Goldberg Eagle 2 Redemption Build

vhandon

Active member
25 years ago I built a Goldberg Eagle 2 as my very first plane. I had never flown before and figured how hard could it be. As expected the flight lasted 6 seconds and the plane did not survive. My first child was born a few months later so the remains of the plane were put in a box and forgotten.
I got the flying bug again after watching the FliteTest team put a Little Tikes in the air. I watched all of their training videos and started again with the FT Cub. I have been flying for about a year and half now but I can't shake the failure of that first flight. So I found the same kit and I'm on my way to redemption.
The servos still work perfectly so I am going to try to reuse them. The motor still turns but this build is going to be electric.

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Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Beware, some old servos have a different wire arrangement, the positive wire on the outside pin. All modern servos have the positive wire in the middle.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Excellent project! If you are able to get an FT Cub to bounce around the sky where you want it to go, I'm sure you'll have a great time flying the Eagle :D
 

vhandon

Active member
Over the long weekend I was able to make a lot of progress. Wings and control surfaces complete and the Fuselage is aligned and ready for glue. I forgot how quickly this kit goes together. After building the GLH-250 I really have come to dislike die cut parts. Those laser cut parts sure do spoil you. I may have to change my plans for the next build because I really would prefer a laser cut kit.
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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
The progress looks great! :D

I know what you mean about how a good laser cut kit really makes those die-crunched kits look like a lot more work. Having parts that actually fit is a real nice feature! :D
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
After building the GLH-250 I really have come to dislike die cut parts. Those laser cut parts sure do spoil you.
I completely agree. The Guillow's Lancer kit had one sheet laser cut and the rest were die-crushed. I would rather hand cut printed balsa than deal with bad die-cut parts. You end up fixing so many mistakes in the die-cut parts it is no time saver at all.

That's a really clean looking build so far! Are you sanding off the laser burn?
 

vhandon

Active member
I completely agree. The Guillow's Lancer kit had one sheet laser cut and the rest were die-crushed. I would rather hand cut printed balsa than deal with bad die-cut parts. You end up fixing so many mistakes in the die-cut parts it is no time saver at all.

That's a really clean looking build so far! Are you sanding off the laser burn?

This is not the laser cut kit but it did need plenty of sanding. I kinda like the burn marks so I may preserve them and use transparent covering on the next laser cut kit.
 

vhandon

Active member
Another week of progress. I ran out of wood parts in the box so I must be getting close to finishing. Sanded everything down and mostly ready for covering. The plans offer several build options and I chose to use most of them:

- Lower dihedral angle for the sportier wing.
- Tail drag landing gear instead of tripod. I want to engineer a steerable rear wheel so that may hold up covering the rear fuselage.
- bolt in wing instead of rubber bands.
- Electric conversion but not following the 1983 suggestions. Power 46 and 60amp esc should arrive later this week.

I found some old hanger 9 wheels that I will reuse after a little paint. I got the tail section covered and it gives a good example of the color scheme. My, unnamed as of yet, pilot got a splash of color as well. The biggest pain point so far has to be the amount of filing and sanding it took to get the plastic window sheets to fit in the plywood openings. I almost gave up on them and just covered them with monokote.
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vhandon

Active member
Weekly update. Many items crossed off the list, the end is near.
  • Monokote coverage complete.
  • Landing gear for tail drag configuration installed. I used an off the shelf main gear but had to create the steerable rear wheel setup from scratch.
  • Installed all the windows and pilot.
  • Mocked up the motor mount.
Up next is my least favorite part, control horns and push rods.

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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
@vhandon - this is great - I really really want to do a balsa build! :D

Let me help you out with that! ;)

Here are some local (to you) kit manufacturers / retailers

http://www.airsail.co.nz/radio-control-models-xidg60752.html
https://thcc.nz/collections/plane-kits
http://www.hangarone.co.nz/laser-cut-aircraft-kits-c-360.html

I'm sure if you got someone on the phone for a few minutes - especially from Hangar One - and talk to them about your flying site options they can point you in the right direction for a great first kit! :D