This is a great thread....brings back memories of my dad using 10lbs of hobby-poxy to make that "under glass" finish on a Tiger Tail. S.Tiger60 bluehead, rhom airs, 120mph cruise!

Keep the pics coming!

flyintexan,

Glad you are finding the Kwik Fli thread interesting!

This has been a very interesting thread. I really like the way you got the "Flustercoat" to look. Mine looks like crap.
I grew up and spent 35 yrs with those ice storms in Atlanta and don't miss them. I get cold now at 50*.

Ya the ice sucked. Especially up here in Woodstock. I got to fly today, and I better count my blessings, because here it comes again. Phooey.

This thread is excellent. Ya know someone could come on this forum and just about learn how to build anything.

-Mike

Glad you like the thread! I’ve been using MonoKote for decades and like using, but it takes awhile to learn how to use it. My MonoKote job didn’t look so great the first time I used it in the late 60s! But if you keep working with it I’m sure you will get the technique going.

You’re lucky! I’ve wanted to get out to the field to try out my new 9C Super for weeks but the weather is not cooperating!

Glad you find the Kwik Fli thread an assent to the Pattern forum.

I was talking about the Lustercoat paint. I use and like monocote also.

Yes, I’m not too excided about it either but it works Ok for small areas like a fuselage. It does however match the MonoKote color pretty well depending on the lighting angle.

The Rom-Air nose gear uses a pull-pull arrangement, but I prefer the Spring Air system and others that use the push-pull system. Because of pivot point of the Rom-Air nose gear I was unable to convert it to a push-pull system so I had to rig cables. I’m using 30lb fish line rather than the usual cable used for pull-pull systems because of the way that the cable attaches to the nose gear. It must be wrapped around the top part of the strut and exit the tiller arm so the cable slack will follow the tiller as the gear retracts and not get tangled on the tiller arm. I made a bracket from light ply to hold the front of the guide tube that also braces the lower area of the fuse that was cutout for the gear strut. I ruffed up the inside of the fuselage and used epoxy to glue it in place.

To be continued..

The tube is split after it goes through the fuselage former so that the front part of the tube can also guide the wheel brake cable.

Because of the limited space in front of the servos the connection to the servo was done by tapping the brass fittings with a 2/56 tap and using some pull-pull hardware that I had left over from another project. The back of the guide tube is held with a light ply bracket.

To be continued..

The Kwik Fli has a Du-Bro nose wheel brake assembly. Remember the procedure STOP in pattern after landing? It was amazing how good pilots in the olden days would screw up their points on the simple ground handling scores. Or a smooth landing pattern and landing. But I guess you all solved that problem! A cable runs from the brake arm, up the nose gear strut through two guide points and then back to the elevator servo. Down elevator activates the brake. I need to add one more guide ½ way up the strut to keep the cable from hanging up on the fuselage gear cutout when the gear is retracted.

To be continued..

With all the talk on the forum about high G load wing failures I thought it would good idea to do a little wing stress testing. I supported the wing with pillows and loaded 41 lbs on the center section to test positive and negative Gs of about seven. No problems. I never recall people having wing failures with foam wings in the olden days and apparently this wing is good to go. That’s a cluster of Georgia bricks and a bench vice in the picture.

To be continued..

Better test it to at least 13 Gs if you're going to snap it. No kidding.

BUT remember that the load is spread across the wing panel, not just in one spot, so keep that in mind.

I'm sure it's fine as is. Your work looks great.

And of course this thread is an asset! If it helps even one person, it's worth it isn't it? Well that's the way I look at it anyway. Pattern covers a broad spectrum, not just 2 meter FAI.

-Mike

I agree, the G force would be spread across the total span of the wing. My test with the 41lb supported at ½ span is probably way more than 7 Gs in flight loads. Probably double. At any rate I’m out of bricks and I wasn’t planning on doing a destructive test! ;-)

Just for the heck of it, I took the original Kwik Fli III 1/16" balsa sheeted foam wing that had been glassed with light cloth and supported the unbroken side at the root and at the very end of the wing tip with pillows. I stacked SIX 12 packs of Coke side by side in the center of the wing span. That’s close to 60 lbs! No problems. Can you imagine how much force UPS put on the wing to break it in shipment? With a fuselage weight of about five pounds I guess that would be about 11 + Gs.

