Air Flair Sundancer scratch build
02-18-2018, 06:27 PM
#1
Air Flair Sundancer scratch build
It is a little out of the usual candidate for a conversion as this model has been gone from my inventory for at least 25 years. I am Retired and visiting old builds and decided to put this old design in the air again, I had the plans and it is not a difficult build and no it is not a trainer it is reasonably acrobatic with the normal maneuvers.
It is really overdesigned with a love of 1/8 wood for a lot of the construction and a lot of 1/4 and 3/8 strip wood. Ribs were transferred to a cad file and a good friend took care of that, There are very few parts to the thing just a fair amount of joinery. Originally for 46 to 60 CI engine I went up to a ST 90 on the 2nd one that I built .This is using a 52 Tom Cat from motion RC.5s 5000 for power. It will probably be more than the design can handle A lot more urge than glow for it.
A few pictures. Did anyone else ever do any models from Air Flair models back in the early 90s or late 80s
Dennis
It is really overdesigned with a love of 1/8 wood for a lot of the construction and a lot of 1/4 and 3/8 strip wood. Ribs were transferred to a cad file and a good friend took care of that, There are very few parts to the thing just a fair amount of joinery. Originally for 46 to 60 CI engine I went up to a ST 90 on the 2nd one that I built .This is using a 52 Tom Cat from motion RC.5s 5000 for power. It will probably be more than the design can handle A lot more urge than glow for it.
A few pictures. Did anyone else ever do any models from Air Flair models back in the early 90s or late 80s
Dennis
04-07-2018, 05:15 PM
#2
It is a little out of the usual candidate for a conversion as this model has been gone from my inventory for at least 25 years. I am Retired and visiting old builds and decided to put this old design in the air again, I had the plans and it is not a difficult build and no it is not a trainer it is reasonably acrobatic with the normal maneuvers.
It is really overdesigned with a love of 1/8 wood for a lot of the construction and a lot of 1/4 and 3/8 strip wood. Ribs were transferred to a cad file and a good friend took care of that, There are very few parts to the thing just a fair amount of joinery. Originally for 46 to 60 CI engine I went up to a ST 90 on the 2nd one that I built .This is using a 52 Tom Cat from motion RC.5s 5000 for power. It will probably be more than the design can handle A lot more urge than glow for it.
A few pictures. Did anyone else ever do any models from Air Flair models back in the early 90s or late 80s
Dennis
It is really overdesigned with a love of 1/8 wood for a lot of the construction and a lot of 1/4 and 3/8 strip wood. Ribs were transferred to a cad file and a good friend took care of that, There are very few parts to the thing just a fair amount of joinery. Originally for 46 to 60 CI engine I went up to a ST 90 on the 2nd one that I built .This is using a 52 Tom Cat from motion RC.5s 5000 for power. It will probably be more than the design can handle A lot more urge than glow for it.
A few pictures. Did anyone else ever do any models from Air Flair models back in the early 90s or late 80s
Dennis
Last edited by dennis; 04-07-2018 at 05:16 PM. Reason: progress is being made
12-23-2018, 01:10 PM
#4
Sundancer 40
The Sundancer 60 flies well the 40 size may be better A 60 inch wingspan with an E-Flite 25 with a 13/6 prop , 2200 4 cell, 45 amp esc Not flown yea waiting for spring. Covered with UltraKote and finished with Krylon paint 
and 25 year old trim Monokote. Electrics sure are easy to finish.. These are designs from the 90's
and 25 year old trim Monokote. Electrics sure are easy to finish.. These are designs from the 90's
06-29-2020, 01:57 PM
#5
Hello Dennis!
An old RC buddy of mine is building a Sundancer 60, and wants to convert to electric power.
Can you recommend a motor/ESC? I'm not sure what the conversion is from glow to electric.
He is hoping to use a 3S 2200mAh, but I think that's too small. Any help you can provide would be much appreciated!
An old RC buddy of mine is building a Sundancer 60, and wants to convert to electric power.
Can you recommend a motor/ESC? I'm not sure what the conversion is from glow to electric.
He is hoping to use a 3S 2200mAh, but I think that's too small. Any help you can provide would be much appreciated!
06-29-2020, 06:49 PM
#6
Motor is a Tom Cat 46 with a 65 amp ESC. Prop is a Falcon 14/7 and is about perfect for the model. You will need stand offs for the motor for clearance. Performance is better that you think and it will do just about all of the standard maneuvers. Looks good doing Knife edge down the runway. Battery is a 5000 4 cell. Sorry you need a larger battery than a 2200 3 cell. However the 40 sized one uses an E Flight 25 with a 45 amp esc and an 11/5.5 prop and 2600 3 cells battery.I t will out fly a standard 40 version.
The 60 size has really decent acceleration and has a decent rate of climb. You can really tighten up your spin and it will recover instantly. Will do Cuban 8's inverted flight loops inverted Hammer heads etc. Same for the 40 sized model. Have fun with it.
One final. Make sure that you gusset all of the fuselage joints
The 60 size has really decent acceleration and has a decent rate of climb. You can really tighten up your spin and it will recover instantly. Will do Cuban 8's inverted flight loops inverted Hammer heads etc. Same for the 40 sized model. Have fun with it.
One final. Make sure that you gusset all of the fuselage joints
Last edited by dennis; 06-30-2020 at 05:01 AM.
07-10-2023, 07:12 AM
#7
Motor is a Tom Cat 46 with a 65 amp ESC. Prop is a Falcon 14/7 and is about perfect for the model. You will need stand offs for the motor for clearance. Performance is better that you think and it will do just about all of the standard maneuvers. Looks good doing Knife edge down the runway. Battery is a 5000 4 cell. Sorry you need a larger battery than a 2200 3 cell. However the 40 sized one uses an E Flight 25 with a 45 amp esc and an 11/5.5 prop and 2600 3 cells battery.I t will out fly a standard 40 version.
The 60 size has really decent acceleration and has a decent rate of climb. You can really tighten up your spin and it will recover instantly. Will do Cuban 8's inverted flight loops inverted Hammer heads etc. Same for the 40 sized model. Have fun with it.
One final. Make sure that you gusset all of the fuselage joints
The 60 size has really decent acceleration and has a decent rate of climb. You can really tighten up your spin and it will recover instantly. Will do Cuban 8's inverted flight loops inverted Hammer heads etc. Same for the 40 sized model. Have fun with it.
One final. Make sure that you gusset all of the fuselage joints
Do you happen to have the plans or manual for your Sundancer 60? I only received the planes for the wings - no other plans or manual. The original builder of my Sundancer recently passed away, and since I've not built one of these was hoping you might advise if any additional tips or tricks are needed?
I did re-enforce some parts of the fuse that I can get to since it is all built and covered.
