roadtrip

I am now finished with my 2/40 and have posted progress pics for those interested. To start with, this kit leaves a lot to the imagination and is not a begginer kit. (I made several modifications from the plans and instructions, as they don't make a lot of sense to me.) The plane was built per the plans in respect to engine down thrust and wing/stab incidence. Also, two aileron servos and two engine servos with seperate channels each were added instead of one channel for ailerons and one channel for engines, with control horns as per the instructions. I made removable top cowlings to be able to access the engine servos. I want to thank those that have posted their experiences and highly recommend new comers to the Dualist to read the forums on this plane. You will find them throuout this thread.

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In the beginning. Here is the throttle and aileron servo layout. The plans call for one servo for both engines, but two are better with seperate channels for each engine. This gives more throttle control options. (A good beer also helps.)

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More. It would be a good idea to bring the top and bottom sheeting out to the trailing edge of the top and bottom main spar and add "webs" between each rib from W-2 to W-10 for additional strength. Not in the instuctions.

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more. (Left engine servo arm was later reversed) The instructions call for one servo for both engines with two bellcranks in the necelles. Not very reliable with two engines. It seems much easier to put two servos on top of the wing with a straight shot to the engines.

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more. The servo wires will have to be cut shorter when I figure out where the reciever will go. There's a lot of spagetti wiring and not a lot of room to tuck everything in when it's done.
Also, the wheel wells were reinforced with thin plywood and fiberglassed out to W-2, as well as the root. Not in the instuctions.

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The wing covers nicely with monokote, but lots of space is needed with more than one person. I had to take the wing over to a buddy's work shop to cover it, as mine is kinda small for this task.

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I chose the color scheme for better orientation in the air.

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To keep the wheels up for transporting, I use strips of velco with half a clothes pin in the nose well.
The fuse is the hardest part to build, (can you say, "PAIN IN THE BUTT"[:@]) as things are real flimsy and must be held in position to dry before proceeding. Again, I recommend a buddy to help here.[:'(] This is where you might want to decide where to mount the nose gear retrack and install the blind nuts. After you glue on the nose block, it's permanent. Not in the plans.

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Be careful when hollowing out the nose block, as you want to get rid of as much weight in the nose as possible. I went a bit to far here and now have to figure out how to cover the holes.
I also made excess panels for the nose gear retract, as it's near impossible to get at the mount screws with out them, should you have to.[>:]
Not in the plans.

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There's not a lot of room above the wing, so some careful planning goes well here. I decided to add the Pica cockpit kit for this plane, so dropped the cockpit floor (F-16) down to the bottom of the F-18 crutches. This removes space needed for the servos, reciever, battery pack, air tank, retract plumbing, servo wires and retract actuator valve. To add more space without adding weight, I cut out the bottom section of the fuse just behind the wing and made a place for the battery pack with an access panel, which also brought the CG/balance to almost perfect. (see post #12) Go figure! Again, not in the plans!!

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I extended the rudder by 1" and added a bottom fin to the rudder, extending about 8" forward from the rear of the fuse where the rudder attaches. (an idea from the 2/60 version) This adds a safety zone and better stability in case of an engine out situation.

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My buddy's C-47 in the background. Now you know why I go to his shop when I need more space!!
Wing fillets were added from triangle stock balsa. They had to be slit in order to bend them to shape and then filled with micro balloons.[:'(]
I chose to make a place behind the wing for the battery pack, as it's pretty cramped above the wing where everything else has to go and the plane is quite nose heavy. I had to cut away the bottom of the fuse between F-6 and F-7 and now have to make an access panel there. This worked out well, as the CG was much closer without adding access weight. I can further adjust by moving the battery back or forwards, now.

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The steering is a pull-pull system with the servo in the middle of the tray. The rudder servo sits next to the steering servo with the retract servo on the other side. Ball links had to be used on the steering arm, which was made out of shaped brass. The clevis's that were tried before were crimping on the wire when the gear retracted. Not a good idea, as the wire would soon shear, or the clevis would break. It works fine, now.
Also, I programmed a seperate mix with the rudder channel in my radio so that the steering servo is disabled when retracted by flipping a switch, there by saving any excess drain on the battery pak. Comments, please
The elevator servo went behind and next to the air tank.

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

Whadda ya got in the nose there, Bob?? Nose cannon??

Great looking build!!

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The battery compartment, air tank and elevator servo.

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Just a little over sanding! But not a bad idea!!

Ram-bro

My Feedback: (101)

this is a fine job your doing. Looking closely at your work, this looks like this would be a perfect kit for bashing/converting into a DeHavalaind Hornet or Mosquito with just a lil work.

ChuckAuger

My Feedback: (12)

Oh, duh! I see now, you hollowed the nose block and got a little thin. I swore it looked like you had a gun mounted in there when I first looked!

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I thought about putting a cannon in the nose, but this bird is so nose heavy as it is. I'm still going back to each post and edit in some comments.

Habraken

Nice building, and nice pictures.

Try to get same quality with my p-38 (scale 1/12).

regards,

Kees,
Holland.

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So far, the plane weighs in real close to 9Ibs with 8 channels and 8 servos. I'm almost finished covering it and should be ready for the maiden this weekend, weather permitting. (Maybe I'll look into adding snow skis.)

TCBLightning

My Feedback: (5)

Great job! Thanks for all the progress photos! Can't wait to hear how it flies!

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Fuse is covered.

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Here is the cockpit. (before some minor mods) and the nose with nose gear access panels. (I thought I'd throw in a little personal touch for Valentines' Day by putting a photo of me and my greatest fan on the nose!)
Also, the nose gear and receiver tucked in with very fine, double wrapped foam. The foam is literally weightless on the scale, but really adds a lot of protection.


I really want thank my good friend, Eddie Young for his always there, unselfish assistance on this project. Without his help, I would not have produced such a beautiful airplane. The man is finaminal!! THANKS, EDDIE!!

mucksmear

Very nice work roadtrip!

Did you choose to have open wing bays aft of the main spar for weight reduction reasons?

9 pounds! that sounds pretty good. more photos!

-E