gnirwin

My Feedback: (25)

I certainly hope I just didn't curse my self by making such a bold statement earlier about never having a CA hinge failure... LOL.

MostlyKaos

You must now take one CA hinge, drip 3 drops of thin CA on it. When the Hinge is dry, cut the hinge in half. Curse Removed! :-)

MostlyKaos

For your Super Skybolt ARF, are you guys setting low rate or high rate flight controls for take off?

Insanemoondoggie

I set dual rates on my Skybolt when I first flew it. I used low rates on the first flight, but have`nt used low rates since. Plane handle well on high rates, so I never had a need for the low settings.

silver.kiwi

I concur, high rates are fine as the plane handles beautifully in all ways.

Insanemoondoggie

I just recently found this forum . Took a while to get thru it. And I did not see someone do this yet. Put this together 3 yrs ago , right after back surgery. I blame it on the pain meds, and that`s my story and I`m sticking to it . lol Bought another ARF and been flying that the last few years. Put this one on the back burner till now. I can order a new wing for $67.00 or maybe strip this one and turn it over , and recover it . I`m pretty sure it the same shape top or bottom. Yes I glued the wing mount in upside down , glued it real good . what d o ya guys think .I`ll have to buy the monocoat to recover it, makes a new wing look a little cheaper ?
Few post back , some one asked about the Saito 1.00 in this plane. . Mine has the 1.00 with a 14x6 apc, tried 14x8 and 15x6 , but the 14x6 apc seems to be the one it likes ., unlimted upline . A bigger engine is not nessecary ,but bet they sure are fun .

sevans16

I'm no builder! I'd buy a new wing.

summerwind

hey doggie,

sorta like building 2 left panels eh?....seriously though, that's an easy mistake.
i just finished my second SS to replace the one that my Futaba 6014 Rx did in for me[:@].
during this past 2 years that i've been back in the hobby after a 15 year layoff has been the best 2 years ever, and Barb Back at Hobbico made every single issue i had with any of the GP planes i bought go away, and i consider 2 of thos issues were my fault, but she still gave me replacement parts.
she may just have pity on you here with the "meds" and all and just send you a new wing kit................she is definately worth a try.

[email protected]

summerwind

my high rates have now become my low rates..................this is one of the sweetest flying bipes i've ever flown.

Insanemoondoggie

Since I moved into a computer radio, I fly everything but 3D type planes on high rates , but have the expo dailed up pretty good , 50 to 60 % .
You are correct when you say Hobbico have great customer service , but it was my boo boo and I`ll fix on my dime Tx for the info tho.
As far as C A hinges go , had pretty good luck with them . I have a roll of clear monocoat and when I use C A hinges , use it to seal the wing gaps , seems to help a lot.

MostlyKaos

Thank You all for your input on take off rates, I did not want an accident on the maiden flight.

BTW I had a shipment damaged bottom wing and TH/greatplanes replaced it no charge within 48 hours.

Insanemoondoggie, and others chime in if this solution does not sound safe. What if you screwed two control horns to the bottom of the SkyBolt top wing, right where the aluminum tabs would have been, heavy duty if you will, like the ones on the elevator, and if you have to glue the screws into the wood, so what. the N struts and the control horns would be holding the wing down. The contrl horns seem to be secure on the elevator and they are under alot of pressure too.

Just a thought.

Joe

Insanemoondoggie

Thanks for the input Joe . I`m nor sure if there`s enough wood where the 2 halfs come together ., pretty thin balsa covering the wings ,but it does merit looking into. To be honest , I pound the crap out of my Skybolt and the wing has got to be on good .
Joe go ahead and fly your maiden on low rates , get it trimmed and get a feel for it. Then try the high rates , with some alltitude . Once you get a few flights on it, you`ll get a feel for how you want to set it up.

MostlyKaos

Thank You Insanemoondoggie, Thanks for your help with the rates and flight tips. I'll get it trimmed up on low rates and get a feel for it. This Saturday , I hope.

