Summary of suggestions (post # 1)

I'm fairly new at this. I saw a UCD at our local field and had to get one - my third plane in the year I've been at it (fourth if you count the one I destroyed/replaced - my first mistake with dual rates). When the shipments finally started up again, I was lucky enough there was one in my LHS that hadn't been claimed so I snatched it up. Had one night to check things out and had to go on a trip and haven't had a chance to start putting it together yet. Someone in the shop told me about RCU and I've been reading the threads for the last three nights! Here's what I've gathered:

- Reinforce the gear attachment area
- Reinforce the wing dowel hole area
- Fuel proof the firewall (and more?)(epoxy?)
- Upgrade the pushrods
- Check for broken ribs/other damage
- Get a different tail wheel assy
- Possibly use different hinges (might want to really do this since I've never done CA hinges)
- It seems the favored engines are OS FS-91 II and the Saito 100 (except for DKjens who would put a small-block Chevy on it if he could make it work! lol)
- Check for right thrust built into the firewall, if none add washers
- Use a remote glow igniter

Any other big tips?



A few questions:

Do you need to tap the holes in the engine mount or can you just drill holes and mount w/bolts?

Do you leave the string inside the wing after installing the aileron servos in case you need to replace them?

I've seen that people have glued the belly pan right onto the covering on the wing, even put a fillet of epoxy along the edges. This seems to rely on the covering a lot. Any danger of the covering pulling away and letting the belly pan flap in the breeze? Would it be worth it to trim some covering away so you can epoxy the pan right to the balsa sheeting?

If you use carbon fiber pushrods, can you just cut them to size with a cutoff wheel or do you need a special tool (so to speak)?