RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

http://www.precisionaerocomposite.com/

7/8" wing
7/16" stab

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don: How do you secure the wing tube in your Brio? Or do you just leave it floating?

If not secured would there not be a danger of vibration causing it to screw itself into a wing,as there appears to be nothing at the end of the wing socket other than foam.

Thanks,,,,,,,,,,,,Dave

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

I was worried about that too (carbon tube cutting into foam cores) so I just CA'd some balsa plugs into the ends of the wing tube.
--Derek

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

If left to its own, it will eventually work its way through and bump into the inside bottom sheeting then stop (although the wing tube is not in an optimum position when this happens, it will survive numerous FAI routines). I put some trim tape around the tube which makes it snug- right where the tube goes into one of the wing panels. It keeps it from shifing.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Hello guys,
this is my first plane with dual servos on the stabs, I have one question regarding servo extensions that go from receiver to the stabs.

How do you fasten the extensions to the fuselage? If they are loose the could wear out against the fibleglass fuselage... Some time ago Mike suggested to me to tape the extensions against the fuselage wall: I did it and the result is good I think.

The problem is near the end of the extensions, at the servo side (end of fuselage): here my extensions are free for about 4 inches (in order to plug the servo cord in the fuselage when I mount the stabs), so I'm concerned about wear of this small extension part...

Any suggestion, Don?

Thanks in advance for the good thread!!!

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Put in a small phenolic/paper tube. Approximately 3/4 inch in diameter and approximately 30 inches long. This weighs .23 oz, including glue. Four drops of thick CA keeps it against the fuselage side. The servo extension slides nicely through this with little effort.

Removable rudder.

I used some masking tape to assist with the hinge line and it also kept any excess epoxy off of the finished surfaces. Why a removable rudder? If you can keep the shipping box less than 72 inches, one can get through the x ray machine easier. Without the spinner and rudder, it just fits. This is good for easier shipping.
I gues I've got some kind of pop up blocker installed. Will try to upload pictures sometime.

#210 fiberglass version I built as part of this article came out at 10Lbs 4.5 oz, with the 2400 LI Ion batteries from Centeral Hobbies and standard 20 oz fuel tank, utilizing the lightening techniques above. This is significantly less than the version I flew last year at the NATS. It requires less rudder during knife edge, the snaps are more predicatable and it requires less throttle in vertical maneuvers.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Also, for comparison, the Brio I flew last year had the CG at 9 inches from the leading edge. This new one has the CG at 8 inches from the leading edge. This has a positive impact on spin entries. They are softer and easier to enter. This also appears to assist with the one and four roll circles since there is less pitch movement now, but so many other things are apples to oranges. I'm using an 8611A on the rudder vs. the 8411 on the older Brio. The rudder feels much more solid and there is no longer a wobble at the transition of the horizontal 8.

A couple more rainy days and I may have #21 ready to fly.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

I have #21 flying as of today. I weighed the aircraft tonight and it came in at the following:

Right wing: 15.2 oz
Left wing: 14.9 oz
Wing tube 1.9 oz
Fuselage all up, 8Lbs 4 oz. This is with a 2 blade prop and small spinner.

Total is 10 1/4 lbs.

Brio #203 now has a second pipe mount, a bunch of decals, back to a 4 blade prop from the 3 blade, a larger spinner, and some grommets for the fuel line exits, so its now 10 1/2 Lbs

Both aircraft fly outstanding. Thanks very much to Troy for the hints on the pipe setup.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Don,

Glad to hear that you're airworthy with both of these airplanes. We've missed you at what few local contests we've had, I hope to see you at the Nats. Take care.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Thanks Ryan and am looking forward to flying these aircraft. The sanction has been approved for our contest on 23-24 September, at the FARM club in Warrenton, VA- which we put in as the D2 championships proposal. Hope you can make it. I'll be there for sure.

Something just did not make sense when I weighed #203 at USPS, so I took the canopy off this morning and sure enough- it had about 3 oz of fuel in the tank. So I think this one is right around 10 Lbs 5 oz.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Brio 203

YS 170 DZ
JR 8611A rudder, 8411SA ailerons, 9411SA Elevators, 9601 throttle.
Hatori 699 pipe
True Turn 3 1/4 inch spinner
Magnum Fuel
R2000 JR Reciever
graphics by Kirby's custom graphics
Weight 10Lbs 4.5 oz per AMA scale
Central Hobbies header

Thank you to sponsors that include JR, YS, Central Hobbies and True Turn.

