RE: World Models Rambler 30 Elecrtic Conversion
Fuselage Preparation
Photo 1: I removed the servo tray that was already glued in and began to modify the fuselage for the installation of the battery tray. I removed a portion of the fuselage former directly in front of the servo tray and also honed out a larger rectangular cavity for placement of the battery tray in the former located directly behind the firewall. I wanted to be able to slide the battery pack as far forward as possible to get the proper CG location and this proved to be necessary on the initial (2820) system along with adding a tad over 6 oz of nose weight!
Photo 2: I decided to make the servo tray removable due to the location of the battery tray and this has proved to be a good decision as it seems that the gear had to come out and go back in many times before I got it right. I glued a long Velcro strip along the battery tray (which I made of thin ply) and added two Velcro ties as added support.
Photo3: Trying to apply what I have learned by reading other posts on RCU and elsewhere on the net, I cut a hole (I really didn’t want to do this) directly behind the trailing edge former in the fuselage to allow cooling air to escape.
Photo 4: This is the original engine mount that I used with the 2820. I used my Dremel tool to open up a large area in the (very) thick firewall to allow cooling air from the cowl to flow over the ESC and battery.
Photo 5: This photo shows the fuselage, sans cowling, with the original motor mount. I took this just as I was beginning to modify the model for the new motor.
Photo 6: The tail wheel assembly is straightforward with a small, lightweight wheel attached to a mount which is directly mounted to the rudder. Not the strongest design but hopefully, the model won’t be on the tail wheel for much of the time!
Photo7: Again, I used my Dremel tool to hone out a semicircular cutout to invite cooling air into the model. I’ll have to find some sort of fairing for the entrance and exit that provides both a little more aerodynamic functionality as well as be slightly more aesthetic. I added 1/8 black trim tape between the red and white sections everywhere on the model.
Photo 8: Here is the cowl fitted to the fuselage front and you can see where I once again used my Dremel tool to route out two holes in the front former, directly behind the firewall.
Photo 9: Here is a close up (sorry for the fuzzy photo!) of the new motor mount installed temporarily on the model. The mount was too short (by half an inch), so I made two beam standoffs from square ply stock that I had. I then marked and drilled the holes for the mounting bolts and installed the blind nuts and 4-40 hardware. I was really pleased to discover that the original motor mount holes for the glow mount fit the e-mount just fine.
More later!
Curt