RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF  
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RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/9/2008 2:48:08 PM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		Jolly,

Well I thought I'd be descriptive as there seems to be a fair amount of interest (dlan, yiotiscy, and who knows who else) are both interested in putting retracts in this plane. As for the location of the wheel, let's hope that turns out OK. Mind you, it wasn't like I had a lot of choice as to where to mount the retract; the unit is only about 1/16" narrower than the gap between the ribs.

I got the paypal message and look forward to receiving the canopy eject lines. That will really spruce up the model. If I'm not careful, mine might look almost as good as your model.

BTW, is the secret out so you can post the photo of the what is connected to the second wing servo?

(in reply to mR JoLLy)
       Post #: 101

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/9/2008 4:40:07 PM   
dlan


 

Posts: 82
Joined: 6/15/2005
From: french valley, CA, USA
Status: offline 		You know, the wing mods look relatively easy compared to the nose. I'm real
curious to see what you do Rcjets!!

And btw, what is the other servo for Jolly? Curious minds want to know (nuj nuj)!

All in all I think it's great how people from all over have shown intrest in this plane and are
sharing info. Keep it guys!!

~Dlan

(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 102

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/9/2008 8:47:04 PM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		dlan,

The wing mods really weren't hard and surprisingly enough the nose gear was pretty simple as well. By far, the toughest part is figuring out at what height and angle the nose gear mounting rails need to be. It does look pretty tough in the photos from Jolly but I think that is just because his photos are of the completed installation so things look a bit cramped.

I will be changing the nose gear mount from the rails to the 1/4" plywood. This is because former #2 is simply too weak to take the loads so I need to install the plywood to carry the load out to the fuselage sides.

With some luck, I can get the second main retract installed and the nose finished up by the weekend. I'd like to get the plane back into the air by Sunday.

As for Jolly's second servo (refer to photos/post on page 4 of this thread), Jolly said
quote:

"There is another modification with a small servo in the wing (visible from one of the pictures) That's a surprise for someone so cant say here just in case he is watching, but I will reveal at the weekend!"


Jolly told me in a PM what the servo was for but I'm sworn to secrecy! We'll have to wait for him to reveal the secret.

I too think it is great about the interest in this kit. Retracts are being put in by myself (US), Jolly (UK), Gregor32 (Australia), yiotiscy (Cyprus), and who knows what other folks are just watching this thread.

When are you going to put in the retracts?


(in reply to dlan)
       Post #: 103

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/9/2008 10:13:16 PM   
dlan


 

Posts: 82
Joined: 6/15/2005
From: french valley, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Ok, I can wait for Jolly to unviel the secret but the suspense is killing me...

I believe I will fly te plane prior to the install, much like you did rcjets! I really want to
feel how the plane reacts before I put the time and effort in. Softball with the kids
dominates most my time currently. Weekends and some week nights I have been
working on the Tucano. I have decided to go with the FS70 for power, not the Mag 53.
That will be installed this weekend.

As always, thanks for all the great info. It will be used in the future!!

dlan

(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 104

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/10/2008 7:39:09 AM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		Well, I furthered the cause tonight and got a bit more work done. All three of the retracts are now installed. It took about 1-1/2 hours to get the second main retract unit mounted but now the bird sits on all three gear. This enabled me to check check/adjust the length of the struts to have the plane sit level on the ground. Here's the strut data:

Nose gear - distance from ground to underside of fuselage skin (at strut):
Jolly - 120mm = 4-3/4"
Jim - 115mm = 4-1/2"

Main gear - distance from ground to underside of wing (at strut):
Jolly - 132mm = 5-3/16"
Jim - 153mm = 6"

My main gear struts are quite a bit longer than Jolly's since I wanted the plane to sit such that the wing had 0 degrees incidence when the plane was on the ground. As Jolly predicted, this is going to cause a bit of a problem as the main wheel wells will interfere with a wing rib. To avoid the interference, the main gear struts have to be about 13/16" shorter (and match Jolly's) but then the plane will have too much positive incidence so I'd have to shorten the nose strut too. We'll check that out tomorrow night to see if shortening the nose strut (but still have the nose wheel completely retract into the fuselage).

In the meantime, here are a couple of more photos.


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(in reply to dlan)
       Post #: 105

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/11/2008 6:06:33 AM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		Well, Jolly hit the nail on the head with his main gear. I shortenend the main structs to 5-3/16" (132mm) to have the wheels fit between the wing ribs and shortened the nose gear strut to match (now 3-13/16" from underside of nose to the ground). The nosewheel (2-1/4" now sits over the tank when retracted but looks like it will still be enclosed.

I got the main gear wheel wells framed tonight and the main gear retract servo and pushrods installed. It was a lot of fun to put the wings on, flip the switch, and have all three gear retract.

