DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

AirBorne Models has received a shipment of Sky Raider Mach II ARF kits in solid colors. All four colors, white, yellow, orange, and red are in stock.

For those of you wanting the Mach II in an ARC, those are now in stock as well. Same price as the ARF, but no stripping and cleaning up to do before covering.

I currently have all four colors in stock. I will have the ARC in a week.

skull1971

What happen to getting the LA Racers in colors??

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

Here are some photos of the Sky Raider Mach II ARC (aka A178 ARC).

You guys that prefer MonoKote or Ultracote should be happy now. I know I will be doing one in neon yellow.

Apparently there was an effort to address the vibrating cheeks. They are bent in and there is a cross member on the bottom. I have not checked the newest ARF's to see if they have the same change.

In terms of the LA Racers in solid colors, I don't know when that will happen. We have to take a step at a time.

gunfighter

My Feedback: (1)

My LHS talked to Airborne today and they said the solid color LA Racers should be in around the end of June.
Looking forward to that!

Hope to see every one at the Georgetown race June 7th!

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

Don;

Does the ARC version come with all the Hardware, Canopy, etc.

Doug.

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Is the mod to the cheeks acceptable to do on previously shipped models?

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

Yes, it is the same as the ARF. Even comes with a white spinner. Has CA-hinges pre-slotted but not glued. Torque rod tube in wing are still not glued in place. I'm going to do a mini-article on the torque rods because they can sometimes lead to aileron flutter with enough use of a plane.

The Committee and/or contest directors will have to address that.

The biggest issue is that many have already performed "legal" mods that would make it difficult if not impossible to make the same change. I think the box-stock with only re-inforcement rule will have to apply. I don't think the change will change the outcome of any races.

happypappy

My Feedback: (10)

From the looks of the cheeks am betting there is an increase in speed due to the reduction in induced drag. What is the measurement at the very front of the cheeks? One single MPH can make a diff. in 10 laps of a 600' course! Not being argumentive in the least but I want the measurement at hand in case we can modify/update existing airframes.

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

I pulled a solid red ARF out and it has the same change. The approximate width at the front on the outside is 2.5 inches.

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

Don;

I picked up 2 Solid Red Raiders last week from my LHS in Waco, TX, I checked mine and sure enough they both have the factory modifications to the cheeks; I have 2 raiders that are still airworthy and are in service so I won't be putting the new ones together hopefully for awhile; I will have to check with Chuck Waller about the modifications in our Texas Club 40 League Rules, I can see that there may be a slight advantage, we run on 400 ft circuit, although this is my first year, and I'm not the smoothest flyer yet, so I could use any advantage that I can get.

Doug.

ChrisAttebery

My Feedback: (15)

Hey Don,

I could sure use a bit of advice on the torque rods. My latest T34 has REALLY sloppy torque rods. It has to be fixed before I'll fly it.

I'm not sure if the rods are just sloppy in the tubes or if the tubes are loose in the wing. I need to cut a slot in the wing above the tubes so I can see what's going on.If the tubes are loose in the wing I'll just epoxy them in the wing, but if it's the rods loose in the tube I need to figure out how to tighten it up without glueing the rod to the tube.

I'd be interested in any insight you might have.



Chris

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

The issue is that the tubes over the torque rods are not glued in place. You can cut out a strategic area and glue them without weakening the wing.

It is best to cut out the area on the bottom so that compression strength is not compromised on the top. And it is best to cut out just the area needed to glue the tubes in place.

ChrisAttebery

My Feedback: (15)

Thanks Don,

I'll check it out this weekend and report back. Kevin (T34Racer) told me that the last batch he received from Airborne were all sloppy at that point. He was converting the one's he built for customers to dual servo to get a slop free setup. I don't want to go through the work and add the weight involved in a dual servo setup if I can avoid it.

Chris

happypappy

My Feedback: (10)

Don, are you selling and shipping the solid color MII's? My local guy has alot of the multi color ones and is not too thrilled about ordering more.

DonStegall

My Feedback: (1)

I keep a supply on hand for the local guys as no shops around here stock them. Plus I have to make sure I have them for my own use and the demo fleet.

I'm out of shipping boxes, but can have some by next Thursday or Friday.

My approximate stock (+/- 1 per color) is ...

New style:

2 solid red
1 solid yellow
1 ARC

Straight cheek style:

3 or 4 white
3 orange

Price is street plus a few bucks for shipping.

I will have a bunch more in all colors coming shortly. At one point I had 35-40 in stock. Anyone who thinks I'm not committed to Club 40 doesn't know the real story. My wife thought I needed to be committed I love Club 40 and I believed it was here to stay from the early days. It's just too much fun.

[link=http://hodgeshobbies.com/]Hodges Hobbies[/link] in Georgia probably has solids in stock as well.

gunfighter

My Feedback: (1)

The Club 40 committee is working on this at the present time. We should have a recommendation / ruling very soon.

It sounds like it but the truth is, a single wide turn makes MUCH more difference than a few MPH difference in the straight. 100 rpm more / less with the same prop will make more difference than this slight amount of streamlining.

In Texas, we allow both the SRM2 and the LA Racer. If a couple MPH made that much difference, the LA would win every race. But they do not, because "Flying the Course" means more than having an airplane that is 2-3 mph faster than some others.

Chuck

vicman

My Feedback: (10)

Roger that!!!
Untill you stand at the line and all three engines are singing the same note and then see the good pilots fly tight and the others loose a turn, it's kind of hard to understand how evenly matched the models are and how important "flying the course" really is.[sm=49_49.gif]

ChrisAttebery

My Feedback: (15)

Hey Don,

I cut a slot right over the top of the torque rod tubes. One was loose, but the other was glued in tight. I glued them both down, but it didn't help. The rods are loose in the tubes. So, I took a piece of 1/32" ply and glued a square in front and behind the rods where they come out of the tube, but before they bend up out the top of the wing. Then I glued a piece above the rod and then capped the whole thing off with a strip of 1/8" balsa. The rods do not float around in the wing now, but they still have a bit of flex at the aileron end.

Thanks for the help,


Chris