aresti 40
 

i just got my new aresti. glued the wings together. waiting to dry overnight. was wondering if anyone else is using the stock push rod for the rudder or are u using a pull pull system. doesnt look like much room for a pull pull where the servos go. i usually use dave brown push rods. and im thinking of using the stock rod on the rudder or probably get the dave brown. thanks for any input. looks like a real nice plane. cya :p

aresti 40
 

I'm using stock on everything and all has been doing just fine.

Randy

Aresti controls
 

Roadracer,
Interesting that you should mention a pull-pull on the Aresti, I was just going to post my control setup so, I'll do that now... I plan to use one servo on each elevator half and a pull- pull on the rudder. I mounted the rudder servo in the turtle deck. There are "rails" that hold the rudder servo at just the right height.


PLEASE CLICK ON THE GALLERY BUTTON BELOW FOR MORE PHOTOS OF THIS INSTALLATION

tail mounted servos
 

I mounted the rudder and elv. servo in the tail just under the front of the stab. (Hitec HS225MG)
I also used Hitec HS81MG for the ail. servos.
One Hitec HS 55 for throttle.
I did all this to keep the weight down and move as much weight to the rear as possible.
Then a mounted a Saito .91 up front with a APC 14x6 prop. The finished model weight in under 5.5 lbs.
I sure love that vertical.
It flys great and the extra power is tooooooooo much funnnnnnnnnn

Aresti
 

I used stock rods too and have not had a problem, especially doing a knife edge, very stable abd make sure you install the Wheel pants, make so much of a difference. nice airplace to fly too

aresti 40
 

Mine is bone stock and flies fine. I have a os 46 fx on it and verticle is unlimited. I can't imagine a saito 91 on it. I'm a power hog but good greif:) This is a tru flying little plane. Flies real smooth and will knife edge forever. I just can't get over the saito 91. Man, you are my hero!

Wing joining help
 

Any of you guys have problems with the wing joining? I just glued mine together last night and the fit of the hardwood joiner was so sloppy I used 3oz of epoxy to fill the gaps. I probably had a 1/16th all the way around. It's got me spooked. I'm thinking of ripping up that nice Ultra-Coat and glassing the center just to be sure.

aresti 40
 

edh13,

Mine is still on the building board but I had the same problem with the sloppy wing brace. I just used a LOT of epoxy with milled fiberglass mixed in for insurance. I will post more pictures of my pull pull control setup. I like the way it turned out. Overkill yes, but nice.

TX

aresti 40
 

capthis, I have the same setup as you do, accept my OS 46 FX is mounted in the upright position and I don't have squat for verticle. What's the secret?

Randy

about the wing joiner
 

Mine was also very loose.
I epoxyed a 1/6" layer of aircraft grade plywood to the flat side of the joiner and it fit perfect.
I did not glass the center and only used the one wing bolt.
I have done many high G outside manuvers with no problems.

aresti 40
 

Balckie,
Heck, I don't know maybe cause its inverted:) I have been running a 10-7 apc prop it won't hover but it will go strait up out of sight. My engine is well brokn in and I have always treated it right. I am only running 10% nitro. I guess its just a good one. Happy flying all. I have a new sukhoi to work on! yeah!!!

aresti
 

thanks for all the input. ive got my wings together. i did not have a problem with the wing joiner. it fit ok. and i used plenty of epoxy. i just got the horiz. stab lined up and in. waiting for epox to dry. im going to use the stock hardware and the one wing bolt. before i glued in the horiz. stab. i checked the incidence. and it was right on within about a 1/4 deg. this seems to be a nicely bilt plane. its going together well. i bought another saito 72 for it. i can hardly wait to fly it. my horiz. stab was off level a bit to the wings. i filed inside the saddle to get it to line up perfectly. but it did not take much. where is everyone setting there cg at? what the book calls for. im getting so many planes i wont know wich one to fly. well thanks again. now the only thing is when its done. when is the nice weather going to come. if its not blowing or snowing its raining. i just cant win with the weather in ohio. take care and happy flying. pray for nice weather. cya bill :p

rear mounted servos
 

microflight,

Do you have pictures of your rear mounted servo setup?

aresti 40
 

Daniel,

What engine do you plan to use? Rear mounted servos will require either a heavier engine or weight in the nose. Notice Microflight's engine choice.
TX

Good ?
 

