apwachholz

OCD at its finest Ash!

windy city

apwachholz
Great project! And you have a great outlook.
But maybe you should re-think your electronic choices. This is a small plane and you might be better off with lighter electronics.
E-flight 480=3.1oz (bare)
Thunder Power 1320= 3oz
30amp ESC= ~1oz
Servos aren't to bad at 8gms each ( But a few 5gm units would work also)
Total = almost 8oz! And if your shooting for 12-14oz AUW that doesn't leave much room for wood, covering, LG, etc.

I do understand that you would like to use what you have on hand and thats great,
That E-flight motor is a seriously BIG motor for this size plane.
But for just a few buck you could really cut down on your AUW.

24gm Blue Wonder motor = 1oz
10Amp ESC= 10gms
800mAh- 900mAh 11.1v= 2.5oz
total= ~ 4oz

This will fly your Dauntless just fine with a 1-1.5 power the weight ratio, and you lose 4oz!!!!
That will give you a better chance of successful maiden.

windy city
EDIT- Here is a link to find the mentioned electronics,
http://www.ncweb.com/biz/dan/index.htm

red78baron

I´m also working on a Guillows SBD3. I will add GWS retracts, rudder, elevator, and throttle. Haven´t yet decided what setup I will use to power it but I want a small electric setup that doesn´t add too much weight. I´m not going to add sheeting as I think it would add too much weight but I might reconcider...... As much scale look as possible is always nice!

I have started the covering and for some reason I decided to use paper and dope......that way you don´t need to drink beer while building...

apwachholz

red78baron -
Excellent, another Dauntless aficionado! Keep posting pictures on your build red78baron, I'd love to see how it all turns out. I noticed the landing gear, and I was looking at the same type exactly but decided on a beefier GWS micro gear for the purposes of the scale wheels I bought. Like I've said before, we'll c how the build ends up but regardless the outcome, at least what I'll end up with is once heck of a nice display model.

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

I just get done working in the garage on my latest project, make some diner, then hopped onto the good old universe to see if there are any new threads and what do you know. I have also been working on converting my Guillows SBD. I have to admit you are putting a substantial amount of work into your model compared to myself. All I wanted to get out of this project was a successful flight of a Guillows model, if just for a few seconds. At least I could say I did it and it would keep the dream alive. I am using an E-flite park 450 with an E-flite 25amp ESC. I plan to use a 900mah 3 cell. I have to check and see what servo I am using for the elevator, but it is tiny. I went with two wing servos for simplicity. For those I used HTX500 from hobbycity.com. I opted not to build a rudder to eliminate the weight of another servo. Is that necessary? Probably not, but every gram helps. I am using the same receiver as you, I think. I also picked up a three bladed prop for my small amount of scale appearance. After all the research I had accomplished prior to the build I thought it necessary to cut as much wait as I could to achieve the lightest wing loading possible so I have tried to do so with out for fitting strength. I have finished my wing and intend on having the fuselage and tail surfaces complete tomorrow. I am using a very light iron on covering. So far, things seem promising. I am going to go with an open cockpit on the front half so I can use that area for my battery. It should be easy to put the battery in and remove it with out the added time of building in a hatch. I built fixed landing gear into the wing. Of course it will not be a show model, but hopefully it will fly.

apwachholz

[sm=thumbs_up.gif] Short Fuse'

This weekend went well for the build as I began to implement a few of the pre-planning mechanics for different parts of the SBD-3 Dauntless build. The first item on the docket was meeting the requirement of the removable wing. Knowing that I'll be sheeting the entire body, I did little reinforcement to the fuselage sides since most of the strength is inherent in how Guillows engineered the airplanes skeletal design. So that process was very simple by adding two light plywood blocks under the trailing edge of the wing (for the bolts) and then placing the blind nuts in the back end of the fuse. Thumbs up here. 1 thumb for Guillows - excellent kit building, and one thumbs-up for the progress. So far, so good.

