Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Sorry it took so long to reply; I'm stuck in Hawaii for a few days for work Anyway, what happened to mine is amazing- I was lucky to get it back. I did a snap roll, then something strange happened, it did a series of really quick spins. Then it stopped, and that's when I noticed both of the right wings were bent upwards of 45 degrees or more! I pulled the throttle all the way to idle, and did a nice, slow decent with tons of opposite aileron correction. Amazingly, I did a perfect 3 point landing on the runway, taxied over and shut it off. People actually stood up and clapped. Anyway, she's almost back together now after sitting broken for about 6 years. I've spliced spruce spare doublers in against both main spars, and I'm in the process of lightly glassing both wing center sections with 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth. The bottom wing is done- it's now very strong, and didn't pick up too much weight either since I made sure to mop up all the excess resin I could before it kicked. Lots of tedious repair work needs to be done, but it's coming along. I've also ordered some Dubro pull-pull cable kits to use as functional flying wire this time around. THESE ARE NOT OPTIONAL- USE THEM IF YOU LIKE YOUR LIBERTY SPORT! BTW, the only reason I have it back in one piece is because I divorced the rod and bellcrank aileron system, and instead installed a mini servo in between the ribs of each outer wing. In addition, the only remaining strenght to the broken wings was the covering. The spars were completey shattered at the shear point. I'll post pics if anyone would like to see the repair process. Here's some of the ones I took in the begining- you can see the damage in this other post:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_46...tm.htm#4687710

aenigma

Wow that is a cool story, what a rush that had to be!
Glad you got it back down in almost one piece!I am guessing your covering was silk span or some kind of fabric covering to be strong enough to hold the wings together enough to keep it flying.Gotta love silk span.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Actually, my covering was the Coverite 21st century stuff. Some people will say that it doesn't have strengh like monokote does, and actually helped cause the failure. Others think it doesn't have anything to do with the covering, but rather the airframe. That's what I'm going with, as I still have a roll of this stuff and plan on using it to finish the repair. Heres some pics of what happened. I know I'm kinda hijacking the thread here, but I'm guessing by the age of the thread, the manual issue has been straightened out. If not, I have one that I'll photocopy and send to you.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

The second pic you can really see the damage after all the sheeting was removed.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

The first pic shows all the cutting away at the ribs I needed to do to install the spruce spar doublers you see going in on the right.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Here's everything clamped and setting up. Once set, new balsa planking was glued back in place then sanded. The pic on the right shows trial fitting of 3/4 oz fiberglass cloth. Two layers of these are going on each wing center section.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Here's the bottom wing all glassed. Like I mentioned, the epoxy was mopped up so well that it didn't pick up a ton of weight as some of my previous projects. I figured 3/4 oz cloth would be better suited for this since it must cover large areas, both top and bottom. The pic on the right shows the spar repair to the top wing, which was similar to the bottom.

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Now that both wings are nearly complete, I can actually remember what it looks like as a whole airplane! I will post more progress if anyone is interested.

bhady

I guess WOW!!! I'll be putting inthe flying wires before I fly the LIberty Sport. What did you use for a mounting point on the fuselage, and do the wires just attach to the interplane strut mountin points? Thanks for sharing your experience.

B. Hady

Tommygun

My Feedback: (2)

Here's some pics from the manual that show the routing of the wires. The top inboard go from rear cabane strut and outboard of the foward cabane strut (I'm contemplating just running both from the cabane to keep things simple) then run to a single point just inboard of the outboard cabane strut on the bottom. The fuselage mounting points as you can see are forward, and just above the filet area. Whew, got all that? I plan on using thru-bolt Dubro eyelets to serve as mounting points on the fuselage and lower wing. I was thinking about using the eyelets on the upper wing to perform 2 functions- bolt the upper outboard cabanes on, and serve as a clevis attachment point. I was thinking of using the clevises that come with the nylon coated pull-pull set to attach to the eyelet. I know this isn't exactly scale looking, but I also don't want to spend an hour taking this thing apart and putting it back together. In addition, the wires need a form of tension adjustment to compensate for stretch and temperature changes.

The Rook

Hi All,
I just bought a Sig Liberty Bipe from ebay. I knew virtually nothing about the kit, but it has amazing lines and I love OOP bipes. The Question is...what am I getting myself into? I know its a "builder's kit", but what is done for you already. Please tell me that SOME parts are die cut!
Anyway, just curious
Thanks,
J

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

Many parts are cut out already. I guess the main 'challenge' is that the fuselage is mostly 'sticks' and there's a fair amount of work there. The wings have a lot of ribs in them (already cut out), etc. If you take your time, and build it straight, you will have one the absolutely best flying scale biplanes out there.

phil in waco

The Rook

Thanks Phil,
I just found a great thread on building the Liberty that answered many of my questions: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189289
A friend of mine was unfamiliar with the kit, and mentioned there was a slight possibility of parts not being die cut. Regardless, this should be a good challenge for me! I can't wait. But the kit will, as it is in line behind a GP P-51, and a GP Sportster Bipe .40. I better get building!
J

The Rook

Just got the kit in the mail last night! My wife came in the living room and saw all the pieces during my "inventory", and jokingly asked if she has lost me for the next year. Little does she know....