Some pictures courtesy or Xavior.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

hey Don, what are your impressions of the 170? As compared to the 160?

Congrats on a great showing at the Nats under obscene weather conditions!

-Mike

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

The 170 is smoother from idle to 1/3 throttle. Smoother than any engine I've run. I understand that it is a low compression setup. The engine has about 15 percent more high end power than the 160. You can basically get the same power out of the 170 with 20% nitro as you can with the 160 on 30% nitro.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Wow, and I thought the 160 was smooth...cool!

-Mike

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

hi ...
just orderd a 160 dz with the short muffler ...how will that be with 20 % nitro ?

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

The small muffler is what Sean ran on his 170 and I could not tell any difference in the noise level between his and the long muffler I used.

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

This is cool - Sean McMurtry's DZ

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Well I guess its time for me to jump in.

I was able to track down a Brio and it arrived last Friday!
The number is #214. The rudder is already attached.

This will be my first real pattern plane and I have some
decisions to make, engine is # 1. Don recommends a YS
but I would like to go with a 2 stroke to keeps things
simple at first.

The second is servo's. I will be searching this forum and doing
a lot of reading in the next few weeks, but let me ask...

I have a bunch of Hitec 5645 metal gear digital servo's but
they all suffer from a small amount of gear slop. The new
Hitec 5955TG servo's I put in my 35% have no slop at all.

Should I be looking at nylon gear servos instead of metal gear?

Thank you for the help.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

[quote]ORIGINAL: Don Szczur

Put in a small phenolic/paper tube. Approximately 3/4 inch in diameter and approximately 30 inches long. This weighs .23 oz, including glue. Four drops of thick CA keeps it against the fuselage side. The servo extension slides nicely through this with little effort.

Hello Don,

Where can we buy the paper tubes these days?

Thanks,
Bob

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Hey Bob,
Thought I saw some at Radio South.
Greg Grigsby

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Estes rocket tubes, Tower stocks them...just ordered some myself for my latest project.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXF572&P=7

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Kelly, recommend digital high-quality servos. I'm running the JR 8611A for rudder and 8411 and 9411 "SA" series for ailerons and elevators. The SA has a nylon main gear which has excellent longevity with respect to gear slop.

Best of luck and congratulations again on your Brio purchase. I think the landing gear pictures are on page 3 or 4 of this string of postings. There is a template with dimenstions of where the holes are drilled. You can make a template, check to make sure it matches, then drill you gear legs.

See you,

Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Thank you Don,

Since I have a Hitec servo programmer I would like
to stick with Hitec servo's. I looked up some specs
and they have HS6975 digital that has 144 in-oz
and .10 sec speed at 6.0 volts. They have karbonite
gears.

I may run a 5955 TG on the rudder, a bit overkill but
the ones I have been running on my 35% have zero
gear train slop after 40-50 flights and I really like
them.

I will be running a Li-ion setup with regulator at 6 volts.


BTW
That mini MP3 player I hacked into to play the IMAC
sequence...

Here is a link to a review:
http://www.dansdata.com/usbmp3.htm

I would be glad to open it up and add the external switch
port like I did to mine, but if you are just going to put music
for freestyle on it then no mods are needed.

My wife got it for free when ordering something online,
so I am sure you could find one for next to nothing.

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Kelly,

I recommend the best servos for the ailerons and elevators. I was astonished at the difference they made, especially on the ailerons. Even for something as simple as a loop. By the way, I tried a spin with just rudder to start. Guess what? It looked much better than the dozens I've done so far. Thanks for teaching me this important point. I'll see if I can get my wife to find that MP3 player. It sure beats carrying aound the boom box.

If you are interested, we'll have a local pattern trimming clinic Saturday morning. You can bring your ShowTime and will assist with getting it all set up and go through the Sportsman sequences.

http://1nvrc.com/Ron_NVRC3.html


See you,
Don

RE: BRIO Construction by the numbers
 

Funny...
I was out again yesterday and was doing my spins and adding aileron
after the break and mine looked better! :)

Sunday, I would love to go but our twins have a birthday party
we must go to... Out of town family. Besides, I would hate to
waste everyones valuable time with a plane that I am selling.

If I don't make any contests this year I will really try for next year.
The twins will be 3 and life will be a bit easier, I hope!

See you at the field!