u-can-do 60
 

just bought a u-can-do 3d 61.I am putting a 91fs surpass 2 in it and am curious as how well the engine runs inverted and starts.Any feedback would be appreciated.Its not the pumped version and is the covering on it monocote.I've read posts as to the right thrust and main gear problems and plan on glassing or using triangular stock to strenghen the area.anything else i should know?

thanks .ken

RE: u-can-do 60
 

I have the same setup. Mine runs perfect with a good low idle. I use an os f plug. :)

RE: u-can-do 60
 

I'm finishing up on mine and also put a 91 Surpass in it. I have the original version of this engine. NITB and just didn't have a model to put it in until I purchased the U-Can-Do. Honestly, I was pretty impressed with the model from the get go. Saw one fly at our field and liked the way it flew. I didn’t buy it to do 3-D, but sure I will experiment with it. Here are a few things I realized when assembling that may help.

1. I used an OS aluminum engine mount that fit the pre-drilled holes perfectly. This does put the cowling back further. One thing to note here is that the sky blue covering is not lined up well even with the stock mount. If you use the aluminum mount this will be exaggerated in that this pulls the engine back more than the stock mount. I used sky-blue monocoat to fix this in the picture below.

2. I did use the canopy glue and wish I hadn't. Even though it cures clear, it still shows up with a nasty appearance under the canopy against the dark blue covering. Fixed this with 3M pin-striping tape. If I had mine to do over again I would have placed scabs behind the fuse and installed the canopy before mounting the tank or anything else in the fuse. Do this early if you plan to use screws to mount the canopy.

3. I also fiber glassed the wing in the middle on both sides to add strength.

4. The directions say to mount the battery and the Rx under the wing hold down. I mounted mine forward of the wing saddle behind the tank and balanced right 5 7/8" as suggested in the book. I don't see how the guy in the directions can suggest mounting these under the wing hold down. Maybe I read this wrong, but the picture even shows this.

5. Odds and ends - Put a True Turn spinner on to replace the plastic one. Also used a Sullivan 13 oz tank vs. the stock tank. Used solder clevises on 440 rods with threaded Sullivan threaded clevises on the adjustment ends for all control surfaces. Mounted a remote glow and used Slimline rubber wheels - same size. Hitec 475 servos with a 7 channel Futaba PPM Rx. Mixing the elevators on 2 and 7 and the ailerons on 1 and 6.

I'm ready for the maiden flight hopefully tomorrow if the weather is good. Been cold and windy with rain in the forecast for tomorrow, but will see.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

I forgot to mention that I also put a fuel valve on that you can see in the pictures above. Below are the wing mods. I covered the top side of the wing over the fiberglass and then attached the belly pan over the fiberglass on the bottom side.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

I have had VERY good luck with the os 91 fs in the ucd3d ...However if you haven't bought the engine yet then go with the YS110fz I did a swap and found that the plane will hover @ 1/3rd throttle instead of 3/4 or more with the OS...The YS is the perfect engine for the ucd3d-60... I'm swinging a 16x6 APC prop, the OS liked the 14x6 top flite and the 14x4 APC....Good luck ...JW:D

RE: u-can-do 60
 

thanks for your repies fellas..

I am putting 605s on all controls except rudder which will have a hitec 645 mg ,i to am putting a remote glow on it and a fueler.As to glassing the center of wing ,Has there been reported prob with wing at center line or is this just your preferance.I don't plan on doing much in the way of extreme 3d.I just want a good honest flier.Did you glue your stab in place or use the supplied bolts RFW.Oh,what size props you fellas using?This is my first 4 stroke.


thanks .ken

nic pics RFW

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Cant believe i just "stumbled" across your info on th U-Can-Do !...finally managed to get one two weeks ago,exactly the same reasons for buying it as yourself,had a new O.S..91FSIIP 'in stock' so to speak and that O.S mount, but i thought that was going to be about an inch or so short ? I WAS going to use canopy glue, thanks ! Bought the 475's and tank last week, got some carbon fibre ( fiber ?! ) rods and M3 clevises yesterday ! and would you believe..i ordered the True Turn 'wide' cut spinner & a couple of Zinger 15x 6pro props from Tower round midnight last night !....Sounds like i've got the same R/C gear as you ...Now then !... how do i mix the elevator and ailerons ? is it PMX1..PMX2..or what ? i've wrestled with this one into the small hours, till i Knew i was the only one on the planet to stupid to grasp it ! regards sir !... & HELP !

