Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I used the SK 91 in one of my bipes and it turned it into A completely different plane. The break in is A lot different from other engines and they take some fuel to run through them before they are fully broken in but it has been worth it. Never once have I had A dead stick with that engine and it pulls like A tractor. The prop size needed is different from what is stated in the instructions too. I was looking at the 1.30 for the Extra I have been working on but I think my wife put A stop to that way of thinking so the 91 will go into that. I do like those SKs!!

kbear

For the price, you can't beat them. I have two of the 50s at this point, and they are real stump pullers. The 50s are actually .52s, and put out just a bit less than my OS 61 fsr at the weight of a heavy 46. I'm thinking of taking one off of it's current plane for the Hots. I'll replace it with a new one. This way I have an engine that is good and broke-in for the Hots. Progress has slowed until Tue. when I get paid. There will be more to come.

kbear

My order from Tower will be here before the weekend, and I ordered the flight pack from Servo City. I would not normally have posted this, but I was very impressed to get a phone call this morning from the guy pulling my order at Servo City. They were out of the battery that I ordered and he wanted to know if it would be ok to sub the next larger pack at the same price. I always like to reward good customer service with a little plug here. To call me as he was pulling the order, well, I was impressed. My daughter likes them because they send a little bag of candy with every order. Small things like this should not go unnoticed. More companies should pay this kind of attention to customers. IMHO.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I got all my good servos from SC but in my case I got them at the right time, I went into there sale section and got them when HT was replacing them with the new improved models so I paid half price and stocked up. The right time in this case was both the sale and the fact I had some money in my secret stash.
Another good place to find deals is Hobby Horse plus they always send A little surprise, Candy, Exacto knifes, Y harness, whatever they have on hand. Great people to work with too.
Gald I didn't order the SK 1.30. I have been setting up my plane and the .91 is all that would fit inside the engine box, no room at all on the fire wall for anything bigger.

kbear

I'll check Hobby Horse out. SC has the HS-5985MG Servos and some receivers on blowout right now. I was able to put my flight pack together cheaper by a couple of bucks doing it piece by piece. Wonder what hots would be good for the SK 130. I keep thinking about the larger hots planes and how it would not be that hard to add to the control surfaces for 3D. I'm big on plan/kit bashing. You can learn so much that way.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

I have the plans for the giant 91 inch Hots { or is it 102??} anyway, I have A Brison 2.4 for that one. Had the plans out on the floor three times now to figure out the wood but keep getting side tracked with other builds, then Lone Star Balsa burnt down and now A friend is giving me another plane to work on.
Anyway, there are so many different Hots to choose from. My little 60 Mid West Hots has the YS 1.10 in it, I'm sure I could stuff A 1.30 up front. Too much power is just about right!!!!

kbear

What about a 50cc gasser on the giant. There is the Big Hots at 91" and the Utra Hots at 81". Steve shows a G62 for the Big Hots. This is all just down the line dreaming. I do that allot when waiting for an order.

kbear

My flight pack arrived today. I mounted the servos, receiver and switch.



There is nothing on the plans to indicate where and how to mount the throttle servo. I added two poplar rails as shown Just above the wing.



To mount the receiver, I used a Velcro strap and attached it to the fuse with a balsa block notched as show.



I mounted the SK 50 on the nose to check the CG. I may have to use a heavy hub on the nose under the spinner for the first flights. The CG is ok at this point, but will move back just a bit When the control rods and last of the covering go on. The Yellow spinner will be replaced with a new red one. As she sits in the photo she is 4.9 lbs. according to my postal scale. She will for sure come in under 5.5lbs. which I'm happy about. The battery will be in the nose with the tank. You can see that I covered the rudder. I had also covered the VS, but didn't like the way it turned out. I ordered a trim iron with the rest of the covering, and I think that will make things easier. I think I'll try Ultracote on the next build as I have read that it is easier to work with.

kbear

A little more done. I mounted all the radio gear, fuel tank and engine Sunday. I didn't take many photos of that as it's just your basic stuff.