Wow it's sure looks great!, I love that orange color!

Hi Jeff, does it look familiar?

After giving the wing loading more thought I decided to test the wing to destruction. I loaded 95 lbs on the wing and no failure! With nothing else heavy available I decided to just stand on it. It supported very close to 200 lbs before it broke!

To be continued..

Deleted to fix thread title

I cutout the aileron servo mount in the wing after I had the servos mounted in the fuselage so I could plan the space needed for the clearances. After cutting the opening for the aileron servo I lined the opening with 1/64” plywood and then made the plywood servo mount.

You may have noticed that the pivot point on the aileron connecter linkage wire is forward of the aileron wire and hinge line and would normally cause the opposite aileron deferential than you want (more down aileron than up). This is caused by the aileron wire connecter point having different movement in its arc than the aileron servo arm. To counteract this, I mounted the servo low in the wing and at an angle so the pin of the plastic connecter is at the hinge line and the push rods and aileron wires form a 90 degree angle from the connector pin, creating no differential. If I decide that the Kwik Fli needs aileron differential I will control that by the connection point of the push rods on the servo output wheel. Moving each rod back a little on the servo wheel and readjusting their length to re-center the ailerons creates positive differential.

The round hole in the wing in front of the servo is the pathway for the main retract gear air lines.

To be continued..

The kit uses a clever plywood tongue to hold the front of the wing, but because I’m using retracts and needed the wing cutout I’m using two dowels. The wing dowels were glued in using lots of 30 minute epoxy inside the holes at the root of the wing. The dowels were coated completely with epoxy and then wiped clean before insertion into the wing. All the epoxy inside the hole makes good contact with the dowel after it is inserted. The coat of epoxy on the dowel will keep engine oil from soaking into the dowel and create a strong bearing surface. After the dowels were in place the wing was installed on the fuselage and bolted down to hold the dowels in place while the epoxy setup.

To be continued..

I’m finalizing the radio installation using my Kraft 7C Series 77 that I bought new in 1977. I had the radio narrow banded in 1988 when the new 72mhz frequencies were implemented and when the Hitec RCD Platinum AM dual conversion receivers became available in the late 80s I started using them with Futaba servos. The system has been very reliable and rock solid with the Kraft/RCD/Futaba combination. The Futaba output arms have the unique ability to be repositioned on the servo output shaft spines to compensate for the difference between the Futaba and Kraft neutral pulse width. I especially like the feel of the quality Kraft stick assembles. I just got a new Futaba 9C Super but the Kwik Fli deserves the Kraft. I plan to put the radio off and on switch in the wheel well along with the Rom-air retract air filler valve like I had on the original Kwik Fly.

To be continued..

You must be ready to wrap up this thread. When is the test flight?

Hold on there jpurcha! It’s taken thirty years to get to this point and I’m savoring every delicious moment! (Grin) It’s getting close though!

One of the many great things about tricycle gear other than the superior ground handling is the space the nose gear wheel well provides to install stuff that you do not want protruding through your beautiful fuselage.

On my original Kwik Fli III, I mounted the radio off/on switch and the retract gear air servicing valve in the nose gear wheel well. It makes a very clean looking fuselage and is very practical. I started out by making a 1/16” plywood mounting plate and coated it with epoxy. I added two mounting tabs made from ¼” plywood. The plate screws to the mounting tabs with three screws so the mounting plate can be removed for maintenance. The back tab has a small cutout to clear the front of the wing mounting dowel. I’m using my Kraft switch that was modified to work with Futaba style receiver plugs and Deans plugs on the battery connection. I think on my first Kwik Fli III I had the radio charging receptacle on the plate too but I’m not doing that this time because often the gear was retracted when I wanted to charge the battery.

To be continued..