I just bought a lt-40 arf airplane!!! I am right now trying to install the jr f-400 radio I have and the engine. sleeth hobbies fixed me up!! the plane came pre-made and just needs the radio installed and engine. Im so excited!!!! but im wodering, have any others put a small wheel or peice of metal wire at the back to help safe guard against to much flare or to much elevator on take off?? I was just thinking it when I was lookin it over at the store.

If concerned you could put something like this back there and one in each wing tip too.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXK201&P=

Bruce

Nice. Calm down though cause if you are so crazy u might mess something up

Glad you finally got hooked up Sarge! And the LT-40 is a real good trainer, one of the best available.

Take your time, and no need to worry about too much elevator on take off. I've never seen anyone drag the tail when taking off. (Unless it was a 3D flyer doing it intentionally. )

Now, adding a small wire skid under each wing tip might save some scuff marks, but I don't think it's worth the effort.
Dennis-

cool the engine is mounted but I have come to a problem. I have no screws that will fit in the servo holes. so I have to wait until monday to get some screws, ohh well. such is life. I can't go play for atleast 12 hours any ways couse of the charge time for the glow plug igniter.

The radio dident come with screws for the servo's?

Oh! Have you charged the Transmitter and Reciever for at least 18 (yeah Eighteen!) Hours. The worst beginners buddy box flight, I have ever seen ended as the plane bought it from dead Transmitter battery. The Instructor had asked the Student if it was charged and the Student, assuming that they come from the factory charged, said,"Yep!". Just passin on a lesson learned from someone elses misfortune.[:@]

njairstrike: nope! bought it second hand. just hopeing those servos have the strength, some of the controle surfaces seem a little "stiff".

Soonerace: I haven't even fully charged the glo plug igniter yet (takes 18 frickin hours, why? its got the most retarded recharge time!) besides I know the batteries are dead. i was playin wit da plane earlyer and it all just died. So I will start charging this sunday evening (I have drill this weekend) and come monday I will let it all charge while I try to find some glue equivelent of ca glue. Dang company glued every thing in place that needs to be glued EXCEPT for the servo ends, I gues they left that end open so I could trim which is a good move I think.

And every body I found some screws that fit the hole and the servos are held down nice and tight. now, where to secure the RX to?? the servo tray is not deep enough to allow my Rx to sit under there and I don't want to let it sit on top of the servo arms. Ill find some place to hold it down.

And some thin else, this thing is big enough to have a small camera mounted in it. just think of the fun I could have with that!!

I just wish they would not have glued the wing halves to gether, I would have liked to have bolted them to gether as well as modifying the fusalage so that I could "break it" in to two peices for ease of transport. i would use bolts to secure it together for flight, sound good?? well im not going to complicate it at first.

No, bolting trainer halves doesn't sound good to me. Sounds like something more to go wrong. Did you use the rubber grommets in the servo mounts to reduce the vibration damage? the Rx needs to be wrapped in foam (and battery) for vibration protection too. Go to the radio Mfg web page and download appropriate manual if you don't have one and it should show proper techniques. Why not start charging now, it won't hurt anything? Hey guys, does JR have a site or does he need to go to Hobbico or something? I don't know, help me out on this. Ni-Cads are shipped fully discharged by law so you have to bring them up from nothing with your trickle charger. A quick charger would do it faster but why be in that big of a rush for the first time(it might also be hard on a new battery, again I don't know). Since you are dealing with used (unknown quality) radio batteries, keep a good eye on them. Monitor them prior to every flight until you know their condition and behavior pattern.

Good flying,
Bruce

thanks,
im back from drill so I can work on the plane a little more.
every thing is on the charger, EVERY THING!!! im just figuring out how to attach the last two flight control surfaces to there respective servo control arms.

well, I was just now playing with the plane and noticed some thing. the muffler is touching quite a bit of the side of the plane. Is this bad? im shure its going to get hot being a muffler and all (I certantly would NOT touch my cars exaust after driviing it for a while!!) just how much distance should there be between the muffler and any wood?? 1/8 inch?? I just want to make shure I have the proper clearance measurements.
#2 question. for those that have had lt-40 arf planes before will know what im talking about because I may not know the proper termanology (I have worked in aviation maintenance before so I know how important things like proper terms and fallowing the manual) so U have been warned!! it apears the factory installed a plastic tube inside a nother tube. the smaller tubeing appears to be conected to the controle horn by a metal rod (which has a threaded end and a long smooth shaft) and a plastic clasp. now I can see how they attached the it at the factory so I can emulate that myself, question is what about my glue?? the glue I have is Testors non-toxic liquid cement. will it work in place of the CA glue prescribed by the manual??

