RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Bruce,
Sorry for the short answer on that question, I was just heading out the door when I saw it. No, I haven't shipped the plane yet. There was some discussions going back and forth between Bubba and myself on how we were going to get it there. After we decided that I've been working on getting some shipping boxes made to ship it in. I'm almost finished with the fuselage box now, and the wing is already boxed up. I'm hoping to finish that up this weekend and get it shipped on monday. Will keep you posted

Ken

bruce88123

I realize it isn't as easy as shipping a toaster or something else durable. Take your time as you are and get it there in one piece. I just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed it or that you hadn't forgotten to post it.

jollyrogr

My Feedback: (4)

Hi guys, I've really enjoyed reading this thread, and I've learned alot. (even tho I haven't completely read it yet, but I'll get there) I have a couple questions. First off, I'm not new to nitro RC but do not have any previous experience with RC aircraft. I'm lookin to get my first plane. I was looking at the sig somethin extra, but a friend of mine said I should check out the kadet Lt-40. Honestly, I like both planes, but I like the looks of the somethin extra a bit more. From what I've seen tho, the SSE isnt a good first plane? Would you guys agree with that assessment? I would love to have a low wing tail dragger...but alas, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk right?

So lets say I get the LT40 to learn with, whats a good engine and radio to get with it? I've been lookin at a 4 or 6 channel futaba radio (non-computer). As far as engines goes, there seems to be so many choices! OS, super tigre, thunder tiger, and there's even a tower hobbies branded .46 that doesnt look to bad. Then there's Webra or Saito. Being a typical redblooded American, I want POWER! Should I go for the 4stroke saito right away?

bruce88123

jollyrogr -
I would start off with the LT-40 and
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFMD5&P=0
and
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXHYK7**&P=0

Both will be usable in future aircraft as well. You can plan on the Something Extra as a second or third plane depending on how your initial training goes.

Be sure to get proper instruction.

Other combinations will also work and other RCU members will be listing them shortly but these are mine. Welcome to RC flight and RCU. [

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I can agree with Bruce's suggestions completely. The only change I would make would be an Airtronics radio instead of Futaba. [link]http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXPV53**&P=0[/link] But then again I fly nothing but Airtronics!!!

You'll definitely want to wait on the Somthing Extra, it's not the plane to learn to fly on.

Ken

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

It's hard to argue with Bruce's choices, even though I have become a JR radio guy, I think you get more bang for your buck with the new JR Sport series than the low end Futabas but Tower doesn't carry JR & no sense in paying for shipping twice, plus you mentioned you were looking at a non-computerized radio. I'd really re-think that part of your choices as you will want one later & they really aren't that much more money for the 6 ch. these days than the non computer radios. You should really get some info from the Instructor that will be training you about radio brand, so that there won't be any compatability issues.

The PT-40 is a perfectly good Trainer, but only available in a kit as far as I know. So if you're gonna build your first Trainer, I would go with the Sig LT 40. For the simple reason that you would have this thread to refer to while building. As you can see it is quite extensive with step by step details of every bit of the build from sticks to bright pink Barbie plane. Complete with lots of pics. You won't find this kind of detail & pics in any instruction manual.

The OS .46AX is the preferred engine of choice. If money is an issue the Tower .46 Pro you mentioned is a less expensive option. While there are many who like to bad-mouth the Tower engines, I have that very engine in My Tower Trainer & once broke in & tuned right it has been a great little power-house of an engine for me. It has great power & a perfect smoothe idle without a single dead-stick to it's name. It has turned out to be every bit as powerfull & reliable as my OS .46FXI which is very similar to the .46AX. I wouldn't spend the big money on a Saito for my Trainer. Save that for later when your gonna want to start flying bigger airplanes. Good luck with your Training.[8D]

bruce88123

The radio I recommended was only about $20 more than the non-computer radio so to ME it made no sense not to upgrade.

Mark - how did PT-40 get in the discussion?

