Great Planes Giant P6E Hawk--Electric Conversion

[Grover54]

Update 8.10.18 - Still working on the "Hawk". Really wasn't that much damage to take this long, just been slammed with work. I'm also waiting for a new motor mount. I was surprised to discover it got slightly bent in the crash.

I must have hit really hard for no more damage that I had. Anyway, I removed it from the firewall and tried to bend it back since it was slightly off center but I couldn't get it right and I'm afraid there could be some unseen stress cracks that could lead to fatigue which wouldn't be a good thing if I was in the air. So, it's only $20 and not worth the risk.

GOOD NEWS - I found a company called "Callie Graphics". A lot of you may already know of her but she had ALL the P-6E Hawk stickers and decals in the exact scale I needed. I was shocked at the exceptional quality and number of aircraft she has products for and in any scale. Her pricing is unbelievable. An entire set was only $34! Here is her link. Check it out.
https://callie-graphics.com/collect...t-squadron-graphics-set?variant=2651353645082

Stay tuned for updates and my Maiden II.

 

[Joker 53150]

Yup, Callie does great work for both custom and stock designs. I've had her provide vinyl for a few planes in the past and have not been disappointed.

 

[Grover54]

One additional tip I found..... The leading edge is actually a very thin balsa sheet wrapped around a small 1/2 moon balsa strip. I've always thought leading edges were typically a piece of balsa that was planed to the required shape. Well, I found a couple YouTube clips from the "Build from Sticks" guys and they said to soak your balsa in Windex w/ ammonia or add a little extra ammonia to a cleaner solution and let it soak for a few hours. I guess the liquid and ammonia has an affect to the wood and makes it VERY pliable. I tested a small piece and wrapped the wet balsa around the leading edge and secured it with rubber bands and let it dry over night. AMAZING! It didn't crack or split and stayed in the formed shape. This trick may be known to a lot of you but the guys at my club never heard of it and are excited to try it. I've sense heard that it's a far better method than heat and steaming. Hope you find this tip as useful as I did. Grover

 

[nhk750]

I have bent the GP motor mounts before and bent back with no issues. I like the fact that they do bend a bit as that helps absorb the impact when you crash. I use them on all my conversions as you can cut and modify them easily and they are very strong.

 

[Grover54]

Got my new motor mount and installed it. Learned a VLAUABLE lesson through the process. When I installed my original mount it was suggested to put a drop of releasable "Thread Lock" to avoid vibration loosening the nuts but now I say NAY-NAY! Had to cut the damn bolts off which was a Major Pain. Anyway, got the new mount on BUT used "nylon" lock nuts. Looks a lot better than the picture in #141.

Now on the Wings...……….

 

[Grover54]

For being a real novice at all of this I'm pretty happy with my progress. Each time I start repairing a damaged area I'm taken back (actually thankful) that the damage was no more serious considering how hard I hit. Anyway, got the vertical stab put back in place. Had to carve out the insert cavity and replace the slot piece. Fits very nicely. I've trimmed the Monokote back on the wings to expose the ribs and shaping pieces to scab in. I'm using Basswood instead of Balsa for a little extra strength since I'm scabbing it in.

Final step on this part is soaking a thin sheet of Balsa in Windex / Ammonia to form leading edge as discussed in #143. Next posting on the lower wing joiner. Have a bit of a challenge and may need everyone's help on.

 

[Grover54]

OK, all you SMEs out there.....here's my problem. There is (was) a wing joiner to connect the lower wings together

It snapped in two when I crashed. There were 3 pieces, 7/8" thin ply I glued together. One side had a slightly larger angle to provide dihedral to the lower wing.

1. Since it's glued in place...… How can I get this out of the slot? Dig it out? Drill it out?
2. I don't have the measurements or the angle of the joiner piece. Any ideas on a solution?

I think I have everything else covered so I hope someone out there can help.

 

[wilmracer]

Ouch... what about widening the slot for the joiner and adding on an additional layer on front/back? Maybe use aluminum bar... Drilling it out would probably be a nightmare. Hopefully someone with more balsa experience than me has an idea.

Joshua did get his up a few times on Saturday at a local warbird event!

 

[Grover54]

Ouch... what about widening the slot for the joiner and adding on an additional layer on front/back? Maybe use aluminum bar... Drilling it out would probably be a nightmare. Hopefully someone with more balsa experience than me has an idea.

Joshua did get his up a few times on Saturday at a local warbird event!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I love this bird! What Warbird Event was it? Seems like a lot of clubs were having such an event this past Saturday. Love the scarf!

 

[rockyboy]

I think I'd try drilling about three holes spaced out across the current join and use 3mm or 4mm carbon fiber tubes for new bracing... cause yeah - trying to chip that out would be a pain in the tukas.

 

[Grover54]

Wing Joiner Challenge - I was just thinking of that as an option. The slot for the "Joiner" piece is 1/2" X 1". I think if I left the wood in place and simply drill a 3/8" hole in the center about 3" - 4" deep at a very slight angle to get a little Dihedral going and insert a carbon fiber tube. That may be the fix but I'm open to all ideas.

