Regal Eagle Recycled
 

Recycled Regal Eagle

In the early 80's I attended an event in Mulberry Florida and came across Bob Parkinson in the parking lot. After a little talk a friend with me explained that Bob made kits. He had one left in the back of his station wagon, so I purchased my first Regal Eagle.

I was still learning how to fly at this point. The ruggedness of the Regal Eagle proved more durable than any of the other planes I had built till then. ARF's really didn't exist, so if you wanted it you built it. I since then acquired as many kits as I could afford and saved them up for future builds. These were all gas ducted fan designs, most I have yet to build. Since starting with turbines I have been trying to come up with modifications to fly these kits with turbines. The problem being that they are mostly of the size for small turbines, and I only got a small one this past year.

I rebuilt that plane several times till I wore out the pieces. There were three gas ducted fan planes, one designed around a Byron system, one a Dynamax , one a BVM OS 91 system, and one I modified for EDF. Over the years I built four, and eventually crashed them all, from motors blowing up, broken connecting rods, engine flameouts, or battery failure. I saved all the big pieces like wings and had three sets of sheeted cores in the attic.

Flysfloats contacted me about some construction details that were not at all obvious from the prints and this has inspired me to make a modified Regal Eagle out of some of my scrap. He then kindly copied his blueprints and instructions and sent them to me. Thanks Ford!

This latest iteration will be modified for an Xicoy X45 turbine or possibly a 60 newton turbine. The plane will probably end up around eleven pounds dry. I plan on reusing my wings, fins with rudders, horizontal stabs and elevators. I will try and document my process, but will probably do a poor job of that as I have a tendency to problem solve in my head for a while and then descend on the process and build it that night.

If there are any questions, or anyone is interest in pictures I will try and provide them if I haven't already covered up that portion of the build. As I have done most of this build multiple times I have most of what I consider to be problems already worked out, so I hope this will go quickly. That said I am making a major modification at the rear so that may slow me a little.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...20253e0ec1.jpg

A few more pictures if it will let me.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...f5a9448deb.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...4207c9a888.jpg

So far the wood has cost about $24 to make these parts which comprise the basics of both designs. From this point I have several mods to add in which to my mind improve the plane.

An additional problem is that the modifications will really through off the weights and balance of the plane. Not wanting to take the effort to calculate to changes I have decided to make a first try, then if that isn't good enough to correct with battery placement or lead or I'll build another. I am already modifying the intakes as this was designed around an extremely inefficient fan system that need a lot of air to a design that should not need nearly as much air passage. In fact I'm a little concerned that too much air may be trapped in the airframe causing it to explode at higher speeds.

REALLY looking forward to following this build. John has provided me guidance as I am taking baby steps in building my Regal Eagle. This thread will be invaluable to me and any others building something like this.

For many years I've thought about converting my old Regal Eagle in the corner to turbine power. :cool:

The first upgrade in the build is to reinforce the nose section. I accomplish this with a section of 1/64" wing skin laminated to the inside of the fuse side. This after lining the top and bottom edges with 1/2" triangle stock. The stock is to allow rounding of the corners during the shaping process. An almost 3/4" radius can be achieved this way. Looks way better than a squarish looking corner. I apply the wing skin with Elmers wood glue applied to both facing surfaces then pressed together. This is done before the formers are installed.
I'm ready to put the two sides together as soon as I make and install the nose gear mount. It should be noted that the tip should be propped up during the install of the plywood to allow bending of the side. It isn't as easily done once it dries.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...ed9125fd4e.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...531e35b7c2.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...892ac65d25.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...cd694102a2.jpg

So far I don't see any of the "nose block" triangles?? In these pictures do you consider the sides of the nose block to be finished, except for sanding??

I'be built a few
 

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...762807f517.jpg
First
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...a540afac4e.jpg
Second
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...99a9b83225.jpg
Third
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...a87c6105ab.jpg
Last
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...5b1f00654b.jpg

The first was Byron powered. The rest were Dynamax powered.

Ford,
The method I used on the nose does away with the triangles. You had the correct orientation in your pictures, my method simply saves a lot of sanding and will also be a little lighter I think. I simply have to sheet the top and bottom and round it all off. I will hold up on sheeting the bottom of the nose for now in case I have to add lead in the nose for balance.