Insanemoondoggie

To be honest , When a first got the Skybolt , had just started flying a 4 Star .40. and was very nervous about the maiden of the SS. Got lucky , Minnflyer , tha master Skybolt jockey , maiden it 3 years ago this spring. Also had RCKen for pit crew and backup pilot lol.
The Saito 1.00 had about 10 mins of run time. {ran out of time , because I glued the other wing wrong} Mike set the needles where he thought it was good and pointed her into the wind . Full throttle take , right into a immellman , into an inverted snap and right into the prettiest inverted flat spin I`ve ever seen. He can fly the heck out of a Skybolt. I had went out with my video camera to take some video and ended up standing there , watching with my mouth hanging open. It was so cool.
He landed , handed me the reciever , said , she fly`s good, watch the rudder , you may have it a little high for you.
I was very lucking to have someone like Mike , maiden my Skybolt . thanks Mike.

oneqwk96gt

I built my SS this past spring almost a year ago. I also fly mine on high rates all the time. I use quite a bit of expo to tame it for smooth, scale take offs and landings. This is the best flying bipe. I absolutly love the huge speed envolope this plane has, scoots right along at WOT (OS 91 FS with Graupner 14-7) but will stop to chill like a kite in a 5mph breeze! I can (and have) flown my Skybolt for 31 minutes on a tank of fuel and still landed under power and taxied back, awesome. I put 52 flights on mine last year, completed the annual back in november, she passed with no problems other then a valve adjustment (expected) and there she hangs in the basement waiting for spring. You guys enjoy your Super Skybolts!

PS One thing I did for mounting the top wing was to make a small plate and installed blind nuts for the top wing bolts so you dont have to fiddle with the locknuts. Very easy!

dblatner

My Feedback: (12)

As a long time SS flyer, I'd like to see that plate you made for the upper wings. Those 2 bolts and locknuts are the worst part about putting together the Super Skybolt at the field.

MostlyKaos

I attached the two 4-40 locknuts to the metal with JB weld, I've had the wing on and off about ten times and the nuts are tight and secure. I'm sure your plate works well too! I love JB Weld.

marcoferretti

Hi all!
Took some time to get through this thread! Really found very useful info to successfully set up my Skybolt I picked up yesterday at my LHS.
I spent all night to tighten that china-cover..... Will start gluing today. Engineering and construction is amazing, but covering should be something better for a kit worth 400euros here in Europe.
BTW, I'm very happy about it and can't wait to fly it!
Have a nice day!
Marco

oneqwk96gt

I knew right off the bat i would not like the locknuts for the top wing so I made this when i was building the skybolt. I dont use any locktite though you can if you want. I have logged almost 2 hours of airtime one day and the bolts have never loosened up. Makes assembly a snap. This plate is made from lite ply. Oh yeah, i coverd the plate with white monokote also to make it un-noticable.

marcoferretti

Last night I finished ironing... Now fuse and wings are OK and I can start the assembly.
The pictures are not just the "bad-spots" everything came out of the box that way, seems like it has been just wraped up! Wings had a better covering, but still needed some ironing. Did some of you experience the same covering issues?
Looks strange, in all forum and magazine articles the author states the kit has a superb covering... unfortunately not mine []

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Those are some nasty wrinkles all right. Mine had very few. But it's hard to fault the manufacturer for wrinkles. After all, who knows how long ago it was built, and then it was boxed, crated and put on a boat for several weeks. God only knows what temperature and humidity changes it went through before it got to you.

But as bad as they are, a heat gun followed by an iron should get all of that out.

marcoferretti

Minn, you're right, nothing a heat-gun and an iron is afraid of!
Model now is OK and ready for assembly.
btw, I have monokote coverd models that, once covered, never had such nasty wrinkles even after mamy seasons. Still I'm not lucky at all since the room where I park them (a cave...) is very moisty.

The design of this kit is incredible, the only mod I'll do is fit slightly larger wheels on. I fly from grass, our flying field is not that flat.

As far as you know, does this model have the tendecy to nose-over on take-off?

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

No more than any other taildragger

marcoferretti

good news

MostlyKaos

My Ailerons look just like yours, but fuselage had lots of little wrinkles.[sm=48_48.gif] I noticed that the wrinkles come and go when the temperature changes. It is too time consuming to try to un-wrinkle the ailerons, and they re-wrinkle when the temp changes.

If I build a Skybolt again , I'm going with the kit. This year I'm going to build a Top Flight Kit, maybe a P-47 Gold Edition.[>:]