RCU Friends,

I love to build so I have decided to start an easy build thread. This is my first time doing a build thread so any comments or suggestions along the way would be greatly appreciated. I will be posting step by step pictures on how to get it done. I will go ahead and start posting pictures tomorrow. I am looking forward to doing this and am looking forward to information from anyone reading this thread.

Great Kit, built one last year.

There was a thread on this that theo started, many pages long. Check it out.

hey good one for your first kit mine was in the beginner forum a while back,first thing i can tell ya is do not use ca like the manual says to glue the fuse doublers together you need epoxy here as it will give you time to align the parts,ill be watching this so ask away if you have any problems theo

I built one of these four years ago. Nice plane and easy to build. To add to what Theo said, you can also use wood glue for the fuse doublers. It is lighter than epoxy.

Also, use the smallest dihedral piece to join the wings and use the ailerons.

Thanks
Pedro

For some reason I am having trouble uploading pictures. I go to upload images and it says awaiting confirmation and then it says file successfully uploaded. I then hit ok and now I do not know where the pictures go. Any suggestions?

after u type in your message hit upload when it says complete hit okay and then go down to the bottom and hit the ok button under your message and then they will appear

Ok here we go with the pictures. First thing I do is roll out the plans. I do not like to cut the plans so I got a full sheet of plywood so I could roll out the plans flat.

Picture #1 Plans Rolled Out

Picture #2 The Kit Itself

Picture #3 Parts Inspection

Picture #4 Plans Covered With Wax Paper

Ok some more pictures.

Picture #1 I used medium Zap Glue to glue the horizontal stab and the vertical fin together.

Picture #2 When the glue has dried I sand with a Great Planes Bar Sander and 180 grit sanpaper to get a smooth finish.

Picture #4 I went ahead and marked the elevator and the horizontal stabalizer with a square to get an even match for the hinges.

Picture #3 Hinging with a hinge slotter is a very important and time consuming step. Take your time on this part to get them straight. I first marked for a center line with a center point hinge tool from great planes. I then put the hinge guide on the elevator and the rudder to get nice straight cuts. The cut is then made and I have a perfect match for the hinges.

More to come tomorrow after work.

When you build the wing, make sure you build the sport wing (less dihedrial). I have built 2 of these and can tell you that the regular wing is has too much angle, making it very difficult to fly in any cross wind.

Good luck on the build I just finished my PT40 a few months ago and it flies great.

Here are some more pictures to add to this thread.

Picture #1 All the hinging for the rudder is the same process as the elevator. Just take your time and make sure your hinging is centered.

Picture #2 I purchased a master airscrew planer and it works wonders to bevel the leading edges of the elevator and the rudder. I then placed the parts together and it is hinged and ready to go to the next step.

The next and final step for the fin and the stab are to sand smooth and round all of the edges. I used a great planes contour sander with 180 Grit Sand Paper which worked wonders. Now off to building the fuselage. Some of the parts are time consuming but if you want to build and do it right it will be time consuming. I know its just a trainer but to me its like building a big bird. I hope you are enjoying the thread so far. The weekend is coming up so it will go a lot faster this weekend.

I have a friend who has accepted one of these kits and it has no plans or instructions. He has no internet so I am standing in for him here.

The build instructions can be found downloaded and printed easily (thanks GP) but he will need the plans to build on. This will be his first balsa wood plane ever...

Can someone help with a set of used plans or has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Robert

I just framed one of these up over the weekend. It was nice to build something quick and straightforward for a change....nice kit. I have been feeling quilty about the girlfriend sitting at the field watching all day.....this will hopefully get her flying on her own this year.

Steve