy was selling them at an Old Timmer competition . I have a box(2 rolls) of 18"x500ft doculam in the mail to me so was currious as to the procedure and hints as to colouring, hadnt heard of the floral spray befor either, does this give solid colours ?
Stewart

Andrew

I use [link=http://www.schooloutfitters.com/catalog/product_info/cPath/CAT154_CAT161/pfam_id/PFAM949/products_id/PRO130#Top]School Outfitt[/link]ers -- $25.99 for a 1.5 mil 25"x 500' roll with free shipping. I had sent some to PT and it seems to have worked OK for him too. You can also buy in 1 roll units instead of a 2 roll set.

build light

Stewart I have read of some trying to dye the Doculam without much success. The adhesive seems to take the dye to some degree. How did the dyed Doculam you saw for sale look to you?

Yes the Design Master ( available at Micheals in Lincoln NE ) and Floralife ( no longer being distibuted but is still available in some places) brands have both transparant and opaque colors including metallics like gold copper and silver( these of course are opaque) . I bought a bunch off Ebay for a great price and though the Floralife brand is no longer being made I tried all the cans and they are like new! I think I gave 4.99 for eight new full 12 oz cans.

Some of the scale planes look like this:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...94#post5642094

By the way, Hec, Did you check out the thread onj that Stuka covered in Doculam? A real beauty for sure.

I have heard The Doculam makes a decent cover for ones building board.

Robert

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

Ah. I have done the Stearman. TD 02, 1/2 ounce metal tank, rudder and elevator, trexler wheels, tissue and dope. Loved it. Still have it, but it needs a re-covering. Flies just great.
Landing gear is very weak, needs total re-engineering. Made the lower wing removeable for radio access, the struts just plugged into the lower wing, they were glued to the top wing permanently. Did not do the crop dusting feature! Would not hurt to replace any heavy wood, but it's not really needed, either. I think mine was eight ounces, flew scale-like and nicely. I insert-planked the front of the fuse back to the TE of the wing. Ended up having a real starved horse look on the rear fuse as the dope kept shrinking on the stringered part of the fuse.
Dummy engine is vulnerable to nose-overs.

Half-A-Hec

Easytiger,


I have seen a shot of your Stearman on a previous post. Would love to see more! I am considering sheeting the fuse altogether with 1/32 vs. using stingers. I would like to see how your wing was set up as well. I want to go 4 channel so this plane will have ailerons. I noticed that your Stearman appears to have a lot of dihedral. I will most likely reduce that and keep it at 4 degrees. Thanks for the heads up on the landing gear. I am impressed that your plane came in at 8 oz. as well. I am shooting for 7-8 oz as well



Hec

EASYTIGER

My Feedback: (119)

I'm not sure the complexity and weight of ailerons is such a good idea for this plane...it's not an aerobatic type. The wing is flat-bottomed , and thin. I don't remember what I did with the diheral, I just eyeballed things, I guess, and ended up with a great setup. You can do ailerons if you WANT, but my own OPINION(not a fact, an opinion) is it's not worth the hassle.
Sheeting, well, if you used basswood or something similar for the stringers aft of the cockpit, you shoulod be fine. I used the kit-supplied balsa stringers, a big mistake! Inset-planking between the stringers on the forward fuse is the way to go, it's really, really easy, much easier than dealing with 1/32, and most gets sanded off.

Half-A-Hec

Easy Tiger,


Flat bottom airfoil huh?[:'(] I think I will redesign the wing then and shoot for a nice semi semitrical airfoil. How many ribs are we talking? Two wings twice as much work.. I do have bunch of bass wood stock and can easily subsititute the balsa stringers with it. Did the TD .020 have enough umph to fly it spiritedly? Could you loop it from level flight.? What flight gear did ya use?

I primarily am tackling this project to give me something to do on business road trips. It should keep me out of trouble in the evenings. Hotels should be a great place to build a kit. Hec they vacuum up after ya every day. Hee Hee.

Hec

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Hec...... I would be interested to see your travelling biulding board, tool kit. I spend my weekend away from my home/workshop and have been thinking about putting together a "travel kit".