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

LOL, Guess I should have put my glasses on!! I thought he said he was looking at the PT 40, never mind.[&:]

Totally agree about the radio, pick whatever brand you will, but it makes no sense not to go ahead & get the computer version for what amounts to very little more money.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

One point to note here. All of the major radio brands (Airtronics, Futaba, Hitec, Jr, and Polk Hobbies) are all good radios. A big deciding factor into what type of radio to buy will be what most people at your flying field use, and especially your instructors. A person will usually buy what they use. This is because A) They will have a buddy box that matches your radio and B) They will be able to help you with radio questions because they use the same brand of radio.

This was how I got into Airtronics radios. My instructor and others had Airtronics so that's what I bought. So you may want to check out the field where you plane to fly and find out what they fly.

Hope this helps

Ken

jollyrogr

My Feedback: (4)

thanks for the advice guys! I think I've got it figured out then. I'm goin with an LT40 ARF, OS .46 AX, and radio I'm not sure yet. Probably the futaba 6 chan, but since I dont have an instructor yet I should find out what would work for them. Do I really need an instructor? How hard could that trainer be to fly? My dad is a pilot, he could tell me how to fly a plane.

Thanks again for your help. I think it makes sense to get an ARF plane, then if this flying thing works out, I'll put together a SSE kit for plane #2.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Famous last words. Make sure you take pictures of the crash damage to post in the crash forum. Oh yeah, to quote Minnflyer, when you fly put the radio antenna down. Why?? Because there is going to be a spectacular crash and you don't want the antenna getting in the way of seeing it.

On a more serious note, yes learning to fly is difficult. You're father being a pilot will only allow him to explain HOW planes fly, not how to fly a RC plane. Flying a full scale plane and an RC plane are totally different skill sets because of the perspective of the pilot. For a full scale pilot his perspective is sitting in the plane and reacting to what he sees and hears inside of the plane. The RC pilot reacts to what he sees and hears from the ground. They are totally different. Consider this. When a full scale pilot moves his stick the right the plane will turn right which is his right also. For a RC pilot that has the plane going away from him he moves the stick to the right and the plane turns to it's right which is his right. But with the plane coming towards him he moves the stick to his right and the plane goes to it's right which is the the pilot's LEFT. Please do yourself a huge favor and find an instructor to help you out. Yes there are people that can and have taught themselves to fly, but very few of them do it without crashing there plane many many times during the process. And for the one person that has taugh themself to fly there are 100 that can't do it.

Ken

jollyrogr

My Feedback: (4)

ok. I'll find an instructor then

elenasgrumpy

My Feedback: (4)

Yes !! Actually much harder at first than you might think. Scale pilot's aften have the hardest time learning to fly RC. While they understand how to fly a plane from in the cock-pit, R/C is a whole different ball game. I can't tell ya how many times we've seen scale pilots come in here & announce that they don't need any instruction because" I fly real planes, I can certainly handle one of these toy planes"!! Only to come back a few days later with their ego in their pocket & their new airplane in a trash bag. They don't have the orientation from the ground experience to instinctively know what to do when the plane is going in different directions & attitudes, it's very easy at first to get dis-oriented & confused. It still happens to me sometimes when the plane is at the far end of the downwind leg of our pattern. I have to back out of it a second & remember my last input. When the plane is coming at you it is very easy to give a little left rudder or aileron when you meant to give right. The point is that being a scale pilot doesn't automaticly qualify one to fly an R/C plane. My Dad was also a scale pilot from the time he was 16 yrs old, & a Control Line pilot, then an R/C pilot. He would be the first to admit that learning R/C was a bit of a challenge, & he flew the F-86 over Mig Alley in Korea.

Get an Instructor, you'll learn much faster, & your plane will live long enough for you to solo with it.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I know that to some it seems like forever doing all the “little stuff”, and we're not getting any closer to covering the plane. It may seem like that is true, but all of the “little stuff” needs to be done no matter which way you build the plane (assemble before covering or assemble after covering). But one nice thing is that when we do it this way all we have to is put the parts back on after we cover the plane, and that doesn't take too long at all. Anyway, looking down my little checklist that I use I see that the only thing left to do is put the pushrods in place and we should be ready to balance the plane. So let's do that next.

