PaulG-RC

Thats right I beleive they started this in the early 80's ,I was able to sit in one back then when I was in flight training, a very impressive machine in full scale too.

Wine Country Flyer

My Feedback: (5)

First off-I'll have to admit that my leaving the Seawind flyer open on the table did NOT work for my Birthday, dern it !! She and her kids bought me a pair of $260.00 Revo sungalsses instead. I had to tell them that sure was a waste of good "air plane money". But now that I've seen pics of one that split open, and heard of other problems, I think I'll wait 'till they get it together a little better. Ya know-wait 'till the up-grades come down the pipe line. But I will have one !!! Good luck out there, guys. And keep the posts coming in.

PaulG-RC

Here you guys, I took pictures inside mine that I received this friday and you can see the overlaping fiberglass tape as far as I can see and up to the nose.
Even the firewall was glassed inside. Maybe I got lucky here or they already started on the problem.

Paul

psteel1

My Feedback: (1)

I bought two of these and both came with shipping damage. The cowl and canopy were both damaged on the first and on the second unit the canopy and fuselage tail were damaged. It seems these are a bit too fragile for the packaging they are using today. I have fully assembled one of the units and it is ready for the big day. I made some big improvments to the fuselage. I first sealed up the nose where the landing gear would have gone with silicone after fitting in the cover. I added more fiberglass to both the sides of the inside where the boat bottom meets the fuselage. sides as there were small cracks in the gel coat on the outside. I sealed the water scuper hole with fiberglass as no water should ever get into the hull without landing gear inatalled. I used the Hitec HS-85BB servos for the rudder and elevator. I took some latex glove material and made a gasket for the wing servos plus used vasoline for a sealent so I could remove it without using a knife. I started with a 60 ASP and then changed my mind and went to the Saito 82a. The wing tips are hard to install using the instructions to remove a piece of the monocote so I just used a good grade of clear silicone rubber to glue the tips on. This privides a great seal and a strong joint as well. I used a alcohol cure silicon as it is much better than the stuff that smells like acid and has much more strength. I plan to test fly it this week and will give my results. Wish me luck!!

PaulG-RC

Wow! I wish mine was ready, but not so.
Too bad about the damages I guess I was very lucky, but I will also re-enforce the fiber in the fuse even if mine is overlapped already.
And I do agree with all you've done and will follow up on it too.
I do wish you luck and look foward to your results.

I must say it is one gorgeous looking airplane a must see to beleive it.

I found a site with so much infos on the real one its a real treat to read about it.

http://www.seawindsna.com/seawind/testreports.htm


Paul

khh1955

Well, I'm been working on it off & on for the last few days...up to this point,all has been very straightforward.

However,tonight,I discovered that the slotting for the rudder hinges is off by about 1".

So guys,before you glue in the hinges,test fit it & modify it as best you can!
I,like a dummy,glued in the hinges into the center of the slots on the rudder,only to find that the slots in the fin are too low...so
I guess I'll have to extend the slots up about an inch!

Later,
Kurt

PaulG-RC

Yup, mine were off 1/4 in too as if the rudders were made in a bunch and then added to the kit, the rest so far is ok.

PaulG-RC

I just read a flight report on another thread, very encouraging.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.a...29&key=seawind

Paul

jrf

My Feedback: (551)

KH: If you are using the CA hinges that came in the kit, you are doing it wrong. CA hinges must be glued into both sides at the same time. Gluing them into one side first greatly increases the likelihood that they will pull out of the second side.

If you changed to a different hinge... never mind. [8D]

Jim

khh1955

JRF,

The trick to getting the "stock" hinges to work right,is to drill 2 small 1/16" holes where the hinges insert in...which allows
the CA glue to seep in further. I generally insert the hinges into the control parts first,glue them,let em dry,then I'll use a small nail file to sand them a little so they'll insert into the slots on the other side more easily. This has worked very well for me.

I'll also generally apply a 2" strip of clear packaging tape to all the gaps...which makes for less turbulence & also adds some
degree of extra protection,should the hinges come out...which has never happened to me!
Also, the tape adds a bit of "psychological" back up!

Just a FYI...
Kurt

jrf

My Feedback: (551)

Kurt:

According to the instruction sheet that comes with CA hinges, they are treated with a chemical retarder that allows the thin CA to "wick" into the porous surface of the hinge, from the center to both ends, and create a bond to the wood over the entire surface. When you glue them into one side only, the CA still wicks into the other side where it sets up, thereby destroying it's ability to properly bond later to the second side. By drilling holes and adding CA further in, you are solving a problem of your own creation.

If this system works for you then by all means continue, I just thought you might like to know that there is an easier way.

Jim

khh1955

Just because I'm me...
I felt that the metal wing joiner was a bit flimsy...so I cut 2 pcs of 1x1/4" basswood to the inside width of the fuselage,and sandwiched the joiner using 3 blind nuts with 1/4" nylon bolts...also waterproofing the wood beforehand...it sure stiffened it up!
I won't be leaving the wings on all the time,but the wing joiner for the most part...is in to stay!

I also put the wing tips on today...these are always a bit tricky & I like to take my time & get em right! The only thing unusual that
I did was I filled the tips with a polyurathane spray in foam which I applied in 3 applications, adding in more on top of the previous coat. This gives the tips some added strenght without adding much weight...it worked really well.

Kurt

Augie11

Just a quick thought -- I hope that polyurethane foam adds floatation to the wingtips. My buddy had one come off this week and it promptly sank. GP has replacements for $21 a pair.

