PSJDBF

And some final pictures.
Cheers Steff.

Brad330l

My Feedback: (1)

Totally fabulous mate. Are you taking it to Warbirds over Mundejong?

Cheers,

Brad

PSJDBF

planning on it, will PM you about getting up there to have it certified.
Steff.

PSJDBF

Put her on the scales today & she topped out at 31.5lb's But 15.5 kg which equals about 34lbs so some where between the two..however I put her on the balancer & it looks like I will need to add 2-3lbs of lead to the nose ![:@].
Had CG at 5''/ 125mm & sitting at the leading edge where the two wing tips join the wing center is this correct.
I balanced it upside down with the gear down, is that how everyone else has been balancing theirs?.
Around the 36lb's is still ok I think with the weight of the GT80.
Cheers Steff.

John Baligrodzki

Steffens,

On page 27 of this thread about halfway down I have CG and other info listed. Mine is at 4.5 inches back. I think at 5 inches back you will be fine for a maiden flight. Mine tends to over rotate on takeoff so be ready when the tail comes up. Also rudder is not effective, so watch out on any crosswind landing. Ship will want to turn into the wind.

Been reading this thread and you have a fantastic looking zero. Turned out very nice.

Regards,

John B.

PSJDBF

Thanks for the info John & the kind comments on the Zero.
Just a couple of things Did you balance with the gear retracted & did you do it where the fuse & wing meet or where the wing tips join the center section.
Think I may go to 4.5 for the first just to be on the safe side.
Thanks again.
Steff.

PSJDBF

Well an up date on the Zero, I have been geared up all week to do the maiden, but the weather gods have had a different idea, it has been blowing gale winds all week.
She balanced with the adition of 2.5 lbs of lead on the nose, engine tuned then took her out on Sunday & did some taxi runs.
I think she would be sitting on the 35lb mark now., Have checked & re checked everything as the week has gone by waiting for the weather to improve.
Then today I noticed that the right hand elevator servo had stiffened up, there was also alot of movement in the gear train when the servo was powered up so took it out & inspected...not good & pleased I found it before the first flight, I remember the elevator taking a knock in transit to the flying field on Sunday so whether this was a cause of the failure I'm not sure [].
So to be certain a new servo is going to be ordered tomorrow & the zero taken off flying op's.
Best to be safe than sorry.
So a maiden will now be another week or so away[:@].
Cheers Steff.

Screen grabs from video of taxi runs.

wingspar

My Feedback: (3)

You are using metal geared servos in the tail right?? Mine started as nylon but stripped after about 10 flights. Replaced with metal gears with no further problems.

Dave N

PSJDBF

Yeah, had a HS -5245MG Digital mini, all other servos check out ok just this one a liitle suspect.
First sign was not being able to move the control surface at all when nothing switched on, then when the servo was powered up there was considerable movement in that elevator, enough to cause flutter I reckon.
I stripped the servo & there was noticable damage to one of the gear train pin locating bosse's so the centre gear train was not correctly supported and was able to slop about.

John Baligrodzki

Steff,

Just saw your question about the CG. I established the point at 4.5" back at the point were the outer panels meet the center. Then drew a line with tape at the CG as my balancer pads would be just outside the fuse edges. Balanced with the gear up.

Tonight pulled the cowl on my Zero to check everything and change the fuel lines. My cowl has a bunch of cracks in it even though I glassed the entire inside with 3 ounce cloth. Still serviceable however. Hope you glassed the inside of yours.

Hoping to take mine out this weekend for some flights.

Looking forward to hearing how your first flights go.

Regards,

John

PSJDBF

Hi John , thanks for the reply, I have set mine at 125mm in the same location with the wheels up ( just under 5'' ).
I have glassed the inside of my cowl mainly due to the new mounts I had to make to do the cowl flaps open, BUT there is some lite cracking at the top around the cylinder head already.
I have some extra room under there now with the smaller plugs so will add some more glass in this area.
Bummer about the Servo & as per ussual as the Zero is now out of action the weather this morning was perfect, ended up taking out the Hurricane for it's first flight after repairing the gear mounts.
A few go arounds on the landings but ended up greasing it in in the end !! worth going around & getting it just right.
Cheers Steff.

PSJDBF

My brother in Law gave me a bottle of Sake which I have put away for the maiden, well it was cracked open today !!.Two successful flights done early this morning.
The zenoah 80 performed perfectly & only required three clicks of down elevator to fly hands free, she flies oh so nice !! ..first flight the wheel pants created a bit of a problem flexing in the slip stream & stopped one gear leg from retacting completely so I removed them for the second flight.
First landing was without flaps & was quite fast ..second with flaps & settled nicely on the two mains !!.
Have some good footage filmed by my mate Wilkie, posting some screen grabs from the footage & am rendering a vid as I write this (it is turning into a bit of an epic !).
Will post the vid on it's own latter today.
Cant stop smiling ....Thanks all who have given advice & tips during the assembly.
Cheers Steff.

PSJDBF

Well, finally my new spinner turned up, so spent the last few nights Stripping it back to the bare Aluim ( it was for an FW190 with a spiral pattern ) quite a few coats of zinc paint & silver & alot of wet & dry sanding then the green & grey/green & I have come up with a result that I'm really happy with.
Cheers Steff.

2walla

My Feedback: (10)

Nice looking plane! Wish TBM hadn't dropped em..

PSJDBF

Cheers 2walla, well put in the third flight on Sunday & almost ended in disaster, after a barrel roll the engine just cut , no missing or burbling, luckily the Zero glides really well & when she cut I was just past the end of the strip so a quick turn on to finals & she landed short of the strip but perfectly smooth & was able to dodge the crap so no damage what so ever.
Have a cartridge type filter which is very fine & had some rubbish in it not a lot but enough I guess to starve two cylinders.
A very short vid of the engine cut out ..R18 language though Ha !.
Cheers Steff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sy9zc...1&feature=plcp

jasburrito

Newbie to warbirds. found this kit and parts 3rd hand in my dads basement.(thanks dad.) The info in this forum is great. So many great pics. Thanks to all. I have gotten lost in this thread many times. Still trying to figure it all out. Next is to drill/tap retracks to 6mm,mount wing ( I may have ? about ),motor,servos for choke trottle ect. I'm excited about it. Thank again .
Heres a video of progress and parts on my tbm zero.
http://youtu.be/N76t70Qzav4
cheers to building in 120 degree garage!

jasburrito

video of progress http://youtu.be/xZeg6ZSzALY Mine is only 91 inches. V1, V2? have know idea!
Great looking planes guys. Really like the custom paint. I got the retracks drilled tapped to 6mm all mounted up! I have really crappy instructions from tbm? I am clueless on a few steps. 1st being how do I secure the stabs to fuse. I was thinking of gluing 1 end of carbon fiber rod into 1 stab. then how do I secure other stab????( long screw into bottom of stab up??? seems like a weak idea ) Please let me know or How is it done, other kits or what page.
Thanks

Waiting on g62 plate mount
Really digging this plane. Prob gonna take the Tme smoke system out of edge and install it in zero.

Prekin

My Feedback: (19)

Your Zero looks very nice. Have some longer video??

jasburrito

ok i decided to use four scews to hold stabs to carbon rod. Just waiting on engine mount. Gonna try to have done in a few days. I,ll post a video of maiden. Noticed there are a few diff zero builds now! heres the latest video with all surfaces moving. http://youtu.be/Z2BebkKxJZQ Seems hovering may not be to far out of reach. Have new 22x10 zoar to put on g62.

John Baligrodzki

Jasburrito,

I have about 100 flights on my TBM zero. Can tell you a G62 will not hover it. Also the rudder on this ship is not really effective. This plane is a warbird and is designed to fly in a nice oval pattern. Throw in some loops, split S, rolls and an Immelmann or two and that is about it. This plane is about as far from a 3 D plane as you can get.

I strongly suggest you greatly reduce the amount of elevator throw. You have way too much.

From experience I can tell you there is a bunch of stuff you need to do to make this plane flight worth that the magic ARF factory builders did not do. If you have questions be happy to help out.

John B.

jasburrito

Not 3d/ just hover! High 5 to the 100 plus flights. I am hoping to fly mine at warbird events and such for years to come. Cannot wait to chase my old mans TF P51. I did all mods found in thread. (tail wheel pull pull/dremeled so it locks,put hard wood around landing gear,6mm axles. I fly 3d/freestyle.(I will use low rates) I am always looking for max throw. I saw some info about stock g62 makiing around 28 pounds thrust with good props. I was hoping my zero would be around 26. seems the fuse is 6.8, center wing, 7.5,outer wings 2.8,motor 5.1+ fuel tank,2 bat,switch,misc.
Any other tips? Huge thanks. Really digging these warbirds. The craftsmanship of some of the builds in this forum are unreal. Good job guys.
This guys zero video is great http://youtu.be/l9fvZISYceQ , his cockpit http://youtu.be/AvLYyHqbiME
thanks,cheers

Seems those vids are of the zero in pictures above? Small world. Gonna build rocket to leave.

jasburrito

http://youtu.be/54mrNtunL0Y all up 27 pounds. Do not see this thing hovering.
Got the motor mounted and running. Really digging the zenoah. I am gonna take canopy off , glue and rescrew. My balance point (cg) is were you see the blue tape! Is that an OK spot. No lead added.
Any other tips? Thanks

Video of motor mounted without cowl
http://youtu.be/jLCqw05aix4
cheers

Update
I flew it 3 times today at a giant scale event. The zero dominated the skys. (low inverted passes were no sweat). I am using every bit of throw on all surfaces.

umitv

My Feedback: (15)

I'm looking retracts for my zero. Do you know anybody still sells them?

PSJDBF

Hi jasburrito congrates on the Zero , any vid or pictures of it at the warbird event.
I have been away from the forum for a while so just catching up on everything and was supprised to see new posts on this thread.
I had to belly my Zero in a couple of weeks ago due to a gear failure in the valve, luckily not alot of damage done.
A hole in the wing centre where the belly tank was and a crushed oil cooler scoop, & one dead servo, repairs are almost finished then some paint touch ups to finish.
The silk and glass resin is a pretty strong combination & it made the repairs quite easy to do as well.
looking forward to seeing more of the Zeros.
Cheers Steff.

jasburrito

No flying video yet. I will try to have a bud shoot a vid next flight. Sorry to hear about the belly rub. Yours looks great. This meatball has gotten lots of attention at events. 1st big bird event I went to a guy was trying to buy the plane from me before I was unloaded. Seems zeros are rare. Only seen 1 other all summer. Thanks for the props. Cheers. Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

O ya is this yours? Motor sounds like its ripping good.
http://youtu.be/l9fvZISYceQ
I can dig it. Sweet