All,
I posted the info below a while back here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_91...m.htm#11304139

'Finishing up a new/old Bootlegger. I had one in 1979, won AMA Expert at the '79 Lincoln, NE NATS with it, see the attached 'old' pic... don't laugh at the kid... I stuck this airplane in the ground soon after this pic, the RX quit.

I came about this kit the same way as the one back in 1979, my dear friend Steve Helms gave me the kit this spring when I was at my son's heli contest in Huntsville. As you may suspect, this is a nostalgic and emotional project...

Since I really don't have anything to build airplanes with anymore (I use hammers and files on my helis!) I tracked down someone who I used to fly pattern with 'back in the day' to frame it up. So, Sam Leonard did a fantastic job framing it up and glassing the wood, making it ready for rigging and paint.

I've finished with the wing rigging, with retracts and ailerons hooked up and working. I'm going old school here, one servo with drilled output wheel for aileron differential if needed! Left to do is fuel tank, powerplant and pipe install and fuselage servo tray and rud/nose wheel, elev and throttle pushrods... then paint.

The model will be powered by a N.I.B. OPS F.I.R.E. 'Big Red' .60 and pipe (thanks Rusty!)! and I'm using Dave Brown Southern Pro retracts. Radio will be new stuff, Futaba 18MZ with 7 channel FASST RX and digital servos.

I'm shooting for test flight by the end of the year... see how that goes! I can't wait to hear the scream and go to a CPA/BPA contest in the SE.

Cliff Hiatt

So, as of today I'm ready to paint, everything's rigged and functioning. It's 8 lbs. 2 oz. as it sit on the wheels, there's lots of primer to sand off the wing and tail, weight should stay close to 8.5 lbs. And, the CG's pretty close too.

I will start painting after the holidays, if my paint's still good and I get a new compressor. The one I've had since I built my original Bootlegger is on it's last legs... after it's second tank...

Bootlegger redux is rigged with this stuff:
OPS Speed .60 'Big Red' F.I.R.E. with OPS pipe and header (sorta 'homemade')
Futaba 18MZ
Futaba R617FS FASST receiver
3) Futaba 9151 servos, 1) Futaba 3016 servo, 1) Futaba 3170G servos
Futaba PS-10 regulator and 'big' switch
Dave Brown Southern Pro retracts and Lite Flight wheels
Sullivan 16oz. slant front tank
Sullivan 'gold' cable for throttle and nose wheel steering
Dave Brown F'glass arrowshaft pushrods for elevator and rudder
Assorted clevises and servo connectors

Check out the attached pictures...

Regards, and Merry Christmas!
Cliff

Very nice Build Cliff. Even back when I was flying for GMP and you were flying for Walt I always thought your stuff always had the best build and finish quality. I'm looking forward to seeing your Bootlegger with some paint.

Super Sweet Boot Cliff. Keep the pics coming as the paint progresses.
hook

speedracerntrixie,
Thanks. If you look close, there's one of my old homemade helicopter parts in the radio install!

Cliff

LOl Cliff, I see your pipe mount now. BTW About 20 years ago I ran into your father in MN. It was at the Hobby Hub in Little Canada. At the time I was flying a CF framed Chapion/ X-cell hybrid. We had a nice conversation about the heli, great guy to talk with.

Great pics Cliff. Seeing that blue fuselage and old Red Head .60 brings back a lot of memories. I crashed my original Boot from the 1979 M.A.N. article many years ago and had flew another borrowed one for several months. Would love to find another kit today! Mine also was flown with a gold box like the one in your old photo.

Merry Christmas to all,

Dewey Newbold

Dewey,
Would you happen to have a copy of that article laying around you could scan to me?

Re: 'gold box'... I'm thinking of getting an old one to put new TX guts in one day. I flew the Boot with a 5C at the '79 NATS, no dual rates or anything. Switched to a 7Z (used) that I horse traded my old Atlas for so I could run a OPS 'black' carb (1mm bigger throat) with mixture control. The 7Z RX quit not long after and...

I'd love to find one of those carbs too...

and a Happy New Year!
Cliff

Shure, just PM me with an E mail address.

Progress report...
Expended lots of elbow grease and a few electrons, and finally got the whole airplane sanded and spray primed. Not sure what Sam used to prime the glassed wood with but it took some work to get it smoothed out for a shoot. It was thick, and brushed on, but did an excellent job in filling in all the glass! Next is filling some pin holes in the fuse (surprised there weren't more that there are!) and a light sand, then spot priming where I go through and a final sand.

