foodstick

I built the patriot kit when it first came out for a guy. He installed a rossi 60 with tuned pipe, dang it was quick....

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

I noted that also. I believe the forward angle of the mains when retracted will compensate for the front retract wheel moving aft so balancing up or down should be OK.

I have the the Patriot 40 where the mains move laterally and because of the front wheel retracting aft, I balanced it with the gear up.

nitrobomber

So....how did it fly ?

nitrobomber

Sorry guys, had a bad arthritis attack on my knee and have been layed up for a week....but hope to mess with it tomorrow. I'll post some more pics as well.

Crash Campbell

Hi,

Do you land with the gear up or down? I balance all my models with retracts with the gear down.

Cheers,

Colin

Pegleg1972

Just finished patriot 40.Balanced with gear down.Flys great.

nitrobomber

Thanks guys...the statement that most conviced me was the one about CG being most critical while at low speeds such as take off and landing. I will do one thing though....while I have it balanced on the CG machine, I'll put the gear up to see how it shifts....fore or aft...to satisfy my curiosity.

nitrobomber

O.K....after weeks spent on the couch with this arthritis in my knee, I'm back on the patriot. I took all the sheeting off the turtle deck because I didn't like the way it turned out...there were a few low spots that I tried to work out with some body filler, but they were just too deep, so I stripped it and am ready to do it again. One of the problems was the stringers were way too soft to span the distance between the frames, so I fabricated new ones out of some cherry I had laying around. I need to work the notches in the turtle deck frames a little more to make them fit properly. These stringers...unlike the soft balsa ones that came with the kit...are stiff enough to keep the sheeting straight when I wet it and bend it around. I am expecting better resuts this time. Its really disturbing to see the number of kits that great planes has discontinued lately. It seems that every time I go to the tower site, another one is gone. At this rate we will have to either scratch build from plans and short kits, or settle for arfs which in my opinion, rob us of one of the most fun parts of the hobby. Don't get me wrong....arfs serve a purpose for those that just want to fly, but for those that enjoy building, the future isn't looking too great. There are some nice short kits out there from dave platt and wing mfg, but are pretty expensive by the time you purchase the wood from the kit cutters, and add up all the accessories.

nitrobomber

Got the stringers glued in today and tacked the sheeting in place but ran out of glue. The nearest hobby shop is more than 30 miles away. I watched all the ones near me close one by one over the past few years...I used to have three within a 17 mile radius. It's usually cheaper for me to pay the shipping and order from tower than to buy the fuel to drive 60 miles round trip. I am really enjoying this build, but getting to the point where I need to buy materials and an engine.

nitrobomber

Test fitting some of the abs parts to get a visual.

Quikturn

My Feedback: (12)

Do you plan on using all the ABS parts?

nitrobomber

Well Quikturn...I'm not really sure. When I first saw the side intakes, I didn't think they looked good. And I also noticed that all the pics out there of this model...nobody uses them. I recall seeing one pic of someone that used them. But after I trimmed them and taped them on...I kinda like em. Unlike most...I love working with ABS...it just come easy for me and always had great results. The secret I found was after you work the parts and tape them together, glass the inside with light cloth and pvc cement. Today I finally achieved a nice fair turtle deck ! And I found a hobby shop about 15 miles north of me that I never knew existed...and I found these really neat glue squeeze bottles from dave brown. You can bend them around corners and get the glue in tight places. you just stick the end in your ca bottle and suck the glue into the unit and your good to go !

nitrobomber

some more pics

Quikturn

My Feedback: (12)

Dragzila,

I noticed that most builders don't use the side intakes as well. When I get around to building my XL, I may build up my own balsa side intakes because I think it makes it look better.

Good work on the turtle deck!

Keep the posts coming, I like to watch your progress.

Are those squeeze bottles a one time use item or do they last for a while?

nitrobomber

Actually, you can use them for a while. I have been using the same one for 3 days now...the ca wont harden inside the tube. They come 12 to a pack. Finished the turtle deck today...a little razor planning and a long sanding block and waallaaa ! Next....back to finish up the wing and start on the ailerons and flaps.

Quikturn

My Feedback: (12)

Great job! Lookin good.

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Hi, would you share your technique for applying the cloth with the PVC cement?

Thanks, V.

nitrobomber

I found the technique in the instructions that came with my lanier cap 232. Its not really pvc cement but similar. Ace hardware carries it...let me rumage around in my "airplane room" as my wife calls it, and find those instructions...they give a great narative on the proccess...much better than I could explain it. And it gives the exact product no. for the glue.

nitrobomber

Vasek....Building the cowl always seems to be an unpleasant task. Especially if you are working with abs plastic and are not acquainted with its charateristics. Hopefully these instructions will be straight forward and you will end up with a super looking cowl. the glue used is Ace hardware general cement #43691. It smells like pvc glue and has the swab applicator inside the cap just like the pvc cement, but you will use a 3/4" brush to apply it. Also there is Goldberg cowl cement. First cut and fit all the abs parts by using curved sicsors. Cut outside of the score marks and "creep up" on the score lines with a sanding block, test fitting the pieces as you go for a proper fit. when your satisfied with the fit, use masking tape on the inside to hold everything together ( you may find it easier to cut some small scraps of abs and glue a couple of "tabs" to one side to aid it lining everything up), then use thin ca to tack the outside seams together. Then put the masking tape on the outside seam that you just tack glued. Next remove the tape on the inside and sand the inside surfaces with 150 grit paper. Cut a piece of 2 oz. cloth the approx. size required, lay it on the inside surface and paint in the glue. DO NOT USE EXCESS GLUE ! as it may warp or even melt the abs. Use just enough to wet out the cloth. Work from the center out in all directions for a wrinkle free application. Allow enough time for the glue to harden and then remove the masking tape. your now ready for body filler and final sanding of the outside of the part, and it is lightweight !

John Hancock

The Dave Brown applicators are neat. My mentor showed me a trick. Grab the end with plyers and pull from close to the plyers and the tube stretches. Cut with xacto blade and you have a much finer placement of glue drop.

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

Thanks for the instructions dragzila!

i might have to try the PVC glue as where I am at I have no access to Ace or Goldberg cement []

nitrobomber

I would imagine you could shop ace hardware online....pvc glue may work though I havent tried it....I would do a test run on some scraps first. The dave brown tubes are qite flexible and stretching them with pliers works good to get a thinner tube . I want to thank everyone for thier compliments during this build...it is greatly appreciated !

blueapplepaste

My Feedback: (5)

Those "glue tubes" look just like disposable pipettes. I may take home some disposable pipettes from work and see if they are. If so, you can get a box of 500 for ~$40 online, which is probably cheaper than the LHS costs. You could easily split that with some flying buddies and get them for next to nothing.

Seems that a lot of our gadgets and gizmos are just over priced things that have been hijacked from other industries.

vasek

My Feedback: (4)

I wish! I'm in Europe now and with the new regulations no liquid can be shipped by air...

I shop quite a bit @ Tower but again they don't ship internationally anything with liquids in it[:@]

nitrobomber

Yea...I could see where shipping liquids would be a problem...in that case I would try the pvc cement on some scraps and see how it works. When you wet out the cloth...the outside of the cowl will get cold and even sweat as the glue solvents evaporate. this is normal and it takes a while to harden...say.. overnight before you pull the tape.