Augie

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

Kurt, I agree with jrf.

Your method of installing CA hinges is an accident waiting to happen.

Drilling the holes is a good idea, but the hinge needs to be inserted into BOTH sides before adding ANY glue!

For a good "How To" on CA Hinges, click this link:

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=55]Installing CA Hinges[/link]

khh1955

Aside from spraying the foam into the tips,I also sprayed some into the ends of the wing before I put the tips on...just sort of a "just in case" the tip came off afterthought!
I also put 5 screws on the bottom side of the tip,then wrapped it with a 1-1/2" white plastic tape!

Them tips ain't go'in nowhere!!!



Kurt

khh1955

Looking for ideas now...
I've never had a plane where the on/off switch & voltometer were inside the canopy & not accessible from the outside!
So I'm sort of wondering how I'm going to do this & still make it "not a hassel" to get inside to turn the plane on & off.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

I also found that putting that tape on the outside edge of the fuse,and then putting the canopy over it doesn't really work...
you can see the tape,and it lifts the canopy up too much! I pulled the tape off,and sort of thought about putting the tape on the bottom
side of the canopy...but it still lifts it up too much...hmmmm....another issue to ponder!

I guess I could just use some white tape & tape it on...it'd be waterproof,look OK...but it wouldn't be very accessible!
Hmmm...hmmm...hmmm....the challenges of assembling an ARF!


Kurt

jetlag

To solve your switch/charge jack location problems, you might consider using a charge jack made by Ernst products; these have a rubber seal that fits over the plug access. All you do is smear a thin film of Vasoline on it and close it. Water should not be able to get in. Still, check the plug for corrosion as time goes. Use a synthetic oil spray inside the plug for insurance. As to the switch, I have used one that has a rubber cover over the switch--you simply 'feel' the switch to the left or right position--it never sees the light of day.
Another way is to mount the switch inside the plane and have a stiff wire that protrudes out the fuselage; you can seal it by running it (the wire) through a piece of silicone tubing with the hole drilled in the fuselage small enough to compress around the wire, thereby sealing it. Works well on my seaplanes and is cheap/easy to do.
My Seawind is the third one I have received--the other two were damaged. Tower Hobbies' customer service has been stellar, though. They have replaced the planes and done their best to make me happy, which they have. It will be water-dedicated, so no LG problems to worry with.

hattend

My Feedback: (20)

You can use a wire push pull switch on the upper part of the hull with a waterproof boot installed. The waterproof pushrod boots are used by boaters and can be seen here:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXD589&P=ML

Don

PaulG-RC

I have a Great Planes Learjet that has a canopy similar to the seawind and its held with a rubber band at the rear and a dowel at the front, it works really well.
I think I might do the same there.

khh1955

I'm kind of thinking the same thing...I'll use the pin in the back,and set up a pair of rubber bands that hook up inside
to hold the front/mid section down...this would also solve the quick accessibilty issue. With all my switches etc enclosed inside,I really don't want to have to mess around with screws to get to them.

I also realized that I had put the sealing tape in the wrong place (its a blond thing I quess)...good thing
that roll of tape they give you could do the job 2 or 3 times.
The canopy actually fits quite well with the tape in the right place!

Tomorrow,I'll work on fitting the cowling on...another tricky project!

Kurt

jetlag

Has anyone taken a hard look at the lack of bracing in the fuselage between the second former (from the front) to the third under the back edge of the canopy? The reason I ask is that it seems the only structure that might prevent damage is the lip of the canopy seat (formed to a right angle to the fuse. sides). It looks like if you landed hard in the water, that edge would break and crease the sides badly. My edge was damaged before the kit was shipped from the factory, hence fixed there. The fuse. sides and the hull seem extremely weak in these areas. I beefed the sides and the hull up with 1/8x3/8 basswood strips, two strips per side and two strips on each side of the hull bottom. They stiffened up this area nicely. The wood weighed 1.7oz; epoxy about 2oz. Should go a long way to survivability.
Allen

Stevenhilton

I picked up my seawind the family bought me for my birthday yesterday. Mine seems to have been upgraded as well. I will keep mine water only as well but it sure is a pretty plane. Father in law had the real one on order when it was still a Canadian venture but passed away before he could take delivery and his yard aped son sold it back to the company (he's a real pilot).
We (sons and I) start work on it tonight. I went with the OS 91 4 stroker in mine. Also have a Neptune 40 that maidened two weeks ago at Boshkong lake in Haliburton Canada. Gotta love them seaplanes!

Strykaas

Steven

any picture of your neptune by any chance ?

ackerd12

False Advertising, Products Liability! I too have grown to trust Great Planes as over the years I have purchased and flown many of their products. I'm just now completing my Seawind with Robart Retracts and am shocked too learn from you guys, not Great Planes, that I won't be able to fly off water without sealing the nose gear compartment (and probably the mains). I think the right thing for Great Planes to do in this special case is to supply all who were mislead with an additional Seawind (free) so the customer can build a version that fulfills their promise!
David Acker

khh1955

Yes, this area does seem a bit weak. And I heard that someone actually cracked the seams at the bottom outside edges...on a less than perfect water landing however...so in knowing that it might be a problem,I used some med glass cloth & finishing resin & added some strips on all 4 panels under the canopy,as well as the two bottom panels behind the canopy.
I won't be flying off water probably untill next spring...so it will be awhile before I can test it out!


Today,I finished putting the cowling on...ahhhh its starting to really look like a seawind

Kurt