orion4455
Posts: 23
Score: 100
Joined: 2/28/2011
Last Login: 5/31/2013
From: FAIRFIELD, IA, USA
Status: offline
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Dear Badazzgti03:
The Cessna 310 is the plane of my dreams, and I bought it as my FIRST plane! I love it!. Before doing anything with it, since I did not have the experience to fly it, I joined the local flying club (Ottumwa, IA) and had some great people help me check the plane for all mechanical and cosmetic problems. It turned out my plane was in excellent condition despite being about five or six years old.
Now, there are a few things I would recommend to improve the plane, and to prevent in-flight mechanical failures.
First, I replaced the wooden sticks or "beams" used to support the servo boards, in the center of the plane, with BASSWOOD from SIG. I used pieces one-quarter inch thick, by three-eights wide, by nine inches long. I then measured one-half inch from each end, made a line across the width of the wood, and then carefully cut the wood so it was only one-eight inch thick for each one-half inch of the ends of the beams. This allowed me to "countersink" the wooden beams against the wood mounting rails of the plane that are already glued into the fuselage, running length-wise of the plane. You now have the options of gluing the beams to the fuselage, or using screws to hold the beams in place, or gluing the beams followed by putting a small wood screw in each end, as well. These "beams" are super strong for mounting the servo and battery boards, and work great!
Next, I replaced the flimsy, thin servo and battery mounting "boards" with SIG 5-ply, plywood, one-eight inch thick, and copying the width and length from the original board(s) sizes. These boards are much stronger, flex less, and serve as "insurance" against in-flight failure. I mounted them with socket head cap screws (4-40 x 1/4" long) with washers. The mounting "beams" and "boards" are now super strong, and you won't worry about servo and rod failures, or having the glue dry out, followed by the entire "works" coming undone during stress times when flying. BTW, I find RTL Fasteners (www.rtlfasteners.com), Chesapeake, VA to be an excellent source of screws, nuts, bolts, etc.. Great people, great prices, and great products,,great shipping time, and they DON'T SCREW YOU on the shipping charges!!!
Next, make sure you paint the FLAPS interior compartments. They are directly behind the engines, and bare wood only invites problems later on. The "mechanicals" for the flaps are very goodstrong, cleanly mounted, accessable.
Next, I was profoundly "BORED" with an ENTIRELY BLACK INTERIOR, SO.....you put the wife to work. Women naturally have a better "eye" for paint schemes, decorations, etc.. It's fun to make your plane really FUN for air shows, static displays at malls, etc.. I painted my pilot, have flight case and maps next to him, have a "mini-QUILT" on the rear seat, and I have A CESSNA 310 INSIGNIA, carved from wood and covered in gold cloth, on the back interior wall. The interior is really nice, (pictures to follow in near future), and I made sure other people could participate in the building process so they would have fun, would feel part of the "team" effort, and would be able to "BRAG" about building my plane. When you get the "girls" involved, your PR factor for your club sky-rockets! And, suddenly, the food at static displays and field shows becomes much better! (Ha!).
Finally, I knew every 310 was painted the same. I really like the color "blue," but wanted a unique paint scheme. I hired Sue Hopper, (Signs and Wonders, LLC; phone: (319)-750-0814; email: signsandwonders@hotmail.com) because the exterior and interior MUST be the best possible. Sue travels the country (USA) and paints trucks, motorcycles (lots of work at Sturgis), boats, cars, about anything you want, and she does SUPER GREAT WORK!! Her prices are really good, and she did a superb job on the plane (pictures to follow). My Cessna was her first plane, and she loved doing the work. In turn, I recommend her highly for any painting work.
Now, the only thing left is to have DownandLocked.com help me get my landing gear doors in sequence.
In closing, I wish to thank Harold Zimmerman, Council Bluffs, IA for selling me a great plane with no problems. He did a great job of having his plane built exactly to plans, and he "loaded it" with mechanicalsrobarts, downandlocked, futaba servos, 14 channel RX, Meash wheels, and two OS .46ax motors. When I bought the plane, it was in excellent condition. Again, I thank Harold for a great way for me to enter flying, despite, as a novice, me having the proverbial "cart before the horse." Now, I just have to learn how to fly! And, I must offer great thanks and appreciation to Don Wasson, of Ottumwa Radio Controlled Flying Club (ORFC). Don introduced me to the club, will serve as my instructor, and has been just great about helping with "a million questions" while I work on my plane. Also, thanks to Dave Rabe, Jerry, Bob, Larry, and the rest of the guys at the club. And, I would be remiss if I did not also say "thank you" to all the guys at the Iowa Aerohawks Flying Club in Iowa City, IA. They are also a great bunch of guys to know. If you want to see some great planes, look at: rchawks.com, and iowacityaerohawks.com.
Thank you for the time. I hope my ideas help you. Orion4455. Bob G, Fairfield, IA
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RE: Top Flite Cessna 310 posted - 
