How do you save a quick 1/4 lb? Yep... 11.35 oz before - 7.25 oz after.

Another view...

4.1 oz is alot, but the hatch is still very strong and twist resistant... once the canopy os glued on, it'll be rock solid...

Bottom of hatch - Before and After

Good job Maudib. I was also wondering did you compare the main wings with the extreme flights yak. I was just wondering if they were bigger too.

Thanks... anything for 4 oz huh?

Don't have them handy (I had an extra stab) but a buddy has one, I'll try and get to his house and check them out...

Man Maudib, you're beating me to the punch on again (getting pics up, I need to get my own camera) . The canopy was one my first too, took pics, but haven't uploaded them yet. Funny thing is, ours look Identical, except for the balsa headrest, I was a little leary on that one. My balsa seems a little soft, is yours of a hard grade?

It was a mix... hard spots... I left what I thought was plenty of meat due to it being vertical grain at the top of the "ring"... Once the canopy is attached, it should tie in very nicely.

That's really about all I'll share for a while... it ws just bugging me as to how much that would save... and 4.1 oz is a nice tidy savings...

If this CF stuff I have coming saves 3/4 like i hope... theres a full lb right there... Drop the wheel pants for another 1/4 lbs and I'll be sitting at 17.5... still gotta be some more in there...

Nice work Maudib,
Funny, you guys are carving meat off, and I'm putting meat on !!
After working with this thing all day I'm a little concerned about slapping a 70 on it and have beefed up the firewall just a bit.
I cant even imagine an 80 in this thing, possibly one of the new generation lightweights.
Would be insane

Maybe I shouldn't show this.... but again... curiosity killed the cat...

This thing is covered PERFECTLY to peel it like a banana and access the tailwheel plate and rudderpost. not to mention the belly balsa...

A person could easily remove some material here and the button it back up without having to tear up the beautiful covering. It'll go back together without a hint that it was done and without needing any extra covering.... SHWEEET!

And also, while in here... look how nicely this thing is assembled... w9old have loved to have seen an ARC version... beautiful job of sanding and sheeting... makes a fella feel bad if he decided to take some out...

pcsol... ADDING! That firewall is solid man... pinned and everything... but do as you must...

This is VERY interesting... the wood parts I haven't touched, have already lost 2.3 oz!

I noticed that my hatch was actually a tad heavier in todays weight untouched vs. yesterday's weight intouched.

I was going to go ahead and lighten the tail out a bit just to see how much I was gonna save in the tail... (yeah I know)...

And thought I better weigh the fuse again... It dropped 1.1 oz! The wings dropped a little too and one stab a hint... the other stab was the same.

Then I weighed all the "hard stuff" wingtube, stabtubes, gear, etc... they are all the same... so YES.. .the plane dropped 2.3 oz on it's own... Probably dried out some from being outside on the ocean so long.

now that's what I am talking about! Yeah it's not gonna drop 1/2 lb... but maybe when all is said and done it would be 1/4 lb less huh?

Then one could argue it would gain that much in humid summers... well I dunno... but let me enjoy this anyway...

Simple job... saved .7 oz and this thing is still rock solid in the tail... The center tailblock was an absolute BEAR to drill thru... looks like pine/spruce... HARD as a rock. Light sanding and... well... you can't tell it's been done except for the slight darkness of the holes... If anyone gets up under my plane and compains... [:@]

Saving in the tail is going to be a real big deal come balance time... I didn't iron on the covering real tight as I may come back and visit the belly balsa once I see how the balance comes out.

Maudib,

Great job, what's the secret for such clean looking lightning holes? Also, you were right about Lanier and single ailerons. Talked to them today and they said they had never flown one with one servo per wing. Really advised against because of the size of the ailerons.

I really like the looks of a pilot, so, I called Gerhard at Aircraft International and ordered one of his very light foam pilots. I have one in my 33% Ultimate and 37% Katana and they weigh about an ounce. With your skills you may be able to hollow the figure a little and cut that in half.

Curious, on the tail tubes from Graphtech, did they have .490" size? I have Graphtech main gear, tail gear and wing tube in my 37% Kat. Left the aluminum tubes in the tail for weight as I had already mounted the rudder servo in the cockpit area.

What engine are you planning on using?

Blue Skies & Fair Winds,

Rege Hall

I use forstener bits for drilling the clean holes... I got a little carried away on one front big one and caught the edge a little, but didn't hurt anything.

They have .5" stab tubes... so they may not fit... we'll see... depends on how exacting their .5" is... I might try sanding a touch from inside the sleeves if I think I'm in the ball park.

If they work:

they will be 1.2 oz lighter + the tailwehel is .4 oz lighter and I lightened the tail by .7 oz... total of 2.3 oz... that's a WHOLE bunch of weight I won't need in the nose... at least 6-7 oz...

I plan on the DA50...

Here's what forsteners are if you haven't seen them...

