DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

OK... I've built a few kits and ARF's... However, I have never built a 2M Pattern Plane... So please feel free to offer opinions and I do/will continue to have questions during the process.... Work has kept me traveling, but I do plan to make the D4/D5 Shootout with this plane... First things first...

The directions are there, but you need to think about how everything goes together and dry fit prior to introducing CA or Epoxy. I will use Foam Safe CA or 30 minute epoxy as I see this kit going together....

Setup:
Motor - Himax 6330-210
ESC - Castle ICE 80HV
Prop - APC 20.5x14
Spinner - TruTurn Turbo Cool
Battery - 2x5s, 5000mAh - Local vendor from our club offering me good pricing, light and rated at 40C

I will use most of the stuff in the kit, but I may buy some HW mostly because I like CF or whatever. Everything in the kit appears solid and usable and it is very complete.

First I assembled the motor mount. I used 30 min epoxy on all joining surfaces, but didn't create fillets in the joints. Meaning the epoxy is pretty much just surface to surface.

I followed up with using Foam Safe CA (Gap Filling) on 100% of the joint surface, both sides of each part.

I then mounted the motor and adjusted the shims to a proper length for the chin cowl.Hopefully the pics uploaded properly...

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

For what ever reason the editor is not allowing edit text with line spacing... it's just running all the text together with no formatting... not sure what is going on with that...

None the less...

Update... It's working now, I went back and cleaned up a couple posts...

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Here is a picture of the motor lined up and the chin cowl cut out for the TruTurn Turbo Cool spinner.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

I noticed the canopy had some minor damage to the top of it with a few paint chips sticking up. With a little coaching from Mups, I repaired the damaged area and repainted the canopy. I also painted the gear and wheel pants to match.Here is a pic of the finished canopy...

After a couple of posts, I noticed the perception is that the canopy came like that. I should have stated that the Kit was in the box around christmas time until I took the plastic off about a couple weeks ago... I'm in no position to say this is how the kit came, the kit was packaged better than any other 2M kit I bought, but never built.

So for the record, I am not stating this is how it was delivered. The probelem was due to force and not just the paint chipped because of workmanship.

LD

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Here is a pic of the hooks that rubber bands are meant to attach to hold the wings on. I may deviate from the rubber band method and use a swivel ball joint on one end and a spring load ball joint on the other in place of the rubber band method.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Working on the wing alignment pins which fit perfectly in the fuse. However, the wing tube will not fit in the sleeve already installed in the fuse.

Working on slowly sanding to get a good fit. The wing tube doesn't fit in either wing. So it appears a bit oversized. Shouldn't be an issue.

That is about all I have for now... I'll post again next week as I need to hit the road to Florida this weekend.

A quick question for those with opinions:

With regards to the motor mount...Will I need to add triangle stock for structural support for the Himax 6330-210? Or, should I be ok with how I assembled it? I have no idea regarding the design,n which appears solid enough, Vs the torque of the motor...

paphman

My Feedback: (3)

I have similar problem with the canopy.
My friend was helping me to re-paint it, but somehow the new paint either cause the old paint wrinkle.
Can you tell me what kind of paint you are using and do you remove all the silvery black paint before repaint?

Thanks.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Automotive PPGbase/clear coat.

Had to sand most of the existing paint and scuffed real good. Hit it will a light coat of sealer, not primer... Then coat to cover and clear coat on top. A friend and coworker own a body shop and I got the paint from them. I think Radio South might have Dupont paint that doesn't require the clear coat. My color was custom to match the decals I'm getting and the spinner is anodized blue .I know it cost me weight. It weighs about 6.3 ounces now... Not sure how much I gained because I forgot to weigh it before... I'm sure I'm heavy on the new paint, but I'm sure I can bring it in under 11 pounds...

luckymacy

The repeated canopy issue is discouraging. I learned long ago I don't have the patience to sand and paint anything nicely. Did you each order your planes from F3A. Keep up the details on how you solved your issues, I might be right behind you soon.

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

Thanks for doing this thread, I am looking forward to seeing some details of this airplane.

Nice job on the canopy. It is unfortunate that it came broken but your repair work looks great.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Yes, I bought the combo kit from F3A. If this is your budget range, I don't think anyone would be disappointed. Nice looking plane... It is an ARF and I'm a perfectionist to the exreme... Just sayin...

After a couple of posts, I noticed the perception is that the canopy came like that. I should have stated that the Kit was in the box around christmas time until I took the plastic off about a couple weeks ago... I'm in no position to say this is how the kit came, the kit was packaged better than any other 2M kit I bought, but never built.

So for the record, I am not stating this is how it was delivered. The probelem was due to force and not just the paint chipped because of workmanship.

I just got back the spinner from TruTurn. The spinner was not cut correctly for this prop albeit, that is what they had in their profile. Put it on and perfect... TruTurn did an outstanding job getting it turned around quickly... I'll post a pic in a couple hours...

LD

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

I want to get on this point early in this thread... I don't want BJ Craft or F3A getting greif over this... It was not my intent to say this was a MFG or shipping issue... Apologies for not being clear in my earlier post.

After a couple of posts, I noticed the perception is that the canopy came like that. I should have stated that the Kit was in the box around christmas time until I took the plastic off about a couple weeks ago... I'm in no position to say this is how the kit came, the kit was packaged better than any other 2M kit I bought, but never built.

