Don Smith Cessna T-50
02-28-2013, 10:35 AM
#1001
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Rich,
A question about engines for the t-50....
There is no real manual for this bird but the plans call for .90's glow 2 cycle. Using the usual math for converting that to a 4 cycle equivalent I bought a pair of saito 125's for this project a while back. I'm not planning on a lot of extra detail and was hoping to keep the weight at under 30lbs. After looking at a lot of the engine choices others are going with I'm a little concerned about being under powered and if I might need to look into more power ?? I've seen a couple of these Don Smith birds for sale in the past and one was powered by 4 stroke 120's.
thoughts / advice ??
Joel
A question about engines for the t-50....
There is no real manual for this bird but the plans call for .90's glow 2 cycle. Using the usual math for converting that to a 4 cycle equivalent I bought a pair of saito 125's for this project a while back. I'm not planning on a lot of extra detail and was hoping to keep the weight at under 30lbs. After looking at a lot of the engine choices others are going with I'm a little concerned about being under powered and if I might need to look into more power ?? I've seen a couple of these Don Smith birds for sale in the past and one was powered by 4 stroke 120's.
thoughts / advice ??
Joel
02-28-2013, 01:51 PM
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Noted all the old Vought crew on this thread and I guess I have to chim in as well. Started on F-8s as hydralic teardown and assembly in 1967. Worked A-7 till entered service in 1969 in test lab. Finished tour in Navy through 1973 went back to Vought in Avionics R/D as electronic tech. Spent a few years there and finished up at Lockheed Martin for 27 years (Avionics and Weapons Systems). Vought was a great place at least for me to work as a kid of 18 years and freshman in college. Modeling got me in the door to start and the company helped me through school. ed
02-28-2013, 04:42 PM
#1004
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
.....Good to hear from you again Ed..........we do seem to have a number of ole Vought people........I went to work out there a year after you.......1968.........I managed to remain there untill I retiredin 1998...........I was an illustrator the entire time.........but spent the last five years working as an AutoCad operator with the tool design group......loved it!!!!................I still show out there on most Tue and Thur to work with the Vought Restoration Team as a vollunteer.........that's fun too.......I mainly work with the cockpit group.........I have met you on a number of ocasions in the past and we do have mutual friends in Jack Haynes, Jim Detrick and Ross Woods.......
....I drug out a photo of your very nice NAS Dallas T-50 and will post it here............I hope you stick around and provide answeres to some questions that I have about your completed T-50...........the question of weight keeps popping up and I can only calculate my finished weight by weighing each and every component that will be installed.............so, I know you went electric and probably ended up under 30lb...........also, I get questions from other members regarding the weight issue.......
......Thanks Ed.
Rich.
....I drug out a photo of your very nice NAS Dallas T-50 and will post it here............I hope you stick around and provide answeres to some questions that I have about your completed T-50...........the question of weight keeps popping up and I can only calculate my finished weight by weighing each and every component that will be installed.............so, I know you went electric and probably ended up under 30lb...........also, I get questions from other members regarding the weight issue.......
......Thanks Ed.
Rich.
02-28-2013, 05:21 PM
#1005
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
ORIGINAL: Ed Couch
Noted all the old Vought crew on this thread and I guess I have to chim in as well. Started on F-8s as hydralic teardown and assembly in 1967. Worked A-7 till entered service in 1969 in test lab. Finished tour in Navy through 1973 went back to Vought in Avionics R/D as electronic tech. Spent a few years there and finished up at Lockheed Martin for 27 years (Avionics and Weapons Systems). Vought was a great place at least for me to work as a kid of 18 years and freshman in college. Modeling got me in the door to start and the company helped me through school. ed
Noted all the old Vought crew on this thread and I guess I have to chim in as well. Started on F-8s as hydralic teardown and assembly in 1967. Worked A-7 till entered service in 1969 in test lab. Finished tour in Navy through 1973 went back to Vought in Avionics R/D as electronic tech. Spent a few years there and finished up at Lockheed Martin for 27 years (Avionics and Weapons Systems). Vought was a great place at least for me to work as a kid of 18 years and freshman in college. Modeling got me in the door to start and the company helped me through school. ed
It is a small world, aviation that is. Since I left there in 1988-90 timeframe I have meet others that were there during my stay now working in the Tulsa, OK area. Each time I think of the places and people I have met in my aviation career I think of an old tool bag I have. On it I wrote “Have Tools Will Travelâ€
Nice to be corresponding with two former guys from there, and by the way, my brother worked there also between 1985-2000 + something.
Did either of you know AW Carr?
02-28-2013, 05:31 PM
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Love to help in any way I can. It would appear we do run in with a number of the same folks and its always been fun. I need to drag her to the field sometimes soon as its been a while since last flown. I will add a photo or two in flight soon as its something she does quite well.
02-28-2013, 07:01 PM
#1007
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Rich,
I know we've discussed this before but I've tried searching back in the thread to find it but no luck sooooo....
What exactly is "Crystal Blank" paper, where can you get it and is it sold by a different name ? I've tried googling "crystal blank paper" and find nothing.
thanks
Joel
I know we've discussed this before but I've tried searching back in the thread to find it but no luck sooooo....
What exactly is "Crystal Blank" paper, where can you get it and is it sold by a different name ? I've tried googling "crystal blank paper" and find nothing.
thanks
Joel
03-01-2013, 11:09 AM
#1008
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
......Sorry about that Joel, that was anold trade name..........I have since found that is called "Railroad Board".........and is available at most art supply stores.......it may also be purchases at craft stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby.........it is often refered to as poster board.....I buy it from Asel art supply in Arlington Tx........it is .016 in thickness, glossy on one side and matt on the other and is of very high quality paper..........it comes in a varity of colors, but I prefer the white simply because it is easier tocover with any colorpaint..........dont mistake it for some of the poster boards that are on the market at office supplys, Wall Mart and places where school supplys are sold.....but......, dont rule them outcompletely either, because they work very well for smallparts such as the coolingbaffels and the air inletparts on the dummy engine..........remember , theseparts have been fabricated with this thinner, cheaper paper..........both typesaccept loquer bass paint very well, like the AeroGloss sanding sealer or the clear toproduce a nice finish............The Railroad Board that I have used comes in sizes.....22" x 28"......and.........28" x44".........
