69 roadrunner

Is there any video of this plane flying and if I purcased plane is there anyone that would sheet foam wing for a price. Thanks Steve

STEVE HOSNER

Hey guys,

What servos are you using for the elevators? The width of the fuselage is pretty narrow for standard height servos.

Any pictures?

Thanks,

Steve

rcpattern

My Feedback: (45)

I don't know of any video's as Jeff designed this for himself. I will say that after watching Jeff fly the prototype as well as his new one, the only limitations on this plane are the pilot. It is a very good design and competitive with about anything else out there. Jeff did an incredible job designing and building these and I don't think anyone can go wrong if you build one,

Arch

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Arch, thank you for the kind words.

Steve, I am using 9650s, but the are mounted in the stabilizer halves, not in the fuselage. I will try to get some pictures when I can get to it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a video of the airplane flying.

Mastertech

My Feedback: (31)

First time I saw Jeff's new airplane at the field for the maiden flight I picked it up and I swear it didn't have any batteries in it.

I don't think anyone can build as light as Jeff. His eye for detail and not accepting "Good enough" sets his airplanes apart from most anyone Else's.

Tim

tsclouse

Hello, On post #35 you said you mounted landing gear to the bottom of the plate, and if so how do you tighten bolts to attach and remove the landing gear unless you would use blind nuts in gear. I am working on the plane now and really enjoy this thread. Eureka did a great job with short kit and foam wings. Thank you, Terry

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Terry,

It is critical that the landing gear be mounted to the bottom of the gear plate rather than above. If the gear were to be mounted to the top, a majority of the structure designed to carry the stress from the gear plate to the fuselage side would be cut away to accept the gear legs.

The method I use is to take 4-40 blind nuts and cut the teeth off of them. Then I drill the gear legs so the blind nuts are a press fit into the gear leg. I then use a 4-40 bolt to pull the blind nut into the hole. I tighten it to the point just prior to the circular portion making contact with the gear leg. I then put medium CA in the gap and then tighten the rest of the way. One key to success here is to use a drill press to make the holes in the gear legs so the blind nuts are in line with the mounting holes.

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Here are some pictures of the gear and also the promised picture of the elevator servo setup. My camera charger still has not been found post move, so the low quality phone camera pics will have to do.

STEVE HOSNER

Thanks for the pictures Jeff!

Steve

tsclouse

Thanks for the info on the landing gear. I have a set of carbon Delro gear I had on a plane called Emotion. I plan on using them, they only mount with 2 holes so I will use some epoxy and carbon mix and close one hole and drill new holes in more appropriate location as seen in your photos. setback and height are correct.

dfturnock

Just cut an extra lightning kit while cutting the last one ordered.  It is in stock so will ship pretty quickly.

STEVE HOSNER

Jeff,

In your post 95 you show pictures of wing and stab ribs with carbon fiber used. Are you using these to stiffen the fuselage sides? If this is the case, I assume that they will
be glued to the sides and not to the wing and stab panels. Is this correct?

Thanks Jeff.... back to more building. Looking forward to the canopy!

Steve Hosner

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Steve,

The picture you are refering to is of the root ribs for the wing and stab panels. They are glued to to the wing and stab, not the fuselage sides. The carbonfiber is added to the balsa to provide strength for the anti-rotation points.

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Here are the ribs being prepared to be glued to the stab and wing, as well as one of the wing being glued to the wing root. I pin the rib to the fuselage side, and then glue the wing to the rib.

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Here are a few current pictures of the new wings being glued to the root rib. Just make sure to twist the wing tube about every 30 minutes or so just in case some glue made its way on to the wing tube.

STEVE HOSNER

Thanks for the pictures Jeff. A good cool day in Phoenix just right for building!
Steve

STEVE HOSNER

Jeff,

It is getting late so I might be missing something that should be very simple.

I'm just starting the fin constructin and I am not clear on FN1 and how it mounts the fin above the stab.
The length of the rib is too long to fit between the tail peice and the former ahead of thr Stab.
Do I need to cut the rib to match the distance between the tail post andd where FN 6 mounts to
the forward former? How far down into the pocket does the fin need to go? I will add the
strenthing carbon covered peice to help with gluing in the stab tube above the tube and glue the tube in
place from below. Do I need to add another strengthing floor for the fin to mount on?

I am sure that there is a good photo that shows all of this. I guess that I just haven't seen it yet.

Thanks for you help Jeff

Viper Driver

My Feedback: (1)

Steve,

I omitted FN1 from my fin. If you added FN1, just cut it to fit between FN6 and the tail post. To mount the fin, glue FN6 to to F12, glue the sheeting from the fin to the top of the 1/8" balsa fuselage sides, and F13 glues to the inside of the fin sheeting and FN2. In the picture with the fin mounted, you can kind of make out the glue joint at the base of the fin. Unfortunately, these are the best pictures of the fin mounting. PM me if you need more info.

Jeff

STEVE HOSNER

Thanks Jeff,

I'll get back to the build Friday. Can't wait to inhale more balsa dust!

You are the perfect model for customer support.

Steve

tsclouse

Hello Jeff,
I am attempting to sheet the turtledeck and have broken 3 sheets of 3/32 light balsa. I am spraying the inside with a water mist and still sheets are breaking in the center. Is there a secret to doing this as I have been cautious with the bend but no luck. Terry

dfturnock

You need more than a water mist. I usually soak the wood in water for a while till very wet, then tape in in place to till dry.This forms it to the curve. Glue in place once the curve is formed, not before.

DON'T glue in place while even a bit wet, you will get flat spots because the wood swells when wet, and shrinks when drying, causing flat spots.

Never had wood crack doing it this way.

Don@ EAC

tsclouse

Don,
Thank you, After reading your email and soaking the wood (sprayed both sides heavily, set for 15 min) it folded around the turtledeck perfect. used saran wrap so not to soak formers and spars and a couple long sticks to keep edges straight. I have never sheeted such a tight curve and soaking was the trick. Thanks again. Terry

dfturnock

Glad it worked... I found out about gluing while wet the hard way ;( I did it on a Sig Bonanza, and the wood had long flat spots between the formers after it dried. Tore it off, and let if form till dry, then glued t in place. It worked great the second time....

rilandtg

Thank you Jeff for sharing your design. This will be my first modern pattern plane and I'm looking forward to it. I want to do a built up wing and stab as Hans has done starting on page six. http://www.rc-network.de/forum/showthread.php/301355-Selbstbau-des-F3A-Modells-Lightning-(Holzklasse-!-)/page6 I was wondering where he got the pdf file to print out the individual ribs? Thanks again for your generosity. Hans, nice job on the wings and thanks for posting your build as well.

Tim

dfturnock

The free version (unregistered) of Profili2 will take the root and tip from the plans, and interpolate the rest of the ribs, and print them out for cutting. It can also add spars, etc.

Don