sebo

Why didn't someone tell me that I had the control rods in upside down?
This is what happens when you try to build in your sleep and not roll over.
They are in permanently and are pointing out of the top of the plane!!
Any suggestions?
Thought about just leaving them that way. This is just a knock around plane anyhow.
What do you think?
Ron

loochman

Hey Ron,

Great quality kits is something that we could do without![X(] We need more "Grape Plane" and other kits with bad engineering and die crunched, I mean die cut parts that don't come free without major surgery.[X(]

Doing a good job never pays off. No wonder your kit seems to be no longer available, it's too good to survive the brutal world of ......

Well, so much for that. I feel better now.

I never bought a kit (nor anything else) from ebay. Maybe I should give it a try. What do you think? Can other good kits, aside from yours, be found?


Miguel

loochman

Hey Ron,

I just saw your last post. You need to lay off the hooch or stop smelling the glue, at least while you are building a plane!

Don't feel bad, I once messed up a kit so bad, in more areas than one, that I ended up throwing the whole thing in the trash, not because I had it with the kit but because there wasn't a single part in the right place. I just couldn't get anything right no matter what I did. I think my brain was on strike or something during that disaster. It happens to the best of us, the secret is to be able to laugh it off and recover as best you can.

I think your idea of just leaving it like that would be great. The plane would certainly be different.

I have another idea but I don't think you want to hear it. I could go on and on but I won't. Sometimes they call me the Rodney Dangerfield of Puerto Rico. (is my age showing ).


Sorry for your Mishap,
Miguel

loochman

Ron,

After a little thinking (which I wasn't doing in my last post []) I have come up with a constructive idea! I would think that you could cut the ailerons off, put in new hinges and switch the ailerons around. This would put the control arms back inside the fuse. You would then be as good as gold.

What do you think?


Miguel

sebo

Hi, Miguel!
As far as getting a plane from Ebay that is as great as this one is must be the luck of the draw.
I got one good Aeronca and 3 that have a lot to be desired.

As far as this plane goes, I'm embarrased to have made such a dumb mistake. Never made that kind before.
I think it would be too much trouble to de-hinge and re-hinge the ailerons. (I'm basically a lazy person and hate to do the same thing twice......I'd probably put the control horns in backwards again!

I just got another idea......hope I can remember it in the morning. I'll write it down now.
I think I can recover with minimal work.

I won't do this one in my sleep. I'd probably roll over on the fuselage and end up with a "V" tail.
Ron

Cdallas2

Couple things.... How much dihedral did you build into the wing? If only a couple degrees you might just want to flip the wing.

You could also split the halves again and redo it.

Not sure what else you could do.....

mclina

Ouch. That is a tough one. Putting the servo on top of the wing is certainly the easiest fix. If you do a band of dark covering in the center of the wing, it would be almost invisible. I would consider just snipping off the torque rods and put dual aileron servos out on the wings. That's probably more work than cutting off the ailerons, but at least you wouldn't be re-doing work that you already finished.

Either way, I am sure the finished product will be excellent.

Good luck

mclina

I guess one of us should have caught this....[]

I bet your last build was a low-wing plane

sebo

I want to thank everyone for their thoughts. Good ones too.
Dihedrial is too big to invert. Tried that.
Even my comments on mounting them was incorrect. Gotta go back and try to fix that.

My comments have been corrected. Thanks for pointing that out.....Wheeew. What a mess.
But it does show that there are solutions to most everything.....especially when you have builders like you guys to help out.

My last 5 planes had the servos mounted in the wings.
I'm going to cut the rods off (as was suggested). I will put in a new set of rods that I have in my "stock" drawer.
That appears to be the easiest fix.
I will also cut the aileron shorter for simplistic removal of the horn.
After that, I will install a new piece of aileron to replace the cut piece of aileron and install the new horn...........the right way.
To reinforce the splice of the aileron I will put a piece of 1/16 ply overlapping the splice on the bottom and top.
It won't look too messy.
After building 60 or 70 planes I sure feel dumb making an error like this.
Thanks again.
Ron

mclina

That sounds like a good plan. I can't wait to see how the fix turns out. I bet it looks perfect.

vpresley

My Feedback: (162)

FYI Midwest does not kit planes any longer, (Not a viable market for them now). Builders are getting rare these days. You can still find the kits on **EBAY** and here on RCU. I called them to check on a kit, and thats when I found out about them no longer being in the RC Plane Kit business. I built one of these kit years ago, loved the quality and well cut wood, great plans and instructions. Built the wing without dihedral, and put one of the small case 40 size K & B engines on. It was a great flyer !



