dtmackin

Thanks for the info. I also fly off grass and use 2.5" right now. FedEx dropped of my T-34 today. Can't wait to get started tonight!

dtmackin

Has anyone tried installing flaps?  It looks like it would be pretty easy.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

I've though about it, but I think the plane does not need them.  Mine slows down very nicely.  They would be cool though.

blvdbuzzard

Well I ordered mine last night.  Should be on my porch by Friday.  I fly off pavement or concrete so I hope the nose gear can handle that.   I am hoping this plane turns into my every day plane. The one I reach for that I know will fly without issue.


Dru.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

blvd-  I'm pretty sure the factory nosegear will be able to handle pavement , but you might still want to consider the Hobbico nosegear.  I've finally flown mine off a paved runway for a couple of flights.  It was fun watching it get off the ground a lot sooner.  But you might also want to get more tires -  I noticed pretty good wear from the pavement.  Too used to flying off grass!  I really love mine, but with so many more in teh hanger, it does not fly every weekend.  Now to just put the.70 4S up front.  Have fun

blvdbuzzard

Well I got mine tonight.  Not bad, next day service

I was looking at the Hobbico, and even a set of pneumatics for it.  A set goes for $135.00 for the tri gear.  I think I will get the Hobbico's and a servo.  Try to keep it simple.  Does a standard servo work for to retract the nose gear?

I opened it up and she does look good.  There was a time when I was REALLY impressed with die-crunched balsa.  Now this comes out of the box.  I now have (3) ARF's on the shelf.  I picked up a 1.20, 62 inch sized Pitts from Hobby People on red tag for $160.00, the T-34 and the Cessna 182 from Nitro planes.  I have 3 more to finish before I can start these.  Looks like I need to pick up a 70 and 1.2 4s engines for these planes.  Wonder how I am going to do that.  Might even NEED!!!!! (2) of the 70's, one for the T34 and the other for the 182.


So much fun to come.


Dru.

Thai-fly

We have had the T34 kits here for about 6 months now. We have had no issues at all with the standard retracts but, most of our airfields are sealed. The two formers under the cockpit floor are perforated for easy removal. They are only there to align the fuselage while it is being jigged. All in all a good model with good flying characteristics and good value for money. Well done CMPro! TF

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

blvd- use retracts servos only, the standard servo will not work. You will need two of them, one on the mains and one for the nose wheel. I'm using Hitecs and they have plenty of power. If you do eventiually go to the Hobbico, it will require some surgery on the nose area, but for me, it was worth it. Now, my only problem is keeping the covering tacked down, it is tending to lift when out in the sun,but that is easy. Just keep the heat low on the iron.

blvdbuzzard

I am going to spray both planes with clear coat.  I have another CMP plane I need to clear coat. 

If I have to be a surgeon,  I may as well go air operated retracts.  get a full tri gear set and see how they work in there.  The set I am looking at are air up and spring down so if you loose air pressure, they will come down and lock.

I will hook up the stock nose gear with a push rod instead of the pull pull.  I have an idea I am going to try.  It is sort of like I see on one of my old nose gear retracts.  the push rod connects to a slide that slides up and down a rod that is attached to the steering arm.

i will be ordering a set of CS601 servos for both planes.  I will need to order almost a dozen of them.  Not bad when they are $9.00 on sale.



Dru.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

That is what the Hobbico nose gear does with the pushrod (sliding that is). What engine are you putting in the plane? I'm going to try to put my .70 4S in tonight and pull out the .65 (if I get the time)

blvdbuzzard

I am waiting for the Magnum 70Fs to go on sale.  I think that would be a good choice.  It would give a little more nose weght compared to a 2s .46. That way I do not need to add a bunch of lead.

I have a bunch of Magnum engines and they all run great.  I will also need to get a Rx for my RDS8000, servos, light set, battery, pilots, hinges and so on.

What size of pilots and hinges are being used in the T-34?  Are the main gear good emough or should they be replaced?


Dru.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

My mains are still in good shape (even flying from grass) .  I used a 1/6 pilot bust from Polk's Hobbies and it fit and looks just right. 

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

Just a little update on my T-34. I replaced the Satio .65 with my OS .70 4S and used a 12X6 Evo prop. What a difference on performance. Flying off a gradd runway, I'm now able to get airborne a lot sooner. The plane was faster, but the ended up with a new problem. THe right side elevator developed a bad flutter. I traced it down to the elveator enlarging the hole where the elevator "U" connector is installed. Tried an old method of trying to strengthen it up by putting some thin CA in the area and using an elevator horn assembly to add some pressure. Didn't work. So, now that I'm back from vacation, I'm going to cut the elevator away, reinforce the hole with a piece of Sullivan golden rod and reinstall.

Other thing that I have noticed is how the covering is letting go around the edges, but Oracote white matches well and I'm putting new pieces along the edges.

blvdbuzzard

Mine is still in the box. I was working on the Cessna 182. I found it NEEDS a 70 Fs engine. The .46 Magnum is ti light, I would need to add 6 oz of lead to the nose to balance.

So now I need, yes it is a NEED of (2) 70fs engines. One for my T-34 and one for my 182.

Bassfisher, I landed a 6 pound northern bass on 8 pound line with a medium light 7 foot rod and a 20 sized reel. He put up a good fight. He hit the 6 inch senco and went straight for deep water. lots of fun.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

blvd - you are a dog! I have only been fishing a few times this year, best fish was a 3lb largemouth. I have also caught a couple nice sized bream. Al caught bank fishing. Hopefully I'll be able to get out on the lake with my boat a lot more this summer and fall.

You'll like the .70 on the T-34. Not a lot of vertical, but really good scale speed. Very good for scale manuevers.

cajun1

I finally flew my Mentor yesterday. I finished it almost four months ago, but a house rebuilding and remodeling job left it sitting on the shelf.

It's not the worst plane I have flown on first flight, but also not the best. Takoff was uneventfull and it rotated in about 100'. The OS.55AX provided plenty of thrust for a good climbout. The plane looks good in the air.

The first turn at altitude showed definite signs of adverse yaw. I haven't seen this in any of my planes in years, and was surprised. Twice more during the flight it showed up again. A little rudder straitened it up, but it's not normal. I'll put in some aileron differential before the next flight and see if that corrects this problem.

On several fast passes down the runway the tail oscillated from side to side, kind of like a V-tail. It's not a flight problem, but it's also not normal for a conventional tail. I probably won't worry about it.

I had the CG right on the spar and it seemed spot on. But when I came in for a landing and carried a little power all the way down, the nose dropped badly with pulling off the throttle. Fortunately I was only a foot off of the grass and no damage, but it seemed strange. I could have gotten a little slow but it didn't seem so. Next time I'll carry a little more speed to touchdown.

The nose gear leg did drop out of the mechanism during flight. I haven't looked yet, but suspect a loose set screw. The mains held up well. I was flying off of closely mowed grass.

During the flight I went high and pulled the throttle to idle to check the glide qualities. It slowed down nicely and showed little tendencies to tip stall at low speeds but did seem to lose altitude fast in a normal glide slope. This is a light plane and I expected a better glide than what I saw. But, it had no bad tendencies and responded well to power.

Aerobatics were uneventfull and it was capable of most anything. With the nose gear leg hanging down I didn't try any snaps or spins. Continuous rolls from horizon to horizon were effortless and inverted flight required very little down elevator.

More flights and trimming may change my perception, but after just one flight I'll give the T-34 a 7+ out of 10. It just was not quite up to my expectations. I'll put the cowl on and try it again Saturday.

bassfisher

My Feedback: (21)

Every T-34 that I've seen has some tail waggle (this also includes the TF and H9). My CG is at 85mm and it flies great. In previous posts, you'll see that I got rid of the factory nosegear for a Hobbico nosegear - not one problem from it (especially flying off grass). I gave mine a 7 also, but after getting some things adjusted, I give it a 8.5 overall (the covering likes to loosen up around the edges). I've also noticed the covering on the rudder is starting to darken up (now it just looks dirty white). It's a good semi-scale plane that fun to fly off the grass (when the grass is dry). The .70 4S is a great motor for it.

blvdbuzzard

I still have mine in the box. I am going to use Luster coat clear over the whole air frame before I build mine. It seals the edges and keeps the detailed covering clean. To many things to do.


Dru.

Rock81

Will that actually help?

blvdbuzzard

I read about using clear coat on the T-34 in another thread. If you put (2) coats on, it is like a clear coat for you paint job. Seals the edges and keeps stain out. You can get Luster coat in flat, clear and gloss. I think I will go with clear. Not sure I want a T-34 shinny like an Edge or Giles type of plane.

I have clear coated a couple of my planes and it has helped to keep the edges of the covering from lifting. I have a Giles 202 50 sized that is painted and cleared it to. It has helped to seal it up and to keep the paint from chipping.

It is in the thread about the Giles 202 thread I read about the clear. I do not remember who posted it.


Dru.

forestroke

WARNING! in our flying club we had our third T34 vertical stab fail last week. it seems the structure is not strong enough as they seem to break clean off from the fuse. the most recent have been slightly reinforced (trailing edge carbon fiber rod) but to no avail. the front part of the vertical stab glues on the fuse sheeting may not hold as well.

the recent two crashes have been in gusting winds and at speed but in no way at levels that should rip apart the stab like that. both times the airplanes plummeted out of control with the vertical stab fluttering gracefully to the ground. the latest vertical stab having released itself also from the rudder.

in any case, these planes are CMP T34 straight from China. while it may be just this batch, it best to be certain. they are known in Taiwan to have these issues with nearly all T34 coming down with the same issues. 3 already in our flying club. they are beautiful planes, no doubt, but please double check the reliability of the vertical stab before your flights!

Rock81

I have always used seem sealer myself and it always worked good. To make sure I understand you right because it looks like your talking about to different methods here. Your clear ultra coat over the whole plane to seal all of the orginal covering and protect from staining. Correct?

Rock

blvdbuzzard

I use Luster coat, clear spray. I spray the whole plane to seal the covering and seams. It also fuel proofs and edge or seam. It is not Ulta coat iron on covering. it is a spray can.


Dru.

Foxflier

Hey forestroke,

The vert stab has a good sized chunk that inserts into the fuse all the way down to the horiz. stab. Did the stab break off from there at the fuse? If so, OUCH, as this almost sounds like flutter which is disconcerting. [X(]

Were the stabs that separated all good hard balsa?

Thanks!

gary41

My Feedback: (5)

I have one that I have not assembled..gonna convert to E-Power..., in my kit, the vertical piece of the fin is a piece of rather hard balsa, I don't see how that could "break". I assume when it was glued in place on all those T-34's, the covering was carefully removed..like scoring a line with a soldering iron, NOT by cutting with a razor knife to remove it, also the forward edge of the fin which is to be glued to the fuse was done in a similar manner (not just glued to the covering) and the anchor pin was utilized????