I like to call this my fuel tank bumper. I have used this with great results on many planes. I cut a piece of pool noodle and put it on the front of my tank to protect it from the engine mount bolts in a hard landing. Just thought you might want to see it.



My Tower order arrived Monday, so I got some more of the covering done. The trim iron has made my life much easier. I'm glad that I ordered one. I need to put the checkers on the HS and elevator and the canopy/flames on the fuse. I'm not sure about the seem between the white and purple on the fuse. I think I may add a purple pin stripe on the white to give it something. I'll decide when I get the flames on.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Pool Noodel??? Why didn't I think of that. I have been hacking up foam and using that all my life. My wife and I have those things in the garage doing nothing all winter, sure she wouldn't miss A little cut off every now and then. The tape around it really cleans it up too. Nice covering job!!! I really like the colors.

kbear

The Noodles are cheap and one will last you for ever. Thanks for the complement on the covering. It's not perfect, but I'm learning.

kbear

I finished the flames/cockpit. I had drawn them on the fuse, so I took paper and lined one edge up with the center line of the nose. I traced the flames and cut out a template. I traced that onto the back side of the covering and then flipped it for the other side. I used the same procedure for the canopy. I tried the Windex method this time and It works so well. After it dried, I hit the edges with an iron on low heat. No bubbles, and it's on there good.



I deceded to put a neon red stripe on the fuse, and I think it works. I will do the HS and elevator similar to the wing and may cut out the channel number of the plane for the rudder. I have and Eclipse Seven Specra module, so my planes all have different channels. putting the channel on the plane somewhere helps me to remember to move my AMA card on the board before I turn on my Tx.



I got tired of covering, so I turned to putting everything back into the plane and finishing the control linkages for the tail. This photo shows a tip that I have used on my last few planes with great success. I use a length of 5/32 CF tube of my 4-40 rods to make them super stiff. The ID of the tube is just right. I hit the ends with thin CA and that holds it in place as well as keeps the ends of the tube from splitting. The weight is nothing. The 4-40 rods are soft and even though they are short here, they still have some flex. With control surfaces this large and the elevator linkage being push for up, I want them as stiff as possible. I also use the cut off end of one of the control rods as a drill bit for the servo arms for a perfect slop free fit. Right now the plane is 5.1lbs dry. Just a bit of covering on the tail is all that is left. At this weight the wing loading will be under 16oz. per, and the SK will have no problem hauling here straight up for ever. The CG is about 1/4" behind that recommended on the plans. I will have to calculate the % MAC it is at and then I'll make a decision on adding nose weight. I usually fly my planes around 28 to 30% MAC and most recommended CGs are around 25%. The weather won't be good this weekend for a maiden flight, so the flight report will have to wait.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Dang fine looking flying machine you got there.
Flames, I was awake last night thinking about how to make up templates for flames on my new plane.I have never been able to draw them for some reason. OK, the reason is no talent at all. I think I will have an artest friend draw them for me so I can make up the templates and use my air brush to put them on. My first shot at A complete plane getting painted too instead of covering. Well, I used to paint my U-controls and free flights before plastic covering came out but that was mostly brush work.
Those flames really gave it that special kick.

kbear

Well her She is.



Yesterday I charged her up and set up the radio. Here are the specs.

Wing Span - 49.5"
Wing Area - 792" sqr.
Weight - 5.2-5.3 lbs. ( not so accurate postal scale, Dry)
Wing Loading - 15.42 oz. per
Fuse Length - 41.25" (Fire wall to rudder hinge)
Overall Length - 53" (back of prop to tip of rudder)
CG - 26% MAC



