Spie

Hey! I'm new to R/C airplanes. The first plane I got was the Donald 4 seaplane kit. I finished building the kit yesterday and was eager to fly it. There were a few things that I noticed about my plane that I'm rather confused about.

Like I said, I'm new to seaplanes, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not. My plane seemed to be really low in the water (almost to the canopy). The floats are totally submerged. Was I suposed to shorten the struts?
I was wondering if there was something I could do to make the plane float a little more.

Also, the front of the plane is always pushed down into the water when the motor speed increases... Should I put some more weight in the back to counter everything in the front?


Thanks for your time:-)

~spie

JimCasey

My Feedback: (1)

Check out the other thread on the Donald.

Balance it according to the directions. IF there are no directions, then balance it 30 percent of the wing width (Chord) back from the leading edge of the wing. (If the wing is 10" from front to back, balance it at 3" from the leading edge.)

If it floats too low and submarines when you add power, then it's too heavy. Possibly substitute a lithium-cell battery pack, smaller servos and/or a lighter receiver. Never heard of a Donald being too heavy before.

Spie

Here is the link to the site I got it from. I got the plane and "everything you'll need":
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/donald.htm


Do I balence the plane by sliding the battery/reciever back and forth?


~spie

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

I'm just starting to build one now. Painted it first. The building instructions to me kinda suck, but I heard they used to come w/o instructions. So I guess its better than nothing. Anyway, did you check the center of gravity on the plane? Also when taking off, copied from the instructions:
Do your initial taxi runs at very low speed. The high mounted motor will tend to bury the nose in the water if you throttle up too much. Always hold full up elevator while taxiing.
Hope this helps,
Joe
PS I might be asking some building questions this week

Spie

It was actually pretty fun to build. I agree, the instructions were kinda bad--mainly because none of the pieces are numbered. But overall, it was fun to build. Good luck on yours!

~spie

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

~spie,
Thanks for the encouraging words. Its my first kit, but I think I'll do OK. Its been drying for 3 days, so the build will "officially" start tonight
Joe

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Did anyone get a full size set of plans for this plane, or did you guys just get a 8 by 11 like I did? Because I can't make out a thing on these plans. Also it says to glue the elevator control tube to the fin spar, which is epoxied into the fin. So how the heck does it move to work? Or am I just an idiot? It is my firt plane kit, but I've built MANY static models, and 2 RC heli's. Again I think these instructions leave a bit to be desired. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Joe
Edited OK I am kinda an idiot. I saw later in the instructions that a pushrod goes inside the control "tube". Sorry I'm new to this guys/gals.

Spie

When I got my kit, I recieved an 8x11 instruction book from hobby lobby and some blueprints for the plane.

This is how the rear is assembled:

Notice that your airplane has a hole in the very back (where the rudder attaches). there is a rectangular piece of balsa wood that should fit in that hole. The outter (larger) control tube is glued to the balsa wood and the balsa wood is glued to fill in the hole. The control rods that come with the kit have a large tube, a smaller tube which fits inside the large one, and four small metal wires. The small tube slides inside the large tube. The large tube is merely there to guide the small one to the rudder/elevator and to the servos.

That was probably really confusing (sorry!).

In short: gluing the large tube won't effect the movement of the control surfaces. Be warned, though, when cutting the tubes: If you pinch them, the tube will be deformed and they won't slide as well!

Hope that helps!

~spie (I didn't see the edit message 'till after, so I'll post anyways )

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks I finally figured that out, unfortunately after I glued the small tube, instead of the large tube. And I epoxied that piece of balsa in there last night. I just got the small tube out, wasn't easy, and that pretty much useless now. Its kinked from me trying to get it out. Now I'm going to "try" and glue a new control tube in there. Got one from my LHS, the inner part is a cable and not a tube, but it comes with connectors, and the guy at my LHS gave me pointers on how to use it. Gonna be a bit difficult, but when I'm determined...... Actually that was a good explination you gave Wish me luck.
Thanks again I really do appreciate the reply!
Joe