As I said on the other Twinstar thread, that after seeing the plane and the covering job, I didn't know if I wanted to go ahead the the modifications that I had thought about at first. Then I said, go for it. So, Here is my thread on my modifications to the Twinstar.

1) Strip the covering off of the plane [], didn't want to because of the great job the did, but hey, gotta do what I gotta do
2) Replace existing ailerons with wider ones because of the flap installation
3) Figure out if add fuel tanks are needed since the wings are already uncovered.
4) Choose as pair of engines
5) Put everything back together and cover
6) HAVE FUN!!!

Here is the start of the pictures

For the wing and flap setup I plan on putting a servo in each wing and use the existing torque rods for the flaps. Another guy at my field did this to a Giant scale plane and it worked great. I will be using the tiny Robart hinges for the wing. Bad news is that my LHS didn't have any in stock [:@], so I will have to wait until later next week. Until then I will build the servo tray, ailerons and flaps and wood blocks for the hinges to bite into. Hope this thread will be of intrest to you guys!

Lee

Can the trim colors be removed seperatly to leave an all white airplane?

No, unfortunately they did an excellent job of covering. So on the wingtips the plane only had the blue covering, not blue on top of white. The complete wing was mutiple pieces of covering. I think that I will recover the complete wing white and put the blue covering back as close as possible. or maybe my own design.

Thanks for the info. I was hoping I could peel off all the trim colors and recover in a Navy Trainer scheme, orange & white. Sure wish you could get ARFs in ARC![&o]

Just go ahead and peal off all of the covering. The nose cone is already painted, so you will have to figure out the best way to sand it off. I was thinking about doing my Twinstar in the following colors

http://www.franktiano.com/DSC_2022.jpg
http://www.franktiano.com/DSC_2220.jpg


I saw this last year on Radio Controled Hobbies and I liked the way it looked. Here are pictures of the progress. Dry fitted the servo wing trays. I might make them recessed. Still thinking about it.

Sorry I have been away, but the Robart hinges just came in today . I will start working on the wing this weekend. Will post pictures soon.

Sorry for the delay,

I finally got motivated today to work on the wing. While dry fitting a servo and servo tray to see if everything was OK, I notices that the tray was to short [:@]. The servo screws would have cut straight through the cross bracing (DOH!) So I had to make two new trays for the wings.

Here are the trays installed in the two wing halfs

Here is the complete strip for the aileron and flap for one side of the wing. I haven't cut them yet because I am still trying to gauge where I should split the strip at. I am done for the day, will read up on installing Robart hinges and figure out where I want to cut the flaps and ailerons. I have also decided on Thunder Tiger Pro .36s to power this bird. That's all for now.

I have completed the left wing. Items completed Servo Tray, Flap installation and Aileron installation. I am using the existing Torque rods for the movement of the flaps. I haven't decided if I will use two little servos or fabricate an arm that will move both rods together. Here are pictures of the left wing. I have started on the right wing, but needed a break from working.

I am thinking about extending the wooden wing tips the lenght of the ailerons to have a little better air flow at the wingtips. Still thinking about that. The funny thing is this is a small little ARF and I am putting this much work into it.. I guess I can look at it like this. Someone else framed up my model and I am just finishing it properly

***********Wing Update*********

I have glued the two halves together after checking to see that the correct dihedral is there. I have clamped the two with heavy clamps and left them to set over night. I have also sanded the servo trays for a cleaner finish after the initial rough cut. I have also ordered two Thunder Tiger Pro .36 from my LHS. Thinking about using a combination of glass/paint and monokote to skin this bird. The glassing will make it easier to get the fuselage colors correct. Hope you guys are enjoying this thread.

Lee

I have also finished stripping the fuse and tail section. I will be start that section tomorrow after the wing has time to dry overnight.

very nice pics! Have you considered installing clear lexan windows to make it even more scaleish!?

Thanks Diablo,

But to answer your question, I would love to have been able to do that. The problem is that the way the fuse is put together, all of the radio components are there. The plane isn't big enough to pull it off. I have also found out that I will have to do some modifcations to the torque rods since I dry fitted the wing today and the rods are hitting the back of the wing saddle. I may have to bend the rods forward and use a ball joint to get the throw that I need to deploy the flaps. There really isn't much extra space in that fuse. If there was a window for a cabin, I could see into the plane to find out what needs to be trimmed or sanded. I will look at it a little more tomorrow. Don't feel like messing with the plane tonight[sm=tired.gif].

Lee

Success!!!

I was able to bend the torque rods forward enought to get the amount of throw I was looking for in the flaps. I actually sanded some of the trailing edge portion of the fuse to see if the worked. Should have just bent the rods first. I will go back and use carbon fiber to restore any potential integrity that was lost due to my stupidness . My LHS said my motors should be in next week, so I am planning out my next move on this project. I need to review the instruction manual again to plan out those next moves. Project might be on hold for a few days until I get my engines.

Lee

Just a quick update,

My engines are still on back order. They should be in early next week. I decided to build new tip extensions for the wings. Here they are. I have to stop for the night. I was hooking up my new gas pump and spilled some gasoline in the work shop. I think I breathed in too many fumes. I don't know how kids can do this to get HIGH! This has to be the stinkiest smell ever!! Luckily I opened the garage door to let most of the fumes exit.

I am considering putting OS 30 FS motors into my Twinstar and outfitting them with 3-blade props. What are the general opinions of that setup?

SM:

The Saito FA-30 will swing a 9x6 3 bladed MAS very well, so I suppose the OS should be able to handle a 7x5 three blade.

Haw.

Your little OS is fairly close to the Saito in power, you might have to drop to an 8x6 but I'd start with the 9x6.

Bill.

If I had the extra cash I would have gone for the four strokes myself. But for the price of one four, I can get two 2's. I guess that two plus two equals four!!!. Thinking about three bladed props also. What is the general thoughts on TT .36 and three bladed props?

Lee:

Maybe a 9x6 3b on your TT 36 engines. I'm really not familiar with them. The Magnum XLS 40 engines pull the 9x6 3b fine, the 10x6 3b is just a hair too much. The Magnum XL 46 pair on my C-3/10 pull the Zinger 10x6 3b props fine.

Bill.

The TT 36's has the same overall width as the 25's (1.77"). The crankcase width is only a tenth of an inch difference. After talking to you Bill I went with the extra power. You can never have enough power. I will try the 9x6 3B prop.

My build is on hold until my engines come. At a point where I really need them to continue. I am thinking about changing the color scheme again. I may go with a civilian paint job.

Thanks

any ideas on fuel tanks ? this is my 4th twinstar and i have os 40 fp on it witch makes it rip but i can only get about 7 min of flying before dead stick. i just lost my last one 3 weeks ago at a fun fly in st george due to a downwind deadstick and had no runway under it thanks jody54

How about an auxiliary oval tank in the next bay in from the engine?

Bill

well i was thinking maybe i could put a big tank on the cg and use the small stock ones in the wing as jack tanks like on a heli and maybe get a one way valve from ys to presure the main tank but i dont know how the constant presure will work on a 2 stroke. if anybody has any good input please let me know. I am sure that anybody that has a twinstar would like to know how to increse the flying time. thanks jody54