waagbuck

My Feedback: (1)

I'm ready to start assembling a World Models Super Stunt 40 ARF and I'm thinking about replacing the stock tricycle landing gear and converting it to a taildragger. Since the elevator is one piece and the rudder does not extend to the bottom of the plane, what's the best way to handle this? There are three solutions that occur to me:

1. Extend tail gear up to rudder. There's a thread here somewhere showing the nosegear at the rear of the plane extending upward to the rudder with a long steering arm attached. I suppose it's functional, but it seems like a cumbersome solution.

2. Rebuild elevator and rudder. I can see how it might make sense to split the elevators and extend the rudder down, but I was hoping for something with a little less work. This is an ARF after all.

3. Castering tail wheel. I've used this without any problems before, but not on this size plane.

Does anyone else have suggestions? If you've solved this problem on the super stunts or similar plane, I'm curious to see pictures.

Also, can anyone recommend a source for replacement main gear for this plane? If you haven't seen it, it's got a 66" wingspan, 5-6 lbs. http://www.airborne-models.com/html/sstunts.html

Waagbuck

Stik-n-Rdr

First of all I'm no expert, but am doing the same thing to my Big Stik 60 ARF (looks very much like your plane).

Tower hobbies has links to three Great Planes taildragger components which will work with your model in the details portion of the Big Stik 60 ARF page. I had my doubts upon first receiving the items (ordered them when I ordered the plane), but now am convinced that I shouldn't have much of a problem.

I'm going to cut out the center portion of the horizontal stab just rear of the end of the fuselage. I'm not going to bother splitting the elevator to save time, and will have a small triangular hole just below the rudder. The GP Tail Wheel Assembly has a bearing and a horn. The bearing will fit nicely into a vertical hole I'll cut into the horizontal stab, the end of the fuselage, and if necessary the vertical stab. The rudder doesn't need to be extended for the horn because the wire from the assembly is high up enough to reach the lower portion of the rudder (and low enough not to interfere with the cutout for the bottom most CA hinge).

Go to the Tower Hobbies website and check out the assembly I'm referring to.

http://www.towerhobbies.com

By the way, I'm also adding flaps to this guy and am having to cut some of the lower covering and installing balsa sheets for the servos.

Good luck.

Hircflyer

You can also mount a servo to the bottom on the fuselage with a push pull cable to the tail wheel steering arm. Use a y harness to connect the tail wheel servo to the rudder output on the receiver. The other leg of the y is connected to the rudder servo as usual.
Works quite well and is very simple to install.

mucksmear

Depending on how wide your fuselage is, you can mount a tailwheel bracket (eg. Dubro) to the fuse bottom and run a pushrod or snake cable to the rudder servo. This way, you will be able to adjust tailwheel travel separately from rudder travel even though you're using the same servo.

Note the tailwheel location in the photo attached/linked photo.
Rudder and tailwheel are driven from opposite sides of the same servo horn.

A ball link is treaded onto a treaded stud, which in-turn is used to secure a wheel collar onto the tailwheel wire right above the tailwheel bracket

-E

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Put a block behind the bulkhead that sits at the front of the wing. Probably 1/4 inch ply or light ply. I don't like lite ply for that though. Put triangle stock on it around the sides and bulkhead. Glue it right to the existing floor. If that floor is solid and light ply, use 1/8 inch ply. Then use either halco gear from tower, glass gear from many suppliers or you can use the wire gear you have if need be. On the tail, take off enough of the bottom of the fuse right at the back to put on a 1/8 in piece of ply. Screw a klett, dubro or CB tail wheel bracket to that ply. Make sure the ply is big enough. You can run a second small pushrod to that wheel to steer it, run a wire through the fuse from the rudder to steer, or build it so it casters and has no steering. Not the best to have none, but it would work. You could also just mount a skid back there instead of a tail wheel. I have planes that do that too, but have to hold down elevator to get them to turn on the ground. Just make sure not to flip it over forward.

Hope that helps.

Steve Guinn

Here are some Pics. Hope they help.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/showthread...ick+Conversion]

Blackie

Waggbuck, I have its bigger brohter, the SS60 in which I converted to a tail dragger. Its very simple. I used nyrod and nyrod tube for my push rod. First you will need to remove the covering under the fuse so that you can access the inside. Make brackets using light ply and cross bracing so that the nyrod tube can slide through then you will need to CA each point. Next drill a hole were the tube will exit the fuse at or close to the tail wheel Assembly, cut it at a slant then ca it in place flush with the fuse. Run the nyrod through the tube and attach the clevis to the tube then to the horn. Attach the other end to the rudder servo but on the opposite side as your nose gear was connected.