Anyway, I don't know if they ever came with a parts list because I couldn't find one to do the inventory, but I did notice that 2 sheets of the die cut wing ribs were missing. Looks like I'll be scratching those guys. There will be some basla to replace, as some of the sticks are pretty warped, and the cabane wires have some rust/corrosion on them. Looks like they'll clean up nicely with a wire brush however.

All in all, pretty excited to start on this one. Does anyone have some good links to covering in fabric? Never done it, and I might try it out on the Liberty.
Thanks,
J

bhady

I received a completed Liberty Sport as a gift over a year ago. I would like to install the flying wires on the wings. does you manual have instrauctions / diagrams on how these are installed? If this is so, would you mind sharing? Others in this forum have advised it's a good idea to put them on or risk wing failure. Thanks
Bhady

JollyPopper

My Feedback: (6)

The original Sig construction manual states "The prototype model has been extensively flown and violently stunted with a .60 engine to test the strength of the wings. They have proven to be strong enough without functional use of the outer wing struts. Therefore the struts are shown as plug-in accessories for scale appearance purposes only. They need not be used for test, practice or sport flying. This suggestion assumes that the wings are well built and have been covered with a doped cloth covering. Plastic film coverings are not as strong since they lack the tension strength of a doped covering. Builders who intend to use plastic film or expect to place unusal loads on the wings should make the wing struts functional by epoxying small brackets at the ends of each strut leg. Fasten these to the wing strut plates with small screws."

You guys can make of that whatever you wish. I'm thinking that sport flying should be possible with a model covered with plastic covering and without the use of the outer struts but not violent manuevers. I'm not sure if rolling and looping would be considered too violent or not. I've never flown mine. I did put the plates in the wings to which the struts could be added but I have never built the struts. I intend to before I fly it--just haven't yet.

I bought mine partially built and the guy who originally bought this kit and started "building" it also cut the plans into about 20 or 30 segments. If anyone has a set of original plans that he would be willing to sell, I would buy them. On the other hand, the construction manual is only 24 pages. I would be willing to make copies and mail to anyone who needs them.

This is one beautiful bird in its finished state. I really believe the only bipe to rival it in appearance is the Skybolt, but that is just opinion--I don't intend to argue with anyone over it. However, you guys who are building one of these kits will love it when it's finished. It is not the easiest kit in the world to build, and I made some mistakes in mine but nothing I couldn't go back and rectify. It is a beauty. Just take it slow. Read the plans and instructions until you actually understand everything you are going to do and everything will turn out fine.

Max

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

Definitely put the N struts on the wing, but I didn't need flying wires, with the monokote one, or the cloth covered one I had. I never really 'wing tested' the planes too badly, but I did all the aerobatics, and never had any trouble... Had .60's on both of them.


Enjoy!
phil in hewitt

Thomas B

My Feedback: (4)

I happen to have a new in box still shrink wrapped Sig Liberty Sport for sale over at the "other place", if anyone on ths thread is interested:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=664708

45AIRPLANE

csandt051196 would you be willing to make another copy of the manual. I have the plans but, no manual

novato43

I know this is an old thread, but I bought a completed Liberty (with flying wires) and a Enya .60 in it. Flaps have been reworked, but it seems in excellent shape. The flying wires are kind of/sort of attached. I would greatly appreciate the manual for this plane if anyone has a copy - an E version would be just fine.


Larry

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

If no one has one ready to transmit, I'll put mine in the ol' scanner and zip it up for you... While I'm scanning I'll toss in the 3-view that I have (came with the kit)


Stay tooned....


Phil

45AIRPLANE

I WOULD APPRECIATE IT

novato43

I haven't heard from anyone else who has a copy, so I would really appreciate your efforts.

Larry

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

I should be able to get it scanned and posted this evening. Also, there is one (kit) up for sale on eBay too... At $140 right now as I type...

Should be done later tonight (11/28) and I'll see if I can get it posted here directly. Those that have contacted me directly I'll send it on to them as well.

Thanks!
phil

grh_70

You can download a pdf of the Liberty Sport manual directly from the Sig web site:



http://www.kavanrc.de/instructions/s...bertysport.pdf