Building Timmy P's Skymaster

[Mr NCT]

If I'd thought ahead I would have left space here for the plans that I modified, but this is my first time posting plans so...
Here are the plans for Timmy P's Skymaster V 2.0. It takes 5 sheets of FB and 1 of poster board and or card stock. V2.0 build starts on post #13. I've flown this plane 3 times today - it's a sweet flier.



Since his thread has been dormant for awhile I thought I'd start a new one for my attempt at building Timmy's Skymaster. I've got all the parts cut but he recommended an aluminum spar. I didn't want to hacksaw it so I found another way.

It's nice to have friends with machines!

 

[Mr NCT]

Finished the wing - boom - tail section (all but servos, waiting on USPS). Had trouble getting and keeping the booms square. May have to do a second one. Seriously thinking of LG now that I see how big this thing is. Pics to follow.
Sorry about the smart-alecky spar video. I repair manufacturing machines and had a customer who owed me a favor. Seemed so over the top to use a $600K machine to make parts for my hobby I just couldn't resist.

 

[Indy durtdigger]

It's only over the top if you included a maniacal laugh as it worked it's magic. I haven't been frequenting the forums too much these last couple months. Looks like @Timmy dropped off the face of the earth, he was really active. Got any other pics? I remember this plane from the thread he made but don't think I've seen any actual pics of one.

 

[kilroy07]

Just a quick link for those who don't know... https://www.flitetest.com/articles/cessna-skymaster-337
An awesome plane and an awesome design (just wish I had the time to tackle one!)

 

[Mr NCT]

Here are pics of the wing/boom/tail. Servos arrived but, of course, real life has intervened. The heater element in the dryer burned out (now fixed), the throttle cable on the mower broke (now fixed) and a puddle has appeared on the ground directly above the water line that runs to my daughter's house. I'm waiting on a plumber for that one. Indy durtdigger I wish you were closer to Altanta, IN - I'd have had you out digging some durt!
If I build this again I think I'll do the booms with A or B folds for the sides and top and then a seperate piece for the bottom. I think it would be much easier to keep them square that way though it would take it from 4 sheets of FB to 5. But what the hey, I'll be a big spender and shell out the extra buck!

 

[Timmy]

It's only over the top if you included a maniacal laugh as it worked it's magic. I haven't been frequenting the forums too much these last couple months. Looks like @Timmy dropped off the face of the earth, he was really active. Got any other pics? I remember this plane from the thread he made but don't think I've seen any actual pics of one.

School. Also I'm not the one who made this plane, different Timmy.

 

[Indy durtdigger]

School. Also I'm not the one who made this plane, different Timmy.

Ahh. For some reason I thought he was making that trainer type plane you had the thread on.

 

[Mr NCT]

This is my first serious attempt at steerable gear so this may be overkill. The box is build out of 3/32" ply. What do you think?

 

[Mr NCT]

Real life interfered for a few days but progress has resumed! I sheeted the bottom part of the hull. At the main gear I used 1/16" ply with some strips of 1/8" where the screws go through.



Then the top formers were easy but the poster board cover's not as easy as Timmy P made it look. Kind of like watching a pro skier and thinking "Hey, I can do that!" Maybe the next one will be better.



At this point it looks like a mast & sails might be more appropriate. This evening I trial mounted the wing assembly, put in the battery and taxied up and down the drive. Used a FT C twin package and 3S 2200 battery so AUW is 1260g. With the battery about an inch from the nose the CG was just a little nose heavy, hurray! Need a couple more Y connectors and it's time for the maiden.



I think there are a few design changes I'll make on the next one to compensate for my lack of build skill: do the booms with 2 B folds and a bottom piece instead of 4 pieces, put a little more overlap on the sides of the windshield joint, and put the rear motor mount a little (1/4") aft to allow for the shorter shaft on the FT motor.
What a great set of plans, build one!

 

[Mr NCT]

It Flies!! I didn't land it very well but the Skymaster is a blast. Here's the maiden. Sorry for the white plane on an overcast day but it's big enough to kind of see it.

