Balsa Build Along 2017/18 - Hobbico 300S, Thinning the Herd

[Joker 53150]

All loaded up and ready for a maiden tomorrow. I'll run it up again and make sure the engine is running well first, just to be safe. The rack is a new addition, something I have wanted to do for a quite a while. It's made from 3/4" thick-walled PVC pipe, friction-fit and it makes carrying multiple planes much easier. The landing gear on the Extra keeps it from fitting well right-side up, but some simple tweaks will make it more adjustable. The goal is to be able to carry four .60-.90 sized fuselages, and an extra rack will be made to handle wings. This design should also allow me to carry one big plane with the wing(s) hanging from the ceiling.

The three planes on the rack are all scheduled for maiden flights tomorrow, the 2-stroke glow Extra 300s, the 4-stroke glow P-51, and the electric Cherokee. The Kadet Senior is my warm-up plane and I've got a Fun Fighter in there as well to keep things spicy!

 

[PsyBorg]

Thats a lot of plane for a small space. stack em pack em and wrack em!!

 

[Joker 53150]

Thats a lot of plane for a small space. stack em pack em and wrack em!!

They look like they're tightly packed, but no planes or wings are in contact with other parts.

 

[Joker 53150]

This was my second maiden flight of the day, following my electric Great Planes Cherokee. Right off the bat I had problems with this plane, getting fuel into the tank. One thing I didn't do previously was fill the tank and run the engine with the wing attached. Had I done that I'd have known the fill line was getting kinked from the tank being pushed forward. To temporarily "fix" the problem I removed the wing and pulled the tank back to un-kink the line - it was easily then filled and the wing re-installed. With that done it immediately fired up and was tuned and ready to go!

Even flying at a sod farm the ground isn't always cooperative and I had it nose-over trying to get it rolling for the first flight. Back to the bench I put power to the glow plug and it fired right back up. This time the roll-out was much better and it jumped into the sky. I had rates a little higher than preferred just so I had enough throw "just in case". I dropped the rates to Low and proceeded to cruise around the sky with ease. It's heavier than it should be for good aerobatics, but it still looks great doing mild moves (loops, rolls, etc).

She was running so nice I didn't want to bring it in, but I didn't have a timer going for the first flight (I figure it was about 5 minutes) so I lined up and did a 2-bounce landing. Fairly uneventful other than ending up on it's nose, which ended up breaking the prop. At least it was a cheap prop!

So all it needs is a new prop, the cowl can be installed, and I need to change how the fill line is run. I'm new to the club I was flying at today and we had a couple other club members stop by to see if anybody was flying and they both got a kick out of the naked finish. I'll call this one a success!

 

[Joker 53150]

With the Extra 300S officially dead and not getting re-built I have some extra parts in need of a home. The engine is still good, as are most of the electronics (the aileron servo is toast). Today I picked up a new plane for the parts, a .60 size P-40 from Jamara (?). Much of the box for the ARF is written in German, although the instructions are English-ish and fairly complete. I've had little luck finding any real info on it, but the build quality looks much better than any other ARF I've had. Colors are a tad bit ugly, but I can live with it. The guy I got it from also sold me a short kit for a Ziroli Stuka which has been on my bucket list for a while. Now to just plow through about 30 other projects first.....

 

[nhk750]

Umm, what happened? Dead?

 

[Joker 53150]

Hmmm, I thought I updated the thread about that. Yup, dead on flight #2. I think the aileron servo either died or got stuck as there was no aileron control shortly after take-off. I had rudder and elevator and ALMOST was able to get out of the dive, but it was a spinning dive too close to the ground for the rudder to do much. Oh well, it happens.

 

[nhk750]

Oh man, I hate it when that happens...

 

[rockyboy]

Ouch! At least the expensive parts came through OK