microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Yes, I just epoxy the bottom edges of the balsa box to the styrofoam of the wing. Seems to work.

oldsneakers

Great. Thank you. That would not be good to have them come out in flight.

oldsneakers

I finished putting the Robart hinges on the wings. That is a pain in the butt. It'd be easy if the old cloth hinges weren't already there. They make it difficult to get the holes on center. I need a little end cutting end mill or something.

oldsneakers

I got the engine in and the throttle servo and linkage going. I put the servo under the motor box like a lot of guys here. The fuel tank won't be as far forward but I guess that's ok. That was a lot of grinding on the rails to get that motor in.

oldsneakers

I'm almost done. Just need to balance it and setup the radio and transmitter.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

As I remember, the suggested CG is way forward of what somebody flying this plane will generally end up with. If it leaves you forward of the wing tube, I'd ignore it and go with something from the front to the center of the wing tube. If you're currently flying performance style planes, and maybe a bit crazy, you'll end up even further back, but I'm not suggesting that for a maiden flight.

Just trying to save you from a setup that comes in so hot it's hard to avoid damaging the landing gear.

oldsneakers

Thanks ahicks. That's a big help. The first flight is exciting enough without a funky cg.

oldsneakers

With the batteries all the way back here, the plane balances right at the start of the wing tube. I suspect the aluminum brace I added to the landing gear along with the wood and epoxy I added to beef up the motor box added a decent amount of weight to the front end. I'll add lead if I find it too nose heavy flying.

MarkU6299

Most likely the GC will end up just a bit farther back that the front of the wing tube. Fly it just a bit nose heavy though and adjust accordingly. It should fly inverted with a slight arc toward earth when flown at about half throttle. So in other words, almost hands off but not quite. Just a little bit of up stick to keep it level. Thats how I fine tune the CG. I would bet that knife edge coupling would be rather small when the CG is properly set up.

It still comes down to personal preference as the farther back the CG is the more the elevator will touchy.

Mark

oldsneakers

Thanks Mark. That's great information. That will be a big help getting it to fly good.

oldsneakers

Well it's finally completely ready for its maiden. If it weren't for all the recommended mods it would have went pretty fast. I just need the snow to go away.

This thread was started in 2009. That's a remarkable run for this plane to last 8 years. But the inactivity of the thread makes me think the end might be near. I was just a little late to the party.

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Oldsneakers - no need to wait for the snow to go away - Dubro 9" skis on Tower - $25. They work great on the Rev 70 (and Rev 59), they're easy to put on and they're reliable (which is more than I can say for some other skis I've used). Was flying off of snow with my Rev 70 yesterday morning here on Long Island. Helps to have gloves with the main fingertips cut out, or just cut a slit on the inside of the main two fingers (thumb and index) at around the 2nd knuckle level. That way you can pull the finger tip back to expose your finger while flying, then pull the glove finger-tip back over your finger when not flying \ assembling. Or, if you're a hearty soul who doesn't mind flying in cold AND wind (like me) get a Radiowarm, or other transmitter\hand cover (they still sell them on Hobby King). I fly all winter long - can't stand missing a weekend! And snow is really fun to take-off and land on. btw - your Rev 70 looks great - nice decals!

As far as the Rev 70 on the decline, not sure I agree. One of my clubs as 5 guys with this plane. It's such a great sport flyer, and great looking (IMHO).

oldsneakers

I used to fly in the winter when there wasn't snow on the ground. But in Connecticut they stopped all RC flying at State Parks. I used to be able to drive right up to the flying field. The two clubs I'm in now have pretty long roads to the fields and you can't even get there if there's snow. I had the gloves with the exposed finger tips. And pocket heaters. Now I just hibernate till spring.

Good to hear about the Revolver still going strong. I've never seen one at a field before. Thanks

microdon2

My Feedback: (47)

Sounds like it's time to put those club dues to work and get those access roads plowed!

MarkU6299

Hi guys. I had a little nudge here and there to build the 70" Revolver with a DLE 20 instead of the .91 Saito engine. So I did just that. Not that the Saito .91 flew bad but the 20 is supposed to bi the cat meow. Anyway, this thread was awesome but a super long thread. I decided to take a bunch of pictures along the way on my build and documented all the modifications all in one condensed place.

