So here goes my rebuild of 2.5 Mini Ultra Sticks. Why 2.5, well there's 3 Fuses, 2 wings, 2 Elevators, 2 rudders, and one landing gear. The first 2 fuses I don't know what happened and lead to their crashes and the damage to the wing. The third I did see. An elevator control horn was fine, but the wood it was attached to broke leaving the pilot without elevator control. The previous flight, the elevator spilt in half, so I have a feeling this had a little to do with it. I got them from a nice guy at the field who didn't have time to rebuild them and really didn't think they were salvageable, so he gave them to me. Little does he know the Stick's unwillingness to die (it's simple and quick construction). I have had a MUS (mini ultra stick) for roughly a year and a half and it has been my daily flyer. I have seen what wears out, needs strengthening, etc. So I plan on building on that knowledge to make these the best they can be. My plan is for one to be glow and one electric. I am about to finish another MUS with parts of the game plan.
Here's the game plan
1. Double the elevator and rudder thickness. Both of those should not flex in flight!- a must
2. Landing gear rework. I have had 2 MUS fuses start fracturing behind the mount on the side of the fuse after many landings. Especially if you get rid of those cheap foam wheels and fly off of grass. I have had one fuse spilt in half after landing and taxing. It's shocking when it happens. [X(]
3. Fuse side reinforcement and thickening- a must
4. Larger wing dowels
5. Stiffer plywood formers on the forward section of the fuse
6. Remove all slack in the rudder control rods
7. More "bite" for the control horns- a must
8. Real wheels and steerable tailwheels, I hate stupid skids!- a must for me
9. I will come up with more as I go along that I can't remember now
I will give some info on all of the damage as we go along
PS: sorry about any bad grammar in advance