Good question texan.
I did notice that alot of people that used the Saito 72 were complaining the the model was nose heavy

aresti 40
 

Aresti maiden flight went well. The rudder pull pull system was very effective but the ailerons were a bit too sensative. I was using high rates with expo. Now I'm using low rates and less expo and it flies smoother. I'm really pleased with the overall flight characteristics. BTW, I am using an OS 46fx with MAC muffler. Also, I have one servo driving each elevator half.

TX

aresti 40
 

I plan to use a OS 46FX and I know I'm going to add about 1.5 oz of tail weight. I don't think I could get away with mounting the servos in the rear without adding nose weight.

Aresti
 

I was using a Saito .72 in my Aresti with 2 or 3 ounces of lead in the tail. I do not have the plane anymore as most of the left wing broke off while I was flying it. H9 fixed the engine and replaced the plane, so I guess I'll be flying it again soon

WHAT!!??
 

Your wing what?? Please provide details. I'm already spooked about the loose fit of my wing joiner. Where did it break and what were you doing?

aresti 40
 

The wing did not break near the joiner it broke about 9 inches away from the center and I think the cause was the fact that they did not glue the inside of the wing properly. Mine also had the loose wing joiner but with a lot of extra epoxy it worked fine.
I dont think you have anything to worry about.

Wheel pant mounting procedure?
 

I'm having some problems figuring out how to mount the wheel pants on this thing. :confused:

I'm mounted wheel pants b4, but the instructrions look like they're telling me that I'm supposed to hold the wheel pant to the axle with the large locknut. Should this be the case? Or should the 4-40 bolt hold the wheel pant on by itself?

The instructions also say there will be two 4-40 holes in the landing gear leg. But there is only one. This makes me think that the large locknut should hold the pant on, as well as the 4-40. Like - the large locknut holds it on and the 4-40 keeps it from turning.

The Model Airplane News review states that there is a plywood laminating plate to fit inside the pant. No such beast in this kit.

Ideas?

Thanks

aresti 40
 

I've built two Arestis and I had trouble the first time I tried to mount the wheel pants because the directions have a few flaws. As for the plywood, the pants that came with my kit already had the plywood installed on one side of each pant but the directions still mentioned that I needed to add the plywood. When you drill the hole for the spindle you may need to lower it by an 1/8". The directions say to measure up 5/8" but my tires rubbed, which wasn't fun to fix, so I measured 1/2" up the second time and that was perfect. The hole you drill for the spindle needs to be big enough for the entire spindle to fit through. I made mine fit perfectly to the hex on the spindle. The 4-40 screw is the only thing that mounts the pant to the landing gear. The spindle keeps it from spinning. Both of my kits came with landing gear that have two holes. Weird yours didn't.

aresti 40
 

Dangit, I just noticed the plywood already in the pants. And I drilled the other side. Looks like I'll be putting plywood on the side I drilled...

Making it fit over the spindle is consistent with the others I've done, as well.

Thanks for the tips. I'll check on the 1/2" measurement, too.

This plane was VERY wrinkled. Sure did look better when I hit it with the heat gun! I'm starting to like Ultracote.

-brad

Aresti
 

My wife has an Aresti 40 with a Saito 72 in it. I test flew it for her a couple of weeks ago. About halfway through the flight the engine quit. I landed deadstick no problem. We tore it down and found the tank was split. Anyone else having tank problems with this bird. My wife had the same problem with her UltraStik 40 with a Saito 56. The Aresti seemed to fly well the 4 or 5 minutes I flew it. Much like a pattern ship. Not a 3D type airplane, but might work for beginning IMAC type work.

aresti 40
 

General rule (for me anyway): don't use the ARF tanks. Get a Dubro or Sullivan, eh? Just looking at the tank which came with my Aresti, I suspect it would split. It's a very poorly cast plastic tank. I don't know why they bother putting them in the kit...

aresti 40
 

same thing happend to me fuel tank split. just replaced it with Dubro.

aresti 40
 

Flew the Aresti today for the first time (see Avitar)

Wow!

