RCU Forums - View Single Post - Servos on Tower Trainer 40
View Single Post
Old 04-23-2006 | 02:34 PM
  #6  
Scar's Avatar
Scar
My Feedback: (3)
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 3,120
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
From: Peoria Hts, Il. IL
Default RE: Servos on Tower Trainer 40

I just put together one of these, to use for instruction purposes. While it flies nicely, I must say there were some things that might give a new person some trouble.

The pushrod tubes for the throttle and steering won't fit through the holes in the firewall. You must drill the holes out to the size of the tubes.

The left cheek of the plane is cut for an engine with a rear-mounted adjuster needle. If your engine has a needle in the front, you must make your own clearance. I chose to just use a rear-needle engine.

The axles must be ground flat in places for the locking collets, and the nosewheel axle needs a flat where the steering arm locks it. If you don't have a grinder, buy a Dremel. Practice on a nail or plain wire before trying to grind these flats.

The steering axle fits through a support and through the bottom hole in the motor mount, but they don't align as delivered. I put a thin shim under the support to align the hole with the hole in the engine mount. Had I not done so, the steering would stick.

You must grind and cut clearance for your aileron servo in the wing. Don't forget to insert the servo in the mount before gluing the wing halves together, or you might find (as I did) that there is no pocket for clearance of the servo wire nib that protrudes from the bottom of the servo. I had to grind the clearance for that wire nib in later, with a Dremel.

Read the hinge directions, and read the directions for CA hinges here on RCU. Then follow the directions.

Assembling the tank is not trivial. If you have difficulty, contact an experienced flyer. Or, ask some questions here.

Just one more thing, a word about covering. I keep reading that ARF planes arrive with "wrinkled" covering. I believe it would be more accurate to say that the people who cover these ARF's do not iron down anything they don't have to. In the case of my Tower 40, only the edges and the colors were ironed down, otherwise the white film was untouched by an iron. I suggest you set the iron between 250° and 300°F, and touch it to all the loose areas. When you touch an area, follow up by rubbing the hot covering with a rolled up cotton sock. This will press the hot sticky adhesive to the wood and hold it there while the adhesive cools.

Good luck with your plane.
Dave Olson