Life of the Simple Scout...

[Grifflyer]

Maybe... he might be to old to have started though. Wasn't @SquirrelTail barely out of diapers when he started flying

I thought he was still in diapers

 

[Zetoyoc]

Here is the kids vid...

Great flight!. And a bit longer in the air than your last few eh, @BATTLEAXE 😜

I too get happy just doing laps in one direction and have to remind myself the plane can turn right as well. Loops next, right?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

I started when I was 4 lol

So i was right about the diaper thing then lol

 

[PoorManRC]

Here is the kids vid...

THAT'S what it's really all about!! 😁 Jase did real good.
I'm still trying to get 2 of the Grandbabies out to fly....

I can't blame them, it's HOT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 here!!!

 

[bwarz]

First, I gotta say again that I should have done the new way and just spray glued the plans to the dtfb and cut them out. Nope. I traced them. I mean I've got the patterns, I might as well use them right? Someone please remind me next build to NOT do that. I also need to say that taking pictures of me tracing and cutting parts for four planes wasn't going to be fun for any of you, let alone fun for me! OK, I suppose I'm done complaining for now😬

So there they are! I had one wing and doublers left to trace and cut. I figured why not? It's 1:30am. It's nice and quiet. Why not!? Now that they're done, that just means tomorrow I start building! Hopefully heading to Edgewater on Thursday, I'd love to have the planes done for the kids! The race is on.... Lots of gluing, 3d printing, lacquering, painting...😁😄🙃

 

[BATTLEAXE]

First, I gotta say again that I should have done the new way and just spray glued the plans to the dtfb and cut them out. Nope. I traced them. I mean I've got the patterns, I might as well use them right? Someone please remind me next build to NOT do that. I also need to say that taking pictures of me tracing and cutting parts for four planes wasn't going to be fun for any of you, let alone fun for me! OK, I suppose I'm done complaining for now😬 View attachment 175540
So there they are! I had one wing and doublers left to trace and cut. I figured why not? It's 1:30am. It's nice and quiet. Why not!? Now that they're done, that just means tomorrow I start building! Hopefully heading to Edgewater on Thursday, I'd love to have the planes done for the kids! The race is on.... Lots of gluing, 3d printing, lacquering, painting...😁😄🙃

Holy man 4 Scouts! You are nuts. I am in the middle of the Seaduck build, and in butchering that i only cut out enough pieces to sustain some building and change back and forth from cutting to building as needed.

All different sizes too...?

 

[bwarz]

Holy man 4 Scouts! You are nuts. I am in the middle of the Seaduck build, and in butchering that i only cut out enough pieces to sustain some building and change back and forth from cutting to building as needed.

All different sizes too...?

I've got three minis to match what my 14 year old redesigned - that way we can all fly the same thing at the same time! Or, should someone other than me crash and burn, I can just rebind and hand mine off. The big one will be for whomever wants to fly it once they're comfortable with the minis! When I build, I need to cut it all out first - my least favorite part. The maiden flight is the motivation to build, and the build is the motivation to cut and cut and cut and cut and cut and cut.....oh yea, and cut some more

 

[bwarz]

Call me nuts - after the rant on tracing and cutting, I'm thinking that maybe I will build another mini scout - bit this one bone stock. Just so I can compare the original FT design with my son's mods once they're in the air. I guess that the mini will be fewer parts... maybe I will even do the spray glue and cut (just to make myself not feel so bad

 

[Tr33s]

The wind flipped me pretty quickly...

 

[Tr33s]

Switching to a balsa glider to try out slope soaring. The Spirit 2m. Then the Leprechaun or Super Sinbad.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

The wind flipped me pretty quickly...

All you got was a broken prop? What kind of prop are you using?

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Switching to a balsa glider to try out slope soaring. The Spirit 2m. Then the Leprechaun or Super Sinbad.

This looks like a slick little machine, where did you get the kit?

 

[bwarz]

Hmm... very little time in last night - I got a few of the many hstab and vstab surfaces ironed last night (after another helpful hint review of @BATTLEAXE and his ironing videos) and ran out of gas. I actually iron the 45s on the elevator, rudder, and ailerons instead of cutting - I was trying to find a different method for my son. Works pretty cool! I just keep a metal straight edge handy and once i get the edge close i help to compress the foam - plus the metal cools things down very quickly. I use it too when doing the edges as well, as I invariably get lumps above the bevel (toward the inside of the wing)

Heading down now as I try shaking the pasta coma that's had me slowing down since dinner Thursday in Malvern looks promising - the kids are hopeful!

