MJD

My Feedback: (1)

aka Ace Simple 400 build thread - same wing as the others at least, isn't it? Or partial account of the build, I already did a bunch. And I might go glow in this yet, so it counts. And even if not it is merely a brief intermission between more worthy projects. Who knows, it might even be fun? Of course it will. And when I cook the batteries I can convert it to .049 power, right..?

The Guyatthestorewhooughtaknow answered my quest for a spirited but affordable upgrade to the power package with a package consisting of a Park 650 2700kV brushless, 30A ESC, 3s2100 LiPos, and 5x5 CAM props. I haven't even bothered to look up what sort of performance that is supposed to produce on a simulation program. I figure I'll just measure the current draw when it's together and make sure it is propped within reason, then let 'er rip. W-T-F.*

I fooled around a bit on the tail feathers. Using a Dremel router base and the lethal little circular saw blade you always get but should never use, I sawed continuous hinge slots in the rudder and elevator hinging faces, bevelled the edges, then hinged them with a scrap of 21st Century fabric covering - I figure it is adhesive friendly on both sides and tough as nails, so why not? And it seems to work perfectly so far. I simply wicked CA into the slots, and actually by prying them opem a little by slightly overhinging them, you can open up the crack a touch to help the adhesive get in. I soaped the bevelled edges before bonding, btw - it helps keep those pesky CA bridges from forming or being as nasty to remove.

And I fitted a slightly more concealed rudder linkage, using a blow torch, a mallet, and brute strength of arm to forge mighty control horns on the end of those massive 1/16" steel rods. Then pounding at it for what seemed like days, I managed to gradually coax it into the twisted shape you see here. It's a lot of work, but sometimes the old ways are the best. Okay, really, I think it took about four smacks on each side of the heated rod to flatten it out into a nice horn, which I then cleaned up with emery cloth and a touch of the Dremel, center punched it and drilled through with a 1/16" bit and Dremel. The edges of the through-hole need cleaning up of course, or it will make short work of the nylon clevis pin.

For 1/32" pushrods, I bet if you drill 1/16" and bush the hole with that tiny yellow nylon guide tube that comes with the (I think) Sullivan extra flex cable pushrods, you could put a 1/32" wire with Z-bend through these safely. I can't remember exactly which package I stole it from, but it is tiny, smooth wall yellow nylon about .063"-.070" OD and will sleeve a 1/32" wire rod nice and freely.

And if they turn out to be duds and let go in flight, hey - it's electric, who cares? [sm=lol.gif]

Actually, I bent one 90 degrees side to side until it fatigued and broke, which took 9 cycles. I took another and was able to bend the pushrod by applying force to the horn - sideways, not edgeways - without bending the horn. So I think it is quite sound.

MJD

p.s. my first version of this, the three letters together like this: *** - got starred out as you can see. But hyphens solved the problem.

fritzke

My Feedback: (1)

MJD, I like the cut of your jib!
And that's "Weight-Torque-Factor", right?
And with that power package, I think you are looking
at an easy 90-100 mph.
Dave
http://www.w~t~f.org/
(Official World Taekwando Federation Website if you remove the ~'s)

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

90-100 - cool, that's as much as I could hope for, and should be good for some fun then!

Actually I am an ICTF, but not a W~T~F member.


So far on the wings, I've epoxied carbon tow in a shallow trough at the high point top and bottom, fit the trailing edge bits at root and added 2" at the tips as well instead of running the ailerons all the way out. People keep telling me that's bad. I've sanded the TE to match the cores, cursed profoundly at how much thicker the aileron stock is than the TE cap strip, then taped off the cores and tack glued the aileron stock in place for a sanding marathon to match it up best as possible, prior to trowelling in 3 yards of lightweight spackling compound and attempting to make an airfoil from the whole mess. I've also spackled the hangar rash, sanded it smooth, made a few more dings while sanding, filled those and sanded, and repeated that cycle a few times. Next I'll be wrapping the forward D-box section in CF veil and Weldbond/water adhesive, glassing the center few inches with some 3.2 oz glass and epoxy, then tissuing the whole shebang with light silkspan and the same goop. This gives a nice light wing with excellent torsional stiffness and good strength, and a surface finish to which Solite sticks like crazy. Or that's the theory anyhow.

