First Balsa Build, Kadet Senior

checkerboardflyer

Well-known member
Now I know what I'm putting on my Christmas wish list. A disk sander would make sanding all those pieces to fit faster and more accurate. It'll make all the ends nice and square. Yes, now I gotta have one.

Here is a 5" disc sander that I bought at Menards a few years ago. Two things I like about it: It is variable speed with a knob on the side. And, more importantly, it does not slow down when you feed stock into it. It maintains RPM. The one I had before it would slow down. Here's the link to Menards. More tips and resources for foam board R/C modelers on my blog. https://foamboardflyers.com/
 

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Not a ton of progress, but things are slowly moving forward. The firewall and stringers along the nose are being test-fit in preparation for the engine install. The firewall and the rest of the engine bay area will all be painted black prior to covering so it's as clean as possible looking. Thinned epoxy will cover it all to fuel-proof it. Speaking of the engine, it should have been delivered yesterday, but FedEx claims that nobody was home so they're going to re-deliver Tuesday... I was home all day long, nothing on the Ring doorbell showing they were here and the dog never alerted me to anybody at the door (she's more reliable than the doorbell). I really dislike FedEx home delivery. A wing kit was also ordered from Sig, so coming up will be some good progress as the Kadet comes together.

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Turbojoe

Elite member
Looking good Jeff! I got my kit a few days ago. I hope to start on it in the next decade or so. Will definitely have ailerons. I thought about flaps for a few seconds but that just seems ridiculous on this plane. I do need to get some more rolls of transparent covering as this will likely be my first ALL transparent build.

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Looking good Jeff! I got my kit a few days ago. I hope to start on it in the next decade or so. Will definitely have ailerons. I thought about flaps for a few seconds but that just seems ridiculous on this plane. I do need to get some more rolls of transparent covering as this will likely be my first ALL transparent build.

Joe

Flaps are absolutely unnecessary for a Kadet Senior. Ailerons are going to be part of this build, but even that addition isn’t really needed. My electric Kadet Senior has the stock 3 channel setup and the rudder control is extremely good.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Yep, found out flaps were not needed for my first Telemaster 40 in the 80's either but what the heck. Did it anyway on the latest Telemaster build. I'm hoping the electric Senior comes out WAY lighter than the Telemaster so flaps would just add system weight. They're out. Gotta have ailerons though. I learned to fly with them many decades ago. Can't stand to fly anything R.E.T. now even with rudder on left stick.

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Well this update is unexpected... Yesterday (Saturday) FedEx claimed they couldn't deliver my engine because "there was nobody home or the business was closed." Wrong, but maybe the delivery needs a signature for some reason. Their tracking update then showed the package would be delivered Tuesday. Not sure why they're skipping Monday, but again, whatever. This morning the tracking showed the engine was on a delivery truck for delivery next business day, which should mean tomorrow (Monday). About an hour ago the dog starts barking and I get a Ring notification that there is movement by the front door. No signature required, no ringing the doorbell to verify anybody is home or not, etc., but it's my engine sitting in a box by the door (like most deliveries we get). FedEx sucks.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
FedEx sucks.

That they do! So does UPS to an extent as well. When I was a contract project manager on an ASU campus (Polytechnic) I would be placing multiple orders daily. When shipped UPS I could count on maybe 85% proper delivery. When FedEx it was down to 50% and below. They would get confused on campus and drop stuff wherever they felt like it and I wouldn't get it by project need date. Lots of orders were for many thousands of dollars. Because of incompetent drivers I would drive UPS/FedEx absolutely bonkers to FIND and finally DELIVER my orders. I had to be absolutely relentless with them. Believe it or not USPS (and Amazon Prime) are the most reliable for me.

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
The picture doesn't show it well, but the engine lines up well compared to how the original glow engine was intended be be mounted. The fuselage right side cheek (the muffler side) will need a lot of clearance cutting, but most of will (hopefully) be covered up. The firewall is designed to automatically give me the proper down thrust, and the plans show how to add the optional right thrust. Right thrust isn't required but does help for nice smooth flight.

Getting everything installed is going to be.... "interesting". To get at the engine mounting bolts the muffler needs to come off, and I'll have no access to the nuts on the bottom of the engine mounts. To get at the muffler mounting bolts may require access holes in the fuselage. The plan is to use socket head bolts and blind nuts to make things a little easier.

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If you play with IC engines a lot, this tool is well worth looking at. Mounting an IC engine on mounts like above can be a real pain as you try and get the holes lined up. This tool has a cone that centers a tiny drillbit in the bolt holes on the engine, and you just need to then twist the bit a few times to mark where the holes need to be drilled. Once marked you can just use a regular drill to put the holes right where you need 'em. All four mounting holes lined up perfectly for me with a minimum of work.

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speedbirdted

Legendary member
Good work so far. The engine mount tool might be my favorite one in my whole arsenal. It's too bad they are not manufactured anymore and new old stock will only last so long.

On the issue of right thrust: add it. On a 3-channel airplane, it's a necessity, at least in my eyes. When doing a maneuver such as a touch and go, the torque applied by increasing the throttle on climbout tends to twist the airplane in the opposite direction; you then have to put in some rudder and this results in the airplane flying sideways for a bit. Normally ailerons and rudder working together can counter it just fine, but in this case the responsibility falls entirely on the rudder's shoulders. Add a bit of wind and/or turbulence and a slow crabbing plane can easily become a pile of splinters. (i've seen it happen) I would recommend 2 degrees right on the engine; that would probably be just about perfect.

I would also recommend not permanently mounting the cowl cheeks. Engines have to come off from time to time for occasional maintenance like bearing changes and internal cleaning, and if you have the mounting nuts cocooned in the cowl this makes the task a lot harder. To prevent cutting holes in the cheeks and to de-encumber the task significantly you can mount them using snap fasteners, like the type that some shirts use. The seam will make it look like an actual cowling and this has the added benefit of the cowl cheeks popping off harmlessly if they hit the ground for any reason instead of potentially sustaining damage.

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Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Good work so far. The engine mount tool might be my favorite one in my whole arsenal. It's too bad they are not manufactured anymore and new old stock will only last so long.

On the issue of right thrust: add it. On a 3-channel airplane, it's a necessity, at least in my eyes. When doing a maneuver such as a touch and go, the torque applied by increasing the throttle on climbout tends to twist the airplane in the opposite direction; you then have to put in some rudder and this results in the airplane flying sideways for a bit. Normally ailerons and rudder working together can counter it just fine, but in this case the responsibility falls entirely on the rudder's shoulders. Add a bit of wind and/or turbulence and a slow crabbing plane can easily become a pile of splinters. (i've seen it happen) I would recommend 2 degrees right on the engine; that would probably be just about perfect.

I would also recommend not permanently mounting the cowl cheeks. Engines have to come off from time to time for occasional maintenance like bearing changes and internal cleaning, and if you have the mounting nuts cocooned in the cowl this makes the task a lot harder. To prevent cutting holes in the cheeks and to de-encumber the task significantly you can mount them using snap fasteners, like the type that some shirts use. The seam will make it look like an actual cowling and this has the added benefit of the cowl cheeks popping off harmlessly if they hit the ground for any reason instead of potentially sustaining damage.

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The engine will be removable, even with the engine cheeks permanently installed. It won’t be a picnic to remove, but I’ve done it on other planes like this.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Here is a 5" disc sander that I bought at Menards a few years ago. Two things I like about it: It is variable speed with a knob on the side. And, more importantly, it does not slow down when you feed stock into it. It maintains RPM. The one I had before it would slow down. Here's the link to Menards. More tips and resources for foam board R/C modelers on my blog. https://foamboardflyers.com/

I have the Delta belt/disc sander but I'd prefer adjustable speed. Probably easy to add. Gonna have to Google it....

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
The engine install was pretty straightforward, and I elected to bump placement of the engine off to the side to allow for side-thrust. With the engine mounted I was able to test-fit the side cheeks, and was pleasantly surprised at how little trimming they'll need to fit.

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It looks like even with the cheeks permanently mounted I'll have enough access to remove the muffler, tune the carb, and even remove the entire engine if needed fairly easily. Additional structure will be added to better enclose the engine and give it a good look.

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On the inside I've coated the inside of the nose with thinned out epoxy to fuel-proof and strengthen it (a couple spots still need touch-up). The cowl surrounding the engine will eventually get the same treatment after final sanding and paint.

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Turbojoe

Elite member
Looking great so far Jeff!

I've done nothing more with my kit than to open the box and make sure it looks complete with no shipping damage.

Reality is setting in and I'm not sure it's going to fit safely in my tiny Scion xD. :eek: I may need to look at building a two piece wing. I haven't run across this mod but really haven't looked yet.

I'm going electric and must have a cowl. I've found a fiberglass place @ $39.00 + shipping. Sig wants $45.00 for the Senior Sport bARF cowl. Screw that. I'll build one from balsa and magnet mount it to the firewall.

I'm working at clearing off and organizing parts, tools and materials from one of my fold up tables so I can lay out the plans and get some ideas. My E.J. Lind magnet "board" is only 48" long so the fuse won't be built until I can find a longer slab of steel to build it on.

I've got to go through my motors and see what I have that con produce 500-600 watts on 4S just to keep it really light. I've got a Scorpion 4020-12 that can produce enough on 6S to rip the wings off but that's overkill for this bird and probably the Telemaster 40 too.

I may order some Chinakote from Hobby King as this build is going to gobble up a few rolls. Gotta keep it cheap....

Joe
 

Joker 53150

Mmmmmmm, balsa.
Mentor
Electric is a good option for the Senior, and a 4S setup should work well. My other Senior is electric and is running on a big 5,000mAh 5S. Once airborne it cruises at well under 1/2 throttle and will easily fly for over 12 minutes with a big reserve of power.

Changing the design to a 2-piece wing should be fairly easy for you, I look forward to your design changes, and may be able to use your ideas when I eventually build my 150% scale Senior.