How's this?

It is definitely strong enough...

Looks great. And the rest of the plane?

Looks stout to me Brian!

That picture is for anyone interested in the new elevator, or at least my version if it. Did I get it right Jeff?

As far as the rest of it goes, here it is. It's all done except for the fuselage. It would be completely done, but I am waiting for the rest of the kit to get here!

Brian, my redesign is slightly different but what you have should work. you might lay a triangle in where the hinge line square balsa and the counterbalance meet, just a strength suggestion probably will be fine as is. You can be my tester for that layout. Jeff

"you might lay a triangle in where the hinge line square balsa and the counterbalance meet"

I did, it's pretty small though... How much of a difference can I expect? Is this a touchy plane with the throws way up there?

How much of a difference would it make and would it be worth it to change the elevator after it has been built but not yet covered?

Or I might have to save to get a (WHOAHHH we just had an EARTHQUAKE !!!! computer was bouncing around) whole nother airplane.

I used 1" elevator counterbalances on my pre production sledge and truthfully never noticed any difference than the others

Smallfly did put a counterbalance on his and no difference. My counterbalances are 2 1/4" and do make a difference, and yes I think if you had it framed but not covered, do make the change. I really like the improved performance but I am picky on performance.
Brian, I guess I could not see that triangle piece in there. That is great it should hold the abuse. I have a sledge that I have been flying since last fall and I am going to cut the whole stab out and modify it too. That will be some work but like I said, I am performance driven. Jeff W.

That's great! I am too...

Brian, I did not notice this at first but be sure to put a cross brace in that counterbalance area. I would go from top outside corner to opposite corner at the bottom. Jeff

I thought about that, but then decided against it. Not worth the tiny bit of weight it will add...The counterbalance is just as strong if not stronger than the rest and can't imagine it breaking. As you can see, I left that out of the rudder too.

I think a lot of sticks can also be left out of the fuselage. Actually, a 1/4 inch stick frame instead of 3/8 would be fine in my opinion. The fuselage is stronger than my other profile and it's not evenm sheeted yet! Holes in the wing ribs and cap strips on the bottom of the wing isntead of that 2.5 inch sheet is another thing I would change. Hopefully I don't kill this plane too quick, but when I do I will make those changes to my next one...

Besides that, it is a great design! It's definitely strong enough to take my abuse and still very light.

Well, that is the nice thing about a kit, if you do not like it you can change it. Try that on an arf! Have fun with it, mine gets abused and has held up very well. Jeff W.

BottleRocketWar - I say that if you leave out those cross braces that Jeff is recommending, then be sure let your buddies know that you did before each flight, because I sure as heck would want to make sure that I am near a good strong structure. <GRIN> Without those braces, the c'balances will flex too much and be practically useless, until they break off <LOL>.
BTW - Try that 1/4" fuse - been there - done that! Don't waste your time and money uless you are make a 15 size Fun-Fly.
Good Luck -Dude!
Kevin

My Tower Hobbies Extra Special was built with 1/4 inch balsa and sheeted. I just retired it after 400 flights and never had it fail, except when it fell back in the tail touch at full throttle... I assumed this Sledge would be built the same way, I had no idea how big this fuselage would be. It sure is strong though!!


I can't imagine these counterbalances flexing any more than the rest of the airplane... Seems very strong to me. I built them that way on other airplanes and never had a problem. They are not that big...If there is enough force to flex or break them, you can bet the rest of the airplane is going to fall apart too. I am not gently with my airplanes, but I do know how to use the throttle. We will just have to wait and see I guess...

"let your buddies know that you did before each flight, because I sure as heck would want to make sure that I am near a good strong structure."

Believe me, they know. It's because of my flying though, not because of my airplanes! Actually, might be a little of both now...

I don't want you guys (especially Jeff) to think I am criticizing the Sledge in a negative way. A lot of it is new and different to me and I am just trying to get used to everything, throwing in my touch in a few places. I am not trying to come across as being rude, so I apologize if I have.

and Kevin, one of your airplanes is in my near future!

botlerocket
I was just reading threw the thread, and it seems that's all your doing is criticizing the kit.I have seen the sledge fly alot, and it is an awsome airplane. I have even flown it a few times very stable, and the wings haven't came off yet. I feel the plane jeff designed is a great profile to do all you need. it is a pilots plane because it's not going to brake when you touch the ground. deweyd

Brian, I would think just the opposite. For the tiny amount of weight it will add, a counterbalance cross-brace will add alot of strength. Don't get me wrong here, weigh is important, and I build my planes to fly light rather that to survive crashes. But with that said, an extra foot of square balsa stock (that wieghs practially nothing), strategically placed, can provide a great deal of support - especially when you plan on wringing this baby out.

I build the Ohio Models Edge (sorry Jeff and I actually added some additional support in a few strategic areas - it still came out very light and is very agile.

Believe me, these designers know what they're doing.

Best of luck and I hope to see you around soon!

I guess the reality is that it's not going to make much of a difference in the end, but it will make me feel better.

I could keep trying to go on about this, but I'm just digging myself a deeper hole...Time to quit! I'll start another thread on building sometime to talk about this. It's not specific to this kit, but I think a lot of kits and ARF's are overbuilt.

Basically I am really happy with the design and building process.
It's gone together qucik and easy and the instructions are probably the best I have had. Besides all that, I bought it for the way it flies and not how it builds!

I really can't wait to get this thing in the air and am sure I'll forget about all of this once I get to throw the sticks around...

Randy, I'll have a tank of fuel on it for you to burn! Do you have any experience setting up pull pull?

Sounds good Brian, we gotta get out.

As for Pull-Pull's, they're the best. I much prefer them over pushrod linkage, and once you've done it a couple of times, it's actually easier.

I'd be happy to show you how in person, or we could start a discussion here. There are a couple of tricks that make the job easy.

I have a new Sledge kit that I am about to start on.

I think I will put the counterbalances on the elevator. It looks better and may fly better.

I was also thinking of running extra tubes through the fuse to run pull pull cables to each elevator half (from the same servo). I have done this before (win a BalsaNOVA) and it worked great. I don't like elevators that are physically joined - they tent to flex or not be exactly even with each other.

I also considered rear mounting servos, like on my OMP Edge.

I can't seem to build anything stock, but I guess that's half the fun.

Leonard

Randy,

I don't even know where to start... If you could help me, that would be great. I would really appreciate it. I want to get this right...I've got all the hardware for it, just don't know what I'm doing. It looks like good stuff.

Leonard, that sounds like a good idea. I'd like to see some pictures of that when you're done... How did you like the Balsa Nova? I've always heard great things about it, but never seen one in person.

I haven't had a chance to work on it for a day or two, but will definitely get it finished this weekend.

Brian, you are right most airplanes, kit ,scratch. or ARF are over built. The thing you have to remember is the designer does not have control over how the airplane is going to be flown. When you are selling to the masses you have to keep this in mind. That guy at the flying field how pushes the throttle stick all the way forward and leaves it might buy one too. If you scratch build or kit bash you can build the airplane as light as you want it, and if it comes apart in the air you know to build it a little stronger next time. Tom