Starting the dolling up work...

I came up with a few things that will add some color to the pitts and make it different from the stock "Bulldog" scheme... Here is just a start on the ugly baby puke yellow control horns. I will also be adding some color to the covering as well, just to spice it up some..

pics
The stock control horns were an ugly yellow, so i scuffed them up with some sand paper, cleaned them with some thinner, taped them offwhere they will get epoxy and sprayed them... I also did the control rods as well..

Anyone have a source for clear water bottle type gas tanks, that are ready to go.. The ones I found don't come in the 20oz size that I want... I have enough to do on this plane and really don't want to make one myself...

I got the top wing hinges all taken out and the new Robarts installed,I'm pretty happy howthey came out. Silky smooth action and a nice tight hinge gap with more then enough throw.. On to the bottom wing and rudder and the hinge problem is behind me..

Jimbo</p>

I added some red to the top wing and will do the same to the bottom wing, fuse and tail.. I think it will add a little something to the overall look of the plane.. I am also going to order a DLE decal with the same colors..

Scale,
I'm thinking about gluing the top wing together, I really don't need it to be a 3 piece wing for transport.. The only problem I see is the wiring, gonna do some thinking on that... Do you see any other issues with making it a one piece top wing? The way it lines up with the gap at the LE, gluing it all together would make for an easy fix...

Jimbo

I also thought about making it one piece, but left it, the only possible disadvantage is the servo connectors will be exposed and or how do you attach them to the strut at each assembly.

I took my servo extensions and ran them up into the center section, the servo extension wire is held to the strut with black electrical tape, which make the wire running up the strut virtually invisible, and the servo connections are concealed in the wings.

I've got about 8-10 flights in with the new motor, I for sure need to do something about the color scheme,, just to hard to pull out of the sky..

Another things I'd recommended. Take some thin CA and wick in some glue to harden the tabs the outer struts attach too,, the ply isn't very strong and I've had to repair them,, the crash probably didn't help, but the wood is weak.

good luck

Will do with the CA,... I will let you know what I come up with on the wiring, I'm thinking a hatch of some sort so I can still hide the connectors.. I here ya about the color scheme, I wasn't crazy about mine and that's why I am trying to doll it up.. My bottom wing is black and i think I will do a checkerboard on it just to help... I can only imagine how hard an all black one is!

Jimbo

Not sure exactly how yet, but I have decided to make it a one piece wing for the extra strength and to make iteasy at the field.. I should be able to make a nice little hatch that i would only have to open if i need to change the wires, the connection would be made and tucked back into the center section to hide the wires.. I have to see if I can find some yellow heat shrink tube that will fit over the support strut to hide the wire coming down into the plane....

I got all the hinges re done and I am very happy I did them, won't have to worry about them any more... Got most of the red trim on as well, what a difference, very happy how the plane looks now.. I have to make two more support plates for the control horns, mine was missing two of them, go figure.. Have to make a run to the LHS to get stuff, starting to get excited about this plane, finally!

Glad to hear,

I was thinking, after your earlier post, about ways to simplify the assembly process. I leave the plane home and fly my 50cc Extra unless I plan to stay at the field for the day. I think a few less bolts would make me more likely to brings the plane out. And frankly I'm getting sick of dropping washers and nuts in the grass when I'm putting on the outer struts. this is the real PITA

1- modifying the outer struts with bind nuts instead of nut/washers/screws, I think just loosing the nylock nuts would make a world of difference

2- Yes,, making the top wing One piece, or just leave it together and re-do the servo extension like you describe


pretty sure I've seen yellow electrical tape at Home Depot before,,
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...&storeId=10051

good luck

Thanks for the link on the tape, that will hide it just fine..
I here ya on the screws, a real PIA.. I been leaving the struts attached to the bottom wings in the shop while taking apart and putting back together.. I have a Van for with PVC racks I made for the wings for transportso I think I will be leaving them attached to the bottom. It will cut down on some of the work at the field.. I might try leaving them attached to the top wing instead, that way your not trying to work upside down.

Jimbo

Mine go in a wing bag, so that's a no go for me,, I'm going to order some extra blind nuts and screws, been building a Tower order anyways, I have the bonded washers already,, hopefully that helps motivates me to take it out more often again.

Went down stairs and found I had 8 4-40 blind nuts after all,, best part is they slide right in the OEM hole perfectly, no drilling needed, I had 5 1/2" screws also,, I'll have to dremal down a couple longer ones,, I might paint the blind nuts black so they blend in better too, the silver kinda jumps out at ya.

I love it when it's easy

some before and after paint shots

Looks good, I'm right with ya on easy... You gonna add some wax to the screws so they don't vibe out on ya?

What muffler did you use on the DLE 55? I was cutting the cowl last night and thought the stock one would fit, but it misses by about a 1/4"
I have to send Great Planes a little email, all of that brand epoxy I bought, the resin all went hard on me.. Funny thing is that there is other brands as old as 8 years that sit right next to the GP stuff and those are all fine.. They must have taken something out, never had that happen before.. My basement is always 65 or so, never a big change in temps..

