Hi guys, our club is going to revive AT-6 racing using bushing .25's and are considering the Global ARF as an option. I have purchased one and am going over it with an eye for necessary improvements. I have read on these forums that there are some issues with the ARF and maybe some of you pro's can advise us of the following:

- The nylon aileron pushrods as supplied in kit bind when making the sweep. Question: have any of you had success making these work? I am thinking of running the small Sullivan metal stranded cable inside the Sullivan nylon guide which will be inserted into the preinstalled nylon guides. Any of you tried this or been able to use the kit supplied pushrods successfully?

- Looks like the wing joints need to be reinforced with glass cloth and epoxy. Think 2 layers of 3/4 oz. tape 1-1/2 wide are adequate?

- The supplied pushrods look like they will flex, have any of you used a little heavier dowels with success, or is it best to just route some Sullivan flex cables to the rudder and elevator?

The ARF is very well made but we know that the rigors of racing require no slop on the controls and we want to try to get this right the first time. Any input from you guys is welcomed.

Thanks in advance!
Joe Gardner,
Santa Barbara Radio Control Modellers.

Joe:
We race 25 size T6’s at both Whittier and the Basin. We also had a race at the Canyon Crosswinds last year and will hopefully have one there in 2006. We permit HOB, scratch built to HOB plans and the Global ARF which is pretty much a copy of the HOB. I personally race HOB but I would say the majority race the ARF. Most are raced with no mods at all. Some clean them up a little and recover them. The stock control linkage seems to work fine. I have only seen one wing joint failure and that was after a crash.

You should consider using the same rules we use. They are available at http://www.sgvrcl.org/. As you will see we have a regular racing series with year end awards. I’m sure most of our guys would come to your races and we could always use more racers.

Along with T6’s we race slow quickee’s, trainers and Air Crusiers. We use the ½ A three pole course but have raced these planes on the two pole course.

It’s pretty laid back and a lot of fun. The combination of spec props and RPM limits makes for very close inexpensive racing. If you want any additional info E-mail me at [email protected].


Barry Leavengood

Hi Barry,
Thanks for the response. At the moment we are trying to stir some interest in the AT-6 class. We started with 424 Vipers and TT 40's and it was a bit much for some, so we want to tame it down for now, and need to get back to basics. As first mentioned, we would like to use the Global ARF and work out the bugs. After we get up to speed, we'll be looking to mix it up with other clubs.

I am still seeking advice from anyone else who has raced the ARF's and any recommended modifications.

Thanks, Joe

I race the ARF's and have made virtually no modifications... they pretty much work great "as is". I did replace the aileron inner tube with a sullivan (yellow) inner tube... I've had no binding problems and not enough slop to notice at all. I've seen some guys do away with the single aileron servo arangement and mount a servo for each aileron out on a wing bay. Probably the most important thing you can do is make sure you get some washout in each wing (just follow the instructions - they call for it). Like Barry wrote, most of our guys fly the arf and generally very few mods (if any) are made. They're plenty strong and fly great.
Clark

Barry,

I'm in the middle of trying to set up AT-6 class racing at our club. The reservations alot of people in the club are having is saftey and space...guess they might be one in the same! How far are you setting your poles apart and what distance do you use between the poles and the pits? Sorry if I sound pretty ignorant, but I am! Also what kind of speed are you getting out of the aircraft with a plain bearing .25? I'm tryin to pick your brain here, so any information that could pertain to my questions would be VERY helpful since i'm sure I haven't nearly asked all I could. Been to your club's site and read your racing rules--gonna steal alot of those rules since I assume you've learned alot of them along the way. Please visit my club's site...gives some idea of how much space we have.

Thanks!
Mike

http://www.richvalleyrc.com

I know this is an old post. I found it in a search. Just started putting a Global A T6 together. I was deciding on putting two servos in each wing or a single servo in the wing. Then decided on a single Hitech 81 for the wing. But after gluing one wing half on I noticed that the arangement will give opposite aileron differantial. This could cause a wing tip stall if not corrected with rudder. I will be using a Magnum .30 four stroke so I don't plan on racing.

Is this a problem, if so how do you correct it with a single servo? Now that I have one wing glued on it will be more difficult to put a servo on each wing. Is the wood the exit pushrod glued to balsa or ply? Consered putting the z bend push rods on opposite sides of the servo wheel but they will jam if I do.

