mydartswinger

I recently picked up a well used Hangar 9 CAP 232 120 that has been owned by several club members since new (I am the 5th, the 4th to actually fly it). We have affectionately named this plane Furby because there is a Furby doll as the pilot that has been on the airplane since it was first flown at our club. It's a club tradition that whoever owns Furby, must keep him as the pilot, and if sold, it must be sold to a club member.

It does need a lot of TLC. There were some important pieces hanging on only by the covering that had surrounded it (IE: the stick that the elevator control horn is mounted). The landing gear had also been raised with a block of wood to allow for the clearance of a larger prop on the gas engine (I believe a 26cc was used), as well as a block of wood was installed under the firewall to allow for mounting of the ignition. Some of the wood is also cracking and deteriorating, needing repair or replacement. The cowl has also been hacked due to numerous engine configurations used by previous owners.

My plans for this airplane are:

1. Strip all existing covering - done with the exception of the ailerons.
2. Remove the tail feathers - done
3. Remove the added blocks for LG and ignition - done
4. Repair/replace broken/cracked wood
5. Clean up surface for recovering
6. Recover in my own color scheme using the original Matt Chapman design with different colors
7. Power with an OS 1.60 (thanks to some persuasion from club members and an RCU member), though I was tossing around the idea of a twin cylinder glow (OS Gemeni 160 4S). It was previously set up for gas.
8. Repair the original cowl using fiberglass and fiberglass specific Bondo (both found at auto parts stores and discount stores)
9. Paint cowl to match trim scheme
10. Cut cowl as needed for the 1.60FX
11. Equip with standard JR Sport servos
12. Install Spektrum radio gear to fly with my DX7
13. Balance
14. Set up, break in, and fly

I do, however, have a few questions regarding certain aspects of this build.

First off, how many rolls of each color should be needed for a complete covering job? Just use the original Mat Chapman colors of green, blue, and white. I would kind of like to keep the color scheme to myself until it's finished. I already have 1 roll of each of the colors (3 rolls total).

Secondly, would the above mentioned fiberglass products be sufficient to repair a cowl? I would be using the Bondo to fill smaller gaps (IE: cracks and chips), and the fiberglass sheeting and resin to fill the larger gaps (IE: Muffler, glow, head, and tuning cut outs).

I'm pretty well set on the OS 1.60FX, but is there a better choice for more unlimited vertical or better 3D capabilities? The 3D is not the deciding factor in engine, nor this airplane, just throwing that out as a possibility that I might try some 3D with it. I'll probably be doing more IMAC and scale type aerobatics with a few hovers, knife edge, and such thrown in.

I'm including some pics of this airplane. The first 3 are of it's last flight before it was given (airframe only) to the member that I traded for it. The last picture was taken about 30 minutes or so ago, and shows how it sits after I have done some work to it.

Thanks in advance.

Happy flying.