However, after an hour or so of re-thinking my initial fuse build, I decided to gut out most of the interior balsa structure. This not only gave me plenty of room for the electronics it also gave me the ability to maintain my center of gravity (CG) below the thrust line. Which, in all honesty, is more of a personal decision based on how I like to fly vs. an actual mechanical decision.

And last for the weekend, I polished off the horizontal and vertical stabs (including the sheeting). So overall we're getting closer to the next big steps of installing all the internal mechanics. Plus, this weekend my Servo Slow gadget came in...and I can't wait to start testing that for the landing gear (and it's surprisingly VERY small).

That's all for the progress report. Cheers everyone. More to come soon.

apwachholz

joshburns7 -

Like I mentioned to red78baron, keep me updated on this post! I'm excited to see so many people building the same 'ride' as I am. And I want to know what everyone is putting into their model. Let's keep comparing notes.

OH, and about the rudder servo: Personally I think you could throw in another micro servo and the "bird" wouldn't notice a difference in the weight . But as you know, with an airframe this tiny the rudder is a completely optional accessory. I'm just doing it to "go all out".

jeffie8696

My friend is building my 16" P-40 and I can not imagine it ever flying under it's own power let alone with any kind of radio control unit! The Dauntless seems more reasonable but still small. I applaud your efforts. Those youtube vids rock. What a beauty.

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

I got it done today but the winds are out of limits.

jeffie8696

Don't Forget The Video Camera!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful!!

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

No flying today. [&o] Wind, it'll get you every time.

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

apwachholz, I hope my SBD flys half as nice as your's is going to look.

apwachholz

joshburns7 -

1) Nice build on the Dauntless. I really like the covering color...

2) Could you post a list of all the electronics you are using in your SBD-3 Dauntless? I'm curious to read what others are placing in their birds.

3) And like jeffie8696 said, if you can get good video of some flights that would be awesome. Not the maiden, of course. That's just bad luck to tape during the first flight (Yes, i'm a bit superstitious.).

red78baron

Here's a link to two clips on Youtube......guess you have seen them but I thought I could post them just in case. [sm=72_72.gif]

[link]http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=naAmKj07a3s&feature=PlayList&p=25254D1347B59A93&index=3&playnext=2&playnext_from=PL[/link]

[link]http://se.youtube.com/watch?v=RLMZFa6hYCI&feature=related[/link]

apwachholz

[sm=thumbs_up.gif]The Missing Link!

In my excitement to show how I was able to create a removable wing for the Dauntless I forgot to post a few more pictures that might help explain "how" the wing stays on with just two bolts on the trailing edge. I forgot to show the two dowels that I installed on the leading edge of the wing and how they plug into two reinforced holes in the fuselage. Sorry about that mix up. Here are the rest of the pictures that help explain the removable wing mount.

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

Good news and bad news. The wind died just enough to get out and maiden the SBD. After warming up on my mini showtime I popped the battery in and taxied out the SBD. Here comes the good news. I advanced the throttle slowly to feel out the handling and she slowly climbed up into a great assent angle. It was off the ground at a little over half throttle in about 15' to 20'. Here is the bad news. My CG just happened to be somewhat aft. I used the elevator to trim out the nose up tendency. My good friend and I shared about 5 minutes of flying before I tried to make my turn on to my final approach. I forget about the CG issue because I was overwhelmed by pure joy watching this little guy scoot around the sky. I think I got to slow in the turn which lead to the nose dive. The damage was not so bad. I already started the rebuild and hope to be up and flying again tomorrow. I am sold on Guillows. I’ve started looking for my next build.

jeffie8696

Dang!!! Sorry dude.

apwachholz

joshburns7 -

I have faith you will rebuild it. Especially after your comment, "... was overwhelmed by pure joy watching this little guy scoot around the sky." I am the same way about my Piper Cub. It was late summer '08 when tragedy struck and it went down due to a radio glitch (I have witnesses). I loved that bird so much, I dedicated the next two months rebuilding it and even upgrading to a Saito .62. It's my favorite bird (and I have many) of all time and is my steady companion in the air. Rebuild that bad boy[sm=48_48.gif], and get 'er up[sm=thumbs_up.gif] in the air again!

