YEP [X(]

More than likely, the problems you are seeing with the two converted tailwheel trainers you are talking about are being caused by the main gear not being in the correct position. As far as not taking off properly because of a flat bottom airfoil, that has nothing to do with it. My LT40 has been in tailwheel configuration since day one, and I have never had any take off, or any other ground handling problems with it. The key to getting the thing to perform correctly is to get the main gear in the right place. If it's placed too far forward, or too far to the rear, yeah, it will handle like a nightmare. My gear is placed directly behind former #2 (I think this is the number for the former that is directly in from of the wing leading edge). I epoxied a 3 1/8" square piece of 1/8" birch aircraft ply on the fuselage floor, right behind the former, for reinforcement. My main gear is positioned so that the main wheels are just in front of the wing leading edge when the aircraft is sitting in a three point stance, and the wheels are DIRECTLY under the leading edge when it's up on the mains. If the owners of the planes you have mentioned would check their gear positioning and get them mounted correctly, I think the problems you have seen would disappear.

"Piper_chuck has it completely correct. You shouldn't need to glass the joint on a trainer wing. You should be securing the wing halves with 30-minute epoxy, and this will make the joint strong enough to stand up to more than the trainer will be able to do. While glassing wing joints is needed on some planes, it's not on a trainer.

Ken "


Wanna bet?


Bruce and Bubba!

ROFL

so thats how you get waitresses to dress like that.....need to suggest that to ALL the local resturants

Except those ones with the umm... I suppose you guys can figure that out on your own...

Anyways I've got enough forums off topic as it is.. Whens the LT supposed to arrive?

Here's my list of stuff and where it sits...

Tower Hobbies order to show up early next week:
Sig LT-40 kit
Great Planes Dural Landing Gear Large .60
Sullivan Tailwheel Bracket 40-60 5-12 lbs.
3/8" Triangle stock for rear vertical stabilizer reinforcement
(3) APC 11x5 prop
Dave Brown Six Shooter Fuel Pump Glow & 3' of fuel tubing
2-56 Clevis
CA glue - thin
TH - x-acto blade set & saw w/ miter box
Sealing Iron
Iron sock
Hinge guide/hinge slotting machine



Still need to get:
Epoxy 15min or greater
2' strip of 2" wide glass
Debonder
Fuel jug cap tap



Sitting in the area I have cleared out for this build:
.46 OS AX
(2) A3 glow plugs(extra)
Futaba 6exa w/ (4) 3004 servos
Material for carbon fiber push rods
2.5"Aluminum Spinner w/ adapter
(1) APC 11x6 prop (for break-in per instructions)
Du-bro 12oz fuel tank
(2) Rolls Hangar 9 Ultracoat - Silver
(2) Rolls Hangar 9 Ultracoat - Corsair Blue
6" x 12" 1/4 ply - guide material for push rods
8 oz bottle of Tite bond II
2 ft of fuel line
2 feet of large fuel line for gas can
Alcohol for Epoxy thinning(fuel proofing)
Sandpaper 100 & 220 grit
Sanding bars 100 & 220 grit
Single edge razors (100ct pack)
Heat gun
Ceiling Tile (working/pinning surface)
T-pins
Plastic clothes pins
Wax paper for working surface when gluing
Fuel - 15% nitro with 18% oil will be just fine, 20% oil will be better)
Du-bro Kwik start XL glow starter


Regarding the radio... rechargable battery packs included? The trim switches? The whole fact that it's computerized? Damn! Radios have come a long way since I was last into RCs. My last radio had long trim sliders for each axis and took a grip of AAs that you had to pull out to recharge.

My plane kit should show up early next week... gonna document my build in a thread. Can't wait!!

somegeek

decent list

Suggestion, take a pic of the cleaned off area, it won't be that way for long

More 2 cents. I'm afraid the instruction book recommends fiberglassing that wing joint, (page22). The kit comes with 1" glass tape to do the job. As was said earlier, this plane will take some abuse, so it could'nt hurt. You would be surprized what this plane can do, and those outside loops can kill a weak wing joint!

Hey Somegeek. how is your build going? i am thinking of converting my LT40 to a taildragger since a surprise landing in a tree last week removed my mains for me.

As a suggestion, you might want to try some Dubro landing gear - Dubro #789, along with a set of axles. A little pricey, and a little heavy, but the LT-40 can handle it. And, you never have to bend it back into shape again. The gear takes a beating without even breathing hard.

Bob

well you will want 15 & 30 min. epoxy for the plane. 30 min. for the wing halves and the fire wall. 30 is to lond to wait on the rest of the plane thats what the 15 is for.
no real cockpit so no place to put the GIJoe, good idea though!
for fuel I have been useing byron 15% pink fuel, I have been warened away from the green collor. for a glow starter I would say use a hot shot 2 with the long shank, I love mine. much easier to use and no wires to catch in prop, last a long time to.
for the tail wheel I just epoxied in place a piece of thin plywood, cant remember what wood it was but it was not balsa. you will need to put it on the inside and it will let the tail sit lower and lessen the chance of a prop strike.
with that motor you might want to hold off on the spinner. mine needed a brass hub to ballance out (I have the arf vertion) +I put the batteries at the front and the rx as far forward as possible. it just barely ballances but that is enough. the plane is great, it flies in a good stout wind and lands so slow I get board landing it lol.
Ohh I just remembered some thing, when doing the alerons make shure to get a plastic tube and put it on the U shaped brass rod that is supplied as a control horn , allowing the use of one servo to control both alerons, mine did not have a plastic tube inserted as a axel. with one the guys say the plane will never have that problem again. thats why they build all there planes that a way.
And when mounting up the engine mount to the fire wall, here is a tip to keep it from comeing loose. use a self locking nut, they are a threaded insert with a washer on one end that has spikes on it to hold it in the wood. after sinking it in remove it and dope it up with 15 min. epoxy and sink it back in. get you some aircraft nuts and some locktite (blue kind) and that dang mount will never come loose again!! thats what I had to do to make mine reliable but of course I still check it on the preflight list, good thing that list!
thats about it from me good luck and happy flying!!!

Yeeouch - tell your LT-40 I hope it feels better soon. FWIW there are a grip of LT-40 taildragger conversion threads on RCU. From what I gather, the easiest and cleanest conversion is to put a rod up through the fuse into the base of the rudder and use that to drive a tail wheel. If you ever decide to recover your plane, you could consider installing a pushrod to steer the wheel.

Regarding my build, It went well!

My lovely fiance holding my plane...





Few more on the ground...





My build thread is here.

I need to go back and update the thread with build materials and such.

somegeek