Looking at picture #1 you can see the pushrod guide tubes that are already in place from a previous step. One tube is for the elevator pushrod and the other tube is for the rudder pushrod. A little explanation about the type of pushrods used in this kit. It uses nylon rods that fit in into the pushrod guides, using the nylon rods makes the pushrods flexible and in some cases they are easier to install than other types of pushrods. At both ends of the pushrods there will be a section of metal rod that is inserted into the nylon rod, and the metal will extend past the end of the nylon rod. At the control surface end of the pushrod the metal rod will have threads on it in order to thread a clevis onto the pushrod. The servo end of the pushrod will use a threaded clevis as well. The instructions will tell you how much of the metal rod to cut off and insert inside of the nylon rod (sorry, I don't have the instructions with me right now and I can't remember how much they had said to cut off. ). Picture #2 shows measuring and marking the metal rod for cutting. Cut the rod with a pair of wire cutters, be very careful when you cut metal rod such as this because it's possible for the cut portion to fly out from the cut, and can do some serious injury if you're not careful. After the metal rod has been cut to length go ahead and insert it into the nylon rod (pictures #3 and #4). Next we will thread the metal rod into the nylon rod so that it's secured in place. To make it easier to turn the metal rod you can use a pair of pliers to turn it, but before you do you will need to protect the threads on the rod from damage. I use a paper towel that has been folded up and wrapped around the rod to protect it. (picture #5). After you have the metal rod screwed into the nylon rod it's a good idea to wick a little bit of CA into the threads of the metal rod. This will secure the metal rod in place and ensure that it won't work out later on down the road. In picture #6 you can see we have threaded the clevis onto the threaded metal rod. As we did with the aileron clevises we'll thread these on until the threads can be seen on the inside of the clevis, this will give us enough room to turn the clevis for adjustments later on. In picture #7 we'll need to pull out the control horn to get ready for the next step.


Pictures
1. Pushrod guide tubes installed in the fuselage
2. Measuring the metal rods prior to assembling the pushrods
3. After cutting the metal rods to length insert them into the nylon pushrod
4. After cutting the metal rods to length insert them into the nylon pushrod
5. Protect the metal threads when screwing into the nylon rod
6. Screw a clevis onto the end of the pushrod
7. Control horn assembly

Until next time

Ken

jollyrogr

My Feedback: (4)

makes sense. I wouldnt wanna put my new plane in a trash bag. Another question I have - don't RC planes use air filters on the engines like RC trucks?

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

They do make them for airplane engines, but not very many people use them. Cars need them because they are right there down in the dirt, but airplanes don't get any dirt in the carb in the air. Maybe if you flew off of a dirt runway you might use them, but otherwise you don't need them.

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

I know that to some it seems like forever doing all the “little stuff”, and we're not getting any closer to covering the plane. It may seem like that is true, but all of the “little stuff” needs to be done no matter which way you build the plane (assemble before covering or assemble after covering). But one nice thing is that when we do it this way all we have to is put the parts back on after we cover the plane, and that doesn't take too long at all. Anyway, looking down my little checklist that I use I see that the only thing left to do is put the pushrods in place and we should be ready to balance the plane. So let's do that next.