apwachholz

[sm=thumbs_up.gif] Research and Development

Having sheeted the top of the SBD-3 Dauntless wing, I started to move forward with the aileron installation. But before committing any cuts into the wing, I needed to perform a little R&D on exactly how the aileron connections were going to work. So after a night of initial testing on a small sample linkage and wing, successfully of course, it was time to begin the aileron installation. Most of it went off without much of a problem with the exception of my cuts into the ribs of the wing. They were pretty much "off" so what I ended up doing was carving a canyon through the wing ribs to create enough wiggle room for the aileron rods. Of course I wasn't too concerned about how the missing rib sections could potentially sacrifice structural integrity since sheeting the entire wing would more then compensate for any issues.

In the last pic you can see the aileron linkage rod sticking out the trailing edge (that's my testing aileron, not the real one). It is covered up really well and you'd never know it was there. So call the 'hidden' ailerons, done. Plus, as you can see, the aileron servo is installed (minus the screws), the aileron rods are ready to go, and now it's just finishing the ailerons themselves. So far, real good! Next up: Installation of the retractable landing gear...awesome!

Cheers everyone, more to come soon.

joshburns7

My Feedback: (1)

After a few hours of building and reengineering, I had the Dauntless back in the sky. Things went much better this time. I ended up getting three flights today. Watching this guy fly is something else. I was also glad to get the chance to land today. Landing took a little bit more throttle then I would have liked, but it worked out great. After the wheels touched down the SBD rolls out on the mains with the tail up until you cut the power. The stall characteristics are a little weird. If you get slow and try to pull through a turn with the elevator it will tip stall badly, which takes some airspeed to pull out of. For apwachholz, I used an E-flite park 450, E-flite 25amp esc, 3HXT 500 servos, AR6100 receiver, and a thunder power 2 cell 910mah pack.

vauxhall

Nice looking model you've got there, very well done.

buzzard bait

Congratulations Josh - looks good in the air!

It's very common for planes with tapered wings to need some washout to prevent tip stalling. With film, and an open frame structure, all you need is your heat gun and three hands. Just apply some twist to the wing, leading edge down, trailing edge up, at the tip, while heating. Remove heat and hold and you will lock in some washout. How much? Well, my guess would be to try about 3/16 to 1/4 inch difference between the trailing and leading edge near the tip. You'll have to come up with a way to get it the same on both tips. A simple jig, or just rubber-band a stick to each wing tip (perpendicular to the wing span) and view from the side. On average, your wing will now have a little less incidence, so you'll probably need to re-trim the elevator a touch.

Jim

alcarafa

Glitch with 2.4ghz ? sure and my grand ma has wheels !!!! sorry for that J - 3.

apwachholz

[sm=thumbs_up.gif] The SBD-3 Dauntless Has Landed

While it took a little bit to figure out, the challenge was fun and the end results were more then expected. Having purchased a set of [link=http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5232]GWS Mini Retracts[/link] I knew it was going to be a bit of a squeeze to make them fit. I opted out of the [link=http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5235&Product_Name=GWS_nano_Retract_Gear_(PAIR)]GWS nano/pico Retracts [/link] because they didn't have the structure I was looking for nor the bulk to take any sort of impact. Ironically during my installation, I found a fantastic way to eliminate the additional weight of the gears wire(s) by replacing them with aluminum tubing! The tubing is sturdy enough for most landings but weak enough to 'fold' under pressure from a hard landing. Essentially the tubes would bend (thus absorbing most of the shock) and not allow a majority of the impact to go through the gear up into the body.

I'll post some more detailed pics upon request but, here are a few highlights of the installation of the landing gear for the SBD-3 Dauntless. Coming next is the most daunting task of all - Installing the internal linkages for the elevator and rudder.

Cheers everyone. More to come soon...

jeffie8696

Dude that is kickin. I really like the alloy tubes idea.