To get the lightening stripes and windows should I also pick up a black cover pack? And how will I apply this all?
Balsa Build Along for 2019-2020
- Thread starter rockyboy
- Start date
chris398mx
Master member
To add to @The Hangar questions........is there a"Best Practice" sequence of covering that gives good results in terms of overlaps and hiding seams.
The generally followed method is start at the bottom rear and work towards the top front. Following this, the wing is easy - cover the bottom first, then the top. If the wing has dihedral you may be able to cover the entire bottom with one piece, but for the top use two and seam it at the center. You'll want to overlap by about 1/8", and be careful when shrinking the covering that you don't heat the seam which can let the sheets come loose from each other.
On the fuselage I normally start with the tail feathers, then the bottom followed by the sides, then the top.
Doing it in this type of order makes the seams less visible due to the way the light hits the pieces.
Willy Nillies
Elite member
Hi There!@Willy Nillies I'm thinking about getting your J3 cub Beta kit for the balsa build-along and saw that you recommended a 1306 3000 kv motor for this. However, I have hardly any money at all to spend on this and was hoping I could use my 1808 2400 kv motor on a 6x4 prop? Thanks for putting up with my noobish questions. I know foam board but not balsa. If it's foamboard just chuck it in the air and see what happens. You might lose a couple bucks and a few minutes of repair. It's not that way with balsa
Edit: my setup allows me to bump the power up to 4s if need be but I suspect the 1808 on a 5 or 6 inch prop will be adequate running on 2s.
The 1808 would probably work on 2 cell 500 mah, but way more power than needed. You will probably have to add a little tail weight to balance. Max 5 gram servos recommended. 9 gram servos will not fit in the wing or servo tray without extensive modification and adding unnecessary weight. All those 2 or 3 grams here and there REALLY add up on small airplanes like the Cub and will effect flight performance significantly.
With that said, we do encourage modifications and experimentation with our kits! If you decide to go ahead with what you have on hand, we will do our best to assist you to help make it work the best it can for what you have.
The Cub was specifically designed to be lighter than like the Barnstormer and modifications were made in arms/moments of motor placement, tail moment etc to get it to balance very easy with the the recommended equipment at the lightest weight possible.
Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
Thank you for your reply! I went ahead and ordered some 4.3 gram servos for this build, and I think I’ll go the safe route and buy the gear you recommend. I emailed you about the $5 off coupon, also thanks again for your generous offer - I can’t wait to get started on this build!
chris398mx
Master member
Willy Nillies
Elite member
If you join our facebook group, we will include enough material to do the black lightening bolts and windows. But you MUST request the material in the notes section at checkout.
SIncerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
I don’t have Facebook but otherwise I would. Will the black covering pack work for the stripes and all? Does that have to he heated up, or does it just stick on?
You will still need to heat up the black covering to get it to stick - or use a chemical activator like Monocote Trim Solvent (I don't know what the magic ingredient is in there, but there is probably a cheap / household option if we can find a chemist to help out).
What can I use to heat the yellow covering with? Will I have to buy something special or is there a household tool that will do the job? You can tell I'm an absolute noob to balsa!
Grifflyer
WWII fanatic
I used a regular clothes iron and that worked well for me.What can I use to heat the yellow covering with? Will I have to buy something special or is there a household tool that will do the job? You can tell I'm an absolute noob to balsa!
Ok, good to know.
Willy Nillies
Elite member
Simply put in the notes section that you would like enough material for the lightening bolts and windows and we will send it.
Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
chris398mx
Master member
Awesome to help the young people out!!
Thanks so much! I will do that!
That can work, but the iron can easily melt the covering if it's too hot. The Willy Nillies kits are also pretty small for a standard clothes iron to use with any degree of accuracy. Not saying it WON'T work, but I'd recommend a covering iron. You can probably pick one up cheap on RC Groups, at a swap meet, or even Craigslist.
What can I use to heat the yellow covering with? Will I have to buy something special or is there a household tool that will do the job? You can tell I'm an absolute noob to balsa!
I highly recommend reading through this thread that @Joker 53150 put together on starting your first Balsa build.
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...uild-your-first-balsa-plane-start-here.32389/
We will always be happy to keep answering questions here - please don't think I'm trying to shut you down - but there are probably questions you don't even know you want to ask yet, and that thread will help you figure those out too!
Ok - thanks! I will read it!I highly recommend reading through this thread that @Joker 53150 put together on starting your first Balsa build.
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.p...uild-your-first-balsa-plane-start-here.32389/
We will always be happy to keep answering questions here - please don't think I'm trying to shut you down - but there are probably questions you don't even know you want to ask yet, and that thread will help you figure those out too!
Regarding that thread, I may be making a bunch of changes and updates after I build my Cub for the build along. It was centered heavily on the Mountain Models kits, and the WN kits may be a better choice for a first build.
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