 

[willsonman]

Well, I personally would use a dremel tool and hog out the old wood. Some pre-drilling may be prudent to avoid the tip from wobbling on the dremel. You could try chipping out the ply layers using a small flat-head screw drivers. It would be tedious but could work.

The lower wing is essentially flat on the top. What I would do is create a new ply piece that is slightly undersized on the top and bottom and when I re-affix them, make sure the wing roots are completely flat against each other using tape. In the future I would also highly suggest you apply epoxy to the spar as well as the mating root ribs. It makes for a much more robust center section.

Backing up:
I've been using Callie's for years now. Great stuff that is posted but she does custom work at an impeccable price and quality.

Thread lock: I hate the stuff. Sure it makes things secure but when you need to do service, it is a holy nightmare. I use it sparingly in strategic locations. The electric setups we run have very little vibration (if you balance your props!) so I rarely use it.

Good times had on Saturday. I'm always amazed at how well this airplane makes flying look effortless. I mean it is effortless, but she just tracks so well and does whatever you want without a bad habit. No complaints from on-lookers too but in the end, I know I've not put any work into her. She is just fun to fly.

 

[SlingShot]

Good times had on Saturday. I'm always amazed at how well this airplane makes flying look effortless. I mean it is effortless, but she just tracks so well and does whatever you want without a bad habit. No complaints from on-lookers too but in the end, I know I've not put any work into her. She is just fun to fly.

It flies nice and it looks like you trust it enough to stretch out some with your flying.

 

[TooJung2Die]

Thread lock: I hate the stuff. Sure it makes things secure but when you need to do service, it is a holy nightmare. I use it sparingly in strategic locations. The electric setups we run have very little vibration (if you balance your props!) so I rarely use it.

What kind of Loctite are you using? If you plan on taking it apart in the future use blue. If you never-ever want it to come apart use red. I use blue on motor mount screws and motor shaft set screws. Acetone softens loctite but I've never had to use it with Loctite blue.

 

[Grover54]

What kind of Loctite are you using? If you plan on taking it apart in the future use blue. If you never-ever want it to come apart use red. I use blue on motor mount screws and motor shaft set screws. Acetone softens loctite but I've never had to use it with Loctite blue.

I used blue but I agree, rookie mistake, I’ll never use it again. Never occurred to that I may need to remove the motor mount. My bad!

 

[willsonman]

I've used red and blue. It's all annoying to me. I do pre- and post-flight checks to make sure things are right. I've caught motor mounts a bit loose many times. It also forces me to really check my gear instead of just letting something break. There have been times when a firewall was cracked and I had no idea until a screw came a touch loose and I spotted it. IMHO a lot of stupid stuff can be prevented just by constantly checking your stuff for safety.

 

[Grover54]

I've used red and blue. It's all annoying to me. I do pre- and post-flight checks to make sure things are right. I've caught motor mounts a bit loose many times. It also forces me to really check my gear instead of just letting something break. There have been times when a firewall was cracked and I had no idea until a screw came a touch loose and I spotted it. IMHO a lot of stupid stuff can be prevented just by constantly checking your stuff for safety.

Absolutely, Pre and Post flight checks are a good habit to get into. That's why we do it on full scale planes we may fly.

 

[rockyboy]

Blue Loctite used to drive me nuts too - until I got a decent set of Wiha hex drivers. They may seem a little pricey, but the savings in frustration over stripped bolts is priceless.

https://www.wihatools.com/precision-hex-metric-screwdrivers-7-piece-set
https://www.wihatools.com/precision-hex-inch-screwdrivers-8-piece-set

Sometimes you actually get the quality you pay for - in my experience, this is one of those cases.

 

[Grover54]

8/17/18 Update on P-6E Hawk wing repair - The leading edge repair on my lower wing went fantastic. Soaking the balsa sheet was an excellent idea from the stick builders (Thank you!) see photo #1 below. Needs a little filler and sanding and it will be good as new and ready for the fresh Monokote.

As far as the wing joiner goes, based on many inputs and suggestions (Thanks to All) I've chosen to drill a single 3/8" hole in the middle of each side of the joiners about 4" deep and insert a single 3/8" aluminum tube. (see phot #2)

I also CA'd an aluminum grommet in one end and inserted a washer and wood screw through the opposite end to screw into the wood. I'll do the same to the other end and CA everything down. Hoping that does the trick. Unfortunately was out of town for two days so I'll miss my goal to have her back in the air this weekend. Maybe next weekend.

 

[Grover54]

I hope I'm not boring everyone but I like thinking outside the box. I've made a small scope change to my plan to repair my lower wing joiner. If I installed a like grommet and screw on the other end of the tube as planned I'd have to actually rotate the wing rather than the tube to screw the other end in. So, I've decided to use a dowel rod slightly smaller than the tube.

I'll screw the aluminum tube in the 3" hole on the left wing and screw the dowel into the 3" hole on the right then slide the tube over the dowel rod bringing to two wings together. When I'm satisfied it will be a tight fit and the wings are level, I'll slide the tube off the dowel and add a bunch of CA and clamp it all down. I hope my strategy works.

Comments welcome!