Gizmo-RCU

My Feedback: (27)

I moved here in 1998 after retiring from Law Enforcement in good old Ca. , being an Idaho native I returned as fast as I could. Love Priest Lake area, it's about as good as it gets, hunted there as well as worked for USFS there for a short time, there and Sandpoint and Newport, Wa.
I know the cold thing, it gets a little overbearing at this time of year (at 70 years I sometimes really feel it). I think I would like to move down to the Orofino/Lewiston where it's a lot milder in the winter. I was born in Orofino and my mothers family settled there before Idaho became a state.
Louisiana Pacific stayed here until about 2002 then shut down, and eliminated about every operation here, true to form they raped the area, distroyed all the small operations and left the area just as they did on the North Coast in California around Ukiah. I worked Logging enforcement for Fish and Game around Ukiah, Mendocino county. I was selected for that position because of my Logging past. They, LP, would argue over everything even when it was in their best interest to comply, I cost them a few dollars............
I digress, this was intended for RC planes, but what the heck.....

Sponda

here are some photos of my Dualist 240s the big one is a Pica kit, probably 20 years old. It is being converted to E power with 500 heli motors, the little one is a BNJR models Pica 1/2 for e power by design. I have a NIB pica kit if any one is interested offers of $ 400.00 + will be accepted. These aircracft are way over built and if someone could kit it like a Fiber fusion kit from Presion aerobatics you allwould be truly amazed ![img][/img] Golly gee wiz, how does one load photos to this site? I make helicopter parts for Sikorsky and their computer system isen't this bad! I have a licence to drive a car, motorcycle, fishing pole,model airplane, helicopter, autogyro,land sailor,multiengine and drink beer! but how do you submit photos to the RC Univerce site?

stuntflyr

Use "post reply", then use click here and "upload images and files" at the bottom of the page. It opens a box where you browse files and upload them. Fast reply doesn't allow images.
Chris...

DESERT RATT

My Feedback: (7)

Greetings guys,

I got burned out for now on the duellist, Just too many things tofix that theoriginal builder lleft me. I have a setof Markll plans so I may justbuild the fuselage off the plans?

I'm building a Tower Uproar kit and bashing it into a twin. I have enlargened the tail surfaces along with building them out of sticks then sheet with 1/8ths balsa. This makes things so much stronger with less if any flexing.

The fuselage is basically done and Iadded 3"to thefuselage right behind the #2 former. I'm shooting for a 54" wing and45" length fuselage for better, smoother control. We'll see.

TCBLightning

My Feedback: (5)

This is Double Trouble. My wing is 51" and the fuse is stock per the kit. Have thought about lengthening the fuse but like how it tumbles with the shorter fuse. Will be interesting to hear how yours flies.

NoOneFlysAtMyClub

My Feedback: (32)

Any progress?

DESERT RATT

My Feedback: (7)

Unfortunately no, Since the Snow left It's been building fences, getting active with the Horses and finishing started projects around the house. Probably next fall if everything works out well.

NoOneFlysAtMyClub

My Feedback: (32)

Sometimes life gets in the way of the hobby.

I just bought a new house and have front and back yards to create.

Next fall for me too!

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Happens to all of us.

I moved a few years ago and last year I flew the only plane I had airworthy anytime I went to the field.

Finally getting other planes redone so it should be a multi plane year for me!

Bill S.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

I also have a Duelist in need of resurrecting. My friend got it for me at a swap meet for twenty bucks. It is in pretty good shape but needs lots of TLC. I'm sure it was someone's pride and joy 25 years ago but now it's just an old pig. It was going to be my winter project, then spring project, now summer project. You know how that goes.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

The first step is the covering. It's got to go. Even the white is two different colors.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Wow, that scheme looked great!!

I need to strip my 25+ y/o Duellist as the covering is oil soaked at the leading edges by both engines.

Then I need to find new retracts as I'm sure the vintage Rohm units have to have bad seals by now, not to mention I can't get the Freon used to pump them up anymore either!!

Not looking forward to it...

Bill S.

