Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

I am going to begin this thread with a little backround on myself.
I have been in the hobby for 3 years now. My first plane was a Great Planes F4 Phantom ll. (Didn't survive the maiden)
I have 3 kits under my belt. First was the phantom second was the GP ultimate bipe and 3rd was the GP US40+. Along with that was a number of arfs. I am currently flying my first giant scale which is the H9 1/3 Sukhoi.

My last few planes have been arfs and I am really getting the itch to build a kit.
I have had previous dealings with OMP. I was one of the first on the list for the GS540 ARF. I found the quality of their arf to be outstanding. I did have some minor service issues and they were very quick to respond.

What made me decide to pull the trigger on the Hybrid was 2 things.
1 Was the excellent customer service that Mike and Dion gave me with the Edge.
2 well, 1900 sq in wing at 16lbs pretty much speaks for itself.
So, sit back and follow along on what should be a very detailed very informative thread. I will field questions so feel free to post.

I will post back as soon as the kit arrives.

GarySS

My Feedback: (13)

Well, while we wait for the kit you could discuss which engine, muffler, radio, servos, and control surface hardware selections that you will be using. That would be interesting.[8D] How will you ensure that the 16 pound target weight will be met?

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

WOW GarySS. That's a tall order as many of my decisions have not been made yet.
I am strugling with a few options.
The wing loading on this bird is so low that I am not convinced that I need to worry about the weight. Lets face it.
However, Here are my thoughts.
For servos, I will be using Hitec all around. I have already got 5 5925s and 2 5945s lying in the shop.
I already have H9 control horns and heavy duty linkages.
For batteries I might give the lithiums a try. Not sure yet.
Futaba PCM Rx.

The big choice is the engine as it will determine how much "bashing" I have to do to the kit. I am trying to contact BME to see if Keith has any prediction on the release of the 55Xtreme. If he guarantees me that it will be avaliable before spring then I will place my order. The 55Xtreme would force me to reconfigure the servo layout on the Hybrid. I would definately need a pull pull on the rudder and possibly on the elev. I know that these planes are notorious for being on the tail heavy side. I believe that Mike said that the DA50 on a can required that all batteries be shifted up front for balancing.

So in conclusion. If I can get my hands on the 55Xtreme then this will turn into a "How light can I make it" project.
If I have to settle for the DA50 then I will probably just build it by the book and use CF where necessary to achieve the 16lb mark.

Redundancy will be implimented. Probably just a simple 2 batteries 2 switches 1 Rx.

That's as much detail as I can offer at this point. More descriptive decisions will be made after talking to BME. I have been unsuccessful trying to contact them at this point.

OnTheEdge

Hey John, just make sure you tape the crystal in place on this one (Sorry..........)

As for the BME 55, I think Keith learned his lesson about not talking up the delivery of a motor till it's ready. He took a lot of heat on 110.



........Mark

GarySS

My Feedback: (13)

Some more Q's Crash[sm=stupid.gif]. How will address the dual servo per aileron set up? That is something that I would freek out about and would keep me from that size project. Also are you going to use heavy duty switches.....if so what brand (Futaba or some other company?)
Thanks

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Hi Ontheedge. Great job with Aerorama. I got lots of pics to send you. Hopefully the kit will arrive by mid next week.

GarySS. This will be my 2nd Giant scale plane. The dual servos on the aileron are no big deal. With the Hitec programmer I can set the center and endpoints exactly the same in less than 5 minutes.
As for the switches, I used JR heavy duty switches in my Sukhoi. They have performed flawlessly. If I can't get the 55xtreme then I will be using the JR switch. If I can get the 55xtreme then I will be using lithium batteries and I will use a switch with a built in regulator. My target weight is 14lbs. With a little luck (bme) I should be able to achieve it. 14lbs puts me at a wing loading of 8oz/in. That's insane. I will give BME a few more days to answer the phone. These decisions will be made by the time I get the kit.

I am growing more excited every day. For those of you that haven't seen the hybrid, I encourage you to check it out at ohiomodelplanes.com they have an excellent video posted.

