Thanks, there really is not much of a discernable gap visible. I would have a hard time putting a sheet of paper in between, the glue just did not take.

Should I put a fillet of medium CA along the edges, since that is a bit thicker?

There is not any noticable warp to the wing.

Jim

jbakic,

I would put a glue fillet along the edges if it was me. Sounds like you've got a good plan and your build is progressing nicely. Good luck and have fun with it.

Regards
Mike

Thanks Scott. You made some good points. I think I'll stick with stock.

jbakic: It looks good. Mike made a good point. I would cut a little pc. 1/2" long, same conformity as the trailing end of rib
(go dig the punch out pc. for that rib for a pattern) lay it along side the rib, glue it with wood glue to rib and trailing edge.
If you had to do that to every rib, you are talking about grams of wt. not ounces.

I would rather be certain now than have something bad happen during flight. The trailing edge does take some stress from flight because it is a part of the airfoil and also, it is the anchor for the ailerons.

Thaks guys for staying with us thru our builds.

Jim V.

Safebet,

The landing gear on my Contender seems real sturdy with one exception. Turn slowly when you taxi to prevent wing tip contacting the ground. Also, I would suggest that you use blind nuts on the firewall to faxten the landing gear. You must do this before you fasten the front block onto the Fuselage. The wood screw method the kit supplies you just won't last if you have any rough landings. I know.

On the other hand, I think the Contender is one great airplane to fly. The transition from a high wing trainer is awesome. The Contender is smooth, precise and responsive. I wished I learned to fly on a Contender. Best of all are the landings. Once you line up the approach the rest is academic. It almost lands itself. I can't say enough about this airplane. It flies real fast with my OS .50SX. Balancing simply required moving the battery pack under the fuel tank.

Gerry G.

Thanks, Gerry, for that update. Yes, I did use blind nuts for the nose gear. I will be using a Fultz nose gear. It is a yoke style with a spring on each yoke.

Your report has diminished, somewhat, my apprehension about flying the Contender. I am new, so until I get very comfortable with the trainer
I won't be flying the Contender. When I do get ready, it will be on a buddy box the first couple of times.

Thanks again, for the report. When you fly please keep us informed. I finsihed forming the leading edge today. I am moving along,
but slowly.

Safebet,

You have the right idea, wait until you are comfortable. I used the buddy box method myself. However I will caution you. The instructors like the contender and seem to enjoy flying it. You may have to cut the cord in order to get your fair share of flight time. My instructor went so far as to build one himself because he liked it so much.

Gerry G.

Well, thanks for the warning! I'll carry my skinning knife with me. I sure don't want Charles having too much fun. (My instructor)

I am going to have to get busy. You got my attention.

Also, what did you do for your aileron extensions.? Did you use 2 ea. 12" extensions or did you use a "Y" extension.
I have a JR 8103, so I think if I ran individual extensions I could use CH 6 for the other aileron.

I am going to use JR 537 servos, R700 Rx (7 ch.), and the 8103 Tx.

I have a 1100 Mah for the Rx. Do you think that is big enough or should I go larger to be on the safe side?

Safebet,

I used a "Y" connector. And an 1100 MAH rx battery pack. Fully charged, I have really never had a low battery situation after 4-5 flights. Either way, (Y connector or extensions) you should be fine. With separate extensions there's one more connector to fasten when you assemble.

Gerry G

I put four flights last week on the contender. It was using a 600 mah battery. Took it home and finished out the charge on the cycler. Registered 193 mah left and cycles it with a full charge at 580. So I used less then 400 mah or less than 100 a flight. I could have reasonably pushed another flight out of the battery.

My hog bipe with 5 servos, 2 of which are high torque, after four flights It has never used more than 500 mah. It has an 1100 mah battery. So I could get 8 flights.

I really like having a cycler as it lets me know these things. The cycler gives me a little peice of mind about the batterys. I check them when new and cycle them three times to get an average. I record this twice a year. You can plot the loss of performance. When I get uncomfortable about them I'll buy others. So far after three years of flying I have not thrown any out.

Of course a bigger battery lets you fly longer and puts you well past safe should the battery start to lose life. Of course without a cycler eventually even a big battery could have an unexpected failure.

Badger: What charger/cycler do you have. I have looked at the Accu Cycle Elite, but $150.00 is a lot of money.
I know it is an additional safety issue and could save from losing a plane, but I just hate to spend that kind of dough.