You're right, using the setup the instructions call for will result in a small amount of aileron differential going the wrong way. I've seen some guys do it that way and it seems to work fine. However, it bothered me a bit too so I used a Du-bro aileron connector ball link.... problem solved....

Hey, I like that solution! I also found some horns which have a long strap which would make it easy to put the clevis connection in front of the hinge line. With that and the ball connection I should be able to get a nearly correct differantial. In the right direction at least.

I have heard people are making replacement cowls using a tupperware container as a mold. does anybody know which container they are using??? I race in the so cal area. Is anybody making cowls to sell??

Search Rubbermaid. On other posts I remember seeing rubbermaid #7. I think they just use the bowl for the cowl.

http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/170623.asp

yea but they are back orderd

haveing trouble finding the #7 rubberaid container to make a cowl for the T6.
Is anyone making cowls for this bird. I know some so cal. guys were making them. Is anyone selling them?? does anyone know where to get the right food container for a mold???

Hobby People makes a fiberglass cowl for their ARF that should fit the HOB kit.

What CG are you people using? I am building one for sport with a Magnum .30 four stroke. It requires that the engine be mounted a bit more foward but just the same without radio, battery, pushrods, cowl, and canopy it is a bit tailheavy and should be easy to balance it at the 2 1/4" recommended CG. But that point looks way too far foward, especially considering the swept leading edges. Comparing larger scale versions such as the Hanger 9 ARF and scaling their 4 3/4" from the leading edge at the fuse recommendation; I get about 3.1" from the leading edge. Even that seems foward. I suspect 3 1/2" wouldn't be too far back. Does a forward CG make a racer track better?

Hey Sport, That sounds like a great combo. Have you flown it yet? I'm just thinking out loud here. If the cg is forward of normal, the plane would require more elevator deflection to make the same turn as a plane with normal cg location. More deflection would slow it down a bit. Would it track better- great question. Can anyone shed more light on the cg issue?
MikeB

You are better off starting with the forward CG and more throw on the elevator on any racer. This setup gives enough control authority to overcome slight problems with the wing/tail incidence errors. After you have flown it and trimmed it out, you can start to move the CG back and reduce the elevator throw to maintain your turning radius.

This lowers the drag of the airplane, since the stabilizer is always pulling down on conventional airplanes for a stable design. Moving the CG back lowers the amount of tail loading (negative lift), an also reduces the amount of positive lift that the wing has to generate thus lowering the overall drag.

With a Magnum .30 four stroke, I am obviously not intrested in racing. I want real esperiance with this model, not conjecture. I am going for the rearward CG from the getgo. 2 1/4" on a 9" chord swept back wing looks like an obvious missprint to me.

I built one over twenty years ago for racing with an OS .25 and a 7-6 prop. It survived a season of competition and could fly again with a new radio installation. By all means, feel free to place the balance at 3 1/2" for your inital flight. Looking forward to the post flight picture in another forum closer to the top.

I didn't mean to be short with you, but that was a long time ago. I doubt I would remember the last balancing point of any plane that long ago. With a 9" chord at the fuse and 5" at the tip the average chord is about 7 1/2". The recommended 2 1/4" from the back of the leading edge at the fuse puts it at only 10" back from the average chord. Placing it at 3 1/2" is less than 25% back.

Posters on another thread said 3 1/2" is not too far back, that it could be further back. So I think 3 1/4" to 3 1/2" will be my starting point.

Anybody needs a cowling? I'd like to get it from Hobby People but there is $25 backorder minimum, so I'll order 3pcs.

No but can you tell me what it is painted with? The paint job was poor and it now has a few scratch's. I was about to touch it up with some acrylic lacquer, but it may be polyurethane, though I doubt it.

I need a cowel but am not cool with spending half what I paid for the rest of the kit.[sm=what_smile.gif][sm=thumbs_down.gif]
I don't have a problem spending two nights making my own foam cores and glassing my own. If someone has a line on a less expensive unit I would like to buy two.

Vic

You paid $20 for the kit? Last I looked it was on sale for just under $60, and it is usually about $80 to $90. If you need one I am sure Pavel would sell for $10 plus shipping. I wonder if the backorder limit is still on after someone orders the minimum?

I paid $40 for both
$10 for a FG cowl would be cool...who is Pavel?

The price will be $10 + shipping. I placed the order on Monday, I have a receipt but no confirmation by email, so far.