BankYank

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Seems to be a popular loved little plane so i thought i would get one and see for my self what all the fuss is about
Im going to power mine with a Magnum XLS91-A. After holding it up to the plans it will be mounted the same as the the OS61 that is shown and that is nice as no big fire wall mods will be needed
The construction looks to be easy from looking at the plans and instruction book.
I'll also be using Retracts. Roberts 608HD mechanical. A little over kill i think but they should out last the plane. Time will tell though.
Servos are going to be all JR digi DS537. Regular servos would work also but them i would have to buy and these i already have.
Battery will be a 4.8V as im not a believer in 6V for anything other then then trying to making your plane act like a heli
I don't know if i'll do the flap mod or not but i have time to decide.
So here goes

Here is the Stab/Elevators mostly sanded to shape. The Elevators are not shaped like you might be use to. They are a slight convex curve that is a small pita to get right. Mine are close but still need some fine tuning. I thought about using Robert 1/8in hinge pins but decided it's less work to get 0 gap with CA hinges. Not counting glue drying time i have about 1 hour into this.

The Fin/Rudder is built the same. The rudder also has a slight convex shape to it and again i have it close but it also still needs some fine tuning. Also about an hour into it not counting glue drying time.

BankYank

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Also if your plane has an early expiration date you might want to do something like this so you can rebuild it.
Pat

BankYank

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So here is the start of the wing. I lightened the wing ribs up a little as you can see. I thought it would not hurt as building retract mounts and adding 2 extra servos i needed to loose some weight someplace

BankYank

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Now here is the bottom side. You can see i did move the retract mount out 1 bay. I also sank the retract into the wing so the sheeting covers it and the wheel will sit into the wing with nothing hanging out.
I have about 8 hours into this part so far. Might get the other wing started tomorrow.

chris8105

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Looks good, where did you get that one at?

BankYank

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Hey: Its a Great Planes kit. Got it from Tower. Are you thinking of building one??
Pat

MinnFlyer

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Glad to see that you moved the retracts out 1 bay, but you don't want to make the struts much longer than stock. IS it me or do those look very long?

Also, you may want to open up those wheel wells a bit. Make them as large as possible to avoid issues with wheels not coming down.

Are you going to add flaps?

BankYank

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Hi yes the retracts are in bay 4 and the wheels are sitting between ribs 2-3 and it does seem kinda long to me also. At this point it never to late to move them out a little and center them over rib 3. I planed on thinking about doing that today as i build the ailerons/wing tip and yes flaps
From measuring the plans the original retract wire looks to be about 4 1/2in long from pivot to axle. Mine are 6 1/4in long at the moment. The retract is sitting against rib 5 and that ain't gonna change The biggest prop i plan on trying is a 13X10 and with a not so smooth grass field the extra length might be needed
I will open up the wheel wells a bit more so i can build a proper looking wheel well with 1/16in balsa

The Flaps are going to be 7in long. Any shorter and it looks funny and any longer the ailerons start looking to short. Im using the TLAR method of building
Pat

MinnFlyer

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At MOST I wouldn't make the gear any longer than 1/2" more that the original or they will bend like spaghetti. 1/4" would be more like it.

*JCB*

My Feedback: (9)

Hey there BankYank, your build is looking pretty good. I'm in the process of building a 40-sized. I started it about a month ago and you are catching up to me pretty quickly!!! I am also installing retracts. I have been doing a lot of sanding lately and my garage is a mess with balsa dust!

Any tips when glassing the center section of the wing? The instrustions say use CA glue. Is this strong enough or should i use 30 min epoxy or something else??

BankYank

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Yeah sanding a square block to a round shape is a PITA and makes a mess. Luckily i can open the garage door get the air hose out and blow the mess out the door[8D]
As for glassing the center section. I have only glassed one center section about 5 years ago. I did use CA and if i remember right it came out all bumpy and ugly looking.
As this one will need glassed i have been thinking of using some Z-Poxy i have,,,But i'm probably going to use some 30 minute epoxy as that might be stronger
I have also got rid of that dihedral brace that was supplied and made a new one out of .063 T-3 All-clad aircraft aluminum. I drilled about a hundred holes in it to lighten it up.
Pat

MinnFlyer

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For glassing the center, just give it a light spray with 3M Spray Adhesive and lay the glass down on it and smooth it out. Then saturate it with thin CA (Do this out doors as it makes a LOT of fumes)

Otherwise, you could just smear a coat of 30-min epoxy, lay down the glass and smooth, and add another coat of epoxy, then heat to get the epoxy to sink into the glass weave.

ChuckW

I normally just use finishing epoxy. It's thin enough to be brushable and comes out smooth. You can always add a second coat if necessary. I've tried CA but it just makes too much of a mess in my opinion.

*JCB*

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Thanks for the input...I decided to go with z-poxy finishing resin. It was fairly straight forward and easy to do. The wing is down in the garage curing right now, so let's hope it works out!

Also, here's a picture of the aftermath of a spirited round of wing-tip shaping! enjoy

BankYank

My Feedback: (63)

Nice pile!. I'll have one like that tomorrow or the next night.
Once both wing panels are done and ready to be joined i'll start taking pic's again,,, BUT Hey feel free to post pics of your build also[8D] The more the merrier!!