So much better than the trainer. Easy to land, too, once you figure out how to slow it down - it's really aerodynamically clean. I was kinda nervous about going too slow on the approach, but this Aresti is tame at low speed. It was a good day at the field - lots of crosswind landing practice with the Avistar and when the wind went away, I was ready to step up.

I think the Aresti is easier to land than a trainer - given the option to go around if I'm coming in too hot. But if it's a dead-stick, I may be in trouble. :)

I got in some knife-edge, rolls, loops, inverted passes, plus a fellow member showed me how to do snap rolls. That was fun. This thing snaps really fast - almost too much fun. Stalls are at a slow speed and predictable - falling gently to the left perhaps because the muffler is on that side?

I used the stock pushrods and everything worked OK except the instructions led me to place the elevator and rudder clevises too close together. If I put the rudder clevis on the outer-most hole in the horn it scrubs the elevator clevis.

I think the elevator throw recommendations are a little light. What do the rest of you think? On low rates, full-up loops are pretty big. On High rates at high speed, there is no tendancy to snap on full-up, and the loops are still not tight. I suppose this plane may not be designed for tight loops.

Using OS 46FX with 11x6. It's not quite broken-in, so I'm still running it a bit rich. Vertical isn't unlimited, but it will go straight up until it's kinda hard to see what it's doing before falling out. I like this engine. It hasn't given any problems being inverted except once when I switched fuel it didn't want to throttle-up until I leaned it some more. It's very quiet and smooth-running. After only 6 tanks of fuel and setting the low-speed needle, I get a nice consistent slow idle. I've heard folks say that the LA engines are easier to operate than the FX. This may be true, but after tuning the FX, it idles, transitions, and runs much better than my 40 LA.

I opened up the covering under the turtle-deck to situate the battery back in there to get a good CG. A square pack wrapped in foam fits snugly under the turtledeck with some home insulation "hard foam" to wedge it into place.

I've read here about nose-over problems with this plane. I didn't see any such tendancies.

aretsi fuel tank placement (bgi & f900 & others
 

I read where you replaced the stock tank - recommend a dubro or sullivan.
I am putting together an Aresti ( my 1st ARF).

is the tank supposed to mate up with the hole in the fuselage ?
It appears the stock tank would do this.
If I use either a Dubro or Sullivan I don';t see how to do this.

Could you tell me how you installed the replacement tank?

Did you install a support bracket for the tank to sit on OR just wrap the entire thing with foam to hold the tank in place?

Did you do anything to the large hole in the firewall to prevent fuel getting back into the tank compartment?

thanks for all the good advice

eddie

aresti 40
 

I used a Dubro 8oz. I wrapped it with foam and taped over the foam with packaging tape. Then I ran the lines out the hole in the fuse. I inserted it into the nose while rotated 90deg to get it past the former (it is wider than it is high). Once past the former, I rotated back to proper position.

To hold it in place, I cut a piece of 3/4" hard foam home wall insulation - the kind they nail to the frame and then put siding over. With the foam in place, it doesn't move around. The former holds it forward and the foam holds it up.

I also used the same foam to wedge the battery in place in the rear.

I didn't do anything about the large hole in the former because I'd like to be able to remove the tank. You may want to consider fuelproofing the inside of the tank compartment.

For the radio switch, I just used a scrap wire from the pushrods bent 90deg on each end. One end goes into the switch and the other is out the fuse side.

A Hobbico Volt Watch is taped inside against the white Ultracote above the wing. It's visible when the radio is on. Cool.

ciao

aresti 40
 

Ciao
Thanks for the info - I was considering hard foam under the tank to hold it up - sounds like that's what you did -thanks

As for the hole - I'm talking about the one in the firewall - the motor mount surrounds it ( not the former behind the tank).
Do you just leave it as is or try to seal up that hole.

It will be very easy to stick the fuel tubing through - but do I have to worry about fuel or exhaust leaking back through this into the fuel tank compartment
It was my assumption that the intent of the manufacturer was to stick the fuel tank cap into this hole thus plugging it while mounting the tank, but if I use an aftermarket tank I can not do that.

thanks again for the help.

eddie

aresti 40
 

Oh, That hole! Nope - it's still open. I'll keep an eye on things to see if gunk starts coming back into the tank compartment. So far, no problem. You're right about the tank nose fitting there. I don't think the stock tank seals the hole anyway - it's just something to fix the tank's location. I ran the brass tubes into the hole, so I guess I'm getting the same location out of it as H9 intended. I've heard of the stock tanks splitting, so Dubro to the rescue.

