RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I use a soldering iron to cut open the covering, it cuts it neatly and sticks it down to the wood.

Make sure to open up the 3 tab slots by the wing tube while you are at it.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I did a little exploratory surgery and found no slots for the control horns so I will be cutting my own, no hole or slot for the tail gear so I made my own and mounted the tail gear.

Once I put the wings on and opened up the slots for the horizontal stab, mounting and trammeling the stab and wing was simple and they are done now too. Only a bit more to do tomorrow night.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

The instruction MANUAL is one sheet of mostly worthless photos. The manual does show using a big hole for the elevator servo. Thanks for keeping me from cutting out the wrong hole. My canopy was completely unglued from it's framework. Got it glued back on last night. Those servo slots look awfully long. What servos do you plan to use?

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

They are long, I cut a little light ply to make my servo rails in the slots.

I am perched upon the horns of dilemma concerning the elevator though. I am contemplating cutting the tips of the elevator off along the hinge line and gluing them onto the stab thereby making a straight elevator. The planes I have flown with counterbalanced tail surfaces needed a bunch of expo to smooth it out.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

The elevator halves on mine are misaligned by quite a bit. I may be able to bend the connecting wire and get them in line. One of the aileron hinges was missing. I THINK I have found a couple of slots for the control horns. Will know for sure in a while. I too used a soldering iron to open the needed holes, but missed the three little slots on each side for the wing. Yeah, what to do with the elevator. I don't think the counter balances are needed on this plane.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Do you think this is really a BJ Craft Monolog, or a Nitro Planes ripoff?

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

The wire connecting the elevator halves is NOT glued in.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Not until the stab and elevator are installed.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Good thinking. Been a long time since I've had a plane with joined elevator halves.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Petec,

Which servos are you using? I'm new to these electric planes. Thanks.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Airtronics 94803

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

OK, other things to watch to for:

1) The holes in the wheel pants are smaller than the landing gear wire, grab a drill bit and ream it so you don't crack the pants.
2) No collar for the tail wheel but the small ply donut spacers fit the wire perfectly and a drop of CA keeps it in place.
3) The ends of the canopy latch wire are not glued or threaded on and will roll away on your shop floor in the blink of an eye. Put them in a nice little tray until you open the slot for the wire in the fuselage sides and then glue them on the wire ends.
4) The two allen head screws are for the wing hold down and their T-nuts are already in place. Make life easy on your self and put a piece of fuel tubing one the end. It will hold the screw on your allen wrench while installing or removing them and keep you from swearing a blue streak from constantly dropping them into the bowls of the fuselage.

I'm sure there will be more ramblings as I finish this up.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I wound up using 4-40 T-nuts and hardware for my motor installation since I didn't have bolts to fit the metric T-nuts that were in the kit. Since I am using a 750w brushless the mounting holes were out a bit further than I think the designers anticipated so it actually made getting them on place easier with the T-nuts I used.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

How is the canopy latch wire held in place. The beads hold it from moving sideways, but what holds it from moving fore and aft. I don't have the little plywood hook in the fuse to keep tension on it. That's what they show in the drawing. Maybe I'm missing something.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Hopefully the two pics make it with this post. My canopy would not go on far enough to engage the catch wire. I had to enlarge the slots in the pieces of ply that catch the wire. I held the wire in place with a piece of dowel. Works dine. Also have the motor mounted.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

So far, this ARF seems like a piece of junk and an advertisement for Nitro Planes.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I used a servo screw to hold tension on the wire in mine. Also, if you decide to use the servo boxes for the servos in the tail put them in the cut outs first and then glue them together in place. As stated earlier I just made rails from light ply because the cutout is smaller than the servo box.

As for this ARF being a piece of junk, it is far from that. Mine is very nicely built, the fiberglass layups for the cowl and canopy are well done and smooth and the covering is good. For the $99 I spent I can't complain, I have seen worse for more money.

The instructions are another matter however; horrendous is the most appropriate term I can think of and they should never have shipped without proper instructions for this particular plane.

Once we muddle through making it into a plane the flight characteristics will be the next thing to critique.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Servos are all inlace now and the motor is on. Linkages and radio setup will be tonight after the boy goes to bed if all goes to plan, but since the munchkin is sick it might be tomorrow night.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

The plane has it's issues, but it's not too bad overall. The covering is excellent. I finally got my wings to fit. There was no way they were going to go on stock w/o me breaking something. I had to do some sanding to the ply tabs to get them to fit.

For mounting the servos, I glued in a little block of balsa with a ply cap for the servo screw.

Pros and cons of mounting the motor shaft fore or aft?? Looks like with the shaft forward and the collet, you can set the prop forward and back easier. I don't think the motor I have came with a mount that would allow me to mount it shaft forward.

I plan to use some of the Dubro micro control horns with the two pins. I would rather drill two holes than cut slots.

Onward.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

85 page manual here

http://rcone.kr/board/index.html?id=bjreference1&no=3








www.bondaero.co.uk

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Now I know where the pictures on the one sheeter came from. The cut outs on the back of the fuse are still different but a lot more makes sense now. Thanks for the link

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

i finished assembling the monolog tonite, minus velcro and wheel pants weight is 2 pounds thirteen ounces

hardware as follows

rimfire 25
turnigy 55 delux esc from hobbyking
wing servos spektrum 3000
rudder servo spektrum 3000
elevator servo spektrum 3010
AR600 spektrum receiver
lipo nanotech 2650 3S 25-50C from hobbyking
11x7 e apc
the spinner i bought is right diameter but way to small shaft size
i used sullivan 2-56 gold clevis's with dubro threaded clevis adapters and dubro solder on clevis's, i substituted carbon rod for 2-56 rod, assembled with bob smith rubberized CA...very light and stiff.
i will post pictures tomorrow nite after i detail plane, hopefully with a proper spinner if LHS has them in stock.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I think I'm finished. The pics show where I ended up putting the Rx and battery to balance on the wing tube. Total weight including the battery pack was 1104 grams or 38.9 ounces. Just need some decent weather...

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

Anyone fly theirs yet? I got two flights on mine last week. The recommended CG was nose-heavy for me. Seemed to fly well. May want to glue the foam to the wheels as one of them separated on landing. Will know more after a couple more flights.

RE: Mini - Pattern practice plane - Monolog at Nitroplanes
 

I wish I had time to get out. Mine is just sitting on the floor next to my Black Magics just waiting to go fly.

What battery are you using? I was looking at 4S 2650mah as I have a few 2S 2650 packs sitting around for our cars and series adapters are in my charge box...