I just have a plain jane Accu-cycle. It has cycle for 4 or 5 cell RX packs and a transmitter pack. Charge rate of 25,50 or 125 ma on a 15 hour timer. Nothing fancy won't do li-pro batteries or anything outside of 4,5 or 8 cells but it does everything I need.

Hello to my fellow Contender builders! I have been reading this thread for a while, as I too have been building one. I confess that I probably would not have chosen this kit, but I won it in a raffle so what the heck! Thanks to all the discussions, I made a few mods while building mine, including increasing the rudder surface and changing its shape, and also using bolts for the nose wheel gear. I also glued the chin block on separately after covering, using silicone glue so that it can be removed if necessary (also much easier to cover this way). I added a drain tube to the bottom of the engine compartment to keep spillled fuel and other misc. liquids from seeping into the wood.

Due to the weather, I haven't flown mine yet, but I am looking forward to it. Because this plane is a manageable size, and the engine is so easy to get at, I suspect this will become my everyday flier.

Specs: Engine - Older OS 46 SF ringed with TF 11 x 6 prop to start out
Servos - Futaba 3305's and Tower TS-69's
Weight ready to add fuel - 5 lb 11 oz (lighter than expected!)


My only real issue with this kit is that there is an apparent error on the plans. The flap is 1/8 inch shorter on the side view than it is on the top view, and mine would not seat in the fuse area until I removed that much from the trailing edge.

Sandy T.

Sandy,

I've also heard that the flap does need to be trimmed for a proper fit. That's an interesting way to solve the nose covering problem. Thanks for sharing that method I'm going to look at doing the same thing, makes good sense.

Great looking Contender! Good luck with the maiden. Have fun with it.

Regards
Mike

I changed three things from the plans in my build. Added area to the rudder (and repeated the shape of the wing tips and horizontal stab instead of the concave original. I mad a small opening in the scoop so it functions and any fuel spilled can exit, and I put an OS 70II in the nose for power. The weight of the larger rudder helped offset the larger engine. The only weight I added was 1/3 oz of split shot to one rwing tip to vbalance her laterally.





If I build another I will twist the engine so that the muffler is low and the top of the fuselage is smooth. I've seen a couple built that way and they look sharp.

Sandy T: I like your color scheme and the idea of gluing the cowling on with silicone. Also, the drain hole is a good idea.

I am to the point of doing the cowling now. I have one question? Did you assy. the plane, another words install alierons, rudder, stabilizer both verticle
and horizontal before covering?

I am rahter new to kit building, so covering is my greatest challenge. I had thought about dry assembling the alierons, rudder, elevator (not gluing the hinges in, yet),
assembling it complete so I could balance before covering. Then I was going to disassemble and cover the ailerons, the rudder, the verticle and horizontal
stabilizer separately, cover the upswept wing tips (I added an additional rib for strength to the wing tips), install to the wing and then cover the wing. Last the fuselage and the cowling.

What do you guys think? How did you all do it?

Thanks Jim

Sandy,

I do like that yellow stripe how it flows right into the wing. Nice.

Jim,

I usually cover the fin and stablizer first then glue into the plane. However this model I glued all that into place first then covered. The control surfaces I left off until the end of the job. I covered them them hinged them to the appropriate surface.

I put my contender in the air yesterday and I can say I'm very pleased with how things went. I didn't get a chance to run it through it's paces and test it's full capabilities... By the time I got the thing in the air it was dark enough to play with the lights which worked better than expected! Then I had a linkage problem with the throttle servo and I couldn't get the thing to idle slow enough to land... so I had to line up on final... get close to the runway and hit the kill switch. After I get things fine tuned I'll give another update... Overall on the first flight though I can say I'm happy with this bird.
No bad tendencies... minimal trim needed... very very stable and forgiving... pretty quick too for a fun fly plane. [8D]

Keith,

Congradz on the flight. Sounds like an enjoyable experience. Still plugging along with my Contender. Work has been crazy so I haven't had anytime to do much with it Good Luck

Regards
Mike

Jim

I did exactly as badger5964 said, covering wise. Although I have been in this hobby for about 14 years, I do not build enough planes to be very good with the covering. Sometimes it is advisable to cover parts before assembly, as I did with the chin block, but you would virtually never glue the control surfaces on before covering. Top Flite manuals give you a suggested order for covering an airplane, and I advise you to follow it as much as possible. You generally start at the back of a model and work forwards and upwards. This will place the seams in the least objectionable locations, and helps to prevent seams that face into the air blast. This is a good idea so that the air does not have a tendency to separate the seam. Another "trick" of the really good Monokote guys is to refrain from ironing the cover to anyplace that will show, except for the actual seams. In other words, you would not iron down the covering anywhere on the wing except for the edges and the seams. This allows the covering to shrink in every direction, and also reduces the tendency of the wood graining to show through the covering.

