TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

Most people complain that the gear doesn't bend. It just breaks the structure in the wing. A thinner gear would give a little and save the structure. My theory anyway. My gear don't seem to flex at all and have never bent.

I used micro servos on the ailerons, 14 0z inch of torque. So, thats 28 oz inches if you add them together. When I started flying, the standard sevos had 18 inch oz of torque.

I just installed a Kevlar pull pull system on a Cap232. This is the way to go. No slop at all. It might be tricky trying to use pull pull on the Chippy elevator.

Thanks for the compliment. There was a build thread a couple of years ago. I think the guys name was Buhle, from Mexico City or there abouts. Check out his mods, very cool. He raised the cock pit seat up off the floor.....looked great. He was rounding off the bottom of the fuselage also.

I think 6.5 lbs is do-able. Mine has a OS61 on it. That seems fine. I am about to start experimenting with some climb props. The MA 12X6 seems a little lame. I'll run by the shop and see if they have any 13X5's or 13X4's, something in that range.

RVM

Hmm, well I might get some much smaller servos then, and hopefully less expensive too. How do your ailerons respond with 14 oz/inch? You have one on each aileron correct? Have your servos failed or needed to be rebuilt?

Yeah I saw that thread with his mods - it looks like it might add a bit of weight to do what he did. My idea is to reinforce the lower corners of the fuselage with triangle stock and sand away until it is rounded. I'm not sure if this would weaken the structure too much though. I may not round it at all if I can't find a way to do it in a way that works for me.

I'm considering shoving a Saito 1.25 into my Chippy. I imagine unlimited vertical would not be a problem. It's only 2oz. heavier than a Saito 1.00, and I can offset that easily by moving the elevator and rudder servos further back in the fuselage. Even with the 1.25 I think I can keep the weight to 6.75lbs. or 7lbs. I see a lot of places I can drill a lot of holes, especially in the ribs and fuse doublers, so that should help quite a bit.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

The little micros sevos work fine. No problem at all and they are pretty fast. They aren't the Parkflyer type micros, just the regular Futaba micros. And yes, one on each aileron. I figured it wouldn't weigh any more than one standard and it seems much tighter than bell cranks. I opted to not add the flaps. I thought the flaps might cost me about 3 oz. It turns out that you don't need them at all. I do know a guy that has the flaps and says they are great fun. But 3 oz is 3 oz and its tuff finding 3oz that is easy to remove.


That motor will certainly give you unlimited vertical. I think Art Scholl only had 260 hp on his. Google Art Scholl, there is a great pics of him standing half in the cockpit and with one foot out on the wing. He is holding the front of the canopy with one hand and waving to the crowd with the other hand. I think he strapped the joy stick to his leg. Lots of great history about Scholl and the Super Chipmunk. Inspiring stuff.

nickj

I would definitely recommend the no-flaps option. The flaps are briefly amusing, but you certainly don't need them, and I felt my no-flaps version (I've built it both ways) was a more responsive plane.

RVM

I had flaps on my first Chipmunk and don't feel a need for them again. I'd rather have the extra aileron area.

RVM

Please see Post #48 for a new hardware list.


As far as the modifications go, I've backed off quite a bit on my plans. Also, I'd like to try to find some other landing gear system that will be lighter than the stock.

I won't be doing the molded fillets, or rounding the bottom of the fuse, or enlarging any control surfaces. After much research, it seems unlikely I'll be doing much lightening of the structure. I don't trust my engineering skills (not that I had any to start with) that much.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Sounds good!

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

What do you guys think about the new BME .90 conversion for this plane?

RVM

I didn't know there was one. Got a link?

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

http://www.bmeengine.com/html/point90.htm

It probably doesn't have the power of the OS 91FX, but it would be about a ST .75 at the very least I would think. Plus it's gas so fuel would burn clean and be super cheap.

RVM

That's interesting. I've already got my Saito 1.00, Slimline Inverted Pitts and Iron Bay regulator.

Would be cool to see someone do it. I wonder what kind of props that engine will turn.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

There's a whole thread about it in the gas engine forum. I may have to try it. If nothing else I could always put a ST 90 in the plane if the converted version didn't work.