Blackie

jboy381-RCU

what's wrong with a free wheeling tail wheel???i use them on all my tail draggers...the tail don't stay on the ground long anyway...

waagbuck

My Feedback: (1)

Got the main gear fastened fine. I used the gear from a GP Big Stik 60 and reinforced the bottom of the fuselage just at the leading edge of the main wing. Installed with four 1/4-20 nylon bolts and blind nuts. Took a while, but it looks good and seems pretty sturdy.

Got the tail wheel installed fine. Drilled a hole through the elevator and will attach it to the rudder with a dowel through the rudder and a rubber band. A Harry Higley recommendation.

But the vertical wire on the tail wheel interferes with the elevator control rod, which comes straight out the back of the fuselage. I'm only installing a 46 and my weight tests look pretty good so far so I don't want to relocate my elevator servo. I'm just looking for a simple way to hook up the elevator without interference.

I'm thinking of cutting away some material at the back of the fuselage and offsetting the elevator control rod a bit. That should do it.

Charlie P.

I converted my G.P. Big Stik 40 (also a one-piece elevator) to a taildragger by drilling a hole in line with the rudder hinge line up through the fuselage and epoxying a G.P. tailwheel bracket in place so the upper arm just cleared the rudder.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXJ931&P=7

I had to do a little bending to get a good alignment after test fitting the parts dry. I then made a fixture like a 1/2" coil spring with two long legs out of 1/16" music wire that I pressed up into the rudder (after coating the 3/4" legs with epoxy). One leg passes into the wood between the pads of the rudder control horn. The upper arm of the tailwheel bracket must be threaded into the coil on the bottom of the rudder as it is being set in place with epoxy. It is proving to be very rugged in service.

For the main gear I just epoxied a plywood plate and three lengths of 45º stock for reinforcement inside of the tank compartment, and set four blind-nuts in after using the existing gear bracket for a drilling template. The wheel axles are under the leading edge of the wing.

LouW

All of my airplanes are tail draggers. Most have a fixed tailwheel, which works fine for takeoff and landing. It’s just hard to make sharp turns when taxiing. Here is an example of a spring connected tailwheel that reduces force on the rudder and servo. I also have one that is simply spring loaded center but not connected to the rudder. It taxis better than a fixed one but not quite as good as a steerable one. I avoid any hard connection to the rudder or servo as a hard landing or even taxiing over a rough surface can damage them.

waagbuck

My Feedback: (1)

I offset the elevator pushrod a little to the left, ran the tailwheel wire up through the horizontal stabilizer, where it bent and the followed along the rudder. The rudder has a short dowel through it, which allowed me to connect a rubber band from one side of the rudder around the tail wheel wire to the other side of the rudder. It's a positive steering connection, with a lot of flexibility built in.

I flew the plane for the first time yesterday afternoon, and the whole thing worked great.

I'm very impressed with the super stunts 40. It's big, lightweight, and it flies absolutely great. Taxiing around with my converted taildragger was easy to do.

waagbuck

My Feedback: (1)

I just realized I have some pictures of my taildragger conversion!

fheppenheimer

My Feedback: (11)

Steve Guinn - Could you please repost the pictures? When I try to open what you posted I get an error message which reads: the ADODB.Command error '800a0d5d'

Application uses a value of the wrong type for the current operation.

/forum/m_subheader.asp, line 36


I am trying to convert a Great Planes Big Stik 60 to taildragger, perhaps with a Sullivan tailwheel. If anyone else has good pics on this particular plane, I'd be grateful.

Thanks.

abufletcher

Here's an example of "guerilla conversion" -- just slap it together and get to flying. The wire on the rudder is CA'ed to the rear edge of the rudder and then covered with a piece of tape. I don't plan to be flying this thing forever and I certainly don't care how a trainer looks.

All total I suppose this conversion took about 2 hours of work and about 2 trips to the LHS. The hardest part was putting in the 1/4" ply reinforcing for the main gear. The tail wheel took about 10 minutes!

Went flying today and everything worked perfectly!