Bax

My Feedback: (11)

I never liked to use CA to hold down glass cloth. I found that I could aways pull it right up, off the wood. That doesn't say much for the support that the wing's been given. I like something to have a bit better stick. ....and the fumes? Wow! (cough, cough.)

Oly

BankYank,
I am starting on the first wing panel of an Ultra Sport 60, so I'm just behind you in the build. Thanks for posting your effort, I'll be watching your thread here to pick up some tips. I'll be going slow, what with work, family, etc. Plus I'm a naturally slow builder any way.

Like you, I'm moving the retract location out one wing bay. Wider stance, for better ground handling, plus I too will need a little more prop clearance the longer struts will afford (91 two stroke). MinnFlyer's comments and recommendations are excellent, and I'm taking them into account.

My question for you (and anyone else with experience) is this: When the retracts are moved out one bay, and the struts are made longer, will the wheels still be positioned just ahead of the CG, as they are with the factory location? I'm going to do a mock up to see if following the same geometry, just one bay out, will place the wheels in the same spot in relation to the CG.

I've read that if the wheels are too far aft, nose overs can occur on the ground. If they are too far forward, the plane may have a tendency to bounce upon landing. Just trying to get the wheels in the right place...

Maybe I'm over thinking this???

Any thoughts you or anyone else may have would be appreciated.

Oly

PS I've visited your field and flown there once. Nice place! I grew up in Sandpoint and still have family there.

BankYank

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HEY OLY ask all the Q'S you want im sure someone will have an answer.
I angled my retracts so that the wheels are at the leading edge when extended. If the wheels are to far aft you will for sure nose over and the cure is to shim the back rail to get the wheels further forward when extended.
If there to far forward i could see the plane being harder to rotate for take off maybe.
The only time i can remember having had a plane balloon on landing was from a to far aft CG or just a bad landing.
I did end up leaving the retracts long because i just did not feel like moving the wheels out and fixing the sheeting where the hole was cut out originally. I may still need to but i doubt it.
I do have more pic's to post later today as the wing is almost done[8D]
Pat

vol4ever

With regard to the center glassing of the wing, I've always used Ambroid.

[link=http:////www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LX1000&P=ML]Ambroid Cement[/link]

Lay the fibermat down & then saturate the heck out of it (although after reading this thread I may try to put the Ambroid on first during my next build). The stuff is really easy to sand smooth, and the fumes aren't too bad. I always use disposable latex gloves and finger spread. It's not quick drying, so you have plenty of time to work with it. Never had a wing break yet! [8D]

~Vol

BankYank

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Ok here are the pics!
I did not like the Spar Joiner. It just seems so thin to me so i made another at work. Its much stronger and only a little heavier.
All the work is pretty self explanatory. The wing tips still need sanding to get the ends rounded. The servo horn holes still need cut out, Retract wires and servo need fitted and will probably take most of tonight to do. The ailerons/Flaps still need the LE sanded but they are all hinged.
I have checked the wing for wash out at the tips and im happy to say it is the same on both sides So final sanding tomorrow and then on to the fuse
Pat

*JCB*

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I am at the point where i fit the wing to the fuselage...check out my pics. I looks like the gap in the front of the wing saddle is pretty big. Is this going to make difference?? I measured the wing and is sits straight and level on the fuse. This gap just concerns me a bit. The gap is uniform on both sides and the rest of the wing sits nicely with a tiny uniform gap the whole length...

Please give me some input. thanks!

BTW: BankYank, you're a fast builder!!! it's lookin' good, keep it up

BankYank

My Feedback: (63)

I have almost the same problem as you have. Decent sized gap right at the front as you do,,,But my F2-B???(The short one the wing dowels go into) does not line up very well. The holes are about 1/8th inch to high. The way to work around it is to level the fuse so it is "0" Deg. Then check the wing incidence. I believe it should be "0" if i remember right(The instructions do call it out).
Mine does measure right with out the F2 part in place. The gap in the front is a fairly easy fix as long as all else is as it should be. I plan on adding a little balsa and sanding that to a good fit with the wing fillet parts in place. For the F2 part i'll just make a new one with the wing dowel holes in the proper place.
None of it is to hard to fix but for the life of me i can not find out where it is off to cause this.
Pat

*JCB*

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You're right, after some searching in the manual it does call for zero degrees of incidence. It looks like mine is about -0.125 degrees. I'm not going to give myself a headache trying to fix that. In all actuality, it will probably cure itself when i tighten down the wing bolts. Now that i mention the wing bolts, I also went out and bought some 1/4-20 blind nuts (for the wing bolts) for two reasons: 1: I don't have a 1/4-20 tap and 2: i couldn't bring myself to trusting threaded wood!! Is anybody out there that has tempted the threaded wood??

BankYank

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Ok glad you got it figured out. Turns out mine came out just fine also
Here are some update build pics for ya guy's watching

I like to build my planes to fly not crash and that means keeping the weight down as much as i know how to do. I have cut holes where experance has taught me its ok to do. I still need to round the edges off on the fuse sides so the holes are not visible when covered. The strength will still be there as the bottom is sheeted as is the turtle deck

BankYank

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The wing seat i decided was not that much of a problem as the fillets would cover any gap. Turns out i was right[8D]

The servos are also in and the push rods are glued in at the rear and sanded