Well, there's certainly alot of postings about this aircraft here so mine will probably get lost amongst the herd, lol...

Anyway, I've read about balance issues, engine issues, wing attachment woes and landing gear plate failures. Sounds like everyone is more than willing to overcome the many challenges Hanger 9 has allowed to exist in this ARF. Must really BE a superior flyer!

So, my post is a tad different in that my "kit" came with two left wing panels and no hardware other than the tank, landing gear and wheels. I knew this going into the purchase but the price was right so I bought in.

Here are a few photos of how I'm getting my US 60 airworthy:

These photos show how easily the trim covering can be removed to repair the crushed ribs that are oh-so-common with this selection.
A little thin CA and activator makes short work of the ribs...I simply glued the pieces back together and inserted back into the ribs. The servo tray was now on the top,(unacceptable) so I trimmed the balsa away and epoxied a 1/8" poplar ply servo plate in place. A little sanding and filler and it will be ready to reapply the transparent covering I peeled off.

Cont:

More of the servo tray and rib repairs...

I chose not to sheet between the two ribs, mimmicking the opposite wing panel. Lazy or otherwise, this will work fine, is quick and easily accomplished.

Next challenge is the wing joiner fabrication and adjusting the wing bolt holes at the trailing edge. When I flipped the panel over, the angle became opposite. Since there is only balsa here, this should be easy enough. The 1/8" ply plate I will have to cut will reinforce this very nicely and I plan on inserting nylon bearer tubes as well.

This is what I accomplished in 2 hrs. my 1st evening working on my new "almost" ARF.

More to come....

Point Magu

No photos today...All I accomplished was to get the MDS .90 mounted,(had to enlarge the motor mounts) and do the fuselage reinforcing chores.

I cut the hatch on top and applied basswood behind the firewall. The H-9 folks had already glued 2 smallish triangle stock pieces on either side but I went ahead and added top and bottom as well. I flowed 30 min. epoxy over the entire assembly but chose not to apply glass cloth. I also epoxied a 1/2" balsa triangle forward of the wing support bulkhead and also to it's reverse. I added another at the rear of the 1/4" landing gear plate. I will apply a piece of 6oz. glass cloth over this section once my mods have set up overnight.

I picked up a Sullivan pull-pull kit along with their hardened metal control horns. Once I got the 90 installed, I couldn't believe how much weight is going to be needed aft. 2 servos and linkages may not be enough...probably will add flying wires back there, too.

I saw an interesting post that showed the servos mounted inside the fuselage aft of the wing compartment but I'm opting for placement outboard all the way rear.

I'll be getting more done tomorrow and will shoot a few pics to post tomorrow evening. So far, this is a decent ARF and I'm looking forward to getting its certificate.

Cont:

PointMagu

Got several excellent flights in this morning...overcast but perfectly calm,(after 4 days of rain). Aerobat with the SK 50 performed flawlessly as usual.

Got home and started tinkering with the US 60 again. Here's a few from last night's efforts...

After reading about the landing gear plate and it's tendancy to fail, I opted for nylon bolts rather than the steel ones included in the kit. I also replaced the screws included for the engine mount with hex heads. I find them much easier to torque down than the philips screw styles.

You'll notice the lead weight on the aft fuselage. This is about a 6oz. slug. Balancing is gonna be a wild ride, I can tell.

I plan on adding the glass cloth over the gear plate and adding another ply plate behind the existing wing mount bulkhead. At the same time, I'll add the hardwood mounts for the hatch I cut out. I'm going to enlarge the dowel holes and upgrade to 3/8" so redrilling the bulkhead will also be required. By going larger, I will overcome the offset created by flipping over the left duplicate wing panel to create a right one. I can't find brass tubing large enough to cover a 3/8" dowel so I'll place shrink tubing over them and cross my fingers.

I'll post whatever I get accomplished today tomorow evening..

Thanks for looking!

PointMagu

Cont:

Hi PointMagu

I have been flying my Ultra Stick 60 for about a year now and I have to say it is my favorite airplane.
I have a O.S. 61FX on mine and the airplane is set up stock with flaps. I had to put 3 oz of weight under the horizontal stab for mine to balance. My radio is not capable of using the crow postion, (ailerons up and Flaps down). I just use the flaps and this airplane can be spot landed anywhere you want it.
Your going to have a blast with yours!

Thanks, DVI!

Yeah, the more I do on this bird the more excited I'm getting. I figured the prime flying was about done for the season but today was marvelous after a week of constant rain. I'm hustlin' for next weekend, LOL...

Having said that, I'm gonna cheat and post tonight what I've been up to this evening. Tomorrow's another day.

Here's the wing dowels, enlarged holddowns and add'l bulkhead doubler on the fuselage. I had to "plug" the original dowel hole and drill above it. I kept worrying about the drillbit bouncing off the harder material. However, it turned out fine.