I'm going with lacquers and DelClear, since I had everything but primer and white. Got quite the shock at the paint store... white lacquer was $78 for a PINT, while primer was a 'reasonable' $25 for a quart. Here's to hoping my other supplies are still usable... I'll be testing as I go along!

I think I'm suffering from a mental block, I don't remember doing all this back in the day... sanding, filling, sanding, priming, sanding... building painting stooges, etc. I guess helicopters have ruined me, those come pre-painted these days... for what little that needs painting.

Pics attached...

Cliff

I'll be painting soon and I'm curious about that fuselage/ wing holder in your pictures. Can you provide any details about how it holds the parts and how to make one?

ChiefK

Painting 'stooges' as requested...

For control surfaces; drill holes in 3/8" wood dowel for big T-pins, CA heads in place, press control surfaces onto protruding pins. If they loosen up, then bend the pins a little crooked next time you push the parts on.

For fuselage; glue/screw a 'engine simulator' plate into slotted end of a 1" dowel (or an old broom stick!), bolt plate onto motor mount. Hang from PVC pipe strapped to ladder or suitable. You can wrap the broom stick or dowel with tape to get a friction fit in the PVC pipe if needed.

For wing; this will depend on how your wing mounts to the fuse, in this case there are two forward dowels and one aft wing bolt. I attached a front wing mount interface plate to the end of another 1" dowel, drilled and tapped the dowel for the aft wing bolt and added a spacer to keep the stooge away from the top of the wing. Again, this is hung off the PVC pipe strapped to a ladder.

See attached pics...

Cliff

More progress...

Finished up with base painting... used, PPG white, House of Kolor Blue Blood red, PPG black and mixing silver for the canopy... all lacquers. Ready for final wet sand and clear. Hope to shoot it this weekend, weather permitting...

Regards,
Cliff

Simple... but very clever. Thanks for the photos.

ChiefK

Cliff,

Let me tell you something. Your mental block from all the helicopters certainly didn't hamper you in painting your Bootlegger.......... You did an absolutely fantastic job on it. There's nothing better than a classic paint scheme on a classic pattern plane. I cannot wait to see some pictures of your Bootlegger with the gear up and Hauling A__ across the sky.

Keep up the great work.

David

It's cleared...

I started out Friday with the intention revising the black stripe on the fuse, because I found an old picture that showed it different than my memory did, and wet sanding to prep for clear on Saturday. With that done (gotta love lacquers!) I decided to go for it. The weather was SO perfect... almost no wind, which helps when you paint 'outside', good lighting and perfect temp for painting. This turned out to be a good call, it blew like heck Saturday and turned cold (for FL anyway!)... and the same on Sunday. I moved everything indoors to Saturday afternoon to cure, should be 'print free' tonight. Then on to assembly...

1st pic is right after shooting, 2nd in in the 'curing room'... with Jean's permission of course!


Cliff

It's done!
I finished up this last weekend. Had a heck of a time getting the engine apart… 30+ year old castor makes great glue. Ended up soaking the case with piston and sleeve and front end with bearings in PB Blaster and then lacquer thinner overnight and still needed a torch to get things unstuck. Once cleaned up everything assembled back together like new, with new bearings too.

The model came out perfectly balanced and weighs 8 lbs. 9 oz. with an empty tank.

I fired it up in the driveway yesterday afternoon… it started on the second flip! After playing with plugs, I ended up with an Enya 4 doing the trick. It hits the pipe at full throttle with a slightly rich setting and recovers after a line pinch. Idle holds a slightly rich setting without loading up and the transition is good. I ran it on 5% CP and a Zinger 11x7… I may get some castor to add to the fuel just to be safe. I don’t know what it was turning (I have a tach on the way!), but it was howling! It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that sound…

Tried to load pics, something's not working with that...

Test fly next weekend…

Regards,
Cliff

Pictures...

Looks great Cliff! I know you're going to have a blast with it. Make sure Steve gets some stick time on it!

Looks great Cliff... wish I could see it fly!

Greg

Tony,

Is that the Boot that you gave Steve?

Cliff,

Tell Steve that Doug Woodward from Southern California says hello. Igot to know him a little bit in the mid 1980's when he worked for Futaba in Irvine, CA.

Doug

I think it is the kit I got for Steve. Sure hope he gets to fly it!

Thanks for all the comments guys, this has been a fun project.

Yep, this is the kit that Tony got for Steve.

Steve will definitely get to fly it when I go up for the HSV heli contest in May... if not sooner!

Cliff

Now that is nice!! Great job!

Just be smart and keep your trustworthy radio in it for a few hundred flights before risking it with a vintage one.

-Ron