FINAL POST FOR THE EVENING.

PHOTOS 1 & 2: Completed hatch cover in place.
PHOTOS 3 - 6: Covered control surfaces (rudder and elevator).
PHOTOS 7 - 10: Completed control surfaces (rudder and elevator) temporarily installed without glue.

How many hinges will you have on ther rudder?

RTW, as per plans the fin/rudder has two hinges and the stabilizer/elevator has 4.

Here is my latest update on my covering . . .

As you can see from my earlier post in this thread regarding the color scheme, I have been modifying the scheme as I go along to better improve its looks as I see fit: Instead of the front side fuselage being blue only to the front of the windows as originally planned I extended the blue on the sides to behind the wing saddle area. I have also modified the hatch a bit by adding the white stripe. I have also added white stripes to the fin and stabilizer and made the underside of the stabilizer blue instead of the whole thing being red as planned. I am going to add white stars to the underside of the stabilizer as I am doing with the underside of the wing. I am not using the gray window decals that came with the kit for 3 reasons, 1]acetone and such melts the paint on the decals, so what will fuel do? 2]I like black windows better and 3]the decals tend to get too many air bubbles underneath.

I am also going to change the color scheme on the fuselage in 2 ways, 1]instead of the top of the fuselage being red as designed, I am making it white to blend in with the sides and 2]instead of the bottom of the fuselage being all blue as planned, I am having it blue in front and white in the back to blend in with the side designs.

After the covering of the fuselage I will work on the hinges, permanent radio installation, and the engine/fuel tank permanent installation as well as the installation of the control horns and pushrods. Unfortunately I can not cover the wings right now as I do not have enough Coverite fabric so that will be on hold for awhile [].

So here is the progress of my covering to date. The pics may add defects in the covering material that are not there in person so, if it does, please forgive.

Work progress update . . .

Top of fuselage covered.

Wing saddle area covered with foam tape.

Covering removed at stabilizer/rear fuselage area to accommodate the fin and reinforcing tri-stock.

Covering removed over rudder pushrod exit hole.

Fin permanently epoxied to stabilizer and fuselage, then reinforced with thin CA. Sides of fin is being left uncovered for tri-stock.

Rudder and elevator hinges not glued in yet.

Decided to add a white stripe to both sides of the front of the fuselage near the engine compartment, instead of the originally planned white star, to blend in with the hatch stripe.

Control surfaces still not glued into place.

Red trim added to bottom rear of fuselage – this was also added at the spur of the moment and was not not graphed into the original scheme.

Hard-wood tri-stock support reinforcements added to both sides of the fin. Was going to use balsa tri-stock but all my LHS had in the correct size was hardwood.

Window templates made from the decals that came with the kit. To transfer to the Coverite material and make my own decals.

This is as far as my camera would allow me in storing photos in the memory card for now. I have since completed the fuselage and started installing the harness switch, radio equipment, pushrods, landing gear, tank and engine. More updated posts coming very soon.

Unfortunately the wing covering is on hold as I ran out of covering material [], and I am regraphing the color scheme to a certain degree and I will continue to work with the color details as the covering comes along.

Looks like you are getting the hang of covering. I would normally wait on the wing saddle tape until near the last thing. Likely to get damaged while doing the radio installation. Exercise care, may avoid that.

TONIGHT'S UPDATE . . .

Window decals cut out by hand on Coverite and ironed on.

Switch harness installed on left side of fuselage, opposite of muffler side.

5/16"x5 1/2" dowels glued in place with thin CA (protruding 1" from each side) and painted white.

Hinges permanently glued in place on elevator and rudder. Made the mistake of NOT waiting 3 - 5 minutes before flexing the hinges and pulled some covering off the hinge area. Had to rip the pulled covering off and painted over the boo-boo [X(]. Hope it looks OK when finished.

Engine permanently installed.

Had to remove the wing saddle foam tape as it was raising the back of the wing and causing it to be able to slide back. Is it alright to mount the wing without foam tape on the saddle area? If the tape is needed how do I install it without lifting the back of the wing and causing the wing to slide back?

It can be flown with out the tape if needed. Did it FORCE the wing back or merely allow it to move back? Won't the rubber bands hold it in position?