Please take a look at it for me. I think you will like the condensed version of my build. Many of the tips were learned right here form some very knowledgeable people.

Here is the thread. https://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/...d.php?t=211352

And some pictures of a Sneak Peak at that Revolver 70 with DLE 20, BUILD THREAD

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

Nicely done Mark. Agreed, most mods WAY easier on the initial build!

MarkU6299

Thanks AHicks. And thanks for that little nudge too. I'm glad you liked it. This thread was nice and I never intended to hijack it, but searching through 8000 post to find that little bit of info hear and there that that you know you read before was getting old. I hope nobody is offended. And if I'm not mistaken, you were a big part in one of if not the most important mods for this plane, period. That was the Landing Gear mod.

Mark

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

No, I'm not that bright. Somebody came up with that mod long before I became interested in the air frame. If you go back and look, it came up very early on in this string - like somewhere in the first 5 pages.

I am though, a huge fan of the mod as I'm very hard on my plane's landing gear. I LOVE playing with stuff like tail wheel first landings, and have seen the gear flattened like pancakes with no damage after the mod.

I've since moved on to mostly 3D stuff, but lessons learned in the several years I flew this plane set me up for that. There were guys in one of the clubs I fly with that thought this plane was a 3D plane! It's still an awesome looking plane in flight, but imagine what something with the same engine, amount of wing area, and 2-3lbs less might might allow.... That's where I'm at, for the time being anyway. -Al

BTW, enjoy giving guys that are asking great questions a hand as well. It's nice to see somebody paying that forward with your trouble to document some of the mods that make this plane as great as it is.

capt1597

field report: coming up on season 8 with my revolver. sometimes we get a plane that wont die. well over a couple of thousand flights. still my most flown plane. hanger rash, sure. still all original. 9 lbs even. ca hinges, hitec 635 servos, os 91 fx, 109 mph on two way passes.



mark, what weight did your bird come in at with all those mods?

flyboydale54

Dremel has a few end mills that are small enough to do what you want.

flyboydale54

The end is not near, I have a brand new one in the box. I started with the larger 55cc Revolver first. I like it, but it has had a few mishaps that required some fixing a few times. Like replacing the entire fuselage, ouch to the pocket book, LOL. I like the way it flies though. Since I forgot to put my antenna up on my 72Mhz radio, I destroyed my Show Time which was one of my favorite and best flying models, so I decided to get one of the medium size Revolver's. The Show Time is similar in the air-frame to the Revolver. I will be looking forward to getting that one out of the box and built sometime soon. I had just repaired my 55cc Revolver and when i went to taxi out for the first flight after the repairs, the DLE 55cc quit. It had no compression. i tore it down for an inspection. The cause was the upper needle bearing on the piston started to disintegrate. The pieces dancing around on the top of the piston made the ring stick. I got all the parts over a 3 month period, so I am ready to assemble the engine, with a new crankshaft, new piston and ring, new wrist pin, and a new gasket set, sometime soon before the weather breaks into a nice spring like day. I am really glad I waited because finding the mods on this forum has sparked some needed modifications on that landing gear area. The first time I flew it, I did the damage on the Revolver 55 to the landing gear, ripping it right out of the model.

MarkU6299

Thanks Al. It really means a lot. It's amazing how far a simple thanks goes.

Mark

MarkU6299

Also a good idea is to avoid the cut through CA hinges by putting the Robarts around them instead of exactly where the CA hinges were. I ended up with 7 in each wing and 5 in each tail feather. There were a LOT less CA hinges.

Mark

MarkU6299

Hi there Capt1597. I just weighed it for you. It comes in at 9.89 pounds on a highly accurate scale. Keep in mind that this included about 2 oz of weight that I will pull out of the top of the fire wall in lead in order to get my CG correct. So the actual dry weight balance for my likings will be 9.77 pounds. That just a slight tad bit over what the Tower Website advertises.

I don't know what it weighed before the mods though so I cant compare it.

capt1597

i carry probably double the fuel that a gasser would. the wet weight will be close to the same.

this plane is my all time favorite rc bird. been playing with these things for 59 years. dad got me a cox .049 cub u control in the fifties. dad even showed me how to crash it.