If you guys are interested in seeing a Kraft Multicon retract instalation in the Curare's american cousin (the Tiporare), you can check out the following link:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8761413

The post right after also has a short movie showing the gear in operation. I'm building two such Tipo's with Multicons. As mentioned here, they are simple to operate, to install and reliable. The only disadvantage I'd say is that they are a little noisy once installed in an airframe but foam wings help a bit with that. Also, although I have no experience with that, it has been said that some users have experienced issues with engine vibration on the nose gear which is mounted in a foam supported cradle. They are cool in how the operate in a staggered scale like manner - all in all great gear.

The amps allow you to power them directly via the radio battery but personally Iprefer a separate source particularly with the earlier 2.4V units which can be powered nicely via a single A123 1100 cell. With this configuration though, a DP/DT switch needs to be used in conjunction with a servo since the 2.4V unit amps require both 2.4V and 4.8V. This from the day when servos used 4 pin connectors and batteries were center tapped for retract purposes. However, I like the single A123, switch, servo and 2.4V unit setup. Keeping the power source separate from the radio also provides a little additional piece of mind in case on the the gear should stall and drain the battery. With the A123 you can attach a high C lead to it, glue a Deans female somewhere easily accessible on the aircraft and plug in a (up to 10C) charger to "juice up"the gear much like you would plug in an air pump to "pump up" pneumatics.

Compressed air, compressed electrons - basically the same effect on a pattern ship...

David.

Great looking bird.  Red, White and blue are my favorate colors and are th colors I intend to use too.  However, as of yet I haven't worked out the design.  I am about to start on the sanding the nose and tail.  Fitting the tail will be a job just like fitting the nose gear in and carving the nose round.  Keep us advised on how you are coming.</p>

David,

I have used Kraft retracts for years. I have found them just about bullet proof. Certainly they are simple to install!

After many years of use I have found that the motors in them get sort of "lazy" - but they are easy enough to replace. I have also found that an occaisional clean and lube of the tracks on the PC board are needed - other than that - wonderful!

I have put a set in the Curare that I am building.

Talking of that I managed to get a full days work on her this week and pretty much finished the wing. Retract bays were cut and lined with balsa, all the little bays and covers for the (4) servos (2 for aileron, 2 for flap) were finished. So just the tail to finish and i'll be ready to sand and cover.

Whew! what a lot of work!

Finally finsihed the wood work on the Curare and am now toping with Sig Finishing Resin and a light sand.  Should be ready for color painting next week but the question is what brand of paint?  Looking for about 3 colors, white then red and blue trimmings.  Smallest auto paint is pints at a cost of about $25-$35 ea.  That raises the price to $75 plus just for paint.  Ever tried some of the spray cans at the hardware store like Krylon?  I used it to paint over glass covering on  my Top Flite P-47 and worked real good.  I was using the aluminum color with black and white invasion strips.  Came out pretty good but on the Curare I don't know.  Any comment?</p>

Kemblin,

your Curare build sounds like it may be very similar to my Tipo build. It would be great to see some pics of it in progress! Iassume this thread is not a specific model build thread so it might be interesting to see some Curare's and maybe Tipo's under construction. Like you, lately I've found no time. Hopefully soon.

Multicon's rock!

David.

Here are a pictures of my Curare. I am very pleased with the canopy attachment method. I used a device made by MK called a "Magic Box" It allow you to positively retain the canopy without anything showing externally. Note that I dont quite yet have a canopy, but Leo is kindly helping me there and I will have one shortly

I hope to have a good "Sanding Day" this week (everything is currently just rough sanded to shape) and then proceed to covering.

Ed Lyerley has maidened his with outstanding results - so I cant wait to get mine finished.

I would love to see pix from you guys too! And yes, David Multicons are awesome arent they!!


Kevin

Oh yea...

Kevin, wonderful job! She's going to look sweet in her colours - classic Prettner or otherwise? What electric setup will you be using?

I tell you, every other post, I discover another clever gadget made by MK - Isee how that one works - nice.

BTW, how's your unfinished weight with Multicon's? Foam core or built up?

Ishould be getting a NIB set of 4.8V Multicons and amps within a couple of weeks... Ihave 2 sets of 2.4V versions that need some maintenance before being put back into operation.