RE: u-can-do 60 (reply to Lord Lucan)
 

You didn't mention which radio you are using. If you are using a Futaba Super 8 radio then you aren't stupid. It's not the easiest radio in the world to program. I guess this is why they came out with the 9-C, which will be my next radio when I feel the urge to splurge. For now, the S-8 is just fine for me.

Here is all I did. Gee, where to start. Might be helpful if you have someone in your local club to walk you through each step, but I will try. Also not sure what you know and don't know about doing this.

First thing I do is make sure the servos are in the neutral position and then check mechanically to be sure that all moveable surfaces are in the neutral position to the trailing edge of the wings, horizontal stabilizer for the elevators and the vertical stabilizer for the rudder. Then I begin program step.

P-Mix 1 for elevators on channels 2 and 7 - You will need to reverse the slave servo. Then in ATV make sure both 2 and 7 at 100%. In PMIX-1 you will see a light blinking 'off' on the left side between PMIX-1 and ELV. With the '+ and -' keys change this to the 'ON' position Then using the 'cursor keys' go to the slave servo and then using the '+ and -' keys change this setting to ch-7. Using the cursor keys again go to the next setting which should be the throws. You will need to move the elevator stick to change from one servo to the next, and hold the stick in place while using the '+ and -' keys to set to +100% on each side. Next use the 'cursor key' to go to Link, Using the '+ and -' keys change to 'On'. Next, using the 'cursor key' go to Trim, and then use the '+ and -' keys to change to 'On'. Using the cursor key go to OFST and leave this at 0. Then set the PMIX by pushing both mode keys at the same time. Two steps left - Since the elevator servos are offset from each other you will notice the throw is slightly different from one elevator to the other. Use the ATV selection in the Basic Menu to adjust the high and low end for one servo only to get the throw to match the other servo. Otherwise the elevators will act like an aileron when you are trying to climb or descend. The next step is to set the throws to your liking and skill level. Maybe 100% throw on the elevators is too much to begin with. You will want to refer to the direction book for the proper throw settings for low rates. Same for Dual Rates.

P-Mix 2 for ailerons channels 1 and 6 - follow the same steps as above but you won't reverse the slave servo. You will change the slave so it shows Ch-6 or flap servo. You won't have to make any adjustments for the servos being offset like you did with the elevators. Be sure to set the throws by the book or to your personal preference.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

kroflite54 - I did epoxy the stab in place with the bolts as well. I pealed back the covering and then applied epoxy top and bottom. I had a bad experience with the Giles with a wing that sheared. Also many thread comments on wing failures with the Giles. I just always add this step as a mod in any ARF I put together these days. Interesting though, when I pealed the covering back on the wing I had a crack in the balsa right where the fuse would make contact with the wing in the wing saddle. This is why I do this now. Not aware of any history, but didn't want to take the chance. I learned this from 'Geistware' on an RCU thread. I also added thin pieces of tristock to the formers around the wing saddle. The fuse on this airplane, like the Giles, is very narrow in this area. With the long fuse there may be flexing that did happen in the Giles. The Giles has also broken in half at the formers fore and aft of the wing saddle because of this flexing and lack of strength in this area. Just an added precaution I chose to make. Yes, this all adds a bit of weight which I realize you don’t want in an airplane like this, but feel the weight is minimal vs. the added strength. Keep in mind that I still have not done the maiden on mine, but she is ready to go. Using an APC 14X6 prop. I have provided another picture of the remote glow set up from the back side. I used a piece of brass that is tied into the cowling mounting block and also one of the engine mounting bolts. This one will hold. :D

