RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Another pic or two

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

RBgunner:

Your Edge is looking great. Glad the canopy recipe worked well for you. With so many different types of plastic in use for canopies, I think each manufacturer need its own special formula. I especially like the hint of red in the tinted canopy.

Great idea using velcro on the belly pan. I'm going to try the same, at least on the front of the pan where the screws are least accessible.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

gbdvorsky: Thanks for compliments. It has been a fun build so far. Some trying parts, but overall fun. The only part I think VF needs to machine to finished specs for the ARF is the tail faring. Man, that thing it nearly impossible to get right even with a Dremel and stuff. The reference lines are almost invisible and they to not match up well. This part should be the same for all the models so VF should be able to provide a finished piece you just apply. I would pay an extra few dollars to have a finished piece. Ron

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Jon, Heard about the bad weather in your area, but freezing rain in Georgia??? I have the same weather station except its the wireless version. Solar powered of course

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

RBgunner:

I know what you mean about the tail fairing. I ended up building one out of balsa, and had VF send me a piece of red covering to match. It took me a couple of hours to glue, shape, and sand, but the results were worth it. I was in no hurry since Mother Nature hasn't been cooperating with us here in the Chicago area.

My only other gripe is the belly pan, but the overall package and the outstanding VF customer service get an A+ in my book.

Garret

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Ron,

Looking good!! My throttle hook-up is going to look just like yours. I saw several tinting recipes here. Which did you use?

Don't know how much assembly I'll get done today. I have some chain-sawing to do and I might go to the flying field.

I'm a little burned out on the Edge after working on it for two days.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Luke, I searched the forum for your tank hold-down mod and cannot seem to find it. I know I read it once...Any help on reviving it? Thanks

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Has anyone used dual servos on the elevator? If not, why?

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Don't say that !!! Man I'm waiting on mine like a dog waiting for his owners to get home from vacation. LOL,,,,, just kidding,,, sorry about your fuse warp. I do have plenty to keep me busy modeling wise while I wait. Had to send back a ModelTech Extra300 and a UCANDO.46 fuse last week. These ARFs seem to come in warped or full of hidden defects alot lately. Guess it's par for the course when dealing in pre-built planes + cold weather + warm delivery trucks = warped balsa and covering.
My assesories for the VF have arrived. A Klett tail wheel assembly, flying wires, 14oz fuel tank and a couple of Hitech hi-torque servos for the tail feathers. I have some Golden Rods for the throttle all ready. Thank goodness for this thread.
I am keeping up with the building news here and working on an elec conversion of a P-38 while I wait. The weather hasn't been too great here either. I also plan on getting the help of a friend who really takes his time and builds the right way the first time. I'm too impatient at times and I'm really wanting this Edge to look and fly perfect. It's kinda funny,,,I've spent more money on other planes and didn't give half the thought about the build like I am this Edge. It's just a good looking plane IMHO.

Primodus >>>>>Glad your engine wasn't a total loss. How did your radio gear fare afterward ? And will you be building another VF soon ?

Kurt

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

There has been so much said here since I last checked in. Just got to say the Edge Builds are looking great, and thanks for another good flight report Gary!

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Well guys,

Here's another flight report. This one didn't turn out as I would have liked. The flight only lasted a few minutes. After setting up, I cranked the motor up. Everything was working fine. I taxied out and she was airborne in no time. I flew a few circuits just to see how she would react to the wind. It was at this point that I could hear the motor hesitating. I decided to bring her in to adjust the high speed needle. Due to the recent rain, only 2/3 of the field was usable. The wind was coming straight down the runway, which helped slow us down. I cut power before I made the final turn. I made the turn with no problems and lined her up. As expected, she was gently floating down. Due to the other end of the field being flooded out, I aimed for an area near the beginning of the dry end. I flared a little tto soon and she dropped the last 10 inches. She hit on the gear and bounced up. I leveled her out and touched down again. Just when I thought I was in the clear, my right wheel pant dug into an ant pile and nosed her in. Due to the speed that I still had, the landing gear blocked was ripped out. The only other damage was a minor dent in the right wing from the wheel pant hitting it. The damage is minimal and isolated to the landing gear block. I will have her repaired and flight ready by this evening.

