First Build FT Guinea Pig as my Trainer/First Plane.

Okay my friends. Here is where I'm at tonight!
FixedDaughterSkirts.jpg

"Scratch" has her skirts trimmed a touch tighter now, and they look much better.
TailRudderFixed.jpg

If you look close I added the outside servo horns, so the rudders move equally.
MomAndChild.jpg

Mother and Daughter! Had some trouble with the nose... after that... easy breezy!
GuineaPigMainGear.jpg

Those are the 3" Dubro Lite wheels for Mom's main gear.
WheelSkirtsPapered.jpg

Those tail holes needed... something. So I took some paper pulled off the inside nose curve and glued and trimmed!
 
Do you have any of the spare servo output arms, horns, disks or similar? If you have a selection then the whole process can be quite simple.

Have fun!
Ah... not... yet. I haven't ordered the Power Pack. I have hand cut bell cranks, screw mounted through plastic barrel bearings to a base plate. I've cut a four way servo arms into a bell crank as well. They work great. In this case that would mean cutting off the small tab from the center (old rudder location) support, then mounting that bell crank to a post on the top rear edge of the support. Now... that changes the required location of the attachment on the rudders. Since the bell crank left/right arm is centered, to get equal throw and motion from the dual rudders, isn't the new attachment location in the center of the rudder, outboard/aft of the pivot point?
 
Ah... not... yet. I haven't ordered the Power Pack. I have hand cut bell cranks, screw mounted through plastic barrel bearings to a base plate. I've cut a four way servo arms into a bell crank as well. They work great. In this case that would mean cutting off the small tab from the center (old rudder location) support, then mounting that bell crank to a post on the top rear edge of the support. Now... that changes the required location of the attachment on the rudders. Since the bell crank left/right arm is centered, to get equal throw and motion from the dual rudders, isn't the new attachment location in the center of the rudder, outboard/aft of the pivot point?
Just doing some "Stinkin' Thinkin'" over here. Cutting a slot in place of the servo horns on the rudders... glue in the end of a servo arm with a pocket for the wire to freely move. Must open paint program to see....
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
Ah... not... yet. I haven't ordered the Power Pack. I have hand cut bell cranks, screw mounted through plastic barrel bearings to a base plate. I've cut a four way servo arms into a bell crank as well. They work great. In this case that would mean cutting off the small tab from the center (old rudder location) support, then mounting that bell crank to a post on the top rear edge of the support. Now... that changes the required location of the attachment on the rudders. Since the bell crank left/right arm is centered, to get equal throw and motion from the dual rudders, isn't the new attachment location in the center of the rudder, outboard/aft of the pivot point?
This is the sort of simple hack I would use. Refining the design or use of hand made control horns ets would work as well.

See pic below!
Triple rudder.jpg


Have fun!
 
This is the sort of simple hack I would use. Refining the design or use of hand made control horns ets would work as well.

See pic below!
View attachment 120359

Have fun!
That'sa what I was thinking. Maybe after she gets banged around a bit... or after getting my power packs. I know I'll have plenty spare. Hey, will a servo horn fit over a BBQ skewer? Anyone... Anyone... Easy pivot post for the bell crank.
 

Hai-Lee

Old and Bold RC PILOT
That'sa what I was thinking. Maybe after she gets banged around a bit... or after getting my power packs. I know I'll have plenty spare. Hey, will a servo horn fit over a BBQ skewer? Anyone... Anyone... Easy pivot post for the bell crank.
The 3 mm skewers I use are a very tight fit. with a little work they free up sufficiently to use as a hinge or pivot.

They are great for use with the servo horns/output arms to provide things like the rudder arrangement mentioned previously as well as guy points for guy wires and even wing bracing struts.

Have fun!
 
Okay, at this point I'm going to begin sealing all my open edges, trimming up the nose curves, and such. I want clear windows on my Scratch Build Sky-Truck, but I think I'll build a second nose first. One bang-able and one detail/pretty. Maybe just cut some paper backed foil from cigarette packs to make one-way mirror windows on the Bang-Able nose.
I know I used two DTFB sheets for my fuselage on the Scratch build do to 7 X 7, not 5 X 7 size. But after these builds... (Dangerous Stinkin' Thinkin' beginning!!!) Monster Scratch Built Sky-Truck? Hmm.
FixedDaughterSkirts.jpg

I wrote the guy I ordered my 3-blade 10 X 5 props from since I only got one CW and one CCW, and he is sending me my other two each. Yeah!!
 
The 3 mm skewers I use are a very tight fit. with a little work they free up sufficiently to use as a hinge or pivot.

They are great for use with the servo horns/output arms to provide things like the rudder arrangement mentioned previously as well as guy points for guy wires and even wing bracing struts.

Have fun!
Next... Power Pack/s!
 
