Here are pics of what I am doing.
1) the mold
2) mold, CF cloth and peel ply
3) the mount in a nice 10" of mercury bag...now to wait.

Here are the pics of the mount fresh from the mold.....I have yet to bake it, do a little sanding, drill it and mount it. This thing is TOUGH.

Petec, What does your molded glass mount weigh at this point?

Woodie

it weighs in at 54 grams

Great, let us know how it works out.

Woodie

I will. The fuselage is now in silkspan so it's time to do a bit of painting and covering.

I need to say thanks to Dave Lockhart and Scott Smith for the advice on the mount. It's alot better than my original idea and no doubt lighter. I can't wait to get the thing finished so I can weigh it and figure out if I'll need to make any component changes to make weight.

Hi guys,

Started building my VF3E in earnest at last.

I have a couple of questions, some maybe a bit ahead of the thread but maybe worth thinking about already.

1. On my VF3 the doubler (and the hole in the fuz) for the nylon wing bolts has been omitted. In fact there isn't provision in the wing root either. How is this rectified?

2. How have people channeled the airflow over the motor/batteries/speed controller? Where/how is the airflow exit constructed.

3. In the "messy" VF3 thread Mike talked about using 4 x wing adjusters but for the electric he has only sent me 2. How/where are these installed?

Any info would be appreciated. Biggest thing I've built to date is an Epsilon 90 and the VF3E is going to stretch my abilities somewhat.

Grant,

I can't answer the first 2, I'll save that for Pete as he is building one as we speak. As for number 3, you really only need 2 adjusters. I would put them at the rear and the bolt at the front will take care of the front. The adjusters are purefly for alignment. They shouldn't add much rotation strength at all. I used to just run the rear to on all my planes with adjustable wings up until the V3 that Mike built for me.

Archie

1. Only the bolt goes in the front. The electrics only use 2 adjusters per plane, in the rear.

2. I'll see if I can get you a pic this weekend. Basically an air dam right behind the wing tube exiting the bottom of the plane.

3. See answer #1

It's really not that bad. pay attention to the weight and alignments. It's pretty easy unless you get in a hurry. Don't re-engineer the plane, it's already got more structure than it needs for an electric. Weight is everything.

-M

Hey Mike,

Thanks a stack for sticking with me during all your bad times.

I'm talking to Pete about a couple of things. I'm battling to line up my dxf templates with the dwg files you sent me. I am building on top of the dwg files so I know THEY are correct. Especially the bottom turtle deck/ belly pan (out by more than 1/4"), the fin and possibly the stab do not tie up (between dwg & dxf) by 1/4" or more.

The big clincher for me was that the bottom & top turtle decks both line up with F9 at the rear but the templates differ by 1/4". The dxf fin template differs from the .dwg file significantly based on a 13.5" separation (measured from the .dwg file). What am I missing?

In the last couple of days I have learnt that one of my staff member's mother has systemic lupus. Before meeting you I had never HEARD of the disease. Not such a USA disease after all. Our thoughts are with you and I can't wait to get a VF3 into the South African competition scene. Masters (watered down F3A P11) this year.

Grant,

Next time you and I speak we will cover your questions.

Pete

Solution found for the firewall brace when using Mikes new Box mount... Home made carbon nomex is the material used.

Original brace weighed 12 grams. New brace weighs 5 grams. :-)

Cheers
Jason.

Nice Jason.

Any thoughts on using 3M77 spray adhesive for sheeting wings, stabs, fin??

3M77 releases in the hot sun, it releases a gas between the balsa and the foam and the sun re-activates the adhesive. You will begin to see ripples under the sheeting when it begins and it migrates from there. We experimented with the 3M77 on planes up to 35% years ago,..not good! The little .40 size planes did just fine with smaller amounts of wing area.

Bholsten

Great reply. Thanks, you have saved me a TON of trouble.

One of the local hobby shops was trying to convince me, and in theory it sounds brilliant. Another case of "If it's not enough effort it won't work"!!!

My pleasure!


Bill Holsten

That had to be difficult to sheet wings and make them straight as well Bill.

How have you been?

Hey Ryan,

Yes it was,...you had to do all the angle cuts on the sheeting, tape them and glue the entire sheets together. Then you spray both sides, the sheeting and the foam. It is a very fast way to get wings done,...just dosen't work well for big stuff. I have an old ACE T-34 Mentor I built back in 94,..the wings are still in great shape,..only a .40 sized plane.

I am doing well,...I will miss flying this season for my new job,...hope to see everyone sometime next year! I hope you get a chance to compete more this year,..D2 needs you back flying!
My cell# has changed,..PM if you need it.

Best Regards,

Bholsten

Here are some pics of the CF mount with the Hacker in it and also mounted in the plane

This what happens when you use masking tape that isn't fresh....now th echoice as to whether just cover up th edamage with some quick spray work and fly or take what will amount to a month and sand and fix it properly.....

ooooh no. pete!

That sucks so much.

Chuck

Yea Chuck, it does....I'm really unhappy about it. I think it's going to be a quick paint cover up and fly job. At 150 meters no one will be able to tell. I am feeling rather disenchanted at the moment.

did it Take the glass with it? Also, Unless you are in a big hurry to get it finished I would just re- shoot the bad spots where the paint lifted. What masking tape did you use?

Pete, as other friends have told me.. put that part to the side, then come back and get it done, it will go quickly!

Keep yer head up and get it done!

Chuck