russ_hillis

Yes, it sure has been so far. I'm thinking of adding some lightening holes in the plywood sides behind the wing. Probably 3 holes each. My guide on this project tells me, if I save an ounce of weight on the tail - I can save 4 ounces on the front. Not sure if that's true, but I figure I'll give it a whirl and see what happens.

thailazer

Keeping things light always makes a plane fly better. On ships that size, I usually put in 3 holes of decreasing size on the fuse sides with a hole saw set. Try to leave at least a half inch of ply to the edges. With those holes and that clearance, you will have no reduction in strength. It does save significant weight. I even put lightening holes in aileron stock some times.

The Cowboy should build up nice and light so your .20 should do okay. Most beginners over-engine their planes which does indeed make them a handful. I recently put in an OS 35AX on a Tiger 2 simply because it saved over 4 ounces of weight rather than the OS 46 which is so popular. Glad I did as it flies fantastic on the 35.

CanDo

Russ, here's some simple math to get a feel for nose and tail weight. If the nose is 1 foot from the CG, and the tail is 4 feet from the CG, then you have a 4:1 ratio. With that ratio, you will need 4 oz of nose weight to balance 1 oz of tail weight. Because the nose moment is so short on my 1/4 scale WWI biplane, it has a 4 1/2 lb gas motor that balances the tail weight perfectly.

green river rc

My Feedback: (2)

This was my first plane, the kit cost $44.00 at the Hobby House in Louisville, where can I get plans?

russ_hillis

Well I'm not sure where to find plans, the set I'm using was given to me. I haven't finished the battery door or opened up the fuse sides yet, but I'll be doing that shortly. I've decided to get every done on the wing before moving on to that stuff. The last thing 2 things to do on the wing were to install the servo's & sheet in the center panels. I completed this last night. I chose to go with a 2 servo set up so that I can take advantage of my radio's mixing abilities and have flaperons. I built mounts using 1/4" spruce and 1/16" a/c ply. The servos (2 hi-tec std's) are then siliconed to the ply servo hatch panel. I also took the time to locate and mount the aileron controls using 1/2a horns. I used some double sided scotch tape and a square to make sure the horns were properly aligned with the servo arms. I offset them a bit allowing for the z-bend @ the servo. I'll be using gold-n-clevis's for the controls. I've just got a bit of filling & sanding to do and then I'll be covering the wings with some ugly orange stuff. Not sure which colour to use for the accent's. It's either going to white or black.

thailazer

Russ, if you get a chance, post the measurements from the firewall to the leading edge of the wing, and also the distance from the firewall to the rear of the fuse. I'm going to build another Scout someday and from your pics it used essentially the same fuselage except for where the wing mounts.

How is your weather there? It is a cool 68 degrees here this morning!

russ_hillis

-36.5*C for a low @ YCT yesterday, it's warmed up now to -26* C today and it's supposed to get up to -4*C

Green River, I checked on Craft Air and it's listed as dissolved in the state of California. So I'm not sure where you can find the plane or blueprints.

thailazer

Ouch! That is cold!

russ_hillis

nah, that -4* C is gonna feel down right balmy tomorrow after the crap we've had for the last few day. Almost like summer, just no lawn to mow

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Nothing like "bench flying" while she's still in the bones. [sm=thumbs_up.gif]

Nice build thread Russ. [8D]

russ_hillis

Thanks for the comments, I haven't forgot about this thread just been a bit busy. I've managed to do a few more things and I'll try and post a few pics in the next few days. I've finally covered the tail feathers, I think I'll hide them away until I put the plane together and show off the covered plane. Still quite a few little things to do before that happens though.

russ_hillis

Sorry I took so long, firewall to tail, 38 3/8", firewall to leading edge 5 1/2", chord 11" S/S is NACA2412 and I'd bet the flat bottom is a Clark Y but I'm just guessing. Fuse width is 2 3/4" @ the firewall and 3" @ the leading edge and 3 1/2" at it's deepest, directly below the wing. Hope that helps you out.

