Mustangman40

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I been putting together a little Toni and have taken pics along the way, if anyone is interested I can do a build thread..

I have a ST90 with a pipe on her for power and have done some mods to beef it up some..

I could use your tips along the way and offer any of mine as well. I know it's a older plane, I picked mine up back when they came out, then took a break from the hobby to spend more time with my kids.. So this plane is still exciting to me...

Let me know if there is any interest..

Jimbo

smoknrv4

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Nice plane the Little Toni, I have an E-F1 Little Toni from Super TRC kit ready to start on.
I always like a build thread, let er rip.

Mustangman40

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Will do later on, have to get to te LHS before they close............

Mustangman40

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Well the HS can wait till tomorrow before the football game of course, GO Bears!


As I said in the OP I got this plane some years ago, I always liked speed planes and this one looked pretty good for a arf...

I went with the ST 90 and a Mac TP, in picsyou can see that I went with the extra long header. Now that it ison, I might gut it down to get the pipe closer to the fuse. But on the other hand, the way she is right now might same me a prop on a nose over.. I think pipes arebeautiful and don't care to try and hide it less it was going in the fuseand that is just to cut down on drag.. Do you thinkgetting it closer to the fuse will give me any advantage, or does it look fine the way she is?

Before I joined the wingsI bolted them on to the fuse and put the gear onso I could check ground clearance.. The Dave Brown pipe bracket that I am using has the rubber dampenerthat I wanted to recess into the wing.. the pic is not the best, but I took a balsa block and glued a scrap oflight ply to the back so I could use a blind nut. I then drilled a 5/8" hole in the balsa, the part was a weird size so in the wing I used a 1/2" bit and sanded it to get a nice tight fit. Did the mock up before joining the wing and she was nice and solid.

Man it is taking for ever to load pics, anyone else having problems?

Mustangman40

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I'm wondering what size fuel tank you guys would recommend? It came with a 420cc which isn't going to work with the ST90, I will make a new former to hold a bigger tank. The shape of this whole set up is weird and I don't like it..

The spinner that came with the plane..
I read that it was junk, but that was the one with the "A" frame. Mine has a regular back plate, so if it balances good I will use it.. Anyone have any problems with this spinner?

Trying to load pics but I'm still having problems, man it's aggravating!!

Mustangman40

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Joining the wing..
I had toyed with the idea of glassing the center section, but after much reading decided it wasn't needed.
My joining spare was a little sloppy so I did add CF the the front and back of it, which worked out perfect. It wasnt to tight andhad room for the glue.
I took blue painters tape and taped to with in a .32 of the joint on both wing halves, this worked out great on clean up, as I used plenty of 30min epoxy..

What really amazed me was how square everything was when I bolted it to the fuse! The blind nuts were already installed and I thought I would have to adjust it once the wing was on, nope, it was right on the money.

The stab:
I have read that some had problems with the fit, so I was a little worried that I would as well. It seems that some had a gap, which isn't good being you gluing it in with thin CA..
I cleaned up the saddle and slid mine in, the fit was awesome! It slid in snug, but not to tight. I then got it squared to the fuse and wings and it was perfect. I have built a lot of planes over the years and couldn't get over the fact that everything was fitting perfect, something must need adjustments..
I checked the incidence before I traced out where to cut the covering, everything was on the money just the way it was.. Pretty dang impressed with this ARF at this point, with everything lining up like it has, the plane has no choice but to be a good flier..

A little trick i use to cut the covering without cutting the sheeting.
I have tried to use a soldering iron in the past but my tip was never fine enough to follow a thin metal straight edge and was just to bulky for my liking.
I take a large "T" pin and clamp itin a pair of forcepsand just use a small torch to heat it up. This holds in my hand more like a knife and allows me to get a more accurate cut, without smashing or cutting the sheeting..
I like to cut the covering just a smidge heavy so that no raw wood is showing when I am done.. Once the covering was cut, i slid every thing back in, checked and checked to make sure everything was where it should be. I then just wicked in thin CA with the fuse turned a bitt in the stand, gravity then helps the glue get to where it needs to be. after a couple passes with thin, I follow up with one fine bead of medium.
Once the joint is dry, I turn the fuse and repeat for the other 3 joints. The result is a nice clean strong joint that I don't have to worry about when yanking and banking..lol

Mustangman40

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As I said in the OP that I had this plane for some years and during a move, some how lost the rudder and one elevator.. I looked at just buying them, but i would have had to buy the whole tail for $45 bucks plus tax/ship.
I quickly decided I would just make new ones.
A member here on RCU emailed me the dims for the rudder, cant thank him enough for that...

A bunch of sanding to get the tapers right and here it is, just need to get to the HS to get some covering. Hopefully I can match the color. Has anyone had to patch their toni, what color did you get to work?

RWHorton

Great plane, If I may suggest I would glass the center wing section.

Ron

Mustangman40

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Ron,
thanks for the tip.. Have you heard of any failing?I read a bunch on the plane and no one was glassing and I didn't find any issues with wings folding..

I was thinking of adding a checker board patter to the bottom, so it's never to late to glass it. I know it would give me POM.. But it is a fair amount of work, now you got me thinking about itagain..lol

airraptor

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I have never built one of these but have seen many fly and NONE were fast. most had 1.20 AX or supertiger 140's. most you're looking at with that engine is maybe 95-100 range. you will need to shorten that head pipe up alot maybe about 4 inchs or more. start slowly with 1/2" cuts run it and cut some more till no more increase in rpm.

