35" 'Cuda: Serial No. 0066

willsonman

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Burning off steam from one of my worst weeks ever at my job. I love my job but it was crazy busy and full of all sorts of stress.

I got the other wing covered with the lights installed. The ailerons were both covered and installed as well. Servos installed and linkages put in place. Thanks for the servos, Tommy! Using metal gear Futaba mini servos. Incredible torque and speed. I love the precision on them as well. I forget the exact model number. In addition, I got some exterior lights on the fuselage. CraftyDan gave these to me at Flight Fest and they make a neat pattern. The motor, props, and ESC are ordered. At this point I need to finish up some decals. I'll be painting some WWI era German crosses on the top and bottom of the wings and that will wrap this up.
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I should also note that I did consider scalloping the TE of the ailerons. I decided against it as it did not look right to me with the colors and theme I was after. Once I get the decals on the V-stab I can glue it in place and be ready for the motor install. I may hold off on it though, to make that installation a bit easier. I'm not sure if I will need to screw the motor in from the front or back of the mounting plate.
 

willsonman

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I broke out the Silhouette SD and got a couple of FT gremlins cut out for the V-stab. I also cut some numbers to keep 0066 well-marked. I love how the gremlin turned out. The vectored drawing was pulled from FT plans in Inkscape and exported to a DXF file and imported into the Silhouette software for cutting. Font for the numbers is Octin College.
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As you can also see I painted up some German crosses. I had film covering to do this but I wanted more of that hand-painted look on the covering for the wings. The fabric-looking texture just needs more of a hands-on approach. I cut out some templates on the Silhouette and used a pencil to trace. I was not overly careful to make straight lines or mask off for tight corners. The idea was to be able to relatively tell that its on the sloppy side in the air. I'll do the same for the bottom side.

Power setup finally shipped yesterday and I'm about to button up this project. A quick month-long distraction comes together pretty quickly. I need to sit down and setup this model in my radio and I do want to do as Jeff suggested and program in some reflex for launches. @Jeff: Any suggestion on how much to give? This is basically a flying wing and the only other that I have built and flown before was a versa.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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If I remember correctly I set mine to about 1/4" total. There was some trial and error getting there but it made launching MUCH easier. Not having propwash flowing over the surfaces at launch was new to me.
 

willsonman

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1/4-inch? wow. Ok, then what was your total deflection then? I'm assuming I'll need quite a bit of expo then.
 

willsonman

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Ok, Just got a message from Mr. Laine himself.

Cuda throws, deflection, angles, whatever for the ailerons/ elevators/ elevons are as follows:
On low rates 1/4 inch up and down and high rates are "just a tic more." Reflex for launch should be about 2mm and trim from there.

Hopefully I used enough terms that this will come up in a google search.
 

willsonman

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Thanks! Hoping to get the paint on the bottom of the wing finished today. While I wait for the ESC and motor to arrive, I'll use a battery to power up the Rx and program my throws.
 

willsonman

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Ok, so here we are. Bottom crosses have been painted. I did manage to get the airplane programmed and I have to say, she is looking pretty slick. Excellent elevon movement and very little slop. Once the power train comes I can do my final soldering job to get this one ready for a maiden.
 

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
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Congrats on the successful flights! What did you find regarding the reflex for take-off compared to regular flight?
 

willsonman

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Perfect! Seriously, the 2 mm was dead on. I did have a couple of throws that ended up being more like pancakes at first. I then put my trim all the way and she flew fine. I then adjusted the clevises on the control rods to shorten them. Another toss and she was perfect, re-trimmed back and I was confident to make my own toss. It really makes a great deal of difference. Once she is in the air you just throw the switch and all the drag is gone and away she goes!
 

willsonman

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Ok, reviving this thread.

After flying all winter I took her to SEFF in April to try my hand at night flying. She was flying great through the day and when it came time to fly at night... she just did not want to fly. Tried three times only to bash the motor mount. Picked up a new one from Laine at the event and then he totally nailed a launch for me at the noon demo and she just went down nose-first. That did her in. Both spars broken and one wing is trashed. I'll bring this one along to FF as I've arranged for Laine to bring along a replacement wing for me. I bring some covering and CA and try to get her in the air.
 

willsonman

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Took the Cuda down again last night while I did some printing of plans for another member's project. I gave what was there a once-over and found a magnet had been thrown. Disassembly of these outrunners has become old hat for me so a quick opening revealed that the epoxy used was minimal in this spot and I'm assuming that heat was the factor that made it give way.

I roughed up the magnet with some sandpaper and applied some epoxy being careful of not changing the polarity. Once cured, it went right back together and was spinning more evenly. I cannot believe I missed this and did not even think to check it... however, I was operating on very little sleep at SEFF. I'll get the motor reinstalled and check to make sure the motor is spinning in the right direction. I really want this to just be ready for a new wing and go have some fun.

So the goal next is to break down the bad wing a bit. I want to see if I can salvage the LEDs that are in there. I also can re-use the servo and push rod. For a quick and easy re-build on-site I'll go with the deep red covering I have left from the Spacewalker build. It will sort of be fitting of the WWI scheme that is kind of crazy anyway and give me a quick solution for covering at FF. The build of the wing needs no plans and I'll be bringing along a table anyway. Should be fun.

I'll leave the slightly bashed in nose for the time being... I've rebuilt it a few times now. Once I get her back in the air and am happy again I'll get around to that.
 

willsonman

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I got the wing bits disassembled. I think I can salvage the LEDs... at least I can try anyway. Servo and linkage is good too. I also popped out the T-nut just in case. Got the red covering prepped along with the covering iron... Kind of hard to apply covering without it.

Motor is back on and checked for rotation. Giving good thrust so I'm hoping that that was the underlying issue. So this one is all set for the trip.
 

willsonman

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I'll snag some during the re-build. Laine was not able to attend FFOH this year. :( SHe will fly again, just need the parts and its all good.