 

[Mr NCT]

I've finally done enough damage to start modifying. It's a fantastic design & flier, these are just to compensate for my personal preferences and poor flying skills. I don't like to pull the swappable front motor pod to load & unload the battery so I've done a front hatch for easier access. I put a tape hinge at the front like the FT Sportster and magnets at the back to hold it down. I've also done a sturdier rear motor mount and will be doing a rear hatch for access.

 

[Mr NCT]

Finished the rear motor cover. I used BBQ skewers to pin it to the bulkhead just in front of it and two sets of 5mm x 2mm magnets to hold it down and in place at the rear. With the patching and modifications it looks a little rough but it still flies well and nothing came off in flight. Even with the heavier rear motor mount and the extra structure of the front & rear hatch the AUW only gained 12g up to 1272. Part of the weight savings might be that I used card stock for the hatch skins instead of poster board.
If anyone is interested I'll be posting the modified plans after I've had a chance to debug them.

 

[Mr NCT]

Time to start Skymaster 2.0 since 1.0 is still up in a tree.
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/still-up-a-tree.68321/

The hardest part on the first one was mounting the booms to the wings so the vert. stabs were in fact vertical and the booms were square and perpendicular to the wing. The wing has 5 degrees dihedral so with a little CAD and trials I got cut templates made that get the stabs vertical. Here's the spar being laminated, the cut templates tacked on with a light coat of Super 77 and a couple of the trials. It's easiest to cut most of the side cuts one side at a time then do the final cut throughs with a long blade.



To get them square, parallel, etc. I cut an assembly jig to fit over the vert stabs that holds them 15" apart and the same distance from the table. I marked out a centerline and put on a couple of stops to hold the wing square. Once everything was lined up I glued and smeared at the joints. I didn't glue the inboard section at the trailing edge, that's where the elevator and rudder servos mount.



Power Pack C twin just arrived yesterday so next is mounting servos, linkage & control horns then start on fuselage.
I've been drawing my modifications to Timmy P's plans in TurboCad and It's given me great appreciation for everyone who draws and shares their plans. Thanks!

 

[Mr NCT]

Getting a lot done today. All servos & linkages in wing/tail boom assembly done. The FT 9g servos fit nicely in the wing cavity. I used a small wedge of foam board to hold the pocket open to get glue in the cavity so they should hold great.



Marked out the holes for the rudder & elevator servos. I cut them a little long to allow for adjustment. I found some thin plastic stirrers on Amazon for guides and glued them near the bottom of the booms. I glued the servo wires to the spacer between the upper and lower wings. I'm putting the rx on the bottom of the wing so everything is routed in place.



To tie the two rudders together I made a couple of 1/16" plywood spikes with holes in the end and embedded them in the foam.

 

[Mr NCT]

The fuselage is almost done. I've added landing gear, front hatch for battery, bottom hatch for steering gear access and a rear motor cover to Timmy P's design.

 

[Mr NCT]

Life got in the way for awhile but I'm back at it. The mods I made to the plans worked out okay. It's built and painted, now just running wires. I've got dxf files of the plans and am converting to pdf if anyone else wants to build this sweet flying plane.

 

[Mr NCT]

Finished but too windy to go outside for pictures, I tried and it got blown over on it's head. Using FTFB and paint it has an AUW 1306, so a little heavier than the DTFB version but not by much. Can't wait to fly it.

 

[Mr NCT]

Plans added in post #1

 

[FoamyDM]

Finished but too windy to go outside for pictures, I tried and it got blown over on it's head. Using FTFB and paint it has an AUW 1306, so a little heavier than the DTFB version but not by much. Can't wait to fly it.

View attachment 208515

No such thing. This bird loves to fly

 

[Mr NCT]

No such thing. This bird loves to fly

I LOVE IT!! That's what I call a hover. I landed a Cessna 150 like that, I touched down at almost a dead stop and had to add throttle to taxi.