LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

Well, after working literally for 9 hours straight today (LOTS of time before that), I have managed to turn this thing into something that somewhat resembles an airplane. I am very excited about it now. I bought it back in May, and built the wing. Then I let it sit until December because of school demands. I promised myself that it would be top priority over the Christmas break.

The front hatch isn't covered yet. I will do that tomorrow. But, other than that, all that remains is to install all the electronics and the fuel tank.

Its reasting on its tail right now, however, after the prop, fuel tank, and battery are installed, it should sit on its wheels.

Hows it looks?

Also, what prop is the norm for a .46AX?

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

11x5 to 11x7 or 8 should work well. You don't probably want to try and make it fly too fast, I like to fly mine at around 1/2 throttle most of the time, it just flies nicely in that range. Just make sure of the CG, a little nose heavy is good to start with, makes it stable. I added no weight to make it balance. Be careful of the wires from the servos, try to route them all to one side and keep the antenna routed all the way away from them, as far apart as you can. I just wrapped the battery in foam, and it stuck well straight under the reciever, at the back edge of the tank. It balanced there. This thing floats, maiden it on the calmest day you can wait for so you don't panic. You'll like it.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

congrats. normal prop is a 10x6 or 11x6

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

In the second picture it looks like the wing panels are really twisted. It may just be the effect of the camera lens. Photos I take often make things look skewed.

The plane looks good though. The covering looks neat. The LT 40 is a wonderful plane and should fly nicely for you. I think the model is still going to be very tail heavy even with the battery. Be sure to balance it per the plan.

If you need nose weight a quick way to get it is a Harry Higley heavy hub. The farther forward you put the weight the less you need. Nothing goes farther forward than the spinner. :)

good luck on it's maiden voyage!

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

Very nice. I'm running an Evolution .46 on my LT-40, and the 11x6 or 11x7 both are perfect.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

Got to be the camera. The wing is not twisted. If it is, its too minute for my eyes to detect (and I have REALLY critical eyes). Any possible twist in the wing (don't think there is any) can be trimmed out in flight.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

Nice Work... [8D]

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

I am running a Master Airscrew 11x6 on my .46AX. For training purposes it seems that this was the most recommended when i polled here on RCU. FWIW my LT-40 came out real tail heavy, I ended up adding a 3oz prop hub and another 1oz lead weight to the inside of the nose cheeks to balance out around the middle CG point of the suggested range for the Kadet. I had added some triangle stock at the base of the stabiliser to add extra support to the tail feathers which would have made it more tail heavy than normal.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

I did the same thing on mine. That could be the cause.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

I too have just finished a LT 40 and my plane was very nose heavy. I put the battery and reciever behind the fuel tank like the instructions said and it was really nose heavy. I have a super tigre 51 engine on it which may be the cause for the unbalance. So I put the battery and reciever as far back behind the servo's as I could and it balanced out just perfect. The CG on my plane according to the instructions was 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 behind the leading edge. It said any where in that range would be fine so I chose the middle which was 4 inches back. It balanced perfectly!!!. The plane sets as level as can be. It almost looks like its in flight the way its sets. Great plane, cant wait to fly it.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

Go for an APC 11x6... I have a LT-40 with an AX on it, and seems like the perfect combo.

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

I bought two props, an APC 11x6 and 11x7. I will probably start with the 11x6, and if I break it, or get ready for a tad more speed, I'll put on the 11x7.

Tonight, I am going to start dropping all of the electronics into the thing. I need to mount the servo tray and so on. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, it'll be "done".

RE: LT-40 is REALLY REALLY close!
 

bryris, I've been teaching on LT 40's for six years now. Do NOT make it more nose heavy than what is shown on the plans. The airplane IS ALREADY nose heavy at that point! Any more forward CG and you start running out of up elevator in the flair.

Tom