mRqS

haha... thanks 2 U 2 "Cruz"
I'm glad to see, that I'm not an alone Decathlon builder now

Chevalier

Here's my Decathalon currently under construction. Note the laminated wingtips in the first picture. I will be using an OS 1.20 for power.

cruzmissile

Chevalier,

Looks nice, I like your table, it makes the SD look like a .40

Have you ever thought about building over the mid section of the landing gear so that the belly would be smooth and continuous?

cruzmissile

I did some work on the wing strut mounts. I didn't feel like having to "find" block that would fit, so I laminated four 1/8" light ply together to get the desired size and shape. I've found that laminating wood can be pretty easy to get the shape and size you want and need.

beepee

Cruz,

I did that with mine (built the belly smooth, without the gear opening). I used the light ply formers from that area and built a small insert from the strut support to forward of the gear, about twice the length of the design opening. I needed to get to the strut support as I made that of aluminum flat bar running across the belly and screwed to the gear mounting plate. I used the lighting holes in the formers to create guide pins (holes on stationary piece, the dot removed from the hole glued on the insert to hold position), then I drilled and tapped the landing gear at the center for a 10-32 screw. Used a nylon screw through the insert.

Looks alot better.

Bedford

cruzmissile

I was doing some research on prices for various engines. Originally I was going to go with the G-38 $299, but I also found a US-41 for about $260. The US engines is less expensive than the G-38, my question is how the US matches with the Zenoah G-38.

Are they equal in weight?

Is one more reliable than the other one?

Does one tend to start easier than the other?

Just need some input before making my final decision. Thanks.

mRqS

Cruz,

As I heard, ZG is more reliable than US or Fuji, but all of them are heavy and not so powerful.
I'd propose a DA or ZDZ engine (www.rcshowcase.com). They're lighter and much more powerful.

cruzmissile

I went shopping today and found some stuff to do some interior work. It's not the best scale interior, but it's my first attempt at it. I found some felt sheets that I'm going to use for carpeting the interior, I got some blocks of foam for making seats and I got some leather sheets to cover the seats. I also found some .008" aluminum sheets to make door trim.

cruzmissile

Marek,

I'll check out the website and see how the DA compares, if it comes out being too expensive, I'll ultimately settle with the G-38.

mRqS

Don't forget a door's "glassing" before felt glueing



They're more expansive for sure.
DA's are here: http://www.desertaircraft.com/

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

cruz,

Mine is framed up with the G38, servos and battery mounted. Balance appears right on at this point. I have heard that this kit builds tail heavy, and up front weight will be required. May as well have the weight in the engine.

cruzmissile

I guess I'll stick with my original plan and get a G-38.

Hey Marek, What do you mean by this? Is there something I forgot?

apalsson

My Feedback: (1)

cruz,

The G38 is an excellent engine. It may be a bit on the heavy side but it's one of the most reliable engines on the market.
I guess mRqs was reminding you to fit the glass in the window and then felt and trim the interior

Ari

mRqS

Ari,

you're right
Cruz, do not forget to glue a "glass" to the cabin before felt

cruzmissile

I don't think I'll have problems with having to put the windows in first before I lined the interior.

Here is the interior completely covered in felt. I used grey against the wall and charcoal as the floor board. The next thing I might be working on are the seats.

One thing I am going to have to wait is completely building the bulkheads between the firewall and the cockpit panel. I'm going to mount a servo next to the fuel tank for the throttle. I have to have an engine to determine the servo location, so until I do get an engine, I can't build the top forward fuselage. Unless there is a better location for the servos, that the only place I see that I can install a throttle servo.

I think the color scheme I'm going for is this one of the last photo.

cruzmissile

Here are some attempts at making my seats.

first photo is completion of bottom seat, the second is the back and the third is without the flash.

mRqS

Cruz,

it really looks great!
I hope to buy here a thin felt like your's.

Do you have more pictures of this paint scheme?

cruzmissile

Thanks Marek, I'll have to look for another photo with the same color scheme, that's the only photo I have of that plane.

I got the felt at an art store It's called Hobby Lobby. But I'm sure any art store will carry sheets of felt.

The foam I used for the seat is dry floral foam. It sands really, really easily. It's quite dense so it takes quite a bit of pressure to put any noticeable dent with your finger.

cruzmissile

I covered my seats today, I layed leather for the top and back of the seat, and did the sides with black felt.

mRqS

Cruz,

have you seen this?

It's in German, but pictures say's all.

http://www.rcflug.com/citabriabau.htm

http://www.rcflug.com/citabriabau1.htm

and video (13mb): http://www.rcflug.com/video/citabria.wmv


btw, Today, I did something different than you

"The Web"

cruzmissile

Wow, I'm impressed. I think I'm going to do that with mine. You did a good job.
I've seen that kit that you are showing before. That kit is better constructed than the DynaFlite kit we are building, but I'm doing the best I can with adding as much scale features as possible with what little is provided and with what little scale experience I have. I've been working on the seats and seat belt.

mRqS

Thanks
I just didn't liked an "empty space" in cockpit

Yes, it looks really beautiful (and construction as well), but cost eight times more
And is slightly bigger (3m of wingspan). Did you saw a movie? I watched it all evening haha


hmm.. in fact... same as me. I did many scale details on plastick models only. My previous RC models (especially Bristol and Spitfire) had not so many details. Luckily, Decathlons are much less complex than "oldboys"

cruzmissile

I'm getting my aluminum wing struts today, so I'm going to post some photos later on today of how I'm going to attach them to the wing. Here are some photos of how the full scale is constructed.

The forward wing strut is larger than the aft strut, so I bought 3/4" strut for the front and 3/8" for the rear. the jury struts look like small diameter tubes that are compressed to apprear slender.

cruzmissile

Marek,

I watched the video, when he started the engine, the first thing I noticed was thats a lot of vibration that I'm hearing. It could be something in the airframe, but as I watched I was wondering how much more vibration could that plane take before something falls off of it. It could just be the audible track, but that's a pretty nasty sound.

cruzmissile

Marek, what size dowels did you use for making the bars in your cockpit?