I put one of those 2oz. donut nose weights under the spinner and checked the CG on my home brew CG sling. It was right at 26% MAC. My first thought was that will be a good place for the maiden flight and then I will start moving it back. I checked the plans just for kicks and the recommended CG is more in the 22 -23% MAC range. This seems awfully nose heavy to me. Especially for a 3D type plane. My trainers flew at 25% for stability. My last creation has been flying at 30% and is just ahead of too tail heavy. I usually end up in the 27 - 29% range for just about right. Am I missing something here? I did notice that the spar (thickest part of the wing on this wing) is at just over 23% were I usually have mine at 25% on my own designs. Will this cause me to need the CG farther forward? Unless you guys think there is any reason that 26% MAC is a bad starting point, I will start there. I'm just not sure why it would be so far forward. Any Ideas would be welcome here. I may take her to the field tomorrow to run and tune the engine. It's been sitting for a month and a half, so I don't want any surprises from it. I won't fly her tomorrow unless the conditions are right and there is someone there to help with a good range check and give her a good once over to see if I have missed anything. Always a good idea to get a fresh pair of eyes on a new plane. There are no suggested control throws, so I have set her up the way I usually set up my own designs (SPADs). Low rates are set to what I think will be conservative (about 1" either direction) with just a bit of expo. High rates are set for full travel with full expo in case the low rates are too low. I then check the movement well and compare it to other planes I have with similar control surfaces. I have never had them be too low this way, and the High rates almost always seem to be what I end up with after taking out some expo a bit at a time. I have this set up on one switch as well as the ability to control each on there separate switches. I will use separate switches for testing and then set up the single switch to match when she is dialed in. Having the single switch set up now, gives me the chance to hit one switch in case things are dicey and I don't have time to search for the separate switches.

PS To see all the Photos full size, got [link=http://www.putfile.com/papabearspad/images/167765]Here[/link].

Edited the WA and WL after remeasuring.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Mine is the Mid West Hots so it could be different but without pulling out the plans I'm not sure where they showed the CG. I set mine up just forward of there mark with some lead on the nose then flew it and removed lead as I wanted then ended up at the aft CG mark. I went with some lead and tried it tail heavy but it started getting twitchy so I removed the lead and left it in my comfort zone. Ended up on the aft side of there mark shown on the plans.
I use degree meters for my throws and I set them at 12 and 18 degrees with all the rudder I can get. As I flew the plane I would see how it reacted and make changes at the field until I found the sweet spots.
I think what I just said is I don't have A clue as to where I have anything now but it has more then enough control for me and has scared the only other pilot to ever fly this plane. It's really A kick to fly though.
You really did one heck of A build and I love the covering. It should be A stand out at any field. Hurry up and let us know how you like it.

Fuelman

My Feedback: (6)

Great looking Hots. I have one of the Morris Hot Hots kits that I hav'nt started yet. This thread has given me plenty of inspiration to start gluing. Your covering scheme is fantastic, I may just borrow a few covering ideas from you....
Great thread.

kbear

Thanks. I didn't take that many close-ups of it, because it's only my second covering job and it shows. Borrow away. Are you going to do a build thread? I'd love to see how the Morris kit compares in structure and all.

kbear

Well, I put two flights on her today. I started on low rates for the first flight and they were a bit more responsive than I was expecting. Not a big deal and I got used to it fast. I love this plane. My CG is at 26.5 % and the suggested CG is 23%. I will be moving it back a bit as it is a bit nose heavy (too much down elevator for inverted for my taste). I'm going to try it at 28% next and go from there. She is very stable upright or inverted. Roll rate is lightning fast and rolls are axial. Man I love a fast roll rate. I didn't get too wild just yet. I did try to hover her a few times, but the CG needs to be moved. After I was comfortable with her, I switched on the high rate. I have the HR set as far as the surfaces will go but with -100 expo. The expo made her less sensitive,and I ended up flying her like that for the rest of that flight and the next. I will take the expo out a little at a time until I get the responsiveness I like. I think I'm going to set the LR to match the current HR as she was easy to keep up with at this set up and it will make landing easier. She will slow down to a crawl, but to my surprise, she can be flown much faster than I expected for a plane of this type. I really only used full throttle for vertical climbs. I think I will be putting an OS 55 AX on her in the near future for some extra power. The SK 50 flies her well at 5.3lbs, but I would like just a bit more pull out power. When I get her all sorted, she's going to be one of my favorites. I had a friend take video of the maiden, but my camera is not that great and I was flying too high. You really can't see what the plane is doing. All in all, I'd say she's a winner. I'll get some good video next time.