If it was a built up wing I would have had it built, covered and trimmed by now, made a sandwich for lunch and caught a couple of videos. But foam is much faster.

MJD

tangerine-jack

What is "el-ec-tric"? I am not familiar with this word or it's usage pertaining to 1/2A airplanes. Is it French?

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Occasional transgressions into alien territory are tolerated around here, although repeat offences carry stiff penalties.

MJD

tangerine-jack

Uh-hu-ha. He said "stiff"....

longdan

Its the knitted pink sweater that does it for me

But I do like the idea of flattening the ends of the wire to make control horns. That would work for aileron torque rods as well.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

I made those this morning. Installing a set on the Squirt prototype to replace the really crappy first set I made (totally differently..) was the motivating factor behind trying to remember how to do this. I fussed over saving about a gram with my fancy schmancy .047" linkages and kevlar thread stitched on bushings and all that.. and ended up with nice springy ailerons for my efforts. Stiff enough to work well enough to make it tantalizing to fly, but no.. plus, it's too d- cold to fly outside anyways so why not fix it now I say.

MJD

fritzke

My Feedback: (1)

My technique was to use brass tube squished flat, drilled for the clevis and hard soldered
to a "stub" on the torque linkage. Usually used this for ailerons. I just used a similar linkage
on my flying boat to make an internal pushrod for the rudder. The hinge line is angled back
so I also used a ball joint to eliminate binding.
Dave

boberos

MJD,

Park 650??
What is a Park 650?
Dia & length?
Sounds awful big for a 1/2 A plane.
Innov8ive has a great chart for comparing outrunners.

http://innov8tivedesigns.com/Scorpio...ison%20Web.htm

Bob

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Oh where, oh where did those brain cells go, oh where oh where could they be?..... [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

[link=http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLM2005]E-flite Six Series[/link]

That's what I thought it was called. Apparently not, it is an E-flite Six Series 2700kV motor.

I am trying to toughen and stiffen the airframe without adding more than a few grams. The nose and the belly to about 40% back have been Kevlared with some..um.. 0.5oz? mat I think and epoxy. The wing trailing edge mounting plate is glassed to the fuselage sides. I couldn't stomach just tacking the TE stock on the back of the wing and crudely sanding it to shape in the hope it all bridges out with the covering film - I see enough of those hanging from hobby store ceilings with a dusty "For Sale" tag tied to the landing gear. So it took what I thought was a frightening amount of spackling compound to level out, but once I sanded it down the amount left wasn't too bad at all.

I'll post some progress pics. First, I have to put on coveralls and crawl under the $%^&^@& pickup to remove the $%^&^@& front brake lines. I was going to drive it to a nice warm hangar to repair, but when I dared to budge the $%^&^@& RF line so I could pound it shut and get some hydraulic pressure to the other three wheels, of course it immediately $%^&^@& broke at the other $%^&^@& end too. Oh well, brake job in the driveway, $%^&^@& thermometer said $%^&^@& -23C this morning... [&o] wahhhhh...

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

MJD, you can drive to the hangar with rear brakes only, seperate resevoir.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

I see one reservoir, and a separate line from the master cylinder for each set of brakes. The front line runs down the firewall to the proportioning valve mounted on the frame, and then exits in a single line to the rear - is that what you mean? But yeah no matter, I could isolate the rear brakes easily. Thing is, it's 35 miles in hilly and icy terrain with moderate traffic.. and it's two hours until dark now, I dunno. Hmmm. The ground clearance is pretty good, and if I pop the front wheels up on ramps I could nearly walk upright under there. Likely going to tackle it where it sits in the morning. I already tore the two steel lines out, now working on getting those infernal flex line fittings loose in the strut... need acetylene.. need acetylene..

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Hmm, the last year I know of for the single master cylinder was about 1964-65 for cars made in Detroit. Must have been an act of Congress.
What helps a little is to make a tent with a tarp thrown over the cab and use a little propane heater inside. At least seeing the glow of the propane burner lends moral support.

gabe200

My Feedback: (21)

e flite six series sounds like a six pack

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Well, what I don't know about auto repair would fill a library. All I know is I pour brake fluid in the top in one hole in a plastic reservoir. That sits on top of a cast metal thingy that I thought was the master cylinder. Two lines come out of that and head down along the firewall - one goes to the front brakes, the other heads to the proportioning valve and the rear brakes.