RE: u-can-do 60
 

RFW, Of the 1000 + posts on the UCD this is the first mention of an aluminum engine mount. The supplied mount, aside from offering vibration isolation, also enables you to tap out for the engine mount bolts and drive them right in to the mount struts, resulting in the option of not useing the supplied nuts, realizing a weight savings. Small, but it does add up. With the supplied mount, you can still get the engine back to the firewall. On the canopy the only way to go is with the canopy glue. Unless a pilot is installed, many have just sprayed the inside of the canopy first with paint and the glue is not visible. I tried the screws, what a mistake. Although you did a beautiful job with the pin stripeing. As far as the wing, with a one piece spar its very tough. I have destroyed a fuse with no damage to the wing. On more severe impact the part of the wing that does survive is the center, due to the rib doublers in that area. I have a few. Radio gear placement is always different for balance even though this plane is a production line clone. Out of five of these they were all slightly different. 4/40 rods is surely the way to goe. I used a quick fueler but chose not to go with any more optional conviences for weight reasons. I did do a pull/pull on the rudder. Good luck on your maiden, you will love this plane!

Kroflite, Unlike the forgiving wire landing gear of trainers which kept me in the air long enough to learn, any bolt on gear can get knocked off. The mount block is enginered as a shear block in the event of a rough landing, it will pop off without damaging the fuse too much. This plane lands like a feather and I have found that compared to other aluminum gear, the UCD gear is very forgiving and flexible. I havn't even had to bend one back into shape. ( even when destroying the plane) One tip that really works. Don't shorten the length of the axles. Drill a hole on the outside of the wheel pants inline with the other side and let that last 1/8" of axle stick out. Havn't lost a pant yet. Joe

RE: u-can-do 60
 

thanks for the pics and info Roger. I am finishing up mine as well and have a details to go over before I maiden. Mainly the weather ;)


Joe/Roger I am contemplating taking out my 4/40 rods and going with carbon ones. I dont want to lose this thing cuz of a bent rod. I have heard even the 4/40's are prone to bending/snapping with this bird. I intend to fly the wings off it and my pursuit of being a 3D pilot so we will see ;)



matt

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Matt, I went with 4/40 because I needed the weight on the tail. I've also punished my equipment severely without bending anything other than my pride. CF is a great weight saver and strong in a linear sense. Doesn't hold up to severe deflection though. (bending) Joe

RE: u-can-do 60
 

cumn thru - I saw the post on the mount options. This is just a preference of mine. I really dislike adjustable mounts. Also, the O.S. mount I used allows the engine to actually sit closer back to the firewall than the stock mount. This did cause a problem with the striping alignment to the cowling, but then it was off regardless on mine with either mount.

I agree the gear is not mounted very well. Like you, I learned to land properly with wire gear on a trainer. If you hit the ground hard with this set up the gear will certainly go. From the flights I have seen on this airplane, it appears to land much slower than a trainer. Should be ok unless it's slammed in. As for glassing the wing, well, I'm certain mine won't come apart in the center.

Here again, I personally didn't like the canopy glue though your suggestion to paint the inside is a very good one. I wish I had thought about this idea as well before mounting. Would have saved me 27.00 in pin striping tape since I didn't use a pilot. :D

DiabloKid - good to hear from you. Where have you been? Did you ever get the Giles up in the air?

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Roger, Here is a shot of the canopy and the pull/pull set up. Joe

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Joe, A pictures says a 1000 words. Very Nice job. I like how the canopy finished out. Wish I had painted mine. I noticed you mounted your antenna on the outside. Hm....I didn't. I know there are different schools of thought on this one. I mounted mine inside the fuse. I used an antenna tube and made two 'small' ply formers to add to the wing saddle formers to hold in place. Felt this would also strengthen the fuse in this area. I know, weight! Very small pieces of ply. You seem to have much experience with this plane and those of others. Anyone else do this with bad results? I am just a bit concerned about the antenna running through three servos in the tail. They are very close to the antenna. I have done this many times in larger airplanes with no problem. I did a range check and didn't get any noise, but still thinking about this one.

