RE: Ace R/C Simple Series Builders collection
Ok, here is the ME109 pre-covering. I figured i would post these first so you could get an idea of how i bashed.
1.) The wings are sheathed with 1/32" balsa with both a balsa leading and trailing edge. Lightening holes were added and reduced the weight of the weight of the wing equal to the additional weight of sheathing.. weight gain was a wash. I also added two 1/16" ply spars in slits at the wing root to strengthen which was easier to hide in lieu of the tape or fiberglass. I used 1" ailerons in liew of the 3/4" supplied in the kit and attached them with robar point hinges.
2.) Used my own balsa for entire kit in lieu of the balsa supplied. Added lightening holes in most surfaces. Weight savings was considerable.
3.) Broke down and bought a .061 norvel wth throttle and then added a 2 oz epoxy bottle fuel tank with vent out the top deck cut to catch the prop wash for pressure. 2oz tank gave me 17 minutes at full throttle on bench after breaking in the engine.
4.) Used 4 channels with spectrum 2.4gz receiver and micro servos. Battery is a 7.6V 2100mAh lipo with a standard park flyer ECM with the motor leads cut off to reduce voltage and all push pulls are carbon fiber. When compared to a standard servo with 72Hz reciever and ni-mh battery pack, weight savings was a little over 70 grams. Range is only about 1500 feet but the damn thing turns into a speck at around 500 feet so i think range is adequate.
5.) found out that i quickly ran out of room (felt like stuffing 5 pounds of sheesh-ka bobs into a 3 pound sack) so i omitted the pilot and threw the receiver up there instead.
total weight unfinished was 14-3/8 oz.