Tomorrow night, I'll make the final mounting plate (1/4" ply) for the nose gear, and sheet the lower nose. I have some sheeting work to do on the bottom of the wing (I decided to replace the fairing as it didn't fit very well and the holes in the fairing for the wing bolts didn't align with the holes in the wing). After that, just replacing the covering film is all that's left before I can fly it. I'm still hopeful for Sunday.

Jolly and dlan, what are you guys up to?

(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 106

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/11/2008 6:17:09 AM   
dlan


 

Posts: 82
Joined: 6/15/2005
From: french valley, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Hey guys, the FS70 is nearly a in. Flight pack coming soon. For me hopefully, will be flying in ~1 month...
Oh I hate waiting...

till then my Dragon Lady 40 will be abused!!!

(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 107

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/13/2008 2:48:50 AM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		DONE! The gear is in, the covering film is on, it's all charged up, and we're ready to go. I can't wait for tomorrow morning. How's it look to you?



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(in reply to dlan)
       Post #: 108

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/14/2008 6:26:50 AM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		We had fantastic weather in Albuquerque today. The regular Spring winds of 15+ mph just didn't appear; we had clear sunny skies all day with winds in the light and variable category.

The flight tests today went very well. The Tucano looked awesome on low passes with the gear up. Top speed increased by about 10mph. I received lots of compliments on the plane. Some of the guys had seen the plane qith fixed gear in past weeks and noticed the retracts favorably. Others wondered where I got such a good looking 40 sized plane with retracts. The comment that made my day was an experienced IMAA pilot who said my Tucano "looks like a whole handful of fun!" All I can say is that he is right!!!!!!!!

A couple of notes from the tests:
- I had shortened the nosegear too much and you have to give a fair amount of up elevator to get the plane to rotate. (Additionally, the main gear struts are shorter than the fixed struts so these two factors combine to make tail scraps likely. Good thing I installed a tail skid just in front of the rudder.) Zero degrees incidence at the wing root is too little incidence. However, I was expecting this and left a bit or excess strut available. I'll desolder the axle and increase the length of the strut 1/2"-3/4". The good news is that upon landingwith 0 degrees incidence, the plane certainly sticks to the ground. At 1-1/2 degrees incidence and the kit main wheels, the plane is still a bit bouncy. I'll set it up at 1 degree for the next flight test.
- The nosegear setup is a bit mushy. I might replace the strut with one having fewer coils. Also, the old Dubro low-bounce tire likely needs to be replaced with something slightly stiffer (or newer)
- Don't use 12 year old Monokote to recover the wings. It's now brittle and pieces of it may fly off the plane with that extra 10mph you have. Fortunately clear Scotch packing tape makes for an excellent field repair.
- Don't forget your camera at home.
- Futaba retract servos are very strong. If you happen to accidentally leave the Rx switch on and go fly another plane using the same transmitter, selecting gear up will work on both the airplane you are flying and the Tucano on the ground behind you.

All in all, it was a really great day. Attached are some very fuzzy photos taken by a chap at the field who was nice enough to email them to me. I'll try to get some better photos the next time.



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(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 109

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 4/15/2008 4:04:18 AM   
dlan


 

Posts: 82
Joined: 6/15/2005
From: french valley, CA, USA
Status: offline 		Hey Rcjets!

The plane looks awesome!! And what a field!!! Wow it looked like a fantastic day!!


(in reply to rcjets_63)
       Post #: 110

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 5/5/2008 9:22:10 AM   
Winchweight


 

Posts: 12
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Shrewsbury, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		I am watching this thread with fascination. I have the Pheonix Tucano with an Irvine 53 up front and it is awesome. I want to fit retracts to it too, so keep the info coming guys.



(in reply to dlan)
       Post #: 111

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 5/6/2008 6:45:04 AM   
Kostas1



Posts: 1222
Joined: 12/19/2005
From: AthensAthens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Awsome pics winchweight.....Very nice?

Video?

(in reply to Winchweight)
       Post #: 112

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 5/6/2008 8:05:16 AM   
Winchweight


 

Posts: 12
Joined: 3/20/2007
From: Shrewsbury, UNITED KINGDOM
Status: offline 		Video? Non yet. Perhaps when I get the retracts done.

(in reply to Kostas1)
       Post #: 113

RE: PHOENIX TUCANO .40-.51 ARF - 5/6/2008 6:46:22 PM   
rcjets_63



Posts: 132
Joined: 2/26/2008
From: Albuquerque, NM, USA
Status: offline 		Here's a link for the in-flight video taken from the cockpit of my Tucano.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNFhUd-li2E

It's a great bird and I'm having a lot of fun with it. The retracts really add to the charm.

Winchweight,

In case you didn't see them, earlier in this thread I posted a lot of photos with descriptions on how to install the retracts. That should be all the info you need but if I missed anything, feel free to send me a PM and I'll try to answer any questions you may have.

Regards,

Jim