Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

I am building a Great Planes Ultra Sport 40+ and have a couple of questions. The horizontal stab I built has some bend in it. Is the best way to correct this with windex and pins? Also the cowl looks awfully flimsy, should I just bite the bullet and buy a fiberglass cowl? thanks

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

If the horizontal stab is warped you are going to want to straighten it out. Like you said, wet it down. But instead of pins lay down some wax paper (or plastic), wet the stabilizer, put it on the board, another sheet of wax paper, and then use a large book on it with more weight on top of that. Then give it plenty of time to dry out.

As for the cowl. I almost never use the ABS cowls that come with the kits. Never had any luck with them. I order fiberglass aftermarket cowls. They hold up a lot longer in the long run, IMHO.

You've got one of the best flying planes out there. You're going to love it.

Hope this helps

Ken

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

jstevenj, where have you been? You just sent Ken to heaven. :D Now were gonna hear Ultra Sport stuff for the next 6 mo. :eek:

Good choice BTW [8D] -- & listen to Ken -- it'll take a while :)

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

Another option I've just discovered to the ABS cowls is to fiberglass inside of them yourself. This is much cheaper than ordereing an aftermarket cowl, and makes for a very sturdy, long-lived cowl. Just lay a layer of fiberglass on the inside of the ABS.

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

thanks ken

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

Glad I could help!

Nope, only for a couple of weeks or so!!! [X(] :eek: :D

Ken

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

As for the cowl i put fiberglass on the inside seams. and around the back edge. Then when i moonted it on the plane and had all my cutouts for the high and low speed needles. Then i used carbon fiber around all the mounting holes and the needle holes. Filled the seam with bondo and a small amount of squadron model putty. the putty you will find at the hobby shop by the plastic models works good. Then the secret weapon. Micro Fasteners sells stainless washers with a rubber backing. Maybe other companies have them also. I drilled the holes for the screws in the fuselage out to 1/8th of an inch. epoxied in some short pieces of nyrod. sanded them flush with the fuse. Now when you screw the cowl on the screws hold tight in the nyrod and the rubber washer hold tight agains the cowl so it does'nt vibrate. I am in the covering stage now with it so it probably won't get any test flights till April or so. But i imagine it should hold up allright.

Dennis

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

I tried the windex and book method. Let the stab sit for a couple of weeks, removed the books and it looked really nice and flat. About a half an hour later the stab was warped worse than in the beginning. Is there a way to fix this? I would have figured two weeks between books would be long enough to dry out.

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

well two weeks is to long to wait for me. Just go to the hobby store and buy some new wood and start over again. Probably cost you three bucks and two nights of work. Now for the good news my plus is covered radio equipment is in. And it looks nice. Still have to work on the control throws and adjust the cg. It is a little nose heavy with a magnum 70 four stroke.

Dennis

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

Have to agree at this point that the best option is NEW wood. Unfortunate, but it happens. [:@]

RE: Great Planes Ultra Sport
 

I just completed my Ultra Sport 40+, and finally fitted an OS 50 (instead of the Saito 100, I mentioned I was going to use, in another thread - I chickened out!), and it's one of the best fliers I have ever had!

I fitted retracts and, unlike the usual problems with warbirds etc that have retracts, it doesn't suffer from bounce when you land. It just flops down in a very controlled way and glues itself to the runway!

Good luck with your completion of yours. You will lurve the way it flies!

:D

-David C.