Later guys...

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Well ez2 atlest thats all that happend:eek: I wound rather see VF use two nylon bolts insted of the 3 metal ones. Nylon gear bolts dont always break but atlest there is a chance.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Well Im back after a long time... I did some minor tweaking to my computer and accedently fried my CPU. I then now took that with a little grain of salt and went bigger and better.. AHHHH gotta love technology..
Anyway, nice to see the progress is going very well on the EDGE'S... My plane i still waiting for decent weather to get up in the air. I was hoping for yesterday but mother nature decided to dump so more snow and ICE... Gosh!!! The weather is at least warming up a bit so some of teh snow is melting but, dont know it will be flyable this next weekend.
I do have a question.. I was working on my landing gear plate and i kinda messed up the area where the rear screw on the landing gear was (dremel kind of had its mind of its own). I do have the nylon bolts installed instead of the standard screws. A) do you think the landing gear should hold with just the 2 front 1/4 x 20 nylon bolts in the front if i fill up the hole in the rear with a dowl? B) would you think it would be strong enough to drill and tap a larger dowel in the location for another bolt? I was thinking of putting a threaded insert in the location of the hole but it would be kinda off center unless i drill another hole in the landing gear.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Well, I repaired the landing gear block. For the repair, I had to cut out about 2/3 of the plywood landing gear plate. When the plywood directly under the gear was ripped out, it messed up most of the plywood along with it. I used a method that cabinet builders often use to lock two pieces together. I made a slot on the remaining plywood plate and then when I cut another plywood bottom, I cut it with the piece to lock into the slot. I think a pic will better explain it. After I had everything fitting nice and snug, I used 30 minute epoxy to hold it all together. I also thinned out some epoxy with my heat gun and coated the entire plywood plate. This really helped ensure a tight bond because the thinned epoxy was able to seep into any seams and fill it in. I am positive that this is much stronger than the factory setup. Upon Chuck's, from VF, recommendation I am going to use nylon bolts to hold the landing gear in place. I am hoping that the nylon bolts will shear before the plate comes out in the event that I have another rough landing. Because of the strengthened plate, I think a lot more than just the plate itself will be ripped out if I come in too hard. Hopefully the nylon bolts will prevent that.

I also added about 1 degree of downthrust to help combat the ballooning on landing. Since I have the front end apart, I am contemplating switching to a lighter engine. Either a Saito 100 or an O.S. 91FX. I think that the Edge will do aerobatics a little cleaner with a lighter engine. I could possibly lose close to 1 lb. in weight. I would lose the extra weight from the Saito 120 as well as the tail weight that I had to add to balance her out. I will keep everyone up to speed on my decision.

I think the broken landing gear was also a blessing in disguise. After I removed the cowl, I noticed that the head to one of the engine bolts had broken off. I may not have noticed that had I not taken everything off the fron end. I guess it's time for stronger engine mounting bolts.

While I was at it, I also recrimped the landing gear wires and soldered them for added strength. The wire had popped out of the crimp on a normal landing. Now I doubled up and put 2 crimps as well as solder to hold it all together. It should be more than strong enough now.

Gottan run to Wally World for a few things. Catch ya later....

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Looks like you done a great job putting it back together. I know the cost of buying another engine like the Saito 100 is a big investment, but the weight savings would be enormous, and from what I am reading it seems that the 120 is so powerful that nobody seems to be running it wide open due to the excess unneeded power. So I believe that a person would largley benefit on this Plane if they were able to shave a pound off by using the powerful, but much lighter 100. I would think that a 10lb VF edge would be almost uncontrollable in a deadstick with a weight this high, and with a wing loading that is allready high even if you stay within the Manufacturers recomendation. Let me know how the down thrust works out. I am very curious to know cause I thought about adding a little when I was putting the engine on due to people stating that the Plane had a tendancy to float. I flew mine right to the ground hot on both my very short flights, and was lucky I didn't upset the Plane either time. So I have not really flown it enough to determine what setup will work best to make landings a breeze. Some of your tips will help I am sure!

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Gary,

When Chuck discussed the 1/4" nylon bolts for the landing gear, did he mention adding a plywood double?