RVM

If you do this let us know how it works out. I'd love to be rid of the expense and mess of glow. Though, I gotta admit, I would hate leaving my 4-strokes.

NCIS

I just built a CG Super Chipmunk this winter and spring. Took about 5 months. I let my daughter pick out the colors for the plane and she went crazy. It's four different colors. Pink, Purple, Watermelon, Blue. I covered the plane with Solartex white fabric. I primed it all gray and started the paint job. It is stripped hoizontely until you get to the nose and tail and then it curves up to join for the other side. This was a painters nightmare. Each time I changed a color I had to remask the entire plane. Anyway when i finished the paint I added black 1/8 in. pinstripping to outline each color. Then added decals where she wanted them and finished it off with Lustercoat clear. About three or four coats. Waxed it with four coats of turtle wax and it shines so much it's hard to look at it when it's in the sun. It is very easy to see when flying with all the bright colors. It came in at the high side of the flying weight on the plans. I have a .91 4S Magnum inverted in it with a pitts muffler. It flies great. Thought I brag a little Ha Ha!!!!
Gibbs

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

Request for photos.

RVM

You cannot make this kind of a post without supplying the requisite pictures!

I haven't even started mine.

Blargh.

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

I hear you. I had a YS 63S and that was a great engine, but it was glow and liked expensive fuel. I think I'm going to try this though and I'll be sure to do a build thread.

eaglelope

I just finished my Chippie after about a year and a half. Too many hobbies.
It was a pretty easy build (my second kit) and I didn't have too many puzzles to work out.

I built mine mostly to specs but put dual aileron servos in and beefed up the landing blocks. I also filled the belly pans and the wingtips with expanding foam to add a little rigidity. I built mine with flaps just to give them a try.

I finsihed mine with MonoKote and LusterKote paint in the "Fang" Maroney scheme which is sort of a stars and bars pattern.

Power is a Magnum 91 4S with an APC 14x6. The engine is mounted inverted with the stock muffler and a 90 degree header extension. That allows the muffler to protrude through the bottom of the cowl without too much cutting. The plane balanced spot on with no extra weight needed. I maidened her about two weeks ago and it flew pretty nicely, only two clicks of trim in aileron and elevator were needed.

The only problem I had was that one of the wheel pants kept turning sideways in flight. Gotta fix that!

Here's a pic from a few months back, I'll try to post some newer ones later if it'll help.
Have fun with the build!

Mark

ben beyer

My Feedback: (23)

Very nice. Try using some Sig Wheel Pant mounts to fix that wheel pant problem.

BOLTMAN

My Feedback: (1)

Guys

I have built 2 of these babies. First one was sold after 470 flights, second one sold at about 50 to fund other toys.

Both were covered in solartex & painted in Art's colours. Both powered with OS 61 SF's & weighing just under 8lbs. If you can get it down around 7lbs it will be a great flyer.

Do yourself a favour & go the dual aileron servo way & definitely don't bother with the flaps. My first one had flaps & after about 50 flights I removed the servo & locked them in place.

I also had problems with the u/c blocks, slowly elongated the holes for the legs, on No 2 I replaced the ply blocks with some hardwood.

I have great memories of flying these models, they are great for shooting touch & goes doing 3 point landings every time. Even when 3 years after I had sold No 2 I had a fly of a mates & first approach nailed a 3 pointer!!!

It's a very honest aircraft in aerobatics, does most of the wild stuff but never seemed to bite or do anything unpredictable.

Good luck & enjoy!

RVM

I've reconsidered some of that equipment list and a little of it has changed. I just moved so when I get my workroom set back up and the rest of the gear in I'll post a new list along with pictures. I'll also post a link to all the hardware, electronics and whatnot so if someone wants an item or wants to see specs it's easy access.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

Earlier I mentioned my elevator wasn't as tight as I would like. Well, I tossed that 20 year old Cirrus radio and installed a new one. And I dialed in the incedence, ( its about time, the plane is 1.5 years old).

Well, the elevator seems tight now, the plane is transformed into a near pattern tracking arrow. And I used blue Nyrods. I consider Nyrods one of the sloppier forms of push rods. If you use dowel rods or arrow shafts, or pull-pull, you should have a razor sharp machine.

And if you are lazy, like me, the Nyrods aren't bad.