Looking at picture #1 you can see the pushrod guide tubes that are already in place from a previous step. One tube is for the elevator pushrod and the other tube is for the rudder pushrod. A little explanation about the type of pushrods used in this kit. It uses nylon rods that fit in into the pushrod guides, using the nylon rods makes the pushrods flexible and in some cases they are easier to install than other types of pushrods. At both ends of the pushrods there will be a section of metal rod that is inserted into the nylon rod, and the metal will extend past the end of the nylon rod. At the control surface end of the pushrod the metal rod will have threads on it in order to thread a clevis onto the pushrod. The servo end of the pushrod will use a threaded clevis as well. The instructions will tell you how much of the metal rod to cut off and insert inside of the nylon rod (sorry, I don't have the instructions with me right now and I can't remember how much they had said to cut off. ). Picture #2 shows measuring and marking the metal rod for cutting. Cut the rod with a pair of wire cutters, be very careful when you cut metal rod such as this because it's possible for the cut portion to fly out from the cut, and can do some serious injury if you're not careful. After the metal rod has been cut to length go ahead and insert it into the nylon rod (pictures #3 and #4). Next we will thread the metal rod into the nylon rod so that it's secured in place. To make it easier to turn the metal rod you can use a pair of pliers to turn it, but before you do you will need to protect the threads on the rod from damage. I use a paper towel that has been folded up and wrapped around the rod to protect it. (picture #5). After you have the metal rod screwed into the nylon rod it's a good idea to wick a little bit of CA into the threads of the metal rod. This will secure the metal rod in place and ensure that it won't work out later on down the road. In picture #6 you can see we have threaded the clevis onto the threaded metal rod. As we did with the aileron clevises we'll thread these on until the threads can be seen on the inside of the clevis, this will give us enough room to turn the clevis for adjustments later on. In picture #7 we'll need to pull out the control horn to get ready for the next step.


Pictures
1. Pushrod guide tubes installed in the fuselage
2. Measuring the metal rods prior to assembling the pushrods
3. After cutting the metal rods to length insert them into the nylon pushrod
4. After cutting the metal rods to length insert them into the nylon pushrod
5. Protect the metal threads when screwing into the nylon rod
6. Screw a clevis onto the end of the pushrod
7. Control horn assembly

Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Moving on with the assembling the pushrods we will need to install the control horns on the control surfaces (elevator and rudder). Picture #1 shows the control horn as it comes in the kit. It is a two part assembly and the backing of the control horn will come attached to the horn itself. You'll need to separate the back from the horn. The way this are installed is there are holes drilled through the control surface and the horn is placed on one side of the control surface, then screws are used to secure the horn in place and these screws will extent through the control surface, and then the screws will secure to the backing on the other side of the control surface. When we place the control horn on the control surface we need to ensure that it's placed properly on the surface. If it's not placed correctly the control surface will travel farther in one direction than the other when we move the surface. To ensure that the horns as place properly they should be place so that the holes in the horn are directly above the forward edge of the control surface, or directly above the gap between the control surface and the stabilizer. Diagram #2 shows the proper way to position control horns. Next we need to mark where we will position the horn so that we can drill the holes for the screws. If you look at pictures #3-#5 you can see that I have attached the pushrod to the horn as I position it. I do this for a couple of reasons, one being that it will ensure that the horn is positioned correctly to attach to the control horn, and secondly it make it a little easier to hang onto the horn as we position it. As I said earlier we want to position it directly above the edge of the control surface. If you have problems judging (it can be a little deceptive, so don't worry if you have a hard time) that it is positioned correctly you can “cheat” a little bit. In picture #5 you can see that I have place a square below the control horn and have positioned it in order to be in line with the edge of the control surface. Once you are satisfied with the position of the horn mark the screw holes. Remove the control surface from the plane (it's a lot easier to drill when the surface is off the the plane, so hopefully you haven't glued the hinges in place yet) and drill the screw holes (picture #6). Threading the screw holes isn't needed because the control horn actually gets it's stability from the horn and it's backing on the other side of the control surface, but I like to do this just to ensure that the hole doesn't get rounded out and too big. Run the mounting screw down the hole you just drilled (picture #7) to cut threads in the hole, and then wick thin CA into the holes to harden the wood up (picture #8). After the CA dries (trust me, you want to let the CA dry before you put the screw in, if not it's possible to glue the screw in place and be next to impossible to get out) we can go ahead and mount control horn in place (pictures #9 and #10). As the screws start extending out the other side of the control surface go ahead and place the back in place and thread the screws into that. Picture #11 shows the back in place after it has been screwed down.


