Thanks,

Unfortunately I'll be waiting 'til atleast closer to spring to put 'r in the air. I will post an update when that happens.

FYI... I came out at exactly 7lbs. On the first page of this thread someone posted a link to a website showing a guy that built an all chrome contender. His came out at 8lbs and seemed to be okay. Guess I'm happy with 7lbs beings that I put some extras in this bird (leds, switches, 9volt battery, wire, etc...).

Balancing came out better than I expected with the elevator servo aft mounted too. I started out with the receiver pack under the fuel tank and with the lightening that I did to the fuse I actually came out nose heavy. Ended up moving the receiver pack aft of the rudder servo (right around the area and just aft of where the flap is in it's up position). Then moved the lighter 9volt battery under the fuel tank and the receiver near the leading edge of the wing. Put it on the balance jig and it's on the nuts per the plan.

This thread's been awfully quiet lately... anyone else getting close to being done?

Hey Keith,

I've really not been doing to much as of late on my Contender. My 46AX along with my flight pack is supposed to be here before the weekend so hopefully I'l get some more done soon. I was kinda waiting on the engine before I glued the firewall in place. In addition the weather here has been great and I've been flying instead of building.

Regards
Mike

Hi Contender Owners:

I have made a little progress on mine. I intend to get going on the wing in the next few days. I have cut out the
large block for the duct part of the cowling. Kinda dreading that. Any hints on the carving? Attached is a couple of pics.

I will post as I progress. I have enjoyed all your posts. Still waiting for an in-depth flight report.

Jim

Looks good.

Somewhere someone said "Don't sand when you can plane, don't plane when you can carve". Sage advice for all balsa shaping.

I hollowed out my lower block after shaping but before gluing into place.

Still waiting to get mine in the air. The Fox 46 aABC refused to tune. Mounted a perry carb and test ran what a difference. Works great.

It's really not bad at all. Use a small block plane--not a hobby razor plane. Then use course (60 grit or so) sandpaper then sand with 100 grit. I did mine this way and it took me less than twenty minutes.

Looking good Jim, keep up the good work. Expecting my flight pack and engine tomorrow. Can't wait looking forward to proceeding on with my build. Good luck on the nose.

Regards
Mike

Hey guys, I have followed this thread with interest and learned a lot from watching. I just started my Contender and have completed the Fin assembly, elevators and stab.

I am taking it slow, this is my first kit. I'll post pics as I get them, asnd ask questions as I have them.

Jim

jbakic,

Good luck with your build and welcome aboard. Taking it slow is a good thing Have you made a decision on what engine your going to use? Did you make any modifications to your tail feather or did you build according to plan? I hope to get some work done this weekend on my fuselage.

Regards
Mike

Hi jbakic:

Welcome to the "Contender" build thread. Would certainly like to see pics of your build progress. I have basically
completed the fuselage main frame as you can see in previous post. I am going to start on the cowling and begin building
the wing. I had to build the fuselage first because I was short 2 pcs. spar material for the wing. I have them now and
I am going to start in the next 3 or 4 days.

If you have read this thread, you will note that my "big" mistake, a real "Heart Stopper" was when I glued the firewall in upside down.

You are porbably a "pro" so you won't do things like that. This is my first kit, so after 2 nitro pills, 1 long drink of OJ, I proceeded to heat the 30 minute epoxy to remove the firewall. Really no problem. I am really careful now about the
orientation of the portion I am building at the time.

All of the guys contributing to this thread have been very helpful to me...... Just ask'em anything.

Jim
AMA 821369

THanks guys, I am certainly not a pro, as this is my first build. THe only mistake I've made so far was I did not "see" the template for cutting out the forward fin section on the plans, and tried cutting it out without it. Doing that I would up with too small a piece of 1/4 x 3 x 24 balsa to get the rest of the pieces out of it. Had to go buy another piece from the hobby shop.

I did not make any modifications to the fin or rudder, as I was not real comfortable doing that. I am sticking exactly to theplan for my build.

I have tried to get a picture uploaded, but can not seem to do it. How does one go about that? I did a search but am having trouble. I don't see the "Insert picture in post" check box per the RCU FAQ.

Any help?

Jim

That is strange, when I posted the last reply my picture did show up. I guess never mind!

Jim

I forgot, I plan to use a THunder Tiger 46Pro in the aircraft. I have one in my Avistar and it can really scream. One other small thing I am doing that is different, is I currently only have a 4 channel radio, but I am going to build the flaps operational into the contender. I need to figure out a way to keep them locked up, so I can fly the plane with my 4 channel, but easily operational when I finally break down and get a computer radio later on.

