where is the best place to put the antenna? Perhaps run it through the bottom of the fuse? Ideas and maybe photos of what you do would help! thanks.

Also, is it normal for someone's first plane to have a few cosmetic errors and imperfections? What did you mess up on, on your first plane?

It's a question I've often wondered about being primarily a control line flyer. It used to be everybody routed the antenna out behind the wing and up to the tip of the vertical fin.

On my kit-built LT-40, I ran the antenna down through the bottom of the fuselage as per instructions (about 3" behind the firewall). It runs along the bottom of the fuselage and ends about 4" short of the rear of the fuselage. I used one of those Dubro clips and a thin wire s-hook at the very rear of the fuselage. A rubber band is used between the plastic clip and the wire s-hook.

I considered routing it inside the fuselage but I substituted metal pushrod for rudder and elevator. I've heard it's not a good idea to have your antenna run parallel to anything which conducts a signal.

RCKen had good description and photos of an antenna tube installed in the fuselage of his "Build it Now" LT-40 thread.

I usually run mine out the top behind the wing with a stress relief where it exits the back window. If running underneath it seems more likely to get damaged during the inadvertant tall weeds landing etc off the runway...

The very R/C first plane I ever build when I was 14b, I put the shear webs on wrong and had to re-do them not realizing the were to ge between the spars.. don't ask where i put them [X(]. The covering job wasn't the greatest but it looked ok. It was the M.E.N Trainer, Undercamber wing 3-channel.
Mike

I ran mine out on top behind the wing up to the top of the vertical stabilizer. I use a "T" pin and a piece of tubing to hold it with just friction so if it gets bumped it slides. I built a new Sig 4*60 and the wing was warped because my old work suface was bad so i has to unglue the R wing half and start over[:@] I have never finished a model without at least one little covering patch somewhere.

I install a pushrod tube inside the fuselage. If necessary it exits near the other push rod tube exits at the rear of the plane.
To make sure the antenna does not crawl out of the tube drill a hole through the tube close to the end, cut a slit from the end of the tube to the hole, slip the antenna through the slit into the hole.
Rough up the surface with sand paper and use a little medium or thick CA to secure it front and rear.
I use push rod tubes large enough that I do not have to struggle when I thread the antenna through.

I installed mine behind the wing exiting the fuse. I used a small pushrod tube and epoxied that in the fuse behind the wing. I then ran it up to the vertical stab and used the rubber band and T-pin configuration.

I ran mine out the top of the fuse behind the wing and just drilled two holes in the rear fin. Then stuck the wire through one hole and then through the other. Just make sure that the holes arent too big, just big enough so that the wire will go through. I keep a little bit of slack in the wire so it doesn't pull. I've also got other planes that have tubing inside the fuse. Either way works.

does this look ok?

be honest a little criticism wont hurt my feelings What I did was drill a hole in the bottom of the fuselage and glue a little tube into that hole. then i fed the antenna into that hole and then ran tube around a circle at the back of the bottom of the fuselage finally putting it into an extra servo arm which I ca glued it to the bottom.

That will work just fine and looks alright also. I made the error of not putting a tail wheel in when putting the stab and rudder on. New Chipmunk Had to work hard to get it all apart and back together. Everyone should go step by step but heck I missed a step lol.

anyone else?

I often do what you've done, but I tend to put the feed hole along the edge of the fuse lines.

e.g. on your plane at the junction of one of the vertical fuselage walls and the bottom wall.

Then I run it along the edge or in some cases along a trim line. That makes the antenna seem to disappear into the trim.

At other times I will put in a piece of tubing through the fuse as far back to the tail as I can. Epoxy the tube in place and feed the antenna through and out at the back.

If there is left over wire, that gets similiar treatment as before, brought along a seam or trim line.

As long as the antenna wire does not cross back over itself, there are no detrimental effects.

Here is the thread and (hopefully) the correct page for RCKen's documentation on his LT-40 with the antenna tube routed inside the fuselage:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_34...lt%2D40/tm.htm

What you did is fine. The only thing I would recommend changing is the termination point. It looks like you have it wrapped around a screw. The termination point on an external antenna should always be a rubber band. This will keep it tight, but allow gome give. If the antenna gets bumped or caught on something (Or, God forbid, you crash) the antenna could get ripped out of the Rx if the other end is tied down too tightly.

I always install my antenna internally. I used to build a tube into the Fuse, but now I have a better way. When I get a new Rx, I add a tube to the antenna. So instead of the tube being mounted to the plane, it's mounted to the antenna.

Now whenever I have to move an Rx from one plane to another, I just pull it out and slide the tube into the fuselage of the next plane.

just to clarify, it is not wrapped around a screw, it is intwined in a servo arm that I had cut off.

Regardless, will it pull free in an accident? That's the main concern

here's mine