If worried about sealing the gap you can apply a thin bead of RTV along the saddle. Cover the wing with Saran wrap(or similar) to avoid contact and carefully put wing in place. Hold wing lightly in place so as not to squeeze out all of the RTV with a couple of rubber bands. Allow RTV to cure overnight. In morning remove wing and Saran wrap carefully. Trim RTV if needed due to compression smearing. Done

Quote:

ORIGINAL: bruce88123

A]It can be flown with out the tape if needed. Did it FORCE the wing back or merely allow it to move back? Won't the rubber bands hold it in position?

B]If worried about sealing the gap you can apply a thin bead of RTV along the saddle. Cover the wing with Saran wrap(or similar) to avoid contact and carefully put wing in place. Hold wing lightly in place so as not to squeeze out all of the RTV with a couple of rubber bands. Allow RTV to cure overnight. In morning remove wing and Saran wrap carefully. Trim RTV if needed due to compression smearing. Done

A] . . . No, bruce, it did not force the wing back. It allows the wing to be pushed back with (say, for example) perhaps wind or other shifting that may occur either with me handling it or in the air. Rubber bands hold it on fine, but I am worried about it being able to shift back with handling and such.

B] . . . stupid question: what is RTV and how long does it take to dry? Sounds like a great idea to me and I think I will try it, but ignorant me don't know what RTV is.

ANOTHER POST OF PROGRESS > > >

Nosewheel and main landing gear permanently installed.
Please look at the photos attached below. Is the travel of the nosewheel (left and right) correct as pictured? Looks fine to me, instructions call for about 10 - 15 degree of movement in both directions. Also says for beginners the less movement there is the better it is.

LAST POST FOR THE NIGHT > > >

Radio antenna installed coming out of the top of the fuselage instead of underneath the fuselage as plans show. Glued a short tube through the top of the fuselage so to be able to slide the antenna out.

Loose end of antenna attached to fin by way of T-pin and antenna hook and small rubberband.

Tri-stock support of fin painted white, figured that would be easier than covering.

Tank wrapped in 1/4" foam and installed. Battery pack wrapped in 1/4" foam and placed behind fueltank.
The airplane was VERY tail-heavy so I had to fill a 6oz tank with dry rice and place it in the front of the fuselage under the fueltank tray.

Servos permanently installed . . .
Elevator and rudder pushrods: 10" steel rod cut to 7". Slide plain end of rod (not threaded end) inside pushrod tubing all the way up to the beginning of the threads, then screw the threads 1/8" inside the tubing. Screw one nylon R/C link onto the exposed threads remaining outside the pushrod tube about halfway. Slide the pushrod into the larger pushrod tube that is glued into the fuselage. When the link is even with the servo arm clip it onto the outermost hole of the arm.
Nose gear: Servo end of pushrod attached to servo arm with pushrod connector and at steering arm with Z-bend.
Throttle: Both ends of pushrod attached with pushrod connectors.

ANYONE EVER HAVE PROBLEMS with the pushrod connector's snap in the back coming loose or OFF? Please let me know. First time using them and they seem so easy to pop off!!!!!

Receiver wrapped in 1/4" foam and installed behind servos. Scrap wood screwed behind and above receiver to hold it in place yet enable it to be removed.

Charge jack put in place inside of fuselage with a piece of iron-on covering to keep from falling onto servos.

What is RTV and how long does it take to dry? And how is it applied?

Sorry for delay, been out sick.

RTV silicone rubbers are room temperature vulcanizing materials. ... Plastic
compounds, elastomer resins or polymers based on the silicone chemical system.

Buy a small tube at any hardware store and squeeze out a small bead on the saddle. Wrap the wing and set it in place. DO NOT SQUIRM IT ABOUT!!!!! Set it wher it belongs and secure it with a couple of rubber bands so it does not move. It should cure overnight indoors at @ 70 degrees. Remove wing next day and trim RTV with sharp blade if needed.

Which pushrod connector(s) is popping off? Is it popping off on it's own or when servo moves or when you touch it or when? Best photo close-up please

Nice job building that wing on such a small table and in such a small area, I would have gone nuts.