Since no wing spar was included, I had to cut my own. The 1st one was 1/8" too short. Dummy me forgot to compensate for the blade thickness. The 2nd one was perfect.

Here's the photos:

PointMagu

Cont:

PointMagu, same here, I love to fly this plane.

Mine has an MDS .68 and I've installed the ruder servo at the back (top) of the fuse with pull pull cables. The battery is as far as I could reach from the wing openning... no need for additional balance weight.

If you want a pic of the ruder install, I can post it 4 U.

Thanks, Vasek...yeah, I'd like to see it.

Here's all I accomplished tonight. Have Kiwanis in the early AM so not getting much done. Tomorrow however, I plan on really digging in, LOL...

Rather than mess with those large wing bags, I simply wrapped electrical tape around the edges of each wing panel and slapped on the 30 min. epoxy. The manual said to mix 1 oz.,(which I thought excessive) but I followed through. Wasted a full 1/4 oz. Next time I'll rely on my own experience not generic instructions. I hate wasting supplies. Yeah, I even clean out the epoxy cups and reuse them several times before tossing 'em out, :-)

Anyway, I got the panels together and then turned my attention to the fuselage. This weekend, a flying buddy made the casual comment about siting the fuel tank on the center line. He was attempting to balance out a Carl Goldberg Sukoi that had an OS 1.08 up front. His 8 point rolls were AWESOME, (nice flyin', Bob!) but the plane still would sink at low throttle. Hence, his comment about moving the tank aft.
As I sat there looking into the wing saddle, it dawned on me that a 12 oz. tank would sit nicely forward of the bulkhead and servo tray on the US 60. That meant moving the receiver and battery pack way aft. See the photos where I have cut another hatch behind the wing compartment. The forward hatch will cover nothing but foam.

Hope I'm not boring y'all...but this is my very 1st "large" aircraft. Previously, my biggest displacement have been .60's...

PointMagu

Cont:

It's simple & it works A1


P.S. for your fuel system (if tank on CG) make sure you have a 4 oz header (hopper) tank up front[sm=thumbup.gif]

LOL....

Now you can't make a comment like that, (regarding a header tank) and not elaborate! You've just volunteered another post, :-)

I like the accents on the eppanage. Did you cut them out of trim sheet or are they mylar? I was thinking of something similar but for the right wing panel.

Still working on the fuselage tonight. Will post a few followup photos later.

Thanks for the pull-pull setup. I'm following your lead!

PointMagu

Cont:

Had unexpected company this evening...didn't get much done at all.

I've run into issues with my wing and saddle connection. Wing doesn't sit level in the saddle due to my drilling being off about 3/32". Doesn't sound like much but it makes for a huge incidence issue. I got cute and enlarged the hole and now I've got slop. Guess I better find that brass tubing afterall, :-)

Here's a few of my progress today...

Cont:

PointMagu

1) header tank is a small (4 oz) tank near the engine (standard location), istead of a pic-up clunk you have a fixed brass tube to the CENTER of the tank. Then it's connected to the larger tank further away (pressurized). This helps to eliminate any bubbles in the system and also helps the "draw" of the fuel. All things not being perfect, sometimes you will need a (Perry)pump to make it work, but if the pressure from the muffler is good, you can get away with just that. All depends on the distance of the larger tank... you'll have to experiment. However, the header tank is a well proven system used in DF jets.

Do a search on hopper / header tank, you'll find info and diagrams.

2) the "dots" are cut from Monokote and applied using the Windex method (works wonders)... BTW I do have the "dots" on the wing also... will post a pic when I get around to it.

3) Magu ruder servo looking good [sm=thumbup.gif], just make sure to strengthen around the opening with lite ply

Thanks for the info on the header tank...never heard of it before!

I placed hardwood, (maple) under the servo cutout for the rudder. I flowed a little thick CA at the joints inside the fuselage and hit it with activator...makes nice filets. The pull-pull should have a secure mounting for the servo.

Another evening of non-productive labors...sigh

Anyway, here's where I am to date:

PointMagu

Cont:

I did a search for "header" tank and received several hits but no diagrams or photos of an actual installation. Plumbing would be my chief interest...

Anyway, I installed the Sullivan tail wheel tonight and epoxied the vertical stab in place. I really saturated the slot with 30 min. Hopefully, this will stand up to the pull-pull arrangement.

I installed the blind nuts for the tail wheel plate after recessing the holes for a flat glue joint to the fuselage.

Flipping the body over and applying lead weights should make for a superior glue joint. I insured 90 degree orientation by using electrical tape to hold the stab in place while the epoxy fully cures, (overnight).

Friday evening and all day Saturday should have her just about ready to fly on Sunday...

PointMagu

Cont:

Here's a crude drawing

Magu, the sketch of Carell is the setup U want, just make sure the PICKUP brass tube END is smack in the MIDDLE of the hopper!!!! NOT on the bottom as shown...