thailazer

That is perfect! Thank You very much!

russ_hillis

Well we're finally here, been an easy but slow process. This plane has been a good refresher for me. It's my 1st RC scratch build ever and the 1st model plane I've built since I was in my teens. I've kind of lost track where I was on the thread so don't be afraid, nudge me if I've missed something obvious, I've taken tons of pic's! I used aluminum flat to build the landing gear and then I powder coated it black to match the plane. I placed the wiggly wagglers further ahead than the plan calls for since the listen for the boss boxes have shrunk so much since the beginning of time in 1981. I chose a set of duBro 3" wheels at first in the 1st set of pics, but I realized that if the plane is going to get maidened any time soon, a slipperier line of thinking was needed. So I built a set of ski's for my new Cowpoke, I built a pair of forms using 2x6 material and boiled some 1/8" hobby ply for about 5 minutes. Pay attention ! This is the cheap stuff and when I put it in the curvacious application device the cheap glue showed a lack of leadership and allowed the best friends forever to separate and go their own ways. This caused me some consternation and a do over. If you look closely, the battery/fuel compartment, it's a bubbled affair so the fuel tank can take a higher and more prominent perch to view it's impending destination. Well that and it allow me to stick in an ultra-modern very much post 1981 A123 2 cell battery to power the wiggly wagglers and the gettin' squawked @ box. I'm also a bit of cheapskate, so the plane grew a $3 receiver switch from our friends across the really big salty pond. I haven't cranked 'er up yet, as this bull hasn't quite remembered all the tricks to spinning up a .20 OS Max yet and there's something about leaking glow fuel all over the same spot that you're about to laminate a Christmas gift for the residential commander in chief. So, I'll pass on that foolishness till tomorrow. Anyway enjoy!

thailazer

Looks good! I am surprised about two things though..... First, wouldn't more ski behind the axle help stabilize it in the air and on landing? (You must be using something like a bungee.) And second..... With the news from Canada and the USA, why isn't there snow drifted up to your shop door windows???

russ_hillis

Keeping the weight on the back of the ski's stops them from tricking my ol' cowpoke into doin' a half pike into an igloo (in short it stops them from diggin' into the 1st snow bank it comes across)

russ_hillis

The cowboy flies! With a friend on the sticks, we got the cowboy into the air. Luckily, the ground control @ Heathrow in London hasn't heard we're doing a maiden on snow covered ground

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pSyXordz0w[/youtube]

fc227

HI,

Have you ever seen one converted over to a low wing? See attached pictures. I have been trying to ID this plane for a while.

thailazer

fc.... That looks like a Craft Air Scout, although the canopy makes it look a bit different. It was about a 50 inch span, flat bottom, low wing trainer. It was my third plane and an excellent trainer. It made me a touch-and-go addict!

thailazer

Found an old photo of my Scout. It was slightly modified in that the horizontal stab had dihederal. Even back then I had to bash kits a bit.

fc227

Look like it is this one modified to a low wing , all the Dim's line up.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10...m.htm#10079347

fc227

Sorry same thread, But the back looks the same and all dim's add up

fc227

Hey that is the plane . Do you still have the plans for it and or maybe the wing you might want to sell ?

russ_hillis

Sorry, I don't have the plans anymore. The wing I used was the NACA2412 & it has strip ailerons. I built the air frame using 1/8" birch ply which was criticized by a few people @ the time. In reality, that plywood the only reason that plane exists now, I let the Rx battery get low in the spring and turned the thing into a lawn dart from a couple hundred feet up. The fuselage survived with minimal damage. The original wing & tail feathers were destroyed and I rebuilt those parts and have been flying it ever since. Good trainer, just what I needed for a progression.

fc227

Yea, similar thing happened to mine also, the wing is destroyed.

Thank you