I did cut the axles and used 256 machine socket head screws with small washers and 'Team Associated' minature safety nuts. Very small and probably about the same weight as leaving the axle length as is but you have a clean finish to the wheel pants.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Roger, nice touch with the stripes. Here is a pic from a totally destroyed UCD that went in at about a 30% angle. The main gear was right in the impact zone and look at the pant. Didn't budge. Joe

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Joe, any thoughts about my antenna question? Also, what paint did you use for the canopy? I told a friend about this today and he asked the question. He has one as well and was thinking about painting his canopy.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Greetings Roger, negative on the Giles, can you believe everytime I get set to go the weather has beaten me to the field!!! I guess its fate!! Once the weather gets above 40 degrees and there is no snow im gonna run out there and put her up! Pics will follow of course!


As far as the ucando Roger/Joe how much right thrust did you put in?

I have to agree with Roger on the engine mount situation. I got a Jtec mount with pre-drilled holes for the mounting screws. Makes life anlot easier doing an engine install with it.

Joe your servo in the belly mod is outstanding and I am jealous. Setup looks clean and straightforward but I have to ask about the hole you cut out to get the servo in. How was that accomplished to be able to secure it place without sacrificing structural integrity?

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Matt, It fit in nicely between the glue blocks that run the length of the fuse. Once cut for servo I install two 1/4" X 1/4" glue blocks inside, front and back for the mounting screws. Granted when I mess up the only thing left is the tail, but never any failure in this area. I could give you dimensions for the cutout. If you go too far back towards the rudder it gets narrow and you could cut into the glue block stock. If you go too far forward you will be into the former.
Right thrust is about 3%. On this one I'm going to buy "Ernst" thrust plates. From what I've read they come in 1, 2 and 3%. This one I'm experimenting with different angles includeing down thrust. I've read a lot of sensible posts on the thrust thing. Seems worth looking into for this one.

Roger, the antenna scares me that close to wires. There are three long leads in there not to mention whatever the servo may offer as far as interference. On the canopy sand the inside with 120 grit sandpaper. Don't worry about the scratches, they all dissapear. Since its on the inside you get a no scuff shine thats good untill you wreck. Actually I'm useing my last one over again. I use "Krylon" paint to spray them and they now have "Krylon, Fusion" made just for plastic. Dries in 15 min. K-Mart, Wall-Mart. Joe

RE: u-can-do 60 (reply to Lord Lucan)
 

Roger....Many,many, thanks for that...i thought that was the way to go on this,but for some reason had doubts....I'll go round it a bit more.. but you've convinced me,i'm sure.. Bloody excelent...! I didnt think it could be done on this gear ! Kit is still semi boxed so this was all theory for me.. talk to yo later on this and other details. Oh, Matt,Joe,Roger... before i go (its getting late here)and while i remember, Exponentials,Yes, no, how much ?
Regards & Thanks
Dave.

RE: u-can-do 60 (reply to Lord Lucan)
 

Dave, I never got in to expo. Still like to think I have the ability to just fly the sticks. Joe

RE: u-can-do 60 (reply to Lord Lucan)
 

lord lucan - Most welcome and hope you have good success with your project. I'll let you and the others know how the plane flies if the weather will ever cooperate. rain, rain and more rain......now add cold to boot. Arrgh!

Joe, I'm getting up there, just a little [8D] , and so I do use exponential. I have a tendency to get a little rudder and elevator happy so it helps me. I haven't set it yet on the U-Can Do. Will want to see how it responds first, but most likely will add it to match how I fly. Glad to hear the gear is solid and the good suggestions on the pull pull and the canopy. Sounds like you have had good experiences with yours. It's funny, I can read one thread and guys hate this airplane and then read another and find people who really like it. The Giles and the Pitts were the same way. It's a hate or love relationship with these things. Although, on my WM Giant P-51 I have never read where someone didn't like this model. My next one to assemble will be the WM giant Extra. I haven't read anything bad on this one either. Maybe WM is really on to something here. Sure am glad we have plenty of options.

