RCU Forums - FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

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RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

Fuel tank was mounted the following way:

Cut two pieces of 1/4 by 1/2 stock, made them really tight on the fuselage sides (so the buldge out some and take out some of the gap that exists between the wing and fuselage in the mid- wing area).

Took a 6 inch ruler, held it against the wing tube/bulkhead for proper alignment (so the ruler lays down flat on all that) and then CA'd them in place. I put the front one in approximately 1 1/2 inch in front of the wing tube, and the other one about 1 1/2 inch behind the wing tube, running parrallell to the wing tube. Some doublers where they meet the fuselage helps make sure they stay in place. Dubro 20 oz tank fits in nicely.

Now, what I'll do is take a couple pieces of small diameter fuel tubing, tie it around the cross pieces at either side, and then slip the fuel tank underneath the fuel tube, stretching them out quite a bit. System is easy to install and has worked well on my other FOCUS.

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

By the way, I mounted the servos underneath because the elevator CF rod is just long enough to do this, but putting in the front section under the canopy would require a longer CF rod or using steel 4x40 rod rather than the neat Central Hobbies titanium end that is supplied with the kit. I decided to build per plans, with the servos in the back bay accessible from underside. Great picture in the instructions.

Wheel pants and LG legs.

I tried a few differnent techniques. Is it me or is it hard to mount landing gear after the blind nuts are installed. Had the same problem on my 40% Extra. Anyhow, use my experience (I started to come down the learing curve after doing the first side) with the following steps:

Slip the gear leg in and mark, as accurately as possible, where you think the outside screw (hard to get one) will be (you can make a small mark on the block next to the LG leg and eye-ball it from there). Drill the hole, put the screw in, and then do the same for the center one. Its easier to eye-ball the center one and get a more accurate hole drilled the first time (without haveing to file-out the hole to get the screw to line up with the blind nut)

Advice- don't force the screw if the hole is not perfectly aligned, file the hole and wallow it out some to get it to thread in by hand. Its tempting to get "close enough" only to strip out the blind nut (something I did a couple times on my 40% bird).

I had also tried to mark it from the other side (thru the blind nut) but the mark was off quite a bit. Eye-balls are much more accurate.

Wheel Pants.

I put a piece of 1/32 by 1 1/2 by 3 inch inside the wheel pant to stiffen it quite a bit. It helps when the kids are always stepping on the wheel pants at the field... Then took two pieces of 5/8 wide by 1 inch long pieces of 1/8 ply and ran them front to back about 1/2 inch down from the lip of the wheel pants. Next I cut a 1/4 inch slot where the wheel pant slips over the axle (lock nut) and then drilled two 1/8 holes for the retaining screws/ blind nuts. Drilled thru the gear legs first, about 1/4 up from the axle, on either side of the axle. Then position the wheel pants and drill thru them to install the blind nuts. I like two of the 4x40 rather than a single 6x32 to give extra security if one becomes loose (the wheel pant will not rotate).

Cheers,
Don

RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers - canopy

Two birds with one stone.

In a couple of the posts I saw an issue with the tank being too high due to the wing tube, Also the top deck was bowed. I had both of these problems.

I need a 20 oz tank for the bigger motors. I swap between pumped and FI motors so the tank needs to be pressurized sometimes. (For me it’s an MK.)

To fix the bowing I had already planned to use four bolts to hold on the deck/canopy. This alone fixes the bowing, especially if you fit the canopy with the deck bolted in place.

To fix the space issue I cut out a chunk of the canopy/deck floor leaving a 3/8” edge. Then used 3/8” square strip to reinforce the edges. The hole is then covered with 1/16” sheet. No weight gain and now the deck is much stiffer and not bowed. I left the front tongue in place to keep the front down.

Pictures attached.

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

Trying again to attach

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

RC car paints have a window tint that works well if sprayed inside the canopies that don't take dye.

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

Hello everyone,

Now that Eric. Henderson has brought-up the subject ( kind of ) I would like to
know if the canopies will take the dye or, do I have to use the method
of spry- paint a window tint???

See attachment for how the end resold should like.

Thanks, in advance for the info

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

I tried and it won't take dye.

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

A sample of car window tint.

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

Here is my Temptation. I will be doing this to my Focus II also.

It is Lexan car paint Candy Blue.

Mike

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

Hello Mike Hill,

Thanks for the info, but where could I get one of those spray window tint?:eek:
Could I get the window tint at any body repair shop ??[:o]

Again thanks for the info,

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF construction by-the-numbers

And also how do you make it like the pic “see through” ??

RE: RE: FOCUS II ARF Canopy tinting.

With RC Car window tint you spray fine coats inside the canopy. Check for darkness after each one and stop when dark enough.

With a spray gun. You use clear-coat with a drop or two of the desired color. Then spray as above. (It is wise to mask the outside of the canopy with a clear plastic bag - you need to be able to see the results)