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-   -   Top Flite AT6 ARF (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/arf-rtf-75/8132639-top-flite-at6-arf.html)

TomTreese 10-24-2012 06:09 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
They make longer arms for all makes of servos. Go to Tower and check out the options. I recall they come in several lengths in one package.

Lifer 10-25-2012 01:39 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
If the braces are a little too loose you can always glue balsa shims on one side and then sand to a good fit. Excess epoxy does not add strength, only weight.

Tony Iannucelli 10-25-2012 04:48 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
I've had one of these AT-6s for quite a while. I like it so much I have a new one in the box, just waiting. Mine is powered with an OS Surpass coupled with a Slimline Pitts style muffler. I use Hobby King Electric retracts ($7.49 each), and the factory landing gear wires fit perfectly (5mm). You need to sandwich the gear with a thin "U" piece of plywood which makes it bulletproof whether you use electrics or the stock gears. The mounting tabs of the stock gear are plastic, not a composite, and they do break. I put slightly smaller Robart wheels on mine, as the clearance on the stock wheel wells is minimal. The plane is great. No need to use the flaps when it's windy, but on a calm day they are very functional and cool looking too. I've had many 60-90 size warbirds over the years, and this one is right up there with the best. I have good pictures, email me if you'd like to see them. Couldn't get RCU to upload. -Tony

n6iap 10-25-2012 12:46 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
I wasn't going to say anything but since I now know I am not the only one, I too like the ARF so much I have a second on standby. We all know that every model has an unpublished expiration date :D and I want to keep flying this one. I put the metal reinforcements on the main gear and when I rebuild it I'll use pneumatic gear. I'm using the Saito 90R3 and even when one cylinder (glow plug) quits it still has power to bring it home. I only fly it scale so not sure what max power would be.

Hope that helps,

jimm

Cougar429 10-25-2012 06:55 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
I'm on the final stages of what I hope is the last retract mod for mine. I had to hack up a set of Robart legs to fit the gear wells and fab my own angled trunnions for the Eflite 60-120 units. The only thing left is to assemble the wing to fuse and check the spring tension with the full A/C weight before painting the legs. All told this has taken me a month of diddling with the Bridgeport over lunches and some other fun. I'll have some pics soon.

Cougar429 10-27-2012 05:34 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
1 Attachment(s)
Capt Easy, if you are having trouble getting enough servo travel, which direction is the issue? Asking since on this type airfoil you will want far more up aileron than down to prevent or reduce adverse yaw. This is due to the fact the wing has higher pressure below than above the airfoil in normal flight.

I have been able to work this little trick on a few planes to avoid having to run the second servo on a mixed channel:

If the aileron is driven from below one easy fix is to remove the servo arm and reinstall it one notch forward. This has the arm pointing slightly away from the aileron control horn. You will need to lengthen the links or fab new ones to reach the new arm position.

The elegance of this arrangement is that the differential geometry is built into the servo travel and should not need to be programmed. If done right both servos can be driven from the single channel and in fact that is how I have the AT-6 and Rare Bear rigged.

Note: You can just make out the blue metal servo arms to see they are slightly forward of perpendicular.

Cougar429 10-29-2012 04:26 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
1 Attachment(s)
Here are the promised pics. Just did a bit of hacking into the wing to get the legs to fit. Will need some fine work and fill to cover the old wire clearance.

Next step is to test for spring tension.

Capt Easy 10-31-2012 08:27 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
jet22b -

Did you get full throw from the stock S3004 servos arms in both directions...?

Capt Easy 10-31-2012 08:29 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
If anyone has any extra S3004 or S9001 servos available for sale please let me know.....
Thanks, Dick

jet22b 10-31-2012 10:12 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
Capt Easy;
I use Du-Bro Super Strength servo arms for Futaba, ( Cat N. #670 ) and I got full throws from them. Lets just say the maiden flight was fun!!! To much throws all the way around. Cut everything back by 25% and add more expo and have not look back. I hope we get some good weather so I can fly her again before winter set in!!
I hope this help!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

Capt Easy 10-31-2012 01:09 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
Okay, so the stock servo arms aren't long enough and they weren't installed wrong....and if I reduce the throws 25% I should be abe to use the stock arms - is that right....
or do I need longer servo arms?

My appology for dragging this out so long, but thanks for the help.

ce

jet22b 10-31-2012 01:21 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 


ORIGINAL: Capt Easy

Okay, so the stock servo arms aren't long enough and they weren't installed wrong....and if I reduce the throws 25% I should be abe to use the stock arms - is that right....
or do I need longer servo arms?