Vince

sebo

Started on the fix tonight. It is coming along well. I'm glad that I used canopy glue for the hinges.....It holds but MUST be pinned.
It cleaned off the plastic sleeve very well but I tore the wood out of the wing where the sleeve was inserted. Will have to put a new piece in there. No problem.
I think I can pull this off and, once covered, no one will know but us.

sebo

The following pictures are of the steps I took to fix one side. Time involved....1 1/2 hours.
Still have the second side to do but it should be easier because I won't have to think to do it.....Whoops, that's what got me in trouble in the first place.
Oh, as far as the "hooch" goes, I am a non-drinker, non-smoker.
Ca glue isn't as much fun to sniff as ambroid glue, and I use ca and epoxy. Haven't used ambroid since I was a kid and that was pretty much what was used in models.
OK...Here we go.

sebo

That was the removal process.
Now comes the build of the new control horn using a 4-40 threaded rod and the nylon control thingy doo that holds the rod to the wing.

sebo

Measure a piece of aileron stock to replace that which was removed.

sebo

Complete the fix by putting in the new piece and filling the holes where the wing was mutilated by the removal of the messed up hinge with light ply and balsa.
Decided to uses only one piece of 1/16 ply on the bottom side of the aileron. I tested it for strenght and it passed my test. Besides that, it won't be as noticable.

Everything sanded flush on the top of the wing and looks pretty decent.
After glassing and filling with spackling compound it should be ok.

Yes, I did do it the correct way this time......I don't know about the other side yet.
Ron

sebo

One hour for the second side.
Please notice where I cut the aileron this time.
I took it further out and away from where the control rod enters it.
A little spackling compound after applying the nylon center section and the top will look pretty good.
I also did not have to cut the top section apart to pull the control horn out.
The second wing went much smoother.

sebo

Well, that is pretty much it. Built in less than 30 days.
I will cover it at a later date because I have another plane in need of repair......I make mistakes flying too.
No radio equipment will be installed even after I cover it.

At this time I have 6 planes in RTF condition and I don't want to spend money on a new flight pack that I don't even have the room for to program into my transmitter.

I have a simple scheme picked out but I would be copying it from another member of RCU.
I'll ask him if it is ok before I do that.

This one won't fly until another one bites the dust and can't be repaired or I give it to someone.

Thanks for watching.
I shall return with covering in a month or so.
Ron

FlyingPilgrim

My Feedback: (26)

Hey Ron,
Nice little plane, and nice looking build. I think this kit has been discontinued for some time now, so keep your plans and die cut scraps to make templates from in case you want another one. I saw one of these on ebay, and thought about it, I'll have to keep my eyes open for one.

loochman

Hey Ron,

Nice work on the fix, you do good repair work as the plane looks great. I'll be looking forward to see the finishing of this kit.

Until then,
Miguel

bolar

My Feedback: (5)

Just a thought before you cover, have you considered wing bolts instead of rubberbands? Bolts make life a lot easier and are not as messy.

sebo

Thanks, Miguel.
Ron

sebo

Yes, I did give wing bolts a brief moment of thought.
I have other planes with rubber bands and they don't bother me. It does make the plane look cleaner with bolts.
It's good enough for me now.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Ron

Murdoc

Nice build! Good to see that I`m not the only one doing mistakes! Good luck with covering and I`m sure it will turn out very nice!

scootter

My Feedback: (223)

has anyone flown the Aero Sport 20 with a 4 stroke? What would be a good choice? OS 30 .Saito 30 or 40fa?