Flatspin-RCU

Ordered mine Sunday and it was on my porch today (Wed) I have the 80" Edge with a Moki 2.10 and its a blast to fly but I wanted something Big for airshows. Bigger always shows better at the shows so I have a new Brison 3.2 ordered. I've had it ordered for 2 months now and still after repeated promisses from Brison, still nothing. They even charged me for it on the 6th of Aug. I dont no any place that charges you before they even ship it....well anyway I'll be keeping up with this thread and begin building mine soon...was thinking of maybe doing a little kit bashing on this one...maybe add a few inches to the fuse and wing, or just the fuse...on my 80" while flying high alfa knife I'm constantly fighting with the elevator to keep it tracking straight...maybe a little longer fuse would smooth this out? Just thinking out loud...also maybe instead of boxing in the engine, using some kind of a cowl so I can get at the motor easier...on my 80 I also joined the elevator halfs with a c/f tube sandwiched with lite ply where the horn goes...I use one high tork servo for ele and one for rudder. saves on tail weight and $$$..always open to other ideas...Thats the beauty of building a kit...you can make your own mods and it dont have to be like everybody elses. 8^)

Ron

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Here is the first submission. This one comes from Maylasia. Many of the Hybrids we shipped were overseas.

OnTheEdge

That's a great looking plane! Can't wait to see (and maybe bum a flight) on yours Crash! I promiss I won't crash it on you this time

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Nice pic Dion.

Ok, to get back on track, I will be using robart hinges.
I have never tried building with yellow wood glue so on this kit there will be no CA.
Servo arms will come from SWBMfg. 1 1/4" aluminum.
Spinner will be CF. I like the ZN Line from Desert Aircraft.
Throttle servo will probably need to be mounted all the way up front. If that is the case then I will use a fiber optic servo extension.
There will be no smoke system.
I will install a CF wing tube. I don't care too much for the CF tailwheels.
Kavan tires from troybuilt.
LG? CF if I can find some.

I am expecting the kit to arrive some time next week so this will be my last post till then. Unless of corse there are any questions.

Ontheedge. The order was finalized on Monday. It will ship tomorrow or friday.

OnTheEdge

[sm=confused.gif] If you want to play with yellow glue, build yourself a popsicle stick fort! If you want to fly this plane anytime soon, (and like your nerves the way they are) use CA. There's a reason why practically no one uses yellow glue any more (It's kinda like giving up your microwave)

........Mark

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Mark. Be nice. Just experimenting a little.
I hate CA. I hate the fumes, I hate trying to sand the pieces of waxed paper from hard wood, I hate the cost.

Besides, I am holding out as long as I can for the 55xtreme.

OnTheEdge

Gotcha, Have you tried the "oderless" CA? Still expensive though. I just learned to take a deep breath and hold it as I let the peices dry. I also have a small fan in the rafters of my shop that blows air down and away from my face. This helps a lot. Just make sure the fan is small enough that it can't blow the small peices of balsa around and off your table.

If you try the yellow glue, make sure you use LOTS of pins to keep everything straight as it dries overnight.

Have fun. You'll probably have yours done way before the 80" OMP kit that I have.

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

OK. This will be my last post until the kit arrives. I finally got ahold of keith at BME. Ae assured me that the 55Xtreme is DEFINATELY going to happen. I tried to get him to commit to a date. For obvious reasons he would not. (Cant Blame him.) I will be contacting my LHS tomorrow and getting on the waiting list.
This does create some uncertainty. I will have to get the fuse constructed before I decide how and where to install the rudder and elevator servos. They will however be mounted for a pull pull configuration. I will definately be making the move on Li-ion batteries. Yehaa. Now i'm really pumped. So, my target weight on this bird is 14lbs. Can you imagine?

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Here is another one. I didn't mean to hijack your build thread ... just thought you would like to see what you have coming! This one has a G-62 and smoke system.

Flatspin-RCU

Wow...those two examples are looking great...will you cover mine for me?? lol Maybe we could get a little more info on the planes also...like servos used, motor, final weight etc...keep'em coming!!

Spacey

WOW STL that thing's a beauty! Now I want one as well

OnTheEdge

Hi Dion, Do you have a photo of the top of the Blue/white/silver plane? I really like the scheme. I might do my 80" OMP Edge in that scheme.

