ORIGINAL: KCRemoteFlyer
Hey all, got alot of stuff done this evening, getting really excited to get this done!!!!! I went ahead and bought some 1/16" balsa sheeting and sheeted the turtle deck, learned alot doing that, one side is definitely better then the other, nothing some filler couldn't fix.
A few questions, I bought 2 rolls of monokote (Jet white and Metallic blue), I'll work up a color scheme, but probably going to be blue on bottom, then white on top with some design on both sides. Are there any tips/tricks you have for a newbie coverer? I bought the covering iron as well. Also, is 220 sanding enough or should I do more?
Okay, now for the real newbie question. I've never, ever, set up a glow engive before. The manaul lists how to break in the engine, but it doesnt say to do it on the plane or not. Is it a bad idea to break it in on the plane, outside staked to the ground?
Also, The wife has veto'd getting a prop balancer and CG apparatus (for this build ... I'm way over budget [8D]) So what can I do at home to replicate these? Or is it just a bad idea to try it myself. CG shouldnt be a problem ... can probably make something out of some plywood that would do the job.
Let me know!!
The only newbie advice I could give on the monokote is to not give up until you've melted a hole through it with the heat gun.
What I mean by that is on my SSE, it was my first covering job & I had a ton of really bad wrinkles in the wing. I went oh crap & ripped it off. I then did it again & it was worse, I figured what the heck I'll try it with the heat gun & practice some shrinking before ripping it off & holy crap. It shrunk all of the wrinkles out & it looked absolutely perfect.
If your going to do decals, or trim pieces spray windex on the base monokote & slide your trim pieces around until they're where you want them. Then use a credit card to squeegy out the windex. Let it dry for a few hours (or overnight) & it will stick fairly well as it is with no bubbles. take your iron & run around the edges to keep it from peeling up. If you try to iron trim pieces on directly it's very difficult to not get any air bubbles under them.
As for the engine, it's obviously better to use a balanced prop. But to be frank, I've never balanced a single prop on my SSE, or my Nexstar & they run as smooth as silk. I think with the smaller props the forces aren't as great so it probably doesn't matter as much.
I also broke both of my OS .46's in on the plane. They don't pull that hard & the vibrations are minimal so you'll be fine. Obviously make sure the tail is anchored down. I also broke both mine in per the manual & they are doing fine.
For the CG, you can get it close with your fingers, but I also drilled a couple holes & stuck a couple pencils with the erasers pointing up into a 2x4 & it worked out ok. You'll be a little more accurate with a CG machine, but I would say the margin of error with the fingers or some other apparatus would be less than 1/4".
Your build is looking good. I can't wait to see your covering scheme!