David.

Kevin she is look is looking very good. I am impressed with the canopy.Think I would like to do the same with mine but don't know how to contact MK. How about some help. Sorry I don't have camera to put photos of mine out but my grand daughter, who is a big camera bug, has promisedd to assist me when she returns from a summer camp in the next week or so. Will start painting today with Rustoleum. About half the price of Lustercoat. Thought about auto two part paint but decided I was not smart enough to use it plus the cost would have been upwards to $100 and then what do I do with all the left over. Color will be basic white with red and blue trim. Keep us posted.

I just use rare earth magnets.  For "standard" gripping power I use a nut on one side and the magnet on another.  For "extra gripping power" I use magnets on both sides.  Then there's nothing mechanical to fail.

Andy

The MK Magic Box is available here <font color="#008000">http://www.centralhobbies.com/miscel...s/mkmagbx.html

My power setup is a Scorpion 4025/10 powered by a 6S1P 5000 maH Zippy-H Lipoly. The ESC is a Scorpion 100AMP and I am using a Hercules BEC at 6v (with a step down to 5.3 for the retracts)

All up weight at the moment is a hair over seven pounds - so hopefully she will finish up at around seven and a half pounds. (MonoKote)

Today is "sanding day" - another step forward!!

Kevin</font>

Sorry - forgot to answer that the wings and tailplane are foam covered in 1/16 balsa wingskins from Balsa USA. The wings and tail were part of the kit from Eureka.

Andy,

where does one pick up those magnets. I've looked around but they all seem to be huge! How about some button sized magnets like those used in ARF's?

Kevin,

7 lbs sounds great. Iassume that is an unfinished AUW. Did you actually pick up skins that are comercially spliced (by Balsa USA) to cover the width of the wing or did you make up your skins? I've always been curious about the quality of the commercially bonded ones but they always seem a little dear on the pocket. As a result, I've just made my own.

I assume that Don from Eureka is cutting full width cores including ailerons which are cut from the core? (I know he is on some other kits) That makes for a nice wing &amp; stab.

Is your BEC capable of outputting at two different voltage levels ([email protected] &amp; [email protected])? Nice, I'll have to look into that one.

David.

David,

I'm heading to NJ for a few days in about 10 minutes.  E-mail me at the house or work and I'll take care of you when I get back.  The magnets are on a light in my shop with the web page on the bag.

Andy

Will do Andy - thanks. Have a good trip!

David.

David,

&gt;&gt;7 lbs sounds great. Iassume that is an unfinished AUW. Did you actually pick up skins that are comercially spliced (by Balsa USA) to cover the width of the wing or did you make up your skins? I've always been &gt;&gt;curious about the quality of the commercially bonded ones but they always seem a little dear on the pocket. As a result, I've just made my own.

<span style="color: #ff0000">Yes, the weight is unfinished (although it does include the retracts and the wing servos [4 - two for aileron and two for flaps]). The skins were pre-joined by Balsa USA. This was my first attempt at skinning a foam wing and I was very happy with them, beautifully joined and smooth. They came 12 inches wide and saved me work! The price was not too bad compared with buying narrower basa either.</span>


&gt;&gt;I assume that Don from Eureka is cutting full width cores including ailerons which are cut from the core? (I know he is on some other kits) That makes for a nice wing &amp; stab.

<span style="color: #ff0000">Actually they were just a tad over the correct size WITHOUT the leading and trailing edges. I trimmed a little of the t/e and added a balsa trailing edge as per the plan before skinning. I did this with both the wings and the tail. The ailerons and elevators are both balsa.
</span>
&gt;&gt;Is your BEC capable of outputting at two different voltage levels ([email protected] &amp; [email protected])? Nice, I'll have to look into that one.

<span style="color: #ff0000">No it does not natively have that capability, but Scorpion (along with many other manufacturers) supply a little step-down linkage (basically just a diode) to drop the voltage from 6.0 to 5.3 or so. The old Kraft retract amplifier will not handle 6V - but I feel much more comfortable using 6V with my J.R 2.4Ghz radio.


</span><span style="">"Sanding day" came and went yesterday and I even managed to Monokote half of one wing, so things are progressing.