Best prop for that plane and engine combo would be a 13X8 maybe a 13x10.

Mustangman40

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Hinges.
I didn't use the supplied CA hinges, I personally don't like them. Not saying they don't work, it's just a personal thing.. Being everything had slits for the CA hinges, I decided to go with dubro nylon hinges and it worked out great. I buried thehingeknuckle in the control surface and it made for a nice tight gap, I haven't glued them in yet, gonna wait till i have the control horns mounted. I have always put vaseline on the knuckle and then epoxied them in, never had a problem doing it this way...


Not sure what control horns i will use, any recommendations? I was thinking of using the robart super ballhorns. I have used them in the past without issue, but am open to suggestions...

The tuned pipe clears fine and I will leave the set up as is, will just have to cut the header when I tune it. I placed the pipe bracket so I had room to move the pipe without any problems

Mustangman40

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Good tips on the pipe and thanks for the prop rec..
Speed
I was hoping for 100 plus, so the combo should hit close to that.. I haven't flown in about 7years, so this is plenty fast enough.. I am gonna get some stick time on a milder plane before I fly this one, just using the winter months to get a hanger full built back up...

RWHorton

I have heard (read) of the wing failing due to high g turns. I think the plane is rated for a 60 2 stroke maybe 90 4 stroke, can't remember. I glassed mine and painted it. Weighs a tad over 8#'s and with a ys 1.10 flies about 110 mph. (Radar gun) Thats with a 14-11 apc. I have a 13.5x13.3 to try but I haven't yet. It is a great flying plane. little fast on landing, doesn't slow down much and glides forever.

There was a thread here where guys were over 140 mph with this plane. Might try a search. Good luck.

Ron

Mustangman40

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Ron, thanks for the info. I think I might end up glassing the wing just to be on the safe side...

Any idea on a good size tank for the 90, the stock 420cc just doesnt seem big enough...

RWHorton

There is a ton of room in the fusalage, I made a cradle and moved the tank so it sits over the wing, less cg movement. I have a ys 1.10 in mine and it is thiristy to say the least. When I fly it most people don't think it will be fast with the 4 stroke in it, that's untill I bring her down the runway. It will also climb untill you need to turn it around. I saw your post on the p-47 thread.

I also had to do a little motor trimming to get her to fly straight, the firewall had some up-thrust in it. She would climb hard during power and sink hard when off power. I think I wound up with about 3 degrees down thrust. It's not a 3d plane but it will do a lot of pattern type of manuvers.

Goos luck Ron

If I can be of any help just ask.

Mustangman40

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I was thinking of doing the same with the tank, with all the room, I can get it closer to the CG and still not have problems sucking fuel.. I will check my thrust on my firewall and she what she has, a degree or two of down with my combo wouldn't be a bad idea at all... I am going to take her off the bench soon to start a kit build, have to have a trainer of sort readyfor my son come spring... Not sure what we are going to build yet, I have some 40's and 60's not being used.. Then when that is done, I can get back to building some warbirds..............

bob27s

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Project is coming along nicely !

Even with the new hinges and tight hinge gaps do please take the time to seal the control surface gaps on the ailerons and elevators. Takes just a few moments, makes all the difference in the world on control crispness, and will help avoid possibility any flutter.

Bob

Mustangman40

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Thanks Bob,
it is fun to be modeling again, forgot how much fun this hobby is... Good idea to protect against flutter, the ailerons are pretty long on the Toni and it will be on the quick side..

What do you use to do yours? I have used monokote in the past and it worked fine, but I'm always open to other ways..

Jimbo

autoguns

I found this thread after I put mine together ...funny how most of the mods I did to the plane are listed in this thread.

Tank over CG
Sealed control surfaces
checkerboard bottom just to name a few....

Mustangman40

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AG,
Looks good, how does she fly and whatdo you have under the hood? What control horns did you use on the control surfaces, couldn'tzoom in enough. I'm trying to decide what ones i want to use on mine..

RWHorton

Looks like a ys 4 stroke!

Ron

autoguns

I used Du-Bro 867 control horns all the way around , Its only been in the air a couple times, It flys straight and true with no bad habbits even at slow speeds . I did mix flaps in with the elevator to make it turn a little tighter with out risk of snappin. even the landings are slow and easy, once the weather warms up (maybe this weekend) I plan on ringing it out .

It has a ys 110 under the hood running an APC 15x14 ..it works, but is'nt right for this motor, I have several props to try, next is a 14x10.

There are much faster planes out there but I think you'll like the LT....JW

Link to CL's
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXEMF9&P=7

Mustangman40

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AG, thanks for the info.. Hows the snow up ur way, we just picked up 18", that was fun.. Hunting season is over and the snow is up to our waist, looks like a good day to work on planes...lol

autoguns

It snowed about 6"'s Monday... now its 35 deg and melting , most the snow we just got is gone "or will be in a day or so if this temp keeps up".

I hear ya, the weather sucks ... I have 5 planes sitting here ready to build , I just finished a P51 with a ys 63 in it, now I'm about to start on a Kyosho Phantom 70. [8D]

Mustangman40

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You guys are having a pretty mild winter up there aren't ya, i figured you would be up to your azz in snow and cold..
Like the avatar by the way.........