Pictures
1. Cutting back away from control horn
2. Proper placement of control horn above forward edge of control surface
3. Position control horn on control surface
4. Position control horn on control surface
5. Use a small square to check for proper placement of control horn
6. Drill mounting holes
7. Use mounting screw to cut threads in hole
8. Use thin CA to harden the wood in the mounting hole
9. Screw mounting screws in place
10. Securing the control horn
11. Make sure the control horn back is securely in place.

Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

In this step we are going to measure and cut the length of the pushrods. If you haven't glued in your servo tray yet you may want to wait to do this step until you have finalized the servo tray location. If you want to this would be a good time to go ahead and glue the tray in place.

With the control horn mounted on the rudder we now need to measure, cut, and mount the pushrod inside of the fuselage where it will connect to the rudder servo. As we did when we installed the aileron servo and hardware we'll center the rudder in order to get the proper length of the pushrod. Use a couple of craft sticks and clamps to hold the rudder in it's neutral position (pictures #1 and #2). As you can see in picture # 3 we need to mark where we will cut the nylon pushrod off, so I've temporarily connected the metal portion of the pushrod to the servo arm. In picture #4 you can see that I've marked on the metal pushrod where I want the end of the nylon rod to be. Use this mark to locate where you will cut the nylon rod. After this you will want to cut the metal rod as we did in the earlier 2 steps. Go ahead and thread it into the nylon rod making sure to protect the threads when you turn it into place, and make sure you wick a little bit of CA into the threads to hold the metal rod in place. After the metal rod is in place go ahead and thread the clevis onto the metal rod (picture #5). With the clevis in place you can now connect it to the rudder servo (picture #6). Don't worry about it being properly adjusted as we will do that after we do the final assembly of the plane before we fly it, right now all you want to do is make sure that you have free motion of the rudder back and forth through it's entire range. Turn the servo arm by hand and ensure that you can move the rudder freely back and forth (pictures #7 - #9). If you don't have free motion on the rudder stop now and figure out why. It's a lot easier to troubleshoot problems like this now than it is after the plane has been covered.


Pictures
1. Clamping the rudder into it's neutral position in order to measure and cut the pushrod to length
2. Clamping the rudder into it's neutral position in order to measure and cut the pushrod to length
3. Connect the metal rod to the servo control horn in order to get the proper length of the nylon pushrod
4. Mark and cut the nylon rod. Install the metal rod into the nylon rod
5. Install the clevis on the pushrod
6. Connect the pushrod to the rudder servo
7. Ensure that you have a free range of movement in the rudder and pushrod
8. Ensure that you have a free range of movement in the rudder and pushrod
9. Ensure that you have a free range of movement in the rudder and pushrod

Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Next we'll install the elevator pushrod and control horn. I'm not going to go into detail on the construction of the pushrod and installation of the control horn because they are done in the exact same way that we just did the rudder controls.

We want to start out putting the metal rod into our nylon pushrod, like we did on the rudder pushrod (picture #1). I've included pictures #2 and #3 as a reminder that the elevator pushrod housing sits back up into the fuselage a little bit. Although it wasn't needed right now I found that clamping the elevator into it's center position made it a little easier to mark the location for the control horn (pictures #4 and #5). It was a bit cumbersome to try and mark the control horn, and hold the position of the plane and try to hold the elevator level, so I clamped it down to hold it still while I worked. If you look at picture #6 you can see that the end of the fuselage extends a little bit past the gap line of the elevator, and this will interfere with the proper movement of the elevator so we'll need to sand down the fuselage. Sand down the end of the fuselage until it is flush with the back edge of the horizontal stabilizer (pictures #7 and #8). Now reattach and reclamp the elevator and proceed to mount the control horn. If you look at picture #9 you can see where I marked the center of the elevator, this should be where we mount our control horn at. When you are happy with it's location go ahead and mark the mounting holes, and drill the mount holes out (picture #10). Use the screws to cut threads into the mount holes that you just drilled (picture #11).


