Park Scale Models Cessna 182 build....

Turbojoe

Elite member
Just to be 100% clear I am absolutely NOT bashing Zeke or Park Scale Models. Things go bad once in a while for aircraft kitters and with this particular kit they ALL went bad for me unfortunately.......

I'm not sure what happened to Zeke in the last few years but the Monocoupe 90a kit I got from him so may years ago was a mostly flawless build and the eventual maiden (a week or two ago) went great. Also the LoLo kit built fine although it flew like absolute crap. (It was NOT Zeke's design). I bought this PSM Cessna 182 kit many years ago likely from RC Groups and it was still in the heat sealed bag. It has the flap/aileron wing upgrade. I finally opened the sealed kit last week to find that it was missing the fuselage doublers and one of the rear windows. I have tons of 1/64" ply and just cut my own fuse doublers. I also have acetate in many thicknesses and can cut my own rear window replacement. What I find inexcusable is the parts with slot openings of .062" and parts with tabs that are supposed to fit in those slots at .072" + !! I'm finding this problem throughout the kit. All slots are for .062" and ALL sheets are .072" + thickness!! That seemingly minuscule .010" may seem trivial but it means custom sanding each and every part that must fit into a slotted part.

I'm just about as far as I can go on the fuselage right now. I just love any amount of "stick building" and I finally have the fuselage 90% done. I don't have many small motors but in lieu of the specified unobtanium IPS-S2 geared motor I mounted up one of my favorites, the Himax 2808-980 outrunner. It weighs 46 grams and can put out right around 100 watts with the right battery/prop combo.

Next is the wing construction and I'm really dreading it. That in itself is another bone of contention. Absolutely nothing and I mean NOTHING fits together......Also conspicuously missing is any info whatsoever as far as flap/aileron servo/mounting/linkage/cable/linkage routing whatsoever. I can work it all out but what about the poor first or second time builder. o_O Simply inexcusable......

Just like the fuselage every slot in every rib in the fuse/wing construction needs to be sanded to fit to the improperly sized main spar. I've already done some trial wing part fitment and gave up. The wing may take a while before I report success.

The nose gear has virtually no instruction other than what he dreamed up while smoking whacky tobacky that just ain't gonna work in the real world so I fabbed up what I think may suit my needs.

Let me reiterate....... This is NOT a rant against Zeke or this particular Cessna 182/206/207 kit. If my Monocoupe 90a is any comparison I'm certain that this Cessna 182 will also finish into a gorgeous final product. Unless Zeke makes some major changes and includes more build info help related to what was swimming around in his noggin at the time of design I can't recommend this kit to a beginner scale builder. It's definitely for an advanced builder that doesn't mind making parts to help complete a "kit".

Joe
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0004.JPG
    IMG_0004.JPG
    1.4 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0007.JPG
    IMG_0007.JPG
    