I had a hiccup all this morning getting the nose retract mount set up. With every task I started something came up missing I had to search and find. After I got to the seventh thing I got distracted by I went back and fabricated the mount. I'll get that set shortly and put the second side on. I'll take a few more pictures to document those steps. Then I can start on the rear fuse and show you the attachment I'm using.
John

So to illustrate my biggest concern in the original plane is the junction of the front and rear fuse parts. I have a pencil pointing to the joint in question. The prints call for, as far as I can see, the joint being a butt glue joint against a balsa former. I have cheated this joint out in the past by overlapping the bottom sheeting a bit or once with a strip of plywood full span across the width of the fuse. This has always looked less than optimal to me as, while this is not a scale jet, it makes the inlets appear significantly less scale like. I know there are a lot of this plane built and I haven't seen anyone else complain about this issue and it's entirely possible I have been building it incorrectly each time in the past. This solution is to correct my deficiencies only (disclaimer).
This time I decided to take combined approach to the joint. The first thing I did was to extend the length of the forward fuse to extend further into the rear fuse. My rational being it gave more wood for attachment. I'm reworking this a little as currently this makes the back end of the forward fuse about 1-1/2" from the CG not leaving me with not a lot of generic choices for a fuel tank. As it is I have 5-1/2" of extra fuse sticking in there. I can get a 24oz DuBro tank in with no problem at the moment but I want to make a wider choice available. The X-45 uses 4.7oz per min at full throttle so I was looking for 40oz. I can cut a large portion off if needed as well. I want to do this before I join the two halves to make it easier. I will be a real pain after they are joined. Another choice I have been considering is to move the front fuse a little ahead by an inch or so. This may help with weights and balance as well. I have always thought the plane looked a little short nose to inlets as it is.
Another issue I have is I have none of the ABS parts the kit came with so I will have to build the turtle deck aft of the canopy from balsa or build a mould and make a fiberglass one. I did that on my first one after I broke the original parts so may times they fell apart.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...3ed298774b.jpg

As a further update I have now gotten to the recycle part of this build. I am taking apart the remnants in the first picture. I evidently was a pretty careful builder 20yrs ago. I not only fiber glassed the outside of the entire airframe, but the entire inside as well. Hence it was a lot more difficult to take apart than I anticipated. I have the major pieces apart now and have started on the minor repairs necessary. I had carved out the cores for saddle tanks and have to fill the holes from that. I had some curious ideas on servo placement so I have been careful on the disassembly. The aileron and elevator servos(four of them) were mounted on the inside of the rear fuse. The rudder servos were buried in the stabilizer booms. I think I have enough pictures to recreate the install. I figure if will take a few days to get the parts cleaned up at which point I can resume building the rear section.
I went back and added up the costs, so far less glue and epoxy I'm up to $30. Also to consider I didn't have to buy the entire wing skin as I have some in stock but calculate the cost by square in at today's prices. The sheeting will probably double that making this a pretty economical build. Also covering when I get that far. Prices on that have gone up in the last few years.
John

John: I have tried to send you 2 PMs, have you received then?? After they were sent I checked my "Sent" messages and they weren't there! No idea if they went thru or not, grrrrrrrrrrr!

I am going to try and copy and paste a pic of my front fuselage and rear fuse along with my nose cone. I have only glued 3 sides of the nose cone as I am going to wait till I determine if I will have to add weight to the nose for CG purposes, per your suggestion. I have not sanded anything and the nose is only pinned to F3.


https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=...O_e4M&disp=emb

I have filled the old saddle tank locations and have started cleaning up the old balsa leavings on the recycled parts. Below are shots of the wing cores plugged and sanded for the top core. I plan on cutting off the original spar stubs and using a carbon fiber spar through the fuse and into the wing cores at least 8" on each side. Also views of the fuse showing the droop in the nose. The extra fuse for and aft of the blue tape is the extra I added to the kit fuse parts. The nose because for me this way is easier and at the rear what I added for extra strength at the front and rear connection. I'll try and put together a small model of the junction since there was some confusion generated about the concern being addressed there.
John
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...59d378ad0e.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...8938e5b7b8.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...c85c39671b.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...52e9e7af67.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...17a32aad3d.jpg

John,
Nice work on the Regal. Nice to so see a BUILD THREAD.

Joe

What's all this tan stuff your working with, some kind of new honeycomb composite? None of the planes I have use anything like that. And where did you get all those airplane drawings? Did you do them yourself or is it something I can download?


Agree with Joe, it's nice to see a build thread, especially one that reminds us where we used to be not all that long ago. Those things weren't very scale, but they got a lot of pilots into jets.