Rich...
Rich...
03-01-2013, 02:47 PM
#1010
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
....Sorry Steve, I do not know Mr.Carr..........what department did he work?...........most of my of my time was at the Jefferson Facility.....
Rich.
Rich.
03-01-2013, 04:14 PM
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Rich
The ship come in at about 30 to 31 pounds depending on battery packs utilized. I normally fly with two 5/5000 mil packs in each nacelle. A little bit nose heavy but I prefer it that way. I also have a set of 4500 mil batteries I sometimes fly as well. Center of gravity still within limits though you can feel the difference. Nothing critical just a little bit more sensitive on the elevator. I have never took it through a whole stall series as I just fly and enjoy it. I did ding it a little when I was landing in a severe crab and let it get a little ahead of me. Won't do that again. From that point in time I just landed a little wing low for crosswind type landings. Carry a little extra speed and fly her all the way to deck under power.
I've tried to put a couple of photos on line but system won't accept them at least from me.
ed
The ship come in at about 30 to 31 pounds depending on battery packs utilized. I normally fly with two 5/5000 mil packs in each nacelle. A little bit nose heavy but I prefer it that way. I also have a set of 4500 mil batteries I sometimes fly as well. Center of gravity still within limits though you can feel the difference. Nothing critical just a little bit more sensitive on the elevator. I have never took it through a whole stall series as I just fly and enjoy it. I did ding it a little when I was landing in a severe crab and let it get a little ahead of me. Won't do that again. From that point in time I just landed a little wing low for crosswind type landings. Carry a little extra speed and fly her all the way to deck under power.
I've tried to put a couple of photos on line but system won't accept them at least from me.
ed
03-01-2013, 04:37 PM
#1013
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
......Ed, send them as a pm to me...........I will reformat and post them for you if you wish...........I know the guys will love to see her......
Rich.
Rich.
03-01-2013, 05:05 PM
#1016
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
....okay Steve.....since there seems to be some interest from you , Joel and Jeff.......I will put together a presentation of the process that I found works best for me......Ok??
Rich...
Rich...
03-01-2013, 06:09 PM
#1017
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Works for me. It could be a very handy skill to have.
I used polyester glazing compound on mine. I taped off the shape of the aluminum shape of the tail fairings and then sanded the filler flat. It looks good, but not quite like a piece of aluminum formed on the surface.
I used polyester glazing compound on mine. I taped off the shape of the aluminum shape of the tail fairings and then sanded the filler flat. It looks good, but not quite like a piece of aluminum formed on the surface.
03-02-2013, 05:54 AM
#1019
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
RPRC and I worked on the T-50 yesterday and made some progress. Today I am on the way to work on my daughter and son-in-laws truck. Just trying to support and help them through collage.
Can't upload photos at the moment. Will try later.
Can't upload photos at the moment. Will try later.
03-02-2013, 07:14 AM
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RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Joel
No secrets on the set up. As the nacelles have hatchs in the top I don't use any type of shorting plugs for power control just plug a series Y cable between the batteries and ESC and go. No counter rotating props at this time as ship tracks extremely well. Now if I had them available I would though. Controls the P factor quite well. I use them on a couple of other vehicles with excellent results. The vehicle uses two seperate radio systems in it bound to a Spektrum 7, one system in the tail for the elevator and rudder/tail wheel setup and another in the wing for the ailerons and motors. This vehicle was built without flaps or retracts by a friend and I picked it up partially covered and finished it. I did not want to tear it down and rebuild and it flies just fine although I do honestly miss the flaps. Gear struts are Robarts and a folding gear would easily fit when needed. I know there are some photos earlier in the thread of the vehicle flying and I will go back and check them out for detail. I will provide more when I figure out what glitch is preventing from posting at this time. ed
My original post start about #644 or so and continue through a number of questions. No sense repeating ones self. If any additional questions I will follow up.
e
No secrets on the set up. As the nacelles have hatchs in the top I don't use any type of shorting plugs for power control just plug a series Y cable between the batteries and ESC and go. No counter rotating props at this time as ship tracks extremely well. Now if I had them available I would though. Controls the P factor quite well. I use them on a couple of other vehicles with excellent results. The vehicle uses two seperate radio systems in it bound to a Spektrum 7, one system in the tail for the elevator and rudder/tail wheel setup and another in the wing for the ailerons and motors. This vehicle was built without flaps or retracts by a friend and I picked it up partially covered and finished it. I did not want to tear it down and rebuild and it flies just fine although I do honestly miss the flaps. Gear struts are Robarts and a folding gear would easily fit when needed. I know there are some photos earlier in the thread of the vehicle flying and I will go back and check them out for detail. I will provide more when I figure out what glitch is preventing from posting at this time. ed
My original post start about #644 or so and continue through a number of questions. No sense repeating ones self. If any additional questions I will follow up.
e
03-02-2013, 06:45 PM
#1023
RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
...This is a test.........Joel, you are not the only one.........I just tried to post photos several times.......and everytime it took about a minute and then I got this message.....
Server Error
500 -Internal Server Error
There is a problem with the resource you
are looking for, and it cannot be displayed.
Rich.
Server Error
500 -Internal Server Error
There is a problem with the resource you
are looking for, and it cannot be displayed.
Rich.