BTW: A square 600mAh pack wrapped with foam fits nicely tucked into rear of the first turtledeck compartment - right where it needs to be to balance the 46 FX. Then a piece of the same foam snugs it up nicely. I had to cut open the bottom right behind the wing to get it all in there. I didn't have any Ultracote, so I used clear packing tape to repair the hole. Now I can see the battery to make sure it's not moving around.

Others have complained of nose-over tendancies with this plane. I haven't seen even a hint of that. It sits very low to the ground and seems to want to plant it's tail down nicely.

I would be concerned about the landing gear. H9 did a poor job on that. Not only is the gear two-piece, but they only placed one screw on the center-line. Instead of placing two on the outside, they should have placed two on the center. Any hard landings will put a lot of tension force on the one center screw - pulling it through the plate.

I'd do one or more of the following to beef up the LG:

1) put an aluminum plate under the LG to stiffen it up.

2) put a couple more screws on the centerline to help out the single screw.

3) install a single-piece LG.

I had a bouncer of a landing today in 15 mph wind with no problems, but I've heard of folks breaking the LG on a hard landing.

-brad

PS: The "ciao" is italian for "hello" or "bye" :)

aresti 40
 

bgi
thanks for the italian lesson ( feel sorta silly)

all this info sure has been a help.

I had already read about the landing gear & have made an aluminum plate but I put it on top (away from fuselage) of the gear.

These messages are the reason I'm installing a Dubro tank
I totally agree about the OEM tank -sure wouldn't want a plane full of fuel. :-)

I like your battery placement. is that the same location I read where one person put his rudder servo to set up a pull-pull rudder. I wondered if he cut through the ultracote on the bottom.
I assume from this that with the OS 46FX your Aresti was tail heavy -do you think you could've gotten by with elevator servos in the tail. If I could do that - I'd cut out the servo tray & put a rudder servo with pull-pull in the center-between where the elevator & rudder servo cut outs are on the stock tray. -what do you think ?

As far as the packaging tape - go to your local pharmacy and ask the R.PH.(pharmacist) to sell you a roll of his "SCOTCH" RX tape. It should be 2 inches wide and don't fool with it if it's not Scotch -there are other cheaper brands. I use it for everything. I've seen prescription bottles several years old & the label looked new - They should all make their tape this good.
I have a 20year old Kadet that was my dad's. I wanted to fly it but the wings felt mushy-I cut the monokote open to look at the spars & just placed tape over the panels to tape the monokote back together. Flew it 3 times then hung it back up. :-)
One of these days I 'm gonna recover the whole plane.

When I get me Aresti flying - I'll sure remember the nose-over tendency

Thanks again for all the valuable help. I'll keep reading this forum
Eddie

aresti 40
 

Eddie,

Not tail-heavy. It was nose-heavy. That's why I moved the battery back there - to move the CG back towards the tail. Mine still needs the CG moved back a bit more - it takes too much down to maintain inverted flight.

There's really no getting into the turtledeck without cutting out the Ultracote on the bottom. Prior to cutting out the covering, I fiddled with the battery for 30 minutes and gave up. Putting a pull-pull rudder servo in there is way more difficult. But it would be a piece of cake to put a pull-pull in place of the two in the standard tray.

I really can't say if this plane needs a pull-pull. I did some knife-edge circuits today. I kept mostly full rudder (by-the-book high rates) and throttle all the way around the pattern but couldn't tell if the rudder was being blown back. The plane has Futaba 3004's all the way around. I'll get out the servo load spreadsheet tonight and see if that servo is enough for this rudder. It won't even come close to a knife-edge loop. But hey, it's not a 3D plane, it's a pattern trainer! :)

My guess is that if you put two elevator servos in the tail and put the battery up front you will still need some lead in the nose unless you install a OS 50 SX or similar heavy engine (4-stroker). I guess it depends on how far back you put the servos. This plane isn't a 3D plane - isn't designed for it. After 8-10 flights I feel that the published elevator high rates are not quite enough to make it really jump through the loops, but it doesn't need much more to tighten them up. There's no tendancy to tip stall in a tight loop - but I can tell I need some lead in a wing to balance laterally.

