Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Spent a about an hour building the other day,

The table & band saw + 12" disk sander make quick work of cutting and shaping

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

The spine is lite ply, tripped up a the main mount and soaked with thin CA to add strength,, I'll be drilling lightening holes before I glue them in.

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I like it!

Edited remark(after reading the post more carefuly)
It was a good idea to seal the Lite-ply with thin CA. It strengthens Lite-ply a lot. Unsealed Lite-ply has approximately the same water-resistance as saltines and is the very favorite breeding ground of mildew.

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Had a little incident with the plane yesterday :), but I needed to located a forward hard point anyway

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Nice soldering job.
 Be sure to check the motor shaft to be sure it is not bent. 

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Thanks, but that's heat shrink tubing,
Motor is going to be replaced with something larger anyway, but I will check

rear float attachement is next

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

>>Motor is going to be replaced with something larger anyway,<<,
As long as it's not the gasser shown in the plans on Photo#2

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

That would be something to see,,,

I just had to water test them before I went further,, Looks like they have plenty of reserve buoyancy so I think the size is good.

on to the tail float

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Trying to use all the existing holes to attch, pics tell the story.

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

more pics,

Too glass or to sheet?? Well I thought actually glassing would be less weight than adding a wood veneer, I could have left them bare foam, but they wouldn't be very durable that way.

I decided to try the Polycrylic with 5/8 oz. glass on these, I'd wanted to try the poly in lew of epoxy for a while. The can says sand-able in 2 hours but it took much longer to be hard enough to handle, over night it's hard as a rock. Waiting is the hardest part ;)

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Like when using any new product, I'm unsure about the Poly method, After 3 coats and letting is sit over night it still seems tacky, I'm going to have to wait on the final sanding of the mains,, Total weight of the mains is 2oz after glassing,, not bad,, I guess about 3oz total after painting including the tail float

Put some red on the tail float I had left from the os2u rebuild,, not sure I like it yet,, I actuall now wish i'd sanded off all the marking off the foam and left them just glassed,, I like the way they look white,,


Ordering a 22-20 motor/ 30 amp esc,, that should give it the poop this baby has been waiting for,, it's been marginal with the 22-8 I've been flying it with

I tried to float test it with the tail float on,, but my lake froze over last night ;)

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

It would seem I made a mistake rushing the paint, I should have let the Polycrylic out gas longer, I hit it with 2 coats of some dark OD flat latex and it's still tacky after 24 hours. I should have known better, I've read posts of guys having the same problem,, Oh well, worse case I'll have to sand it off and refinish.

Waiting on the new power system, actually if I had a prop, I'd take it to the pond as is,,I can't wait to try her out ;)

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I remember Pactra Poly-U.  It would stay sticky for a MONTH. 

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

That stuff was a nightmare,, the good news is after a few days it's dry now. Next time I use the poly I'll let it dry longer

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I received some props and parts from Value Hobby so I took it out for a taxi test and maybe a Maiden,, Looks like I'll need to tinker with angles a bit. It is sitting a little tail high and the main float angle is too parallel with the wing. I re bent the forward main and aft tail wire,, I'll try again today if the wind isn't up too much

http://youtu.be/YMbnc0CEOWY

I guess the youtube embed feature is turned off

[youtube]http://youtu.be/YMbnc0CEOWY[/youtube]

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Lesson learned,, I'll never use Polycrlic for glassing on floats again.

After the first taxi test I noticed the paint wrinkle a little, but then today after adjusting the float angle and trying again, the paint just started to lift off the poly and it feels tacky again. The paint just rubs off the poly. I thought at first it had to do with the latex I used, but now after repeatedly drying the floats it clear to see water has soaked under the poly/glass. I may just have to completely sand off the poly/glass and start over with epoxy. What a mess

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I bent the gear to push the mains forward about 1.25", took it out with the unpainted floats and had a successful maiden, flew well once I adjusted the trim for the CG change,, did a few touch and goes etc.

Next post I'll try and get some video,,

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Once again sorry for the crappy camera work,, my wife didn't do much better. Missed some nice touch and goes,, I'll have to recruit a new camera man,, not sure where I'll find one. There was a dog across the pond that was having a good time chasing the plane,, good times

btw.
I did get some primer and white enamel to stick to the floats,, they look presentable now. Not sure I saved anything but a disposable brush by using the Polycrylic,, I think I'll stick with epoxy in the future

http://youtu.be/4ptWcLRrRA4

[youtube]http://youtu.be/4ptWcLRrRA4[/youtube]

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Scale,

I can't help but to notice that your main floats appear to be mounted upside down and backwards. The pictures of Seaplane Supply's "Hot Timers" on their website show the large radius of the float surface to be down and forward whereas you have the large radius up and aft with the short radius surface forward instead. I'm still learning about floats so please tell me why you mounted them this way.

Thanks,

Harvey

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I have a product to play with from WoWplanes for sheathing foam and balsa. Called Liquid Sheeting II.

http://www.wowplanes.com/index.php?c...c1f7cfdb4d335b

I haven't made up my mind whether to strip and "dip" my Hanger 9 floats or soldier on. I had a fluid cup and a quarter (measured) in the sealed starboard float and that almost cost me a model last weekend. They don't fly well when you nose down and 10 ounces of watersuddenly sloshes ahead of the propellor! I ran out of "up" elevator VERY suddenly.

Also added a 3/8" drain plug that I'll seal until needed. And hope the two "holes" Iplugged where the covering was loose over tabed holes in the sheeting for bulkheads were the source of the leak.

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Cuss I screwed up,, thanks for being so darn observant,, LOL ;)

I flew the plane yesterday,, people at the pond in town seam to like it,, backward and upside down floats and all :D

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Oh.

Harvey

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

Charlie,, I'm sticking with what has worked for years, west system epoxy and glass cloth from now on

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I actually considered grinding off the tabs and remounting them the other way, ,we'll see,, it is working fine as is, so don't hold your breath ;)

RE: Mini Stik w/ tail drager set up
 

I would think that the larger radius forward would provide a smoother transition onto the water than the blunter " (short radius) end would.

Harvey