I now have 10 flights on my Contender, and other than the pilot coming loose all is well. The plane does not need the flap, as it slows down very well without it. Some people talk about an airplane "landing like a trainer", but my observation is that the Contender is actually easier to land than a trainer! If the pilot can overcome his nervousness when the plane is near the ground, he will find that the slow speed handling of the Contender is excellent.

I have reduced the throws of the elevator and rudder, and increased for the ailerons. My extra large rudder is effective, but at maximum throw it has a very sharp coupling with the elevator, causing the plane to pitch strongly towards the wheels (ie down in level flight). Rather than programming in any more elevator "up" I have simply reduced the rudder travel.

The OS 46SF is a sweet running engine, but a tad underpowered. It swings an 11 x 6 prop pretty well, but it takes a white to spin up to max RPM, about 11,000. As it doesn't have a lot of time on it yet, I reserve my ultimate judgement for later. I think Charlie P. is on the money with a 70 four stroke.

Sandy T.

I was there! Wheels off at 1832 which on a gray day is not much light and the lights were AWESOME! It really is one nice flying plane. It really looks nice in person - The pictures don't do it justice.

73 Bill K9RWT

Thanks Sandy:

I appreciate the tip about not ironing down the covering on the ribs. This makes sense for shrinking, later.

Over-the Edge: Congratulations on your flight. Be sure and give a flight report on the next outing.

I am getting ready to trial fit the hinges on all control surfaces. Final sanding and then cover them. I finally found a gas
tank I like. A sullivan 10 zo. I bought a 12 oz., but it just didn't leave enough room up-front for fuel lines, etc. I am doing a 3-line tank
because I want a fuel filler.

What size tank are you guys using? What kind of flight time do you think I'll get running a OS .60 FX?

Keep the flight reports coming. Thanks for the tips. You all have made this a relatively easy build for an old man with
little experience.

Well... I flew the snot outta this thing tonight and again I'm very pleased with the lights and overall performance of the plane. I built the contender to have an easy to fly "just for goofin around" type of plane... and I must say it is doing exactly that. I started the evening flying my aeroworks 90 size edge540 and when the sun started going down I broke out the contender. Keeping in mind that I ended up in the 7lbs+ range with all the bashing and it still floats like a trainer with a just a touch of flap. I have only one regret... I should have bashed it into a taildragger... bumpy fields and tricycle gears just don't get along.

Anyone else flying theirs lately?

Hi Keith,

I have 44 flights on mine so far. I use it like you do, as the plane thats easy to fly and easy to get ready (exposed engine etc.). I switched from an 11 x 7 prop to a 11 x 5 (OS 46-SF) and saw an impressive improvement in performance. The plane flies better in every way, and maybe even has a higher top speed, although it would be scary to see what its reving

I have had to shim the motor mount to increase right thrust, as the plane always pulled left in a vertical maneuver, and now it is better but still not perfect. Can't shim it any more as the mount is hitting the fuse side. Dunno, maybe I didn't get the motor mount drilled perfectly at the start.

Still, if I really want to fly and the winds are over 15 knots, I take the Contender because I know it can handle the wind and there will be no rough landings. I did brave the 14-19 winds today to get a few flights on my Cub, but I'm not usually so daring.

Sandy T.

I too have quite a few flights on my plane. With the chopped wing tips and the Fox screaming lean it is quick. The rudder/roll coupling is interesting it habits. the plane does a simple airelon roll much quicker then a snap roll.

Mine does have a habit. That I can't cure. When diving for ultimate speed the tail starts wagging. All connections are tight such as hinges and pushrods. Only happens at top speed. Does not do it in level flight.

It has been high maintenance. The nose wheel keeps breaking free or collasping the push rod. I hope my latest fix solves it.

I thinking of getting rid of the plane because it is prone to hanger rash and I don't want it to affect the others. Before maiden I crushed a tip. During assembly for maiden I crushed the canopy. A few weeks later I dropped my xacto knife through the wing. Two weeks ago I broke the RX mount removing the servos leads then recrushed the mount the following week putting in the lead. And finally loading the van to fly today I dropped the wing and crushed the other wing tip.

I shall attempt a goat sacrifice to appease the divine.

Scott