PeterP

Mark,

Nice work

Question: Why do you install the servo tray last? I thought it would be easier to fitout during the building phase and simply re-install all your hard work when the model is finished (minimise hangerd rash)

Peter

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

Mark, A few questions on your avionics:

1) Are you running 4.8V or 6V ? Any voltage regulators used ?

2) Do you use dual battery packs or dual receivers for redundancy ?

Thanks...............Mike

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

We use 6.0volts with the 9150 and 9151 with no problems whatsoever. We asked our Japanese friends and they do them same. We all sort of ingnore Futaba on this one.

With the newer servos, Futaba makes no recommendations against running them on 6.0.

One battery pack, one switch. We have been using Ni-Cads. JP used Duralite for a bit but they all went South over the winter and we became a little paranoid about them. Perhaps we will give the Duralite Plus batteries a try someday. We are still around 9.4-9.5 pounds...not bad. The Ni-Cads sure are cheap, easy, and very reliable. I just changed a five year old battery in my Majestic and I did not have to nurse it carefully.

Why mount the tray last? I don't know. Tradtion? Little in here is set in stone. Not having the tray mounted does prevent any possibility of overspray hitting the beautiful CF finish, but the inside of the airplane is masked off very carefully anyway. As far as hangar rash, we are pretty careful with these airplanes. After 1000 flights you probably will not see any hangar rash. Just grass whip on the covering and the occasional FOD damage.


Mark

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

Mark, do you use any voltage regulator between the 6V battery and the receiver, as a freshly charged battery voltage may exceed 8V and cause erratic servo response ?

Also, what is the capacity (mAh) of your NiCd battery ?

Thanks.........

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

No voltage regulator. The digital servos show zero twitchyness fresh off of the charger. Perhaps PCM adds something to the equation.

The batteries are Sanyo 1150mah (I do not know the cell type) but they normally cycle out to almost 1400.

We are about to try some new Sanyo Ni-Mh that are in the 1800 range for the same sized pack. I like the idea of a battery that can be put on charge between flights or partially charged without causing a change in capacity. We have some 3300mah Ni-Mh for the big fellas too.

By the way, the new Futaba digitals (9550, 9350) are awesome. Very fast and tight. Not cheap, but awesome.

Mark

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

Mark, thanks for the confirmation !

jamesjoneill

Hey Mark,

awesome thread and wow, am I jealous of that plane... (stops to wipe drool off the keyboard.)

I have an 18 month old Alliance and have just bought a Synergy 90 and get a real buzz every time I fly them, they are superb. But you are right, the decals do make all the difference and make it really smart. Would you be able supply any ZN logos that I could apply to my planes? Or maybe some bitmaps that I could print onto vinyl? It would really complete them.

cheers, keep up the good work.

James

Martyn

Mark

A very impressive paint job, something I'm sure many of us aspire to achieve.

I was wondering what type of paint did you use for the Fuz?

How fuel proof is it?

Martyn

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

James,
For the graphics, please contact JP at the shop via the website.

Paint:

The paint is the brand Sikkens, a standard laquer base. It is covered with a high gloss clear coat that seems to stand up to 30% nitro fuel quite perfectly.

Mark

PeterP

Mark,

Does it matter which way the mounting lugs are aligned on the MK bellcrank coupler. I notice most people have the mounting points horizontal. Is it OK to have it vertical - the unit does not need to flex as much in this position when tightening up.

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

I do not think that it makes very much of a difference. I normally mounted mine vertically to prevent the flexing of the plastic flanges.

Mark

isaac

My Feedback: (19)

Mark
How i can buy one of this airplane allready set up for YS engine and servos painted and ready. Not everybody has the skills to build.

Isaac

Pieter de Jong

Mark,

Just glued my Synergy wings, before I start to laminate, a few questions:

For better bonding, do you apply epoxy to the wing surface before the first laminate is mounted? Is there a drying and sand period between each laminate?

I've seen people who apply three laminates in one time, is this advisable (It looked great when finished)?

Thanks in advance!

Pieter.

(You'll probably have nice weather in Romilly, while I'm enjoying epoxy smells on a hot attic.... )

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

Hello gentlemen,

Isaac, your best bet is to get a kit from Central and find a builder in the USA or scour the pattern sites for a used airplane. We are building to ARF level but we have a full calender for quite a while.


Pieter,
I don't really know what would be detrimental to laying the three laminates at one time other than you will get a lumpy overlap on the LE (I see doing the bottom three and the top three after those dry). I think that it is easier to sponge the extra epoxy out of a single layer at a time. Try the folks in the composite forum for more info.