OK, here's the info

the first pic is the seup U want, the 2nd pic look at the tank on the left, see the brass tubing (no clunck) in the CENTER of the hopper (the setup U see there is the same pricipal but with 2 main tanks for a DF jet, pressure comes from the pipe)

OOPS

OUTSTANDING!

This is just what I was looking for! Thanks to both of you for the input. I plan on rigging the plumbing Saturday after a quick visit to the LHS to get brass tubing and fuel line. Since my install is a straight shot, I'll probably just run fuel lines straight to the hopper and then to the engine instead of hard plumbing with all brass tubing.

I'll shoot a few photos and post them over the weekend. Weather forcast is for a nice Staurday but a very windy Sunday so flying the Stick may not happen this week, sigh...

Thanks again! This is a GREAT resource to learn more about the hobby.

PointMagu


Cont:

Here's tonights accomplishments:

Elevator and rudder installed. Tailwheel hookup and pull-pull system finished. I've installed flying wires before but this is my 1st pull-pull setup. Getting both sides equa-distant is a BEAR!

I used a Central Hobbies carbon tube pushrod with titanium ends for the elevator pushrod. This one has 2-56 threads. Nicest control rods I've ever seen! Superior workmanship and SPEEDY mail order service! Thanks, Central!

Fuel system tomorrow as well as the wing and ailerons. Gotta find that brass tube for the dowel! :-)

PointMagu

Cont:

Magu[sm=thumbup.gif]

Don,t worry too much about the pull pull being equal.... when pulled to one side, the other side can go loose a little (no ill effect) just make sure you have the right amount of tension in "neutral"

Pointmagu...You are doing a wonderful job on this airplane. You will be rewarded for your efforts. It will fly straight and true.

I used Central Hobbies carbon fiber pushrods on mine too. They are just simply the best.

Good luck with your maiden this weekend. You'll love this plane. It's one of my favorites.

Thanks
Barry

Forgive me, but I really do not understand why this simplest of ARFs has been turned into something not ARF at all?

First of all, the kit and hardware are good enough to put the plane toegether as is, exactly as described in the instructions book. I've seen many people do just that and very happy with the results.

Second, there has been tremendous feedback on this ARF from dozens of good people that related their experience. The modifications suggested (if any are necessary) boil down to:

Moving the servos to the rear to compensate for heavier engines
Using more powerfull engines (I've seen people using 1.20 2 and 4 cycle and even gas)
Beefing up the landing gear block - a little fiberglass will do
Beefing up the dowel hold-down blocks - a piece of ply behind it will work fine + epoxy

(I took the liberty to add some aluminum braces to the elevator/fin area as I am quite a bad pilot and my aerobatics put an extra stress on tha area)

With a YS 91, servos in the rear, tank on the CG and two 1200 batteries behind the servo tray, this plane balances exactly on the money - no lead necessary. It weights exactly 10.25 lbs.

Yarom, you're forgiven!

Perhaps you missed my 1st post wherein I prefaced this thread by stating my ARF had NO hardware, TWO left wing panels, etc.
Other than that, I would have to agree with you that under normal circumstances, Hanger 9 did it right with this ARF and anyone could build and fly her right out of the box. In fact I wish that were the case here. Since it isn't....

Let's continue...

Today was incredibly windy but absoultely gorgeous. I didn't get any flying time on my Aerobat so I concentrated on the Stick. I recovered
the undersides of the wings with 1" checkboard UltraCote and reapplied the trim removed from the duplicate panel. Since the angles were now all wrong, I simply decided to use them that way...almost. I left the wing tip as is but pinstriped everything in white and black with a tad of blue. I salvaged part of the decal from my obliterated Sig SSE and stuck that on the right panel...she is "Somethin'"!

I installed a ply false floor aft of the radio compartment and ran 2 strips of 3/4" velcro there that will secure the receiver and battery once I get the radio gear situated. Ailerons were installed the 90 rehung onto the firewall.

Interestingly enough, the plane appears to have balanced and the hopper fuel system may not be needed afterall. Once everything is completed, I may have to re-evaluate that comment, lol.

Here's Saturday's contribution to the airworthiness certificate:

PointMagu

ps, Yarom your plane looks super. I too am adding flying wires, deciding against aluminum rods. I had that experience with SIG products and didn't care for them.

Cont:

It's looking good. My US has a 91 os surpass and I used a 14oz tank. I just changed to a 12 because a 12min flight also had lots of fuel left over so I cut down on the size. This plane flys good with a pretty wide CG envelope I would leave the tank mounted up front unless I had YS engine for it. I don't like header tanks. I don't notice any differnce as the fuel burns. I did fly a 120 size with a ST 3000 and it carried 24ozs. You did notice that as it burned off.