Great job on the restore. I have always wanted to try my hand at restoring a worn out plane. I just need to find a $5 plane to do it with!

Ok, I will open the bid's with a bid of $10. Think about it, it takes 6-10 years to double you money in the stock market. LOL

Great job. You have inspired me to get going on a rebuild of a yard sale ultimate 10-300. Thanks for posting. Scoot

Hey, this sky raider II is what I'm flying right now..

$80 ARF.. with an OS 50sx on it... More power than it needs... Actually came in under the claimed weight... I love it..

The canopy arrived yesterday. Even though it was for a Tower Uproar, it was a perfect fit. I thought it looked odd with just the clear bubble on top of the fuselage so I decided to black it out. I've done this a few times before and I like the look.

1. Mask the outside of the canopy using good low-tack tape.
2. Scuff the inside of the canopy with 220 grit sandpaper so paint will stick better.
3. Spray the inside with black paint. I used Krylon semi-gloss black that I had on the shelf. to be safe it might be best to test a portion of the cut-off plastic from the canopy to make sure the paint won't damage it.
4. Once the paint is dry, remove the tape and you have a shiny black canopy.

I also drilled a hole in the fuselage top that will be hidden by the canopy. This will help equalize pressure under the plastic canopy in hot and cool weather hopefully preventing it from deforming.
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Whenever I have an airplane assembled by someone else, I always like to double check stuff unless I know the builder really well and trust their attention to detail. It is partly because I am weird and picky I guess but it is also because a lot of people out there take shortcuts. I've seen these shortcuts lead to crashes. This airplane was assembled pretty well overall with no major issues. I did notice that the servo grommets were installed incorrectly though. The eyelets are supposed to be installed from the bottom side so that the flat, flared out part is on the bottom, sitting on the wood. This should allow the servo to "float" in the rubber grommet giving it some protection from vibration and some "give" so the screws don't work loose as the servo operates.

Would this small mistake of had a huge affect? I don't know but why take the chance. This is why it is always important to at least glance through the instructions that come with any component and double check your work.

It was no big deal to correct all the grommets. This also allowed me to harden all the screw holes with thin CA; something else that did not appear to be done by the original builder.
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The plane is finally complete. I added a spinner, popped in a spare receiver, check all the servos, re-plumbed the fuel system and ran the engine. Everything seems to be A-OK.

I don't think it turned out half bad considering what it was like when I first saw it. I could have done a little more with the covering such as the shark's mouth and some letters/numbers but I was running out of time and I didn't want to spend any money that I couldn't get back when the plane is sold. There is a total of just over $20 in it right now.

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Nice job Chuck! The plane looks really great, and I think you can probably get your 20 dollars back out of it too :-D

I have to admit I have made the same mistake w/servo grommets. An experienced club member pointed the discrepancy out to me and probably saved my plane. This is a good reminder on the servo grommets.

rrragman

Sold the plane today at the club swap meet. A little less than my initial asking price but the guy who bought it was just progressing past his trainer and he got a good deal and I got a little compensation for my time and labor. It all worked out in the end and I had fun.

Selling price was $80 by the way.

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Chuck, you are a skilled modeler and it seems that you enjoy working on them. I am envious, I'm a great builder but I don't enjoy the process, only the results and flying.

i would've swapped out the digital servo and put in a 3003 or something. that servo alone is $30 on tower!

Thought about that. I didn't need them though and I figured it might make the airplane a little more attractive to a potential buyer.

Cool . There is a swap meet coming up here and I need to start building my inventory too. Love swap meets.