So for the record, I am not stating this is how it was delivered. The probelem was due to force and not just the paint chipped because of workmanship.

Yes, it turned out well. I would be interested in hearing weights of the canopy out of the box...

Larry Diamond

luckymacy

How are you getting the wing tube's diameter smaller? I had a similar situation once and tried to do the same but could not get a consistent finish over the entire length of the tube but found it easier to instead sand the inside of the sleeves to open them up.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Since the wingtube is too large for the sleeve and wings, I'm reducing the diameter of the wingtube itself. I basically take the sand paper and wrap it around the wingtube. I turn the wingtube in one direction while pulling and pushing the wingtube through the sand paper. The affect is like honing as you will get the criss cross pattern as a result. Wet sanding seems to work the best... Slow as you go...

My logic is this will get as close to a uniform thickness as possible, without flat spots. But it won't be perfect unless you use a lathe. I'll check with calipers to check for a constant thickness.

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

Here is a picture of the spinner and prop mounted to the nose...

luckymacy

Good Luck keeping the tube still uniform that way. I generally tried hand sanding and even found a way to attach it to a drill to spin it but couldn't achieve a lathe like setup. Ended up having better luck honing out the sleeves instead but the danger is if you get too agressive in the sleeve you can break it free and worse case, in the wings, actually break the wooden ribs attached to the sleeve. Why they don't always trial fit these things! :-)

rcpattern

My Feedback: (45)

They do, the problem is that wing tubes will wear over time. The ones for Tara's plane were also snug, and they have been on everything I've flown, but after you put them on or off a few times, they will generally start to loosen up. I'd much rather have a very snug fit to start with.

Arch

luckymacy

Yeah, if they are just 'snug', I wouldn't mess with them. Vibration over time will wear them down sure enough. I assumed he meant beyond snug, as in unable to even begin to thread them on. I've had one of those situations. Micrometer showed the tube and sleeve were never going to work together without some help.

mups53

My Feedback: (41)

We have had some problems with snug tubes on the BJ Craft planes. Most can be resolved with a wet sand and some teflon lube. I did however see one that needed a new tube.
This was an issue with some planes we received last year. The newer stuff seems better because we informed Mr Park about it. Thanks, Mike Mueller

rm

My Feedback: (27)

I flew mine for the first time today. After it's all said and done, this is actually a very nice flying plane. I only have 5 flights on it, but I'm thinking the only mix I'll be using is on the downline. It rolls, snaps, and spins nicely. Did mine over the winter, so I tore all the covering off and recovered it in my own scheme. Still have to paint the cowl and canopy yet. YS powered. The arf had a few problems but I feel it was still worth the money, escpecially now that I've had the chance to get it into the air. Kinda nice having a wood airframe again.

luckymacy

For those flying already, where did you end up actually putting the CG? The pic I have of a flying monolog has the battery tray quite a bit further forward and comes with a 'caution' that the CG around the wing tube as shown in the plans is really too tail heavy. I know this is a personal thing but would anyone care to also share what number of degrees of low and high rate throws they ended up using? I will first flight the plane Sunday so that's why I'm asking as a sanity check.


thx.

rm

My Feedback: (27)

I put my cg per the directions. About an inch in front of wingtube. If anything its nose heavy. I'm prob around 10-12 on the elev. Haven't started to trim it yet as I'm painting parts now.

rcpattern

My Feedback: (45)

Lucky

Tara's is at the recommended location. On most of my BJ stuff I have flown further forward than recommended, but am happy with the Monolog where he suggests. Throws are the usual 10-12 degrees for aileron and elevator. That is a safe start for all pattern planes.

Good luck with the maiden.

Arch

DRC1

My Feedback: (10)

I didn't mean to abandon the thread... However, life does happen... I will be getting back on the build, but not sure I will make the D4/D5 Shootout at this point. I will ifI can get the Monolog ready and I have flown a couple times. I'll start back on the Monolog tomorrow none-the-less.

Here is a pic... Nobody was injured. I had2nd degree burns on my fingers from the airbag deployment, but they are fine and I didn't go to the hospital. They were not blistered till way later that evening, but I didn't feel the need to get medical attention and kept a close eye on them. It could have been much worse. I believe the difference of life was just a matter of a 1/2 second or less. The car behind in the pic is all the damage they received, plus the body panel damage as it scrapped the side to the rear passenger door. He changed his right front tire and was able to drive away. He drove through the front end. If he was a little later or I a little earlier, game over ifmy driver door was the impact site.

I was very lucky and I do ride a motorcycle. I'm very careful whenI drive. Yep, I looked both ways many times...spookey actually. My first thought after I got out and realized I'm still alive and uninjured was, If I was on my bike???..., then it went to, if that guy was on a bike...???

Be careful driving my friends... You are never as safe as you think you are... I'm just glad both drivers walked away... Many will drive 1,000s of miles this year attending contests... My hope is you will see this picture and it prevents somebody having a similar experience, or worse...

GOD BLESS

LD

luckymacy

Glad you are ok, obviously. I quit riding motorcycles on the road decades ago. Not worth it. Spent 3 hours today driving around town to find a replacement landing gear axle bolt to replace one that was a quarter inch too short!