Scotch RX tape, eh? :) The tape I put on there is Scotch. It's holding up fine. I'll have to take it off tonight to see if I can put that battery behind the next fuse former.... Funny that all that sawdust I made is now stuck on the tape.

I wouldn't worry much about any nose-over tendancy. I'm thinking those guys left the plane in a severe nose-heavy balance! :p

Off to make a LG plate and move a battery. Except for the LG, nice plane, H9!

aresti 40
 

thanks bgi
I really had my thinking screwedup on the CG
Guess I was wishing to strong.

H9 recomends an MDS 58 and putting the battery in front of the
servo tray. I'm gonna hafta compare the weight of it & sn OS FX46 - not that it matters too much as I've already bought the OS for this plane :-). I'll just live with whatever balance problems when I get there.

I sure don't want to cut that pretty covering and having read your knife-edge results I'm probably gonna try the recomended setup but use ny-steel rods instead of their dowels.

Eddie

aresti 40
 

My OS 46 FX is pushed as far forward as it will go on the supplied engine mount to provide good spinner/cowl clearance. It took a good bit of dremel sanding drum work in the cowl to make room for the carb. Yours will probably balance the same.

Hey - try this: You may be able to get the battery in the turtledeck without cutting the covering if you put it in there before you install the pushrods. I tried to do it with the dowels in place. Heck, the covering on the bottom isn't seen much anyway. When I come down the pattern in knife-edge with the bottom showing, you can't even tell it has the clear tape there...

Be careful when you install the rudder/elev horns. The directions will lead you to clevis interference.

Another thought: try a lighter engine mount. The H9 mount is metal.

aresti 40
 

I've got the motor temporialy installed to look at the cowl.
I see the carb clearance problem. I was worried about the cowl splitting after I remove the excess. Only time will tell.

The diff motor mount is a GOOD idea. I'm not crazy about clamp type mount anyway. It appears from what you said that you used teh H9 motor mount. Have you had any tendency for the motor to work loose or is this clamping method a secure mount?

I'll try the battery & let you know if it fits.

I'll be out of town until Thursday so It won't be until then.

Great chatting with you .

Later
Eddie

aresti 40
 

The cowl is glass. I'm not worried. :)

I haven't had a problem with the mount. I got it pretty tight and bent the clamp really good in the rear. I would think that if it would be a problem then we'd be hearing about it from others on the forums. Some folks prefer the mount. It's the first H9 metal mount I've used. It tends to turn the plane into a musical instrument - echoing the engine vibration.

I bought a GP mount but didn't use it because the pre-installed holes didn't line up. If I wasn't in such a hurry to get something besides the trainer in the air, I might have taken the time to install the GP mount. It would have taken a few ounces off the weight. I guess I still can do that as a way of taking off some weight and moving the CG back.

I did drill a couple more holes to allow access to the muffler screws. I was thinking of adding one more to get to the low-speed idle, but I removed the cowl to adjust that.

Great chatting with you, too.

-brad

Easy Battery Install
 

An easy way to move the battery aft in the radio compartment is to simply stick it (flat pack) to the wing as far aft as possible. I've done it to both my Aresti and Magic. There is enough clearance above / below the servos. With the Magic I servo taped it to the top of the wing and added a rubber band and hook loop set up. ( Go to the Photo Gallery and search on my user name to see pics). On the Aresti I opted for the even simpler method. Zap-Goo'd it to the top of the wing! Goo remains relatively pliable and cushions against vibration. And it will peel off with a little effort, in case your plane outlasts the battery, or vise-versa. So far so good!

aresti 40
 

Sounds cool, but mine is currently about 6" behind the wing and needs to go further back!

aresti 40
 

swlarcham, as far as the firewall hole that you were concerned about just get a caulking gun and fill the hole up with silicone.

When I use an after market tank I run the tubing through the large hole and then use silicone to fill in around the tubing. It blocks anything from coming into the main compartment.

If you ever need to gain access through the hole for any reason the silicone can be removed with ease.

Randy