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Hmm... very little time in last night - I got a few of the many hstab and vstab surfaces ironed last night (after another helpful hint review of @BATTLEAXE and his ironing videos) and ran out of gas. I actually iron the 45s on the elevator, rudder, and ailerons instead of cutting - I was trying to find a different method for my son. Works pretty cool! I just keep a metal straight edge handy and once i get the edge close i help to compress the foam - plus the metal cools things down very quickly. I use it too when doing the edges as well, as I invariably get lumps above the bevel (toward the inside of the wing)

Heading down now as I try shaking the pasta coma that's had me slowing down since dinner Thursday in Malvern looks promising - the kids are hopeful!

There are so many things i use the iron for. I have found it to be invaluable. i cant build a model without it, just doesn't look right.

Cant wait to see yours when they are done

 

[bwarz]

Running out of gas here, but I do have the three minis ready for servos. Me thinks tomorrow they'll be polyurethaned and ready for paint by Wednesday. Now if I can find the energy to build the big one. Don't know if I can pull it off by Wednesday night!

 

[mayan]

Looking good @bwarz. I really encourage you to make the extra mile and try get the Simple Scout built too I flew mine today practicing take offs and landings which turned into touch and goes and was having a blast. I do though recommend you take up @BATTLEAXE’s mods to the power pod and landing gear I haven’t tried them myself but can surely see the benefits they give. I might actually convert my stock one and apply his mods.

 

[bwarz]

I found my second wind at 2:30 am and got most of it built I do like the top load battery, that will definitely be some work tonight. The rush for Thursday is on! Weather is still looking nice and it might be our last opportunity for Edgewater before the kids have to start back to school. I hope I can get them painted, but I'm sure I'll have them all airworthy by then!

 

[PoorManRC]

Looking good @bwarz... I do though recommend you take up @BATTLEAXE’s mods to the power pod and landing gear I haven’t tried them myself but can surely see the benefits they give. I might actually convert my stock one and apply his mods.

Anyone remember where to find these Mods?? I'm going to be starting on Scout #3 pretty soon. 😉

 

[mayan]

Here is a picture tutorial of the best way i have seen this power pod/battery placement thing work out with this Scout. So far this is the easiest way to get enough room to move the battery back and forth for CG. View attachment 174451
This is the usual nose section of the Scout, mostly stock except for the C folded stand off for the skewers that poke through the firewall. You will also notice I am not using the standard landing gear as well. This is the same set up from the FT-3D and a couple others in the Mighty Mini's, using the same on the new Kitfox as well. Really robust and doesn't tear out the fuse on the not so perfect landings. This opens up room for the battery to slide into the fuse as you will see later. View attachment 174450
Here is the power pod set up, the usual. I did have to extend the walls some to fill in the space in the doublers in the fuse because i am not using the firewall skewers. Still have the two skewers to hold the pod in the fuse but that's it. The doublers in the fuse do the indexing and the job of holding the pod in place for flight, so the firewall skewers are not needed. If you want to add thrust angle, this can be done with building it into your power pod or offsetting the angle by using washers in between the motor and firewall. View attachment 174452
This is how i packed the ESC into the pod, yours may vary due to the length of your wires and size of the ESC, but tit should fit in the space provided. I chose too have battery wire exit out just behind the firewall for ease of plugging the battery in after installation. This way i shouldn't have to remove thje power pod for anything but maintenance. View attachment 174453
Here is where thing get upside down... literally. The power pod goes in upside down to get the floor of the power pod out of the way. I understand the compartment it creates for the ESC, but for the most part it is to big for the ESC. Plus it has to double as the firewall mount, so that makes the pod big as well. Plus the inside hasn't got much airflow. This way you decide how much room the ESC gets by your skewers that hold the power pod in place. As it turns out the skewer holes needed to be in line with the bottom of the wing, and placed an 1 3/4" apart front to back. You can see where this is going... View attachment 174454
The back skewer also has the job of holding the battery in by way of elastic band, this is laid in and the skewer holds it in place. All the wires are tucked away and heading towards the Rx. Because the skewers are now building a solid platform for the battery to rest on and hold it in place. View attachment 174455
Battery in question is a 1800mah 3s, could be a 2200 as well but hey, I don't judge... View attachment 174456
Battery shoves into the fuse with plenty of room for CG placement, under the elastic band to stay stable and out of the way of the profile of the plane, not sticking out like a sore thumb. The wires now have easy access to plug in and can be tucked in under the elastic band for flight.

This Scout being my seventh so far I have played with a few different designs of power pod/battery hatch variations that I think this is the easiest so far. Please feel free to copy cheat and steal. I am sure there are others who have had the same plight I have in this department. Enjoy

Here you go @PoorManRC.

 

[BATTLEAXE]

Anyone remember where to find these Mods?? I'm going to be starting on Scout #3 pretty soon. 😉

This is the thread to find all the mods i do any Scout i have built. It is a long thread but its all here.