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Ontheedge. Not if I beat you to it Better get on the ball.

OK I got word from Mike that my hybrid shipped on friday. Should arrive this week.
Spent a few hours last night with a string and a straight edge trying to get my work bench perfectly flat. No luck. I am going to lowes today to pick up a hollow core door and some 3/4" styrofoam. I can't take the suspense any more Will report back when it arrives

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

The Hybrid arrived today. I snuck home from work just long enough to open the box, do a quick inspection, and grab the instructional cd.

My first impressions are good. The box arrived undamaged. When I opened it, it was clear that there was care taken in packing everything. All of the wood was sealed in plastic, the Aluminum LG and the fiberglass wheel pants were well wraped.

I must say that this will be a different build than what I am use to. There are not as many pre cut parts as there is in say a GP kit. This is not a bad thing, just different for me. I will definately want to take extra care to follow the plans.

The instructional CD seems to be thorough. You definately have to read it. No just looking at the pictures. There are pictures along with virtually every step of construction however you do need to "read the plans" with this one.

I generally like to pull all of the parts out, inspect them, label them clearly, and stack them in some kind of order. I will do that tonight. I may begin construction of the fuse tonight also if time will allow.

STLPilot

My Feedback: (21)

Good luck with your build John. Looking forward to watching you progress.

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

OK. Construction began last night.
The first step is to construct the fuse sides. This is done with 3/16x4x48" balsa sheeting glued together as indicated by the instructions (see pic) . This is not a real dificult step. As a matter of fact, had I used CA I could have had both sides built in about an hour. As it stands however, the yellow glue must stand over night so I got 1 side done.
As I dig deeper into the kit the wood appears to be of excellent quality. Everything looks straight and true.
At this point I am very impressed with everything.

Flatspin-RCU

Are you sure the sheeting is 3/16? Mine was 3/32x4...I have my fuse sides done and glued together...the problem I found is that you cant build over wax paper covered plans so its a l ittle tricky getting both fuse halfs exactly the same.

Ron

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Flatspin. Yes it was 3/32.

You can't build over wax paper covered plans? Why not?
Last night I finished one of the fuse sides. I glued the fuse doubler in place and left it dry over night.

Tonight I will construct side 2. Pictures will follow.
I do agree that it will be a little tricky getting the 2 fuse doublers exactly the same. Here is my approach.I placed the first doubler on the plans and pinned it in place. I then spread out the wood glue. I pinned the rear of the fuse in place on the plans and just layed it down over the doubler. The wood glue was nice because it gave me lots of time to make sure it was lined up.
What I will now do is assemble the sheeting for fuse side # 2 . I will clamp it to the outside of fuse side 1. I will then cut the hole for the wing tube through both fuse sides at the same time along with the hole for the wing bolt. This way, when I install the doubler on fuse side #2. All I have to do is line up the holes and it should be an exact match. I will post step by step pics. I will assemble the fuse side tonight. Tomorrow night I will install the 2nd doubler.
This thing is big.
Another option would be to flip the plans over and rub them with some oil. This would allow me to assemble side #2 the same way as side 1. I however would prefer the first approach. It is not a difficult step, it is just one of those steps where anything less than perfection is not acceptable.

Flatspin-RCU

I used a dowel pin and the wingtube to line up both halfs...but where I ran into trouble was with the 1/4" cross bracing etc..I layed both left and right side panels flat and butted up to each other..then layed a straight edge from the one completed panel across to the other panel and glued the bracing, former etc stock in place, but when I put them up to each other they were not directly diagonal..so F5,F6 etc are not straight across but cocked at a slight angle..guess it wont hurt anything as long as the wing tube and the fuse ends line up, which they did...this was supposed to be my winter project so I have slacked off with the building for a while but I will be keeping up with your build...you seem to know what your doing even if the plans dont tell you how to do something. I think OMP was a little vague in some spots. The wing should be routine...I would like to make some duplicate wing ribs before I build the wing so if a bad thing happens I can make a new wing panel. And I have had "bad things happen"!! Maybe there is a way of using my router to copy the wing ribs...I bet you have a way..hint hint 8^)