Kevin</span><span style="color: #ff0000">
</span>

So... a little progress report!

The wing is complete!! Covered, Servo'd , hinged, retracts - all done.

The fuselage is about 1/2 covered - I hope to finish it today or tomorrow, which only leaves installing the radio. Yea!

I must admit that I did not have a great experience with Monokote (should be re-named "wrinklekote" IMHO!!!) Next time it will be acrylic and 3/4 oz glass. Still, the weight looks good so far and at 10 feet I cant see any wrinkles!!

I also have to GREATLY thank Mr Leo Steck who kindly DONATED a beautiful canopy to the cause. I never cease to be amazed at the kindness one sees from fellow modellers.

Mr Matadco - how is your Curare shaping up?

Great news Kevin!

We look forward to seeing her in her colours!

I'm close to putting some colours on to your Curare's American cousin - a 40" span Tiporare fondly named the Picorare. Gotta get that motor installed first though.

In some sad news, it appears that a set of nice NOS Krafts that I bought have gone amiss in the post... hopefully they'll reappear.

David.

Finally got all the pieces together. I went ahead and painted it with Rustoleum, which is something I will never do again. I'm not very good at Monocoat but it beats the H- out of paint. I doubt if sing expensive auto paint would have been any better. Time you sand, mask, spray, remask, spray some more then mask and spray I have spent a good two plus weeks just painting. Then the engine would not fit up right so cut the nose off and rebuilt motor supports to mount sideways like I should have done in the beginning. Then more masking andn painting 3 colors, red, white and blue. Got servos in each wing and servos for each elevator. Evidently I maynot have built the rudder correctly because it is grossly tail heavy. CG may change some with new nose and motor mount. I'm at the point of connecting servo to engine, installing tank and radio. Should finish this week end. Another problem is the daily 104 temp. for the past four weeks in an non-air conditioned garage. Things go a lot slower. Keep us advised of your progress. I'll get my grand daughter to get a photo once finished.

I dont think there is a "free lunch" for finishing these birds! I did not like MonoKote - although I have previously enjoyed covering with the british SolarFilm. I found it near impossible to get wrinkles out on the wings - I shrink them out and rub them down and they look great - 1/2 an hour later the wrinkles back!! I tried with and without Balsarite but had the most success using the "WoodPecker".

Yesterday I covered the fuselage - took all day to cut and apply the trim. It looks OK. ABout 90% of what I had in mind.

Now I have to glue on the canopy - still deciding whether to leave it clear - which looks great - but I have to finish inside - or to paint it - which scares me in case I mess it up!

After that just fitting the elevator and rudder servos, receiver and then lots of adjustments.
For the first time I am using all 9 channels of my 9303! (dual aileron, elevator and flap + ridder, throttle and gear) Lots of programming to do for the various flight modes.

What surface movements are you planning to use?

My balance is , if anything a bit nose heavy - but then I have a honking great battery up front to move around for balance!

Mr. Doxilia - I read through your Picorare build thread - very nice building indeed! I wish I was that good! I think my next one might be a Tiporare if I can find a plan.

Kevin,

thanks for the kind words. I have to admit the Pico went together quite easily although I did make a couple of small mistakes. But that was the idea, build a small one to know what to watch out for on a bigger one. I'm thinking of putting an electric 6 footer together eventually. The trickiest part is getting the fin right and working the canopy blocks and the tuck lines - a little care is needed. A profile comparator would be handy to have.

Plans for the Tipo are available in abundance off my thread here:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_78..._1/key_/tm.htm

Just choose your scale. There is some good info on that thread so you might want to scan it. I think I've got the Tipo pretty much mapped out in my head so if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line.

We're all looking forward to seeing Curare's in their colours!

I'm going to have to try Solarfilm one day...

David.

P.S. In other better news, my NOS Multicon's finally arrived! The 72" Tipo now has some gear! It'll be fun to run a 100% electric setup.