RVM

Alright, after many months, I have finally finished building my BTE Flyin' King. All I have to do is set control throws and it'll be ready to fly. Hopefully I will maiden her tomorrow morning. This means that I can finally start on my Chipmunk. Yay!

Since I am doing this thread in the hopes that it may prove useful to others, I am going to go through and list everything I am installing into the plane. Radio equipment, engine, pushrods etc. I've already posted one list, but I've changed it somewhat, so I'll delete that post and put everything here. I will also include links to all the products so that they are easy to find. In most cases it will be where I purchased the item from, but this will not hold true for all items. Frankly, I don't remember where I got some of it.

Saito 1.00
Slimline Inverted Pitts Muffler without smoke. I ordered this item from Tower, but it seems they have stopped carrying almost anything that even remotely relates to Saito and JR.
Saito Velocity Stack. It can supposedly reduce fuel consumption by about 30%.
Hangar 9 Remote Glow Plug Adapter. Cowled, inverted motor - need I say more?
Hangar 9 Fuel Dots.
Hayes Slimline 12oz. fuel tank. This should fit over the CG, but if it doesn't I'll either go down to a 10oz or find another fuel tank.
JR R790 synthesized 7 channel receiver. My JR 9303 has a synthesized transmitter module thingee on it, so I can literally fly my Chipmunk on any channel I choose.
4x JR DS821 Standard Digital Servos. These are strong and fast servos for only about $30 each. One on each aileron, one on the rudder and one on the elevator.
1x JR DS285 Micro Digital Servo. This is tiny, lightweight and quick - perfect for the throttle.
Sullivan Composite 2-56 pushrods. Just need one of these for the throttle. The composite material won't shrink or expand with the weather. Nylon does, and it does it enough to where your trim settings can be thrown way off, which is bad news on the throttle.
Central Hobbies Carbon Fiber pushrod set with 2-56 titanium ends. These are for the ailerons.
Central Hobbies Duel Elevator Pushrod system. Maybe a bit overkill for a sport size plane, but oh well.
Robart Super Ball Link Control Horns, 3/4". These are for the elevator halves and the ailerons.
Dubro Heavy Duty Dual Control Horn System, .40-.91. This is for the rudder.
Don's Hobby Shop Kevlar Pull-Pull system, 10lbs.. Click on accessories and it should pop up.
Iron Bay Fuel Regulator. I can put the fuel tank whereever I want it.
Robart 1/8" Hinge Point Combo. This pack comes with a bunch of hinges and their drill guide.
Fromeco Relion Li-Ion 2400mah receiver batteries. Only 3.5oz and more power than a NiCd or NiMH. I'm all in.
Maxx Products Inc. Miracle Switch, 6v regulated. This will bring the voltage of the 7.2v Li-Ion pack down to 6v. This switch will also fail in the "on" position, which is much better than a switch that fails and simply stops working. [8D]
3" Kavan tires. 1.8oz for a pair of 3" tires is hot.
Hangar 9 multi load voltage tester or Fromeco 8-Ball. I haven't decided yet. Not really part of the plane, but since I don't have a tester suitable for Li-Ion, I thought I'd go ahead and mention it.
Tru-Turn 2-1/4" aluminum spinner. I'll have this cut for up to a 15x7 APC propeller.

Ok, I think that's the major stuff. I use mostly aliphatic glue for my building. In fact I'm trying to completely phase out my usage of CA completely. I hate the fumes, I hate the mess and it only allows me to make mistakes a whole lot faster. Also, I feel that a good aliphatic provides a better bond than CA. It's not as rigid or brittle, and I've seen CA turn into a powdery white stuff after a few years. I've been using Titebond II, but I might try some Deluxe Materials Super Phatic. What I'd really like is something easier to sand that wicks a bit better. The Titebond seems a bit thick, but it works well nonetheless.

eaglelope

That looks like a very tight setup! With that config you could create an MTV show called Pimp My Chipmunk.
Kinda makes mine look like the Pinto version with vinyl seats and an exploding gas tank.
Mark

RVM

haha Thanks! You yourself have a gorgeous Chippy. I only wish my covering skills were up to your level.

I will be starting on her this afternoon. I'll get pictures up tonight.