On my cores I filled the recesses I had carved out for saddle tanks with white styrofoam and glued them in with Gorilla glue since it will foam up and fill the voids under the foam. I think that is the tan material you questioned. You have to be careful as it can expand too much and distort things if they are not restrained.
The prints are a set a kind member of the community here had duplicated and sent to me. I have misplaced the ones I had. I'll probably come across them when I finish this build.
The plane is what we used to call standoff scale. Sometimes you have to stand off pretty far. The thing is it is pretty easy to build and doesn't cost a lot in materials. I cut my own cores for several of the subsequent planes and the wood isn't too expensive. All the wood and material less electronics and finishing can be less than $100. The fancier you get the more you can spend. It can be built with fixed gear even. Now for me on this build I will be using electric retracts and electric brakes so that does run the expense up a little.
John

Actually I was being sarcastic and referring to the balsa wood and the fact that most ARF assemblers have never seen a set of full size plans. Never built a Parkinson kit, my first jets were fiberglass and foam.

"The two most useless things on Earth are altitude above you, and runway behind you."

You forgot "fuel in the truck"!

Conversion build for Turbine
 

Mine has been in this condition for approx. 10 years. I made some mods that may be of interest. I added some bulges on the sides for wheel wells and canted the retract mount to give more distance between the wheels when extended. I recessed the servo mounts. It is set up for a RAM500 and the weight as pictured is 6lbs 10oz which includes the Spring Air nose retract.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...2d80189374.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...c6f2ba9cb2.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...84b53801e9.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...09775ece46.jpg

I like the wheel well mod. I may try to copy that a bit. I'm still working out the struts I plan on using. It's the old SAE vs metric thing. The struts in the salvage plane are Robarts with an angle to the axel of about 15deg. I can't find them in their current offering to get new ones so will recycle the old ones most likely. The air retracts in the salvage frame were also installed at an angle to try and get a wider stance. Altogether I can add almost 2" to the spread between the mains. The biggest problem with operating this plane is it's ground handling. It'll drop a tip on the ground in a heartbeat and really dislikes crosswinds. Turning around at the end of runway is an adventure.
John

I have arrived at the "paint yourself into a corner" portion of this. There are several things I will be attempting that all need to happen at once. I want to make provision for my top hatch at this point for servicing the fuel tank and main retract units. I will be installing several sets of servos at this point, attaching the wings, getting the booms for the stabs installed as well as the stabs, elevators and rudders.
The problem is generated by the fact I am using a carbon fiber spar and the wings and elevator torque rods from the salvaged parts prevent simply sliding the parts together. I could get around it all by cutting all the hinges but wish to save myself the trouble.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...09c691cefb.jpg
I have prepared the fuse side with tunnels provided into the cores so I am ready if I decide to mount the aileron servos in the wing cores. The black is the wing spar , the brass tube in in the cable tunnel.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...7036acc7a9.jpg
I extend the spars into each core about 5" inside carbon fiber tubes epoxied into the cores.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...5a579027cd.jpg
Ford Wilson came up with a solution for the connection of the front and rear fuselages which is very good. He is going to put a doubler on the top and bottom to join the two halves. I think it will probably involve modifying former F1 and deleting a spreader block meant to reinforce the joint but should work as long as the sheeting has not gotten in the way.
You can just see the aileron torque rods giving me the trouble at the top of the picture.
John

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rcu...6eafca6f2.jpeg

Here is my attempt at joining the front and rear fuselages together. Besides butt gluing the top and bottom sheeting, I have added 2 "tongues" that will become doublers on the top and bottom sheeting of the rear fuselage. Will connect the fuses when and if I ever figure out how to place my 2 ea 6S batteries in the rear fuselage and out of the way of my incoming air, sigh.

On a side note, for the first time I was able to post this picture directly from my i-Phone but, this time, I could not figure out how to put the text above the picture. Poco a poco.( little by little)!

Ford,
See if your batteries will fit in between the verticals of F1. You may have enough room that way to stack them up in front of the fan. Since you have the sheeting in place you could even carve those out now as the sides now have enough support to keep them in place.
John

John, I did a fit check yesterday and I "may" be able to put one battery on each side of the fan, either vertical or possibly by building a shelf on each side of the fan at the top of the fuse sides This would still be a challenge to re-charge the batteries, ie, access.

A side note, in your last picture, in Post #21, you show your aileron torque rods. I assume that 2 servos would have to go inside the rear fuselage? I guess with your turbine power you have more room than my 5" EDF?? Pretty sure I am going with servos in the wings, but how about my elevators??

Ford,
These cores are my originals. The aileron and elevator servos are inside the fuse. The rudder servos are in the stab booms. I changed the next wings to have the servos in the wings as they are more solid that way since the rods are shorter. The elevator rods are about 7" long. You will have as much room as me in the rear portion of the fuse. The elevator portion of the hookup is about the same as the print either way.
John