Thought I would spend a liesurly day hooking up radio but according to hoyle the aleron servo connections got epoxie in them and would not hook up. Had some old end so spliced the old ends on but then the extentions parted inside the wing. Cut outs until I find the connection re hook and reglue. Normally I am a patient guy but patients is wearing extremely thin on this bird. Seems like nothing has gone right since I started it back in January. If I was not so tenacious, I think I would celebrate the 4 with a big bond fire. Still got to figure out how to pipe fuel from tank to engine. Very close fit to fire wall. Lets face it the current OS 61 is a tad larger then the old 61s and don't fit all that well. Then again I have three sets of plans, two of which are just a little larger then the parts and plans I got from Eureka. I may have it finished by fall though. The questionI am now asking after all this, Will it really fly?

Oh I am sure that you will love the way the Curare will fly. Smooth and on rails.

Was it really january when we started? I know it has taken a while - but I think that you have to take pleasure in the journey - not just the flying.

I am sure that the last 10% of my bird is going to take 30% of the time!! but the end is in sight!

I find your painting comments interesting. I know I will never use Monokote again - for me it has been the worst film I have ever used. It does stretch well - but Oh those wrinkles!!

Hang in there - perhaps we will both maiden around the same time. I will upload some pics when I have the canopy area finished.

Oh yea! Curare's are like a sharp knife through butter - just pushing through that air cone!

Kevin, my personal estimate for the last 10% is closer to 50% of the time. It stares at me in the face and I just sit there. Hopefully not on my current build.

I find the comments about MK interesting. While I haven't used other brands (I wasn't impressed with how Ultracote sticks to ARF's nor how it feels mat to the touch), I'm keen on trying Solarfilm - it just costs a small fortune!

I actually just made a comment in my build thread about how I found MK to be more compliant. I cracked a roll of recent production white and it seemed quite different from the older Super MK which I used in my last cover job. I was actually able to get two wing tips covered without wrinkles - a first for me. It seems the trick (often said) consists of three things: heat, stretching and patience. It takes time. A small sealing tool also helps around tight compound curves - it get the material up to stretch temperature fast.

Wrinkles that result from exposure to the sun or cold are another story. That's where paint really shines (although one does have to worry about brittleness and possible cracking if stored in cold temperatures over the winter - better than wrinkles though I suppose).

David.

Hi,

Nice to read about Prettner's Curare. Brings up old memories. I built one myself in ealy summer 1977 from Model Air Plane news plan (dec 1976 issue) in about 3 weeks (I spent all time I could get finishing it). I used a Graupner "Cirrus" sailplane canopy as canopy for my Curare and it looked very good. I painted it in some color scheme I found from some TOC in Las Vegas competition plane (I think it was some Kristensen, forgot his first name but I think it was Ivan). Anyway, my Curare had a Rossi 60 with pipe and with servo adjustable needle. Goldberg retracts and EK-logictrol Super Pro 7 ch RC system. I had the flaps slightly modified so the elevator and flaps cooperated, like a line control plane had. I had it for some years and competed some with it. Last flight in summer 1979 ended with a disaster since radio contact was lost and it flew right into a tree (right in to the tree trunk) and it was only small pieces of balsa and foam left. Engine was still sitting into the tree trunk. Reciever, battery and servos was just junk. But I still have the transmitter even today (I have many times thought I would try to get a new reciever, some new servos and a battery pack and try to get the radio to work again just for nostalgia). Before the Curare I had a Mach 1 and that plane was also a beautiful pattern plane. I remember those days as it was yesterday and I had great fun building and flying these pattern birds.

God luck with building the Curare!

/Bo (from Sweden)

Bo,

nice to hear from another Curare affecionado!

Maybe you should consider building another one? Radios are better these days and you should be able to avoid the trees!

My flaps will be coupled to elevator in one of my flight modes. I am programming 3 - one for take off where I will have gear down, flaps at 20%, rudder exponential (to avoid over-steering), one for normal flight - flaps up and coupled, gear up, rudder exponential reversed, a couple of mixes added and one for landing - flaps down, gear down, rudder like takeoff.

According to the article in the December 1977 Radio Control Models and Electronics that I have - Prettner used coupled flaps in some versions too.

BTW: I also have another Curare that I built in 1978 - Webra 61, Kraft SIgnature gear. I entered it in the British Nationals that year. It was not the Curare's fault that I was in the winnners circle!

I only have the canopy area to complete before adding the last of the radio. When I have done that I will upload some pictures of her - and maybe my "old girl" too!

Kevin