This is a super ongoing review. I had been following the Edge review by bonedoc, patiently waiting for my Yak to arrive. I may have been the first one to post pictures of the bird waaay up north on www.rccanada.ca Regardless, my plane has arrived at my LHS and I pick it up tomorrow. I've got a ZDZ 50 for this plane, but have been contemplating trading for a 60. Any thoughts?

Peter

In reality you really CAN fly it with just one servo / wing. Just look at WH Extra 260. It's bigger, but uses only 1 servo. In this respect
, Lanier is a tad old fashioned.

I wonder if the 260 has as much surface area on the ailerons as the yak. I agree though, one servo would be nice

john

[quote]ORIGINAL: jrjohn


I wonder if the 260 has as much surface area on the ailerons as the yak. I agree though, one servo would be nice

john
[/quote
I think you are wrong on the Wild Hare, the 33% 260 calls for two servos per wing. I was just looking at it.

I stand corrected.

But their 93" Giles 202 has only one (REALLY). I checked

The Giles has considerably smaller ailerons... not only in depth but also width... doesn't go anywhere near the root of the wing, and the servos are designed centered.

With that said, the ailerons on this plane are very sturdy. I think Lanier is being conservative, and when some asks about making a servo bay in the center they are probably imagining all sort of cobbled trays... If a person went to one bay in the center, they'd have to be competant to create a strong servo tray that integrates in the wing well... probbaly double the ribs with a cutout for the rails underneath, and a tray that encompassed the servo and was sheeted to each side rib.

Not for the faint of heart and if you didn't do a good enough job you simply would risk the plane. Even so, this type of mod would be performed withthe understanding that the plane would never be flown fast, but mostly slow 3D and middle speeds through the sky.

You MUST seal the hinges.

Develop ANY slop in the tray, linkage arms or servo gears and the resulting flutter at to high a speed would rip the wing apart. This plane certainly is not much larger than the EF, QQ and other 500cc offerings that use one aileron servo... but they were DESIGNED for one.

They ailerons have some counterbalances on the tips...and I don't know how that might affect the propensity for flutter...

If one performs the mod... I suspect they would need to add at LEAST 1 oz of weight for the bays... resulting in about 4 oz of savings... (with 2 less servos, linkages and extensions) hat's pretty significant if other weight savings mods/upgrades are performed too...

But you are obviously on your own... no complaing back to Lanier if anything happens... noit that it would... but it IS an unkonown until someone does it. Then someone dcould do a good job and another do poorly... with differing results.

I believe I'd be MORE inclined to use Futaba S9350's at a stated 1.4 oz (probably more like 1.6oz) and save 2.5 oz that way... 138.8 oz in ea.

Well I might be the one to try one aileron servo. With the existing tray. I will make the linkage as short as possible, make sure there is no slop and seal the gap. I will be using a 5945 servo at 6 volts. The only reason I am considering this Is because my aeroworks 31% edge was designed for 2 servos for the airelons and I only run one 5945 servo on each one and it is not even close to being centered, but my gaps are sealed. I dont fly fast all time but on occasions I do. My linkage is also very short. The only thing different is the counter balances on the airelons. The edge has never givin me any problems. I have flown this plane for a year now and mostly 3d maybe Im just lucky or asking for trouble.
Mike

Well, this is definitely the heaviest Yak on the market. It's nice to see that there's [A TON OF] room for improvement, But I'd rathet pay the extra $ to have it come to me 2 pouns lighter..
Maudib, I would be interested to see what the wing area and span actually measure out to - my guess is it's less than advertised; most of them are, except maybe the QQ yaks...

Nope... it's a true 87" (already checked)

22.5" root and 10.25" tip chords

Winghalves are 38.75" long

9"(avg) x 22.5 of fuse between wings

My calcs say this plane has 1471.5 sq. in.

Pretty dead nuts with what they claim...

Obviously their ruler is more accurate than their scales...

I think it's actually gonna come out nicely when all is said and done... A little work... but if it flies as good as it look and is built... it'll be worth it...

Great work maudib, keep us posted on the weight as it progresses Maybe it'll make a nice 3d ship afterall... I'm on a tight budget as well so it might just fit the bill

It just gets better!

Taking a break from some webwork, I decide to "peek" at the rudder bottom...

Again the covering couldn't be done better for a peel and see approach.

I did, and decided to drill out a bit hole and see where I was... I drilled, and I drilled and I drilled...

And when I finally broke through the other side it felt like reaching China...

Oh.... my..... gosh..... this thing has a 2" tall rudder block!

I drilled atotal of 7 varying size holes as I follwed the taper... and to my surprise...

I save yet another .7 oz! From the rudder plate alone. left PLENTY meat for the tailtouches (like I can do one anyway).

And wrapped it back up... won't be in here again, so I ironed it down good...

Saved .7 in the tailwheel plate and .7 in the rudder base... 1.4 oz total out of the tail with the CF tailwheel and stabtubes that's about 3 oz out of the tail and 8-9 in the nose!

Making that DA50 balance is getting likelier and likelier...