R/C Lee
Posts: 164
Joined: 12/21/2002
From: Black Butte Ranch,
OR, USA
Status: offline
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Savi, I'm very sorry to hear about your OV-10 loss. I think that you would have found as I have that the more you fly it, the more fun it is to fly. I hope you either rebuild it or build another. Mine is such a blast to fly, and I know you would feel the same.
Savi and Fred, I didn't like the stab joining mechanism per the plans so when I built mine I did the following. Underneath the stab on the insides of each fin, I added a wide triangle piece to support the stab. About midway back (chordwise) on the stab, at the stab/fin junction, I drilled a hole downward in the stab through the triangle piece and glued a 4-40 blind nut into the triangle piece on the top of the triangle piece (opposite to what you would normally do). This allows me to screw down from the top of the stab into the stab/fin junction to provide ONE attach point on each side.
Then, I drilled two holes from the outside of each fin into the stab at the stab/fin junction, appx 1/2 inch back from the LE, and 1/2 inch forward of the TE of the stab. These holes go into the stab centered on the stab thickness. Does this make sense? I then glued two 4-40 blind nuts into the ENDS of the stab (total 4, two on each end). Again, these blind nuts are "flat side out", the opposite to what you would normally do. This gives me two screws coming in from the outside of each fin, screwing into the stab, for a total of three hold-down points on each side. You may think the stab end blind nuts or the triangle-mounted blind nut would pull out, but they don't unless you crash. Ask me how I know that. The reason they don't pull out is that the top down screw doesn't allow the stab to move left to right, thereby removing any side stress on those blind nuts. The side screws don't allow the stab to lift or distort, removing vertical stress on the center blind nut.
This three-point hold-down will stop the stab from lifting or becoming misaligned during a high speed run, which sounds like what happened to yours Savi. It also gives you a quick release point if you need to disassemble the aircraft, by just removing three identical screws from each side. If you do this, be sure to have some balsa filler between the sheeting where you drill the fins so the screws won't compress the sheeting. The balsa at the tips of the stab perform this function for the stab.
Also, very big point, is each time I take the airplane out I check the six stab hold-down screws to be sure they are tight. I do that at the same time I preflight everything to make sure wing bolts, clevises, etc are OK. Not obsessive/compulsive, just want to keep the airplane in the same number of pieces as when I brought it to the field  .
Savi, I hope you do decide to rebuild. After all, now you have all of those templates you made for the first one (you did save them didn't you), and you'll find that you can probably build it in half the time you took for the first one.
Lee
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Shot up, engine overheating, losing oil, but still flying.
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All Forums >> RC Airplanes >> Twin & Multi Engine RC Aircraft >> RE: OV-10 Bronco 52" 3-Blade Prop Size? 
RE: OV-10 Bronco 52" 3-Blade Prop Size? - 
. Thanks, Lee
Or maybe I'll build another Venezuelan model (my wife is Venezuelan, hence why I wanted to build a Venezuelan aircraft).