Romilly was hot. I started out 33rd, went to 40th, and finished at 44th with each flight getting worse (I had no consistency). The competition was incredible and Christophe, Quique, Marco and W. Matt were awesome. Hell, all of the pilots were darn good. I have a bunch of photos that I will post in a Romilly thread shortly. I got back just 30 minuted ago so first I think I shall sleep for 12 hours.

Mark

Mike James

Mark,

Thank you (!) for such a great article. Anybody who aspires to be a better craftsman can appreciate your work, and the photos were great.

Terriffic.

KeithB

My Feedback: (1)

Mark,

First of all I'd like to say thanks for sharing in such detail your building techniques. It's always fun to see the different techniques builders use.

I'm very interested in the control horns you're using. I really like the way they extend out over the hing line. My questions are as follows:

1. Do you know if any of the hobby resellers in the U.S. carry these horns, if so who?

2. I noticed on the ZNLine web site the control horns are pictured with tiny little wood screws. Do you use these little wood screws or do you extend the screws through the control surface and anchor to plywood (or another control horn in the case of pull-pull) on the opposite side? It just seems like these little screws could pull out during hard snapping maneuvers.

3. What thickness aircraft ply is used?

Thanks,
KeithB

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

Hi Keith,
Currently, the control horns are available direct only.

The horns are anchored to a 3mm aircraft ply plate. For our airplanes, we cut a seat into the plate for the horn base leaving about 2mm. Yes, we use the original screws. I understand your concern about the screws pulling out as I had the same thoghts. However, seeing as none of ours have ever pulled out or even loosened, I have 100% confindence in this method. The screws extend fully through the plate and I use a generous amount of epoxy so there is even more bite around the tip of the screw.

Mark

wvr

Hello Mark,

The thread of the Enigma building is a bit older now, but I;m using it as a guide line to build my Evolis.

So far all is clear, but I think I missed the part where you installed the MK-elevator unit.
Any tips around that?

Can the unit be removed/maintained when the fin-post is in place?

What is used to drive the unit. I mean what kind of pushrod is used between the servo and the MK-unit.

Do you need to go pull-pull here as you read at some other sites?

Thx again
Winfried

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

Hello Winfried,
I did not actually do a step on the installation but it is really quite simple. It can easily be installed during outfitting the airplane or during construction after the stab and elevators are done. After selecting your control horns, mount your stab and figure out the best placement for the unit to provide the proper geometry for the horns you will use. Bore your holes in the fuselage (I use a conical grinding stone from Dremel Tools), send the center piece down the fuse on the end of your pushrod and link it up with the side bearings. It's easier to do than to explain.

For a pushrod we use a carbon fiber rod and titanium rod ends. We do put a pull cable (not pull-pull, just one pull) on the bearing to allow for up elevator should anything happen to the carbon shaft, but so far so good and we are making very many flights.

Regards,
Mark

checksix

My Feedback: (4)

Mark,
What kind of arrangement do you use to support the pushrod? I assume you have something at midspan. Any pictures of this part of the installation?

--Derek

BTW this thread is one of the best building/construction threads I've seen on RCU. The only other one that comes close was a thread in Jets about painting techniques.

MarkNovack

My Feedback: (3)

Derek,
Actually I have nothing supporting the pushrod. I have a large diameter rod which is about thee times the stiffness of the smaller rods and still much lighter in weight that some of those monster balsa beams I see used for that application. The smaller rods hold the ends and slip inside of the main rod. The main rod is cut to approximate length and then the short pieces of the inner sleeve with the ends can slide in so that the pushrod comes to the perfect length.

Mark

rajul

My Feedback: (58)

"The smaller rods hold the ends and slip inside of the main rod. The main rod is cut to approximate length and then the short pieces of the inner sleeve with the ends can slide in so that the pushrod comes to the perfect length. "

Hi Mark,

I think this is a very nice way to install CF rods. Most std installations just use one piece and optimising the length can be a real pain, and wasted CF rods if not lucky. Could you post some pics of how you do this ? What are the diameters of the inner and outer rods ? What type of adhesive do you use ? Thanks...........Mike

Shortman

My Feedback: (21)

Mark, I read through this whole entire thread and I have never seen such clean, precise work! I just got to ask, what would one of those Enigmas cost to have as you have it there in the photos?



Steven

MarkGrabowski

Bump for currency...

Guys, first time I came across this thread...spent half the night reading it. Most detailed buildup article I've ever come across! No wonder those planes have 4 digit pricetags

patternjockey

My Feedback: (1)

Hi folks

I have changed the location of my building site directions to http://members.shaw.ca/patternwestnews/enigma.htm

Hope this helps those interested in building these ZN-Line and similiar type kits.

Dave Reaville
http://members.shaw.ca/patternwestnews