It's after midnight... my eyes droop at the revelations that appear before them. Springing open as ideas flash through gray matter that fights for sleep. Another day awaits me, yet... I vow to take up arms against boring everyday, and will myself into dashing ink with aged fingers across yellowed paper. Knowingly smiling, as if madness isn't near... tomorrow... to reason the revelations into something near a sane and flyable objective. Finally... satisfying smirk... relax to take in the accomplishment, saying goodnight to the light of my screen, and a warm hello to the darkness of closed eyelids. Sleep, for to dream... of flying machines and sealing wax... returning to the boy who believes in... dragons.
 

buzzbomb

I know nothing!
It's after midnight... my eyes droop at the revelations that appear before them. Springing open as ideas flash through gray matter that fights for sleep. Another day awaits me, yet... I vow to take up arms against boring everyday, and will myself into dashing ink with aged fingers across yellowed paper. Knowingly smiling, as if madness isn't near... tomorrow... to reason the revelations into something near a sane and flyable objective. Finally... satisfying smirk... relax to take in the accomplishment, saying goodnight to the light of my screen, and a warm hello to the darkness of closed eyelids. Sleep, for to dream... of flying machines and sealing wax... returning to the boy who believes in... dragons.
I used to wax poetic about my motorcycle. The fever? You've got it bad, man. :)
 
Tonight I was trying an old trick I used when we used to use wheat grain bulbs for lighting our planes. i would pull the foiled paper out of my cigarette packs and CA it to the back area where the bulbs go. This created a reflector so light wasn't wasted going into the plane. Works on DTFB too! I tested it on a couple of scrap chunks. Gorilla Super Glue. It also (discovered by accident) hardens and seals the edges as well as hot glue, without being... rubbery. On a second piece I gently wiped the edge with a smaller scrap chunk like when you use hot glue. I rolled the edge a touch. It held, and didn't wrinkle the paper. With a gentle hand I rolled/pushed both edges before it dried, and it created a nice somewhat curved edge! I'm thinking of using this method on my exposed edges on my two birds.
 

Bricks

Master member
The problem with CA and foam is CA is ridged , will crack and break where other glues that are rubbery will bend and give holding everything together better.

When building my EPP 3D planes CA sucks for the reason I stated above it will not flex with the EPP. My main glue for EPP is Beacon Fabric-Tac or foam, and much lighter then hot glue
 
I'll have to try that. See if me local Wally-World has it. I need to read the paper on my Gorilla Super Glue. Not sure if it is CA, but the edges come out a touch hard, dull, and take a fingernail test okay. It's the fact I can easily attach my cigarette foil paper for metal trim or light reflectors that made me HAPPY! I want to trim the windows in my display noses with foil before installing them. Especially the Sky-Truck. Now I need to find some green candy tint. He he he!
 

Headbang

Master member
Loving it all. These kind of projects is why I got so excited the other day when a staff member went and raided a dollar tree in another town and gave me 32 sheets of fb for Christmas.
Last time I did a similar rudder situation it was a complex wire pull pull solution.
Have not done a Guinea pig yet. But i imagine it flies a lot like the sea duck, and that has been a real easy flyer.
And to clarify, from a post in another thread. That was white gorilla glue, not the wood glue they make as well. It dries white, curing is twice as fast as original gorilla glue, foams up to 3 times the size for gap filling. I also use it to build, saves about a lb over hot glue on larger planes.
 
Want to figure out a few things first. I'm thinking removable camera platform, so Sky-Truck is Multi-Purpose bird. Cams, power and controller on sled with Plexiglas window in belly, controller plugged into receiver. If I can get it to fit, possible mount under rear of gear support box near nose, locked in with load release I'm making out of tow line release unit. I want to be able to open cargo door and release cargo separately. That way I can put night-vision infrared LED's on the sled as well, powered by same pack.
I got the "White" versus the "Clear" I bought earlier. Gonna try on some scrap first. Also hoping to raid DT, see if they will sell me a BOX unopened. When put into racks each piece has one corner crushed. Even on the Black.
SecondNose.jpg

Working on second nose for Sky-Truck.
 

Headbang

Master member
Want to figure out a few things first. I'm thinking removable camera platform, so Sky-Truck is Multi-Purpose bird. Cams, power and controller on sled with Plexiglas window in belly, controller plugged into receiver. If I can get it to fit, possible mount under rear of gear support box near nose, locked in with load release I'm making out of tow line release unit. I want to be able to open cargo door and release cargo separately. That way I can put night-vision infrared LED's on the sled as well, powered by same pack.
I got the "White" versus the "Clear" I bought earlier. Gonna try on some scrap first. Also hoping to raid DT, see if they will sell me a BOX unopened. When put into racks each piece has one corner crushed. Even on the Black.
View attachment 120843
Working on second nose for Sky-Truck.

They will always sell you boxes if they have them or can find them. I just got a call, 4 boxes just came off the truck for me at a dt in the next town over.
 
I tried building a second nose for the Sky-Truck and realized something. Don't build from the measurements you started with, used how the bird turned out. Measure the bird. My new nose... doesn't fit. Now, what to do until I can get some warmer dryer weather to paint my birds...