AT-6 Texan Restoration

SharkTeethWizard

Master Of The P-40's
Hello again ladies and gents!

Here is the AT-6 I spoke of in the Stearman thread, which I will convert to electric and just fly. I won’t make this anything special, just a decent Texan to go out and fly. The motor is one pulled from the Hobbistar electric trainer, which pulled around a 63” wingspan, 6.5 pound plane pretty well, so it should fly this one like its at Reno! Battery will be dual 2s 3000mah, since it has a dual input ESC.

2D009FAF-E26D-4550-8185-6995897B0D0F.jpeg

image.jpg

Now to the plane, I don’t know who manufactured it, but it has foam core, balsa sheeted wings, and a fiberglass cowl, anyone have a good guess?

image.jpg

97DA7076-EC7D-4132-A43D-86DA0C4D14D7.jpeg
 

willsonman

Builder Extraordinare
Mentor
You really should try and cut the old motor mount off and center your motor. The thrust line will not match up properly and you are bound to have controlability issues.
 

SharkTeethWizard

Master Of The P-40's
You really should try and cut the old motor mount off and center your motor. The thrust line will not match up properly and you are bound to have controlability issues.

Yeah, This was by no means the final placement, just a rough mockup to make sure the prop would clear the cowl.
 

SharkTeethWizard

Master Of The P-40's
Small Update, no pics sadly.

I have started sanding the fuse, along with filling the roughness. I'm thinking of sticking with the Reno Racer theme, thoughts? I was planning on orange and checkered wing per original, chrome/polished aluminum fuse, and orange tail feathers.

I also might do retracts. But I don't know yet.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
I like the Reno racer theme.

Regarding the retracts, keep in mind the plane wasn't designed for them so you may currently have a wing spar where the retracted wheel needs to go. This would then require some surgery to remove the spar and relocate it along with enough strength to keep the wing from folding.
 

SharkTeethWizard

Master Of The P-40's
To you folks who work on balsa all the time, what filler do you use? I'm using hobbylite but this stuff just don't stick and won't spread at all. I even bought a new jar thinking it was a bad jar, same results? Am I doing something wrong?

I do Send, Fill, or at least attempt to, and can't get past the fill part.
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Sorry for the triple post, the forum wasn't reacting properly this morning...

For balsa filler I do use the Hobbilite balsa-colored filler and generally like it. Sometimes it doesn't want to stick well, so all I do is put some in a small mixing dish and add a few drops of water. Mix well and spread!
 

SharkTeethWizard

Master Of The P-40's
Another Pictureless update, I get so carried away working I just forget!

Found out this is an old Jemco model AT-6, which means solid foam core wing, which in turn means no main spar, which should make my retract installation much much easier.

I'm gonna use an idea I saw on RCGroups and make a removable platform to hold the engine mount, ESC, and battery tray, so if I have to service it, i remove eight bolts and it's off. Think of it as a Balsa power pod.

Gonna order some parts this Thursday when my paycheck comes in, and also run down to the Vinyl store and see if they have any good Elton John or other good records, I've done listened to my whole collection 3 times over last week, need some new.
 
Last edited: