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Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/12/2012 2:52 AM   
grosbeak



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Status: offline 		Now that the wing repair is complete, I'm turning my attention to the next project for this plane - converting it from conventional tricycle gear into a tail dragger.

The first step was to remove all of the stock landing gear.








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RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/12/2012 3:01 AM   
grosbeak



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Status: offline 		Next step: Filling in the main gear channel with some scrap.



I went with a Sullivan tail wheel. The original idea was to have it castering, but a closer look at the tail presented a different solution - taking a notch out of the elevator.

The notch was centred, but the stripes weren't.



Re-covered...




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RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/12/2012 3:08 AM   
grosbeak



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Status: offline 		After the notch was cut and covered, I ground off the heads of the plastic tail bolts, possible because the horizontal and vertical stabilizers are epoxied in place. Once that was done, I re-covered the tail.



The tail wheel bracket was mounted with four servo screws...



... and the steering arm was connected to the rudder.




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RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 1:11 AM   
jeffie8696



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Status: offline 		Cool, I did the same with my Tower Trainer 40 but left the tailwheel to caster , it worked OK for my flying field but your solution is quite elegant.
The plane flew a lot better as a taildragger but it still sucked and I am glad it finally crashed and burned.
I now have a Nexstar and its much better, maybe I can make it a taildragger too?



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RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 3:16 AM   
grosbeak



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Status: offline 		Jeffie, there's a guy named chuebner on RC Canada who has converted his NexStar - check out this post for pictures.


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RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 11:23 AM   
grosbeak



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Status: offline 		On to the main gear. The first step was to decide on the orientation. I chose to have it sweep back.



There are calculations you can do to determine where the gear should go. After a lot of thought, research and advice I decided that placing the axles directly beneath the leading edge (in a level attitude) was the solution for me. To that end, I followed these steps.

  • Eyeball the placement of the gear on the fuse
  • Mark the leading edge of the gear on one side of the bottom, 5mm from the edge
  • Insert a t-pin at the mark
  • Roughly across the bottom from the t-pin, make a short line parallel to the edge and 5mm from it
  • Pick a forward point on the fuse. Measure halfway across the bottom and insert the t-pin there
  • Measure the distance between the two t-pins
  • Mark the same distance from the forward -pin to where it intersects the 5mm line drawn in step 4.
  • Insert a third t-pin at the mark
  • The line between the two rearmost t-pins forms an accurate leading edge location for the gear






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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 11:28 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		With the leading and trailing edges of the gear marked, the covering came off the bottom.



    There was a small gap at one point where a razor blade could be worked in...



    ... but first the bottom had to be cut across. A fine-toothed back saw worked well.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 11:34 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		With the crosscuts done, a razor blade fit nicely into the gap.



    A small scraper soon followed.



    With some gentle encouragement, the bottom plate came off the fuse with little damage.



    Turns out I had a hardwood block that was the perfect depth and width - it just had to be cut to length.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/13/2012 11:45 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		I used 30 minute epoxy to secure the block.



    While it was curing, I turned my attention to the gear itself. Drilled out the axle holes...



    ... test fit the axles...



    ... and marked the centre line.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 2:28 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		I put the tail wheel on before work this morning - couldn't wait to see how it looked.



    I made a drilling template for the main gear based on the location of the hardwood block.





    Got the holes marked and ready for drilling.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 2:43 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		With the holes marked it was time to lug my trusty drill press to the bench.



    A little protection...



    Started with the pilot holes.



    Then to an 11/64" bit for the #8 wood screws.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 2:48 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		Time for one of my favourite tools - the transfer punch.



    Holes marked.



    Started with a pin vise...



    ... finished with a hand drill and 3/32" bit, marked with tape for a 1/2" depth.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 2:53 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		For#8 wood screws I'm not sure it's necessary to pre-thread the holes and drizzle in some CA, but I've gotten into the habit with RC so I went ahead.



    After that came the covering, then the main gear.



    I cut some brass tubing to bridge the gap between axle size and wheel bore.



    Then onto its new legs for the first time!




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 5:37 AM   
    jeffie8696



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    Status: offline     		I run a lot of four strokes and having the improved ground clearance to swing a big prop is important to me. I also fly off tall grass sometimes and it makes a big difference with a tail dragger.


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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 11:09 AM   
    grosbeak



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    quote:

    ORIGINAL: jeffie8696

    I run a lot of four strokes and having the improved ground clearance to swing a big prop is important to me. I also fly off tall grass sometimes and it makes a big difference with a tail dragger.



    I hear you. This plane is powered by an OS 65 LA 2-stroke running a 12 x 6 prop, but I whacked the grass with it plenty of times while I was learning on it with trike gear. Had to replace the nose gear a couple of times too.


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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/15/2012 4:28 PM   
    jeffie8696



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    Status: offline     		I just hate it when my plane turns green from mowing the grass with the prop.


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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/18/2012 4:38 AM   
    grosbeak



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    Status: offline     		Together again for the first time.



    Just a little nose heavy at the rearmost point of the CG range.




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    RE: Hobbistar 60 - Tail dragger conversion - 11/18/2012 2:54 PM   
    jeffie8696



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    Status: offline     		Looks great, hope it flies as well as it looks.


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