Matt, get your butt in gear and get your birds finished. I thought I took a long time to assemble one. ;) Put those pictures on the Giles thread and let me see how she finished out for you. By the way, I didn't put any offset in my U-Can-Do. Joe got me thinking about this. I hope I didn't miss something. I went back to the directions and they don't call for any. The mount I am using doesn't have any either. Hm.........

RE: u-can-do 60
 

RFW

i am using airtronics rd 6000 at the present time but am thinking about getting an hitec eclipse tx only w/spectra .i'll then have all the mixes i'll ever need and can use any rx high gain or low.Painting the canopy sounds like a good idea and from the pics 'really looks great.I hope to get started on mine tomorrow.first i'll run the heat iron over the wing.covering is saggy.I too am wanting to know what paint was used.
RFW 'i've held the stab up to a light and also felt around for the stab bolt holes.can't seem to find them.

thanks for all the great ideas and pics fellas .keep this post informed of the maiden flights .

thanks .ken

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Check out the paint used for rc car bodies. Paint the inside of the canopy. If you use something like the Pactra car body paints you don't have to do anything but wash the canopy first, and there are a lot of available colors. You can also get a water based paint for car bodies but I think it only works with an air brush unless they have changed it in the last few years. For the water based paint it is best to at least go over the surface with steel wool or fine sandpaper to make it stick. Light coats work best.

Ed M.


BTW, if you use a multi colored paint sceme, paint the darkest colors first. Remember everything will be reversed painting on the inside and if you do light first the dark will show thru unless you need some interesting effects. If you need the light colors or candies or fluorescents to really stand out back them with white or silver.

RE: u-can-do 60
 

Ken, I can't help you with Airtronics or the Tx. you are referring to, but I'm sure someone can help with this. Mixing channels vs. using a why harness will be important if you want to experiment with different TX settings.

Good idea to check all the covering before starting. Always suggested in the directions and pays off as you go. As for the stab holes, I'm assuming you have found the holes in the fuse. Place the stab over the fuse and align with the holes. You have to press down a bit on the covering to find, but they should be there. The holes are small (same size as the bolt) and can be difficult to find, but maybe aligning with the fuse will give you a better indication where to search. You probably already know this, but it's not spelled out in the directions, so I'll throw it in anyway. If you are going to epoxy the stab as I did, use a soldering iron to cut a line in the covering 1/8" inside of the fuse line so you won't have bare wood showing past the fuse line. Peal the covering away inside the lines on both sides. Epoxy and then add the bolts. Check the alignment. When mine cured there was a nice dab of cured epoxy coming out of the blind nut. Could see this through the servo mounting slots. This will keep the stab good and tight and keep it from coming off.

Sounds like Joe has the right idea with painting the canopy with "Krylon, Fusion". I will have to try this sometime. Good luck with your model. It really does go together fairly easily. I didn't see anything that can bite you during the assembly process. The tail wheel can be a bit challenging. You probably know this. Use a dremel tool with a thin bit to counter sink the tail wheel. This requires test fitting as the directions state. Oh, I did add extra hinges to the ailerons. Used Radio South CA hinges vs. the stock ones. I spent a good bit of time grinding and fitting the cowling, but then this is pretty typical. One last thing. I used 'All threads' from 'Ohio Superstar' for mounting the cowling. These are nylon inserts that go into the cowl mounting blocks. You can see how these look in the picture above showing the engine mounted with the fuel valve. Look at the mounting blocks. These come in several different sizes. I used # 2 'All Threads'. You drill a hole in the mounting blocks and put a drop of thick CA in the hole. Then insert the All Threads. Then used #2 1/4" socket head wood screws with a # 2 nylon washer into the 'All Threads'. This is the best method for securing the cowling I have found. All Threads will last longer than the model and the nylon washer will keep the screws from eating your cowling up. Hope this all helps. Post some pictures as you make progress. I always like seeing what other pilots are doing as well.

I juist saw Bent Gear's comments on paints after posting this. Sounds like some neat and different ideas out there. Thanks for the suggestions.