Jimbo

Been using the rubber bonded washers on the cowl and canopy and haven't had one back out yet,,

Had a short flight yesterday with the new set up, that little change of assembly did make a difference. the flight was short because I rigged the tank wrong and had a dead stick,, all went fine, but when I got in the pitts I saw a broken wire brace,, I need to redo them before I fly it again.

Yes the stock muffler body will stick out a touch, I bought a j-tech wrap around,, I might change it out and install the new cowl

Getting ready to place an order at my LHS for some things I need to finish this plane up....

I'm going with a 3.5" spinner.
Dual batteries on the Rx, So a Dual Miricle Switch on the RX and a Single with fuel dot for the Motor.


What Prop you been running on you 55?
How did you wire up the ail. servos? Did you go with a "Y" on the top and one for the bottom, then another "Y" into you receiver?
Also, what did you set your CG at on yours?

Thanks a BUNCH for all the tips, been a big help...

Jimbo

Running a 22-8 on the 55

I'm running a Power Expander Pro so no "Y"s are needed. it has Battery share and regulated 5.0 volts to RX built in and I use the pin switch option. running 2 a123 2300 cells, 2000 mah niMh pack for ignition, Rcxel optikill switch,, no other regulators needed with this set up.

5625 servos for the Ailerons, Running left side chn. 1 right side chn 7 , using the Aileron differential in the Futaba TX, Servo were matched via a Hitec servo programmer. Elevator servos are Programmer matched also. single 7955 for Rudder

CG is where the manual said,, as much of a joke the manual is, it seams to fly well at that point.

glad to be of help, good luck

Thanks again my friend, it always helps when you can talk with someone who has your plane up and running, been there do that type of thing... I will post some more pics soon, the boy robbed my camera batteries for his XBOX controller!

Jimbo

I'm so mad at myself right now, I did a very stupid thing... I was drilling the cowl for the mounting screws and when the bit went trough the glass it popped the wood support piece off the inside of thecowl, no big deal, I will just glue it back on... I remembered that all my epoxy is screwed up, so I grabbed the CA to do a temp fix of the problem so I could finish mounting the cowl.. Using the CA it didn't dawn on me that there was already a hole in the glass and the CA just ran down theoutside of thecowl...

Anyone have any ideas on how to get the CA off without hurting the paint?

Jimbo

Here are some pics since I added the red into the colorscheme... I'm very happy with the looks of the plane now, it's amazing what some red stripes, stars and a lightning bolt will do to the over all look of the plane... All the black and silver is stock, I just added the red..


Jimbo

Here's something that will remove CA. I use a small piece of paper towl soaked in Kwik Debonder from Hobby People, then let it soften the CA a little, then wipe with the paper towl untill it is removed. I have used it on cowls, with no damage to the paiint, but to test to see it does not harm the paint.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/index.php...e&amp;dir=desc

Thanks for the tip, I will give it a try. I guess is it does mess up the paint, I will have to get a decal to go over it...

Jimbo

Well the cowl is toast! The De-bonder I used took of the clear coat, kind of.. More like turned it into a sticky mess, but didn't hurt the paint.. If I can figure out how to get the clear coat off without hurting the paint, I can just shoot it with clear once all the CA is off.. Any tips if this can be done?

My other option is to fix the cowl which was very ugly to begin with, you can see every seam in it and some of them are bulged up from lack of sanding before finish...  If I end up going this route, I doubt that I will be able to match the yellow that was used on it as well as the canopy. So I will have to figure out a new color scheme for the nose and that will be a PITA, being the silver stripes on the fuse went along the cowl.. I have to do some thinking on this one! 

If it's just the clear and the paint under is good, just get some Crystal Clear,, I think krylon makes it. Worth a try.

What are you doing for tail bracing?

Setting my tail up just like yours, still have to source where and what I will use exactly...

Do you know of anything that will take the clear coat off and not hurt the paint, that is stronger then De-bonder? The De-bonder has turned it into a sticky mess, you can see where it is missing around the CA I was trying to remove and any that got on the rest of the cowl has turned it tacky... I tried a very small amount of thinner, but that didn't cut it...

Most likely it will (out gas) dry hard after a few days, if not try hitting it with lacquer thinner, some times even just spraying the lacquer thinner on and letting it evaporate will restore the shine. You 'll be able to see right away if the thinner will work, it will either uncloud or not.

I picked up some shark leader and a crimp tool at Gainder Mountain last week, getting tired of the light duty wire breaking.
I'll be redoing all my braces tonight, I'll post some pics when done.

Good Idea on the Shark Leader, I just happen to have a gift card for Gander and BassPro...

RCU won't let me post any pics, all I can do is the fast reply.. They must be having some very rare problems with the site...lol Took me several trys to post this!!!

I am going to head over to the hardware store and see what I can find to try and fix the cowl issue. I think this whole problem is telling me to fix the chipped canopy and sand and fill the cowl like it should have been at the factory. I can also get the canopy to fit right at the turtle deck.. The juices are starting to flow on a sharp checker board paint idea for thenose that flows onto the canopy as well.. I can then try and match the silver add some red and have the stripes dive towards the bottom of the cowl.. This GW ARF is turning into a total bash all because I tried to save a few dollars on the air frame...lol Just have to take it in stride I guess, one thing is for sure, it will be the only Bulldog Pitts Python that looks like this in the whole world...

Lets try and see if it will let me post some pics..