P.S. I actually have 2 manuals!!! one for construction of the plane the other is on how to fly the plane. basic maneuvers and crap. cool eh?

The muffler should not touch the wood. When I built my PT-60 I sanded the cheek down to give about 1/8" clearance but 1/16" would actually be plenty. Be sure to seal the bare wood with epoxy (I mixed in a few drops of paint to match the covering) so it doesn't get oil soaked.

Update: I have glued the last control parts in the airplane.
Tomarow I will see where the airplanes servoes are at so I can properly trim it out. then I will try to start the engine and just taxi around the drive way to get a feel for the strength of the planes engine. I don't have the space to take off and fly here at home but I do have realatives whom have feilds to fly in, so I will see about geting part of there field mowed by a riding lawn mower so I can take off there. Thanks all!!

will share pics later.

If you haven't soloed R/C before, don't try to fly it on your own in an empty field. Its tougher than it looks, I promise. If you have flown before.....disregard.

nevar soloed a rc, but I have done a lot of flying in the real thing. we will see.

Are you talking full scale? If so, I have to, and it doesn't help very much at all. Flying a 2,500lb airplane vs. a 6lb pound airplane.....its quite different. Not to mention the perspective change.

I'd try to get some help. Its best to protect your investment. Its really cheap insurance on your plane.

However, if you want to try it. Keep us informed on what happens.

Good luck either way.

thanks bryris,
I will seek out help to get started. I didn't think of the change of perspective involved in this. thanks for reminding me!! Im just happy that I found the right super glue to finish the job, I was about out of options short of driving about 1 1/2 hours to the hobby shop for some CA glue.
Well I promise it will just be taxying around to get the "feel" of this airplane and the perspective and all. I know there is a club around here some where. Just not shure where I saw them at.

The AMA website has a club locator that can help. Also, if you do plan on "going it alone", remember that from inside a full scale, left is always left and right is always right. With an RC, most beginners will yaw or pitch the opposite direction of what they want when the airplane is headed toward them. (perspective thing mentioned earlier). The best thing I can recommend is when the plane is coming toward you, move the aileron stick toward the LOW wing to return to level. It's a little easier than trying to figure out if you need to roll left or right when you're trying to recover from a bad attitude.
Actually the best thing is to get an instructor. No offense intended, but by reading though this thread, it sounds like you might want an experianced flyer to go through the plane before you even try to taxi. Connecting rod failure at full throttle can get expensive in a hurry. I'm not familiar with the LT, but I think you have outer pushrod tubes with an inner liner that the actual metal pushrod goes through. The threaded end usually goes toward the control surface and attaches using that little plastic part (clevise) that is screwed unto the rod and clips to the control horn on the appropriate control surface. I also recommend that you put a small piece of fuel tubing around the clevise to be sure it doesn't open accidentally. The smooth end is usually connected at the servo by putting a "Z bend" in the rod and inserting the rod in the appropriate hole in the servo arm.
Reading through the manual in my trainer, they suggest tuurning the clevise onto the pushrod about 14 turns. The rule I use is to screw it on until the rod just starts to come out the back of the threaded part of the clevise. This ensures plenty of room in both directions to adjust the mechanical trim.

Definitely get with a competent instructor just like you did with full size aircraft. Every time you advanced in full size, instrument, commercial, multi you had an instructor. Working as a mechanic, you were required by FAA to receive OJT, DO NOT break the cycle now. You MIGHT get lucky, but odds are in favor of you ordering a new kit within the hour of your first flight. I speak as a full scale pilot. a/c mechanic, and R/c instructor. PLEASE listen. It won't slow you down that much and will in fact most likely hasten your learning curve. And being a club member will give you some new friends full of advice, good and bad. Some just full of it, if you know what I mean.
Enjoy your flying,
Bruce

Here's what I'm working on

Hey mccorml -
You forgot to put the motor in it. HEHE


Looks nice.

Bruce

Saito 72 with flex pipe. My normal LT-40 has a Saito 56 but I wanted a little more power for the flat wing.

This is all the more reason to avoid even taxiing till you find the club. The spot you pick to taxi may be just over the hill from their flying site, and by turning on your transmitter, you could shoot somebody's VERY EXPENSIVE plane down.

Sarges_heroes2003-
I took the liberty of checking the AMA listing and they show a club in Stockton which is @ 22 miles from you. There may be something closer. Do you have a LHS where you can inquire? You do appear to be in a rather isolated area compared to many of us. That can be nice at times though. good luck with your flying.

Bruce