But good job on your first build, its a great feeling when you finish one. Not many people can say they built their plane from scratch.

bruce, welcome back, don't worry about any delays you may have, just hope you are feeling better. I have taken out my Air Scout from storage and I am going to start working on that again. I have to put the LT-40 away for now, as I ran out of covering material for the wing. I have not had any connectors pop off YET, I was just wondering if anyone ever has had them fall off, and if they have I would have plenty of time to substitute them before it was all permanent.

I have almost completed the pushrod problems of the buzzing. All but the nosegear buzzes now, but very lightly at the moment. I had to rip out the thin pushrod tube that came with the kit (I just could not get the rod to slide smoothly in it) from the fuselage and replaced it with a wider red nylon pushrod tube, and I am using a Z-bend at the steering end with a pushrod connection at the servo end. An occassional buzz still sounds once in a while, is that little bit of buzz something to worry about?

Tigerdude,
I know this may be like closing the barn door after the cows have gotten out, but maybe a suggestion for your next project. When you put in the pushrod guide tube did you put glue in the tubes and then try to make the pushrods connect to the servos and control surfaces? The first couple of planes I build I did it that way and had problems just like you are having. What usually happens is that you have excessive binding because the openings of the guide tubes are just a little bit out of alignment with the control/servo arms. Here's what I do to avoid having that happen. I'll use the nosegear as an example. Make your control rod up and slip the guide tube over the rod. Put the rod and tube in the fuselage where it is supposed to go. Then connect the rod to your nose wheel and then to the arm on the servo. With your fingers hold the tube in place and move the servo back and forth and make sure there isn't any binding. Then center the servo and get the guide tube in place, and then GLUE it in place. Do not move the control rod until the glue dries. Once it dries you'll find that you should have almost no binding on the control rod caused by the guide tube being out of alignment.

Hope this helps

Ken

Helps a great deal Ken. Will do that my next project. So you are saying align the pushrod guide tube in the suggested place with the pushrod inside it and do NOT glue it in place until the rod slides smoothly. Thank you.

Exactly.

Ken

PHOTO 1 & 2: Replacement pushrod tube that I hope will have the pushrod glide smoother than the thinner tube that was in there.

PHOTO 3: Z-bend in the newly redone nosegear steering arm. Going to try a ball-link later tonight and decide which hookup is better with less buzzing in the servo. Hopefully I can get it down where there is NO buzzing.

PHOTOS 4 & 5: Pushrod horn permanently installed onto elevator. Reinforced horn with thin CA around the base for added security.

PHOTOS 6: Pushrod horn permanently installed onto rudder. Reinforced horn with thin CA around the base for added security.

PHOTO 7: Radio installation. Gotta remove the servos again as I forgot the washers [:@].

Still waiting for cash so I can get the wing covering material.

Looking at pic 3 shows that you will have much better (tighter) turning in one direction than the other. The closer you can have the tiller arm to perpendicular to the fuselage centerline the better as it will even out the throws. What you have is similar to setting up differential on ailerons.

Pic 7 shows the steering rod connected to the outer servo arm hole. This may cause excessive steering throw. You may be able to handle it but it may also be too sensitive. This can be changed later if desired. Large rudder throw should be OK, large steering throw may not be

The nosegear pushrod has since been changed again so that the servo end is now connected with a EZ-link on the 2nd hole in and a Z-bend at the nose end. I can not change the path of the steering arm now the way the pushrod is now. I have a nylon pushrod with the Z-bend screwed into the nylon pushrod so the Z-bend is very close to the nylon rod. If I bring the steering arm into a closer arc nearer to the pushrod tube hole it will not pull it into the hole to turn the nosegear right.

How do you all figure I should configure the nosegear setup so the arc is better, the pushrod don't rub, and the buzzing stops?

Plan ahead better. Seriously though, you might be able to use a longer wire and put a 180 degree bend in it so it operates from the front side.
Let me see if I can PM someone for a drawing.

Here's what Bruce is talking about

Exactly.

Is that at the servo end or the steering arm end? If it is the steering arm end won't the engine get in the way of that configuration. Bruce tells me that if the buzzing is only at full-thrust its not really anything to worry about, although (of course) it is best to have no buzzing. I will attempt to adjust the EPA and first as suggested to me by bruce, but if that don't work I may try this suggestion.