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Well, maybe they don't figure Canadians need the dual system? You must have a foreign truck?
My Granddad liked to talk about the good old days of driving a Model AA Ford logging truck....they just used steel linkage rods and bellcranks, no hydraulics......oh ya, very low gears and prayers that the drivetrain would handle the load.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Here's what I got - I already had the picture for "the parts guy". It's a '96 F-150 with a 4.9L straight 6 ($%^&^@& gas hog!) and 5 speed - same engine as UPS trucks, apparently - unless they are newer propane vehicles.

Now, downstairs to put on some classic rock and glass the wing center section.

After this little abomination, it's sport speed .65 model time. Really.

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

I've got the 1982 F150, same engine with a 1 barrel carb. They asked me at the parts counter if I wanted a Canadian carburetor, I think they allow more idle adjustment...I went for it. Good engine, just enough to haul gravel. The crankcase is always damp from taking short trips, rusted out a dipstick once. Had a weasel living in the cab before I repaired the rusted out floor a few years ago.
In 27 years, the only time this truck has been garaged is when I had the engine out.

Good to hear you're working on the .65 project, you gotta "lurk" out of RUDEBOY the other day, I noticed!! [8D]

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

I thought I felt something sniffing around my pant legs.

I like the engine, it is a real chugger; though luckily my driving these days is not extensive with the horrid mileage. I snagged it for $1600.00 with 137,000km / 83,000 mi on the clock. The body will dissolve before the engine or drivetrain give out. I've been hauling a bed full of maple stumps all winter, for extra traction. I think I went a bit overboard - although I never got stuck, my left leaf spring looks suspiciously much more flat than the right. There must be 800-900 lb in there.

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

While you're under there, inspect the feed and return fuel lines. I drove around with a cracked neoprene hose underneath for who knows how long. The engine would only stumble on wide sweeping turns, like on a clover leaf. Finally the problem got so bad you could see a stream of gas dribbling out. The fuel line had a self healing crack....I might as well have been rolling cigarettes with $5 bills.

Big Al-RCU

OK to roll'em; but don't light'em with gas dribbling out.
al safety-first lenz

Clean

Looks just like the straight 6 f-150 I had for 5 years and had to sell to the guy up the street who then cleaned it up, tunned it up and now makes it hard for me to catch up with on the highway. I offered him 500 bucks to buy it back and he just giggled at me darn it. The thing is I need to haul some mulch and dirt, what am I supposed to do?

Anyways, thats mine. I had to replace the master cylinder about 6 months before I sold it. I think there's a division inside the lid, but you only have the cap to fill in.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

Nearly every reservoir I've looked in had a divider of some kind in it. I'm pretty sure my engine is giving about 75% at best right now, it pulls well but there should be a fair bit more there. There is a pretty good exhaust leak going on at the back of the block where it's a pig to see even on a hoist - we've tried - but optimistically speaking appears to be either a leak in the manifold itself or the gasket, either of which is not too fearsome a project. Head gasket, well.. ick. But I can live with it until spring. Forecast is -28C for tonight.

Oops, I better move this to the RC full scale truck forum. And get back to the S400 wing - .003" CF capped the TE segments last night, then laid 1.5 oz glass over the center section top and bottom for about 3" out each panel. I'm going to lay one strip of 3.2oz, maybe 1" wide and 3" span, over the CF caps top and bottom, just to tie everything together. Then tissuing and finishing. Oh yeah, better do something about an aileron linkage sometime soon.

MJD

MJD

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

If the exhaust manifold is like mine, it has a movable damper ......they call it a "thermactor" to divert hot air to the intake when the engine is cold. If the damper is not working right, all kinds of problems occur. Whenever I encounter something that I don't understand, I rip it out. Next time I get the chance, out goes the damper and the pivot holes will get tapped and plugged off. A simple heat riser tube will replace the plumber's nightmare.
In extreme cold weather, a bad enough exhaust leak can cause an exhaust valve to warp.