Chad Veich

My Feedback: (60)

The O-rings are common sizes that can generally be found at any good hardware store and the retracts will work just fine on air pressure alone, freon not required.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Well, the big difference is one fill up of freon and I could cycle the retracts at least 8 full times as it was stored as a liquid in the tank.

120 PSI of air and there only good for three cycles but it is a lot better for the eco system though. I may be able to add a second tank for more capacity.

I will the local hardware shops when the time comes though, thanks!

Bill S.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

Here's a shot of the duelist fully stripped. The next problem was the canopy. It was so yellow it was hard to see thru. I contacted Keith Sparks at Park Flyer Plastics. He was great to deal with. He said he didn't have one but he could make one with my old canopy. He said to be careful not to crack it taking it off. Of course I cracked it. It was fragile like an eggshell and glued down really well. I boxed it up and sent it off. Less than a week later I got an email from Keith saying he had 3 canopies ready to ship to me. They look beautiful. I haven't completely trimmed it but it looks like it will fit perfectly. He now has Duelist listed on his list of available canopies. I also got a Dirty Birdy canopy that looks great.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Sweet! i will have order two for mine!

Bill S.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

The next decision was the landing gear. The airplane was set up for pneumatic retracts. It had an air tank in the back and an old nose gear in the front. The main gear were gone. I've never heard anyone say anything nice about air retracts so I considered electric ones. I wasn't sure about putting $180 landing gear in a $20 airplane but I decided to go for it. The old nose gear was mounted to several layers of plywood against the front bulkhead. I had to drill the plywood and break it loose because I couldn't get to the screws. The new nose gear mounted to horizontal rails so I had to make them and attach them inside the nose. The picture shows them reversed, the long edge attaches to the fuselage inside the nose gear well. I epoxied them in and used triangle stock to reinforce them. The fuselage is balsa slab construction and very strong.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

While I haven't used them myself, from watching other flyers in my club, with two exceptions of a set from Robart and from Eflight, I have yet to see a decent set of electronics stand up to any real use.

With the cheap ones from Hk it seems you get what you pay for.

With the exception of age on the Rhoms in my Duellest they have always worked, and i have Spring Air in my Direct Connection F/A-18 (ST 91 power) that work very well.

YMMV,
Bill S.

JL1

My Feedback: (93)

I have a Duelist that I can't even guess how old it is. It has mechanical retracts that that are servo driven. They have worked every time I have used them for years.
I also have pneumatics that work well but you have to leak test EVERY part of the system before you install them. I have even found pinhole leaks in tubing.
I submerge ALL components in a small tub of water, pressurize to 100 psi and watch for bubbles.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

I once owned an EZ P51 with mechanical retracts. While they were a pain to setup once done they did work well.

Bill S.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

More Gear pictures. The nose will have a hatch that covers the retract mechanism. The steering linkage was on the other side and had to be relocated. The main gear fit perfectly. Even the holes lined up.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

The next step was to decide what to do with the aileron servo(s). The airplane came set up for one servo in the center. I was going to keep things as is. After a lot of debate, I decided to add two servos in the wings. The wings are sheeted so any change would require some surgery. I could go two ribs outboard of the gear well and still fish the servo wires through the ribs. I set the servo into the wing so the top of the tabs were at the level of the sheeting. I've included a picture of the old torque rods. They don't make them like this anymore.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

The engine mounts were missing from the Duelist. I was afraid I would need to install a mount then rebuild the nacelles to make things line up. Fortunately, I was able to find out the mounts were Dave Brown Products mounts. I got the 46 size mounts. They were a bit larger than the ones that were in there previously but everything lined up perfectly, even the screw holes.

aa1a

My Feedback: (4)

I always fiberglass center sections of anything I build or re-cover. There was a crack in the sheeting behind the nacelles. Probably from a hard landing or two. There's a lot of weight out there with an engine and a tank ahead of the main gear. So when I glassed, I took the glass all the way outboard behind the nacelles. I also glassed the fuselage sides from the nose to behind the wing saddle. Now it's time to cover.

Twin_Flyer

My Feedback: (4)

Coming along nicely!

Bill S.