My appology for dragging this out so long, but thanks for the help.

ce
CE,
The stock arms are to short, that's why I went with the Du-Bro arms. I will take pictures of my setup and will post them for you. The stock arms for me was just to short. I wish the net was around back in the 60's and 70's when I got into this hobby!!! Stand-by for the pictures!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

n6iap 10-31-2012 01:27 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
Sonny,

The stock arms for my servo's were too short to clear the wing so I got 1" aluminum replacements. That gives me full throw and clearance. Keep charging you will love the airplane.

jimm

jet22b 10-31-2012 01:38 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
1 Attachment(s)
Capt;
Here you go!! As you can see the Du-Bro long arms may for a sweet hook-up. I all ways start with the manual throws and find out sometime they are too much.
I hope this help!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

jet22b 10-31-2012 02:00 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 


ORIGINAL: n6iap

Sonny,

The stock arms for my servo's were too short to clear the wing so I got 1'' aluminum replacements. That gives me full throw and clearance. Keep charging you will love the airplane.

jimm

jimm,
Thanks for the info!! On my to do list for this winter, I am replacing all of my clevis to metal or ball link. Last weekend I lost a sweet fly plane because the clevis to the elevator snap the small pin that go through the horn. My AT-6 may not look good anymore, but, I love the way its flys. I should get one more and put it on the shelf, before Top Flite stop making them!!
Sonny
aka
jet22b

Capt Easy 10-31-2012 05:08 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
You guys are the best. Thanks for clearing that little bit up fpr me. It sounds a bit simple but I wasn't certain what was going on there. If the recommended Futaba S9001 servo arms were the same length they must have caused the same problem but I don't recall anything mentioned in the thread.

I just ordered a couple more S3004's off eBay so I should be in good shape soon as I locate the longer arms.

Dick
aka C E

Cougar429 10-31-2012 05:21 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
To be honest I always hated the clevis type links and avoid or replace them ASAP. The reasons are many.

First off, bending the wire that close usually results in cracking. That may not show up immediately, but somewhere along the way fatigue will set in.

Second, the wire is usually larger than the holes in the servo arms, meaning you have to drill open a hole in what you hope is the correct position. If you are wrong the adjacent hole is now unavailable.

Lastly, I have seen too many of the clevises pop off, allowing the link to work free of the arm.

jet22b, a bit of fuel tubing would work better and look more elegant than the wire tie.

I'll mention this again here, but I am looking for the formed covers for the wing joints. When I grabbed the plane off the flying club wall they were missing and the original builder had passed away some time before. As the kit is no longer available and you cannot buy those separately for the ARF I'm hoping someone would have a spare original set or even removed from one rekitted.

n6iap 10-31-2012 05:23 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
1 Attachment(s)
Sonny I guess I really meant for this as a reply to the Capt.

Here are pictures of what I did for the flaps and ailerons. I used white servo arms on the flaps only to keep them different from the blue for the ailerons. I think any 1” aluminum would work.

Also I included the main gear showing the Tom Treese fix in place. While assembling I did paint the entire box with 45 minute epoxy before putting in the gear. Not sure how many flights but it has been over a year (check back in the tread if you care) and I fly a grass field.

jimm

jet22b 10-31-2012 06:19 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
jimm,
I fly off grass too and Tom metal gear box has been a life saver!! I remember my maiden flight on this bird. It was so sweet until it was time to land. Has a smooth touch down and both gears left the plane. I have well over a 100 landing and the gears are holding up. This is a sweet plane and I just love flying it.
Sonny
aka
jet22b

jet22b 10-31-2012 06:22 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
Cougar4298,
That will be all change very soon!!:D:D
Sonny
aka
jet22b

Capt Easy 10-31-2012 08:44 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
I want to thank you for taking time and posting the photos to help me out. I've still a lot of learning to look forward to as I got started in RC only about 4 years ago. This particular plane is likely going to receive quite a bit of scratch built scale detail but before the real fun starts I want to be certain to get the structure and mechanical details right.
I hope you'll all bear with me if I need a little guidence during the process. I'm really looking forward to it.
Cheers all,
CE

jjkirby 11-01-2012 04:23 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
Guys what size are they wheels? I have the topflite p47 .60 and i had a hard time finding replacement wheels due to the wheel wells beings so shallow. So I was wandering what size and how wide the stock wheels were, thanks

jet22b 11-01-2012 10:09 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
jjkirby;
Here are the set for the AT-6 Texan. They may or may not fit your plane!!
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXVCJ1&P=Z
Sonny
aka
jet22b

Capt Easy 11-01-2012 09:42 PM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
They sent me a set of new retracts less struts due to the fact the original ones demonstrated several stress cracks right out of the package. Most of the screws that held the halves together indicated stress fracuture. I thought the new ones had improved plastic but after looking at them closer that's a big negative.

Anyway my plan is to disgard the orig stock wire struts and make up some new ones inserted into a couple extra "RC Warbirds"oleo struts I have on hand. "handiman" sent me Tom T's metal retract mod so I think the retracts will be functional, dependable appear more scale. I'll post some pics soon as it starts coming together I need to locate the rod or wire for the struts first.

Meantime probably carry on with some of the other assembly.

BTW out of curiosity - how are the orig stock wire struts removed from the trunions.....the set screws are removed but neither strut will budge.

Dick

Lifer 11-02-2012 01:04 AM

RE: Top Flite AT6 ARF
 
There are 2 sets of setscrews per side. One follows the other.


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