Pictures
1. Prepping the pushrod for the elevator
2. The elevator pushrod housing is recessed back into the fuselage
3. The elevator pushrod housing is recessed back into the fuselage
4. Clamping the elevator into it's center position made marking the control horn location easier.
5. Clamping the elevator into it's center position made marking the control horn location easier.
6. The fuselage extends too far back.
7. Sand the rear of the fuselage even with the back edge of the horizontal stabilizer
8. End of fuselage flush with the rear of the horizontal stabilizer
9. Hold the control horn in place to mark the mounting holes
10. Drill the mounting holes through the elevator
11. Thread the screws into the holes to cut the threads

Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Today was my day to stay in the shop so that my wife could have the day off and I was able to get quite a bit written while I was in the shop. Unfortunately I didn't get all this step documented before I closed up the shop and went home for the day. I'm going to take care of that now and finish up this step before I head to bed tonight.

In the last step we had drilled the holes for our control horn mount, so let's pick up there. After the holes are drilled and threaded we need to wick thin CA into the holes to harden the wood up (pictures #1 - #3). After the CA is dried in the hole we can go ahead and screw out control horn into place on the elevator, remember to get the back on (pictures #4 and #5). Now we need to measure and cut the servo end of the pushrod. As before I'm not going to go into great detail because these steps are the same as what we did for the rudder. First clamp the elevator into it's center neutral position (picture #6). Go ahead and follow the same steps as we did for the rudder to cut and assemble the pushrod end inside of the fuselage. As we did before, make sure you have free movement in both directions of the elevator (pictures #7 - #10).
Pictures
1. Using CA to harden the holes drilled into the elevator for the control horn
2. Using CA to harden the holes drilled into the elevator for the control horn
3. Using CA to harden the holes drilled into the elevator for the control horn
4. Mount the control horn on the elevator
5. Mount the control horn on the elevator
6. Clamp the elevator in the center position in order to get the length cut correctly
7. After assembling the pushrod connect it to the elevator servo
8. Check the pushrod and elevator surface to ensure free motion in both directions
9. Check the pushrod and elevator surface to ensure free motion in both directions
10. Check the pushrod and elevator surface to ensure free motion in both directions

Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Wow, we're almost there. This is going to be a really quick post. I'm posting 5 pictures here, but really could do it with one or two pictures. Here we're going to mount the prop and spinner on the plane. Even though I don't show it (it was one of the lost pictures when the memory card crashed) go ahead and put the spinner on the plane.

You may notice in the pictures that everything may not be hooked up at this point. It doesn't have to be right now. All we are doing is getting everything on the plane where it should be. We only want the weight to be in the proper places to balance the plane. We don't need it to all be hooked up because as soon as we weight the plane we're going to remove everything in order to sand and cover the plane.


Pictures
1. Mount the spinner and prop on the plane
2. Mount the spinner and prop on the plane
3. Mount the spinner and prop on the plane
4. Mount the spinner and prop on the plane
5. Mount the spinner and prop on the plane


Until next time

Ken

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

Ok, so where are we at right now?? The plane should be “in the bones”. Meaning that everything should be in place on the plane with the exception of the covering of the plane. Looking at the pictures you can were we are at now, with the plane complete and ready to balance. If there is anything that isn't mounted on the plane right now, go ahead and put it on so that we can balance the plane. If you haven't glued the control surfaces in place right now that's ok, but they at least need to be in position on the plane in order to balance the plane.

Pictures
1. Plane “in the bones” ready to balance.
2. Plane “in the bones” ready to balance.
3. Plane “in the bones” ready to balance.


Until next time

Ken

carrellh

This may be a dumb question... Why are the holes in the elevator threaded? When the rudder horn was mounted, you drilled clearance holes for the screws.

<<< edit >>> My mistake... I reread the prior posts and you did thread the holes in the rudder. I saw the comment that it's actually the clamping force that holds it and misinterpreted the info.

RCKen

My Feedback: (9)

As I said, you really don't need to thread the holes. I just prefer to do it because I don't like the holes to be any bigger than they need to be. Just a personal choice on my part.

Ken