I have some of 1/4" nylon nuts, I was thinking of just drilling the holes in the plane to 1/4 inch and putting the nuts on the bolts on the inside.

I've been putting 1/4" bolts on the landing gear of my Tiger Sticks. I've sheared them off once on a pretty rough landing that I think would have torn out the gear if they were installed with metal bolts. Some "experts" at the field pooh-poohed the idea, saying the plane would break before the nylon bolts (proved them wrong) others say that the gear breaks off too easy with the nylon bolts.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Ray, I agree with you on the engine. I am going to start shopping around in the Marketplace and Ebay for a good Saito 100. I will keep flying with the Saito 120 in the mean time. Then when I do get my hands on a Saito 100, I will use the Saito 120 for the Funtana 90 that I plan on getting.

Jon, I am unsure as to what size nylon bolts I will be using. After I pick them up from the LHS I will let you know. I know they won't be as big as 1/4x20. I want something smaller in diameter.

Talk to you guys later.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Gary,

Don't think I would go any smaller the 1/4 x 20. Like I said, I have sheared off two 1/4x20s on my Tiger Stick, a 7 lb airplane. Based on my experience and gut feel, three 1/4" bolts on the VF Edge feels about right.

jon

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I agree, the 1/4-20 is the perfect bolt for a plane of this size. Any smaller and you risk shearing on taxi or even the most regular landings. I have used them with great success on several planes in the 7-10 lb range. Two would be most likely be sufficient for the Edge using the stock gear.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

well on the topic of the landing gear.. Did you all read my little problem.. And i quote from my previous post...
Im thinking it would be strong enough with the 2 front bolts. If i fill in the rear hole with a piece of dowel..

Actually for my landing gear setup. I did double up the landing gear plate and drilled and tapped the lite-ply its self for the the 1/4 x 20 bolt. Works pretty good as it is..

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

rc, sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but I was out of town all day yesterday. Here is how I tinted my canopy.

150 degree water
lots of salted added to water
put water and salt in kitchen sink (heated water on stove)
half and half Black and Wine colored Rit dye from the bottle (not the powder)
I used a lot of water so I used one whole bottle of each color
Put the canopy in the water and made sure it stayed under and kept if moving around
My canopy was in the water for about an hour until I liked the darkness of th tint
Took canopy out and rinsed with cool water

Hope this helps. Ron

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

My Edge still hasn't been delivered! :( I still have to live vicariously through you guys... :D


One question on the wing TE nylon bolt mod.....I think rcfury mentioned this also.....instead os using the 1/2" dowels and drilling and tapping them, can I use 1/4x20 threaded inserts in the wing halves? I'm thinking if I epoxy them in, it'll work fine.....thoughts?

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I considered using the theaded inserts, and now that I have done the dowel install and have seen how thick the wing root end is, I believe threaded inserts would work as long as you sesured them with a good bit of epoxy. This is just my opinion.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

I considered the threaded inserts as well. But I think the dowels are better. There is more surface to glue to and they are lighter the threaded inserts. I didn't use epoxy to secure my dowels in the wing. I used Elmers wood glue and it has held up fine.

For the landing gear: I ended up putting three 8/32 nylon bolts in there. I stressed tested them and they appear more than adequate. As soon as it clears up here, I will taxi the plane around and see how they handle. I think that 1/4x20 nylon bolts would be just like having the metal bolts in there. Most people don't realize that it takes close to 400 lbs. of pressure to sheer one 1/4x20 nylon bolt.

Nathan, according to what the others think, that should be more than enough to secure the landing gear.

Later... Gotta get ready to go to my B-day dinner. Have a great day guys.

RE: Vectorflight Edge 540 build
 

Glow Plug: Yes I just used the wing bolts for the rear. It is plent strong and it is pretty easy getting on and off. The pushrod does get in the way a little.. Thats it. When i weighed the whole setup wingbot threaded insert etc. It just ended being a tad heavier than the dowel itself. Nothing much that will cause something major...

I did just stick a piece of dowel in the rear hole for the landing gear to keep everything secure. If it takes 400 lbs to shear a 1/4 x 20 wing bolt 2 would be plenty.
Just cross for fingers for good weather so i can get my plane up for its maiden.