I was thinking a solid wood block where the servo goes, with a server arm screwed into it and the pushrod connected to that. THat way later, I can just replace the block with a servo, plug it in and go to town?

Any thoughts on that?

Jim

Hi Jim

Sounds like a good idea. Doing good work! Keep us posted.

Jim
AMA 821369

I like this idea a lot! I wish I'd thought of it. Maybe I would have if confronted with the same situation. Yeah, that's what I'll tell myself.

You should go one step further and temporarily mount one of your existing servos in the space where the flap servo will go. Set up the pushrod and clevis and even test the whole linkage for binding by operating the servo with your radio. Then pull the servo, put it where it will be to fly the plane, replace with your dummy servo/block of wood, affix the servo wheel to the block and you'll be set.

Good idea!

jbakic,

Your tail feathers look great. What I did for a template for the fins both upper and lower was to trace it out from the plans on a blank piece of paper. Then I cut it out of the paper and I had a good pattern. That way I didn't have to cut my plans all up.

I'm with John that sounds like a great idea for your flap. Keep up the good work!

Regards
Mike

I've run into an issue (I think) when building the wing. I pinned the top spar to my board, laid the ribs on it so the jig tab is touching the board across the wing. When I put the bottom spar into the slots on the ribs, several of the jig tabs lift off the bldg board due to a very small (less than 1/8") bow in the basswood spar.

My question is, if I sand the rib slot so the spar fits without lifting any of the jig tabs off the table, will it be an issue if there is some space in front of the spar where it fits into the slot.

I am worried about inducing a warp into the wing when building it. Did this happen to any of you guys? How did you deal with it?

I have not glued anything yet.

Thanks

Jim

Pin, clamp, pin, clamp until everything is straight. You should be able with the clamps and pins to get everything straight and square. It may bow upon removal at this stage. But as you complete the wing, adding the webs, the sheeting, the spars etc. if you clamp and glue everything straight at every step the structure will be straight. The sheeting step often "sets" the wing straightness.

I do not consider the bow in the spar you describe as being unusual or a gamebreaker. Make sure you have plent of pins and clamps.

Oh! And another thing.

I examine all my long spans such a leading and trailing edges, spars etc. If some of the wood is bowed I'll try to use peices that are bowed such that the oppose each other. i.e. if a spar bows "up" I'll match it to one that bows "down". In this way they tend to straighten each other out. If you can't do that, do not worry about it.

Often building a wing I'll have to pin, clamp or weigh down the structure to get it to lie flat on the building board.

Your mantra building the wing is: flat building board, square & straight, pins & clamps.

Hey Fellows: Answer this for me? I have started my wing, also. I have all the appropriate pcs. glued to W-1 and W-2.

I have my spar pinned down and I am ready to set ribs. I notice that W-l has a small tab on the leading edge that none of the others have. This keeps the leading edge of the rib from coming in contact with the building board. The picture showing
that you must glue a little tab on the side of the rib on the trailing edge of the rib does not show this little tab on the leading edge. Of course, I have tabs on all of the trailing edges on all ribs. But only W-1 has these little tabs on leading edge. Do I remove them before I set the ribs or is this to leave space for sheeting later?

If necessary I can take picture of the rib.

Thanks

Jim
AMA 821369

I finished wing a few months ago. Stupid cat tore up my plans so I do not have them anymore. However the ribs are not glued to the top spar, the one pinned to the board in the first step. I beleive the sheeting takes up this small gap you are speaking of.

I believe Badger is correct... been awhile since I finished my wing to.

I too have those tabs on the W-1 ribs. They are jig stand tabs for when building the top of the wing and are sanded off prior to sheeting (step 4 on page 15).

Like badger said, make sure you do NOT glue the top spar until you turn the wing over and finish the top.

Also, thanks for the assist guys with my spar issue. Will post pics when I get the ribs glued in.

Jim

Thanks Jim:

I have downloaded a set of instructions for the Contender from Great Planes, so I looked and "right on." I guess when I read it , it did not soak in. No, I will not glue the top spar, until I turn it over to finish it. But, Thanks for
reminding me. I am 61 and sometimes my "short term" just comes and goes.

Thanks again
Jim

Jim: Here is a set of Inst. if you care to download the files. It's not too big. Sometimes it's nice to have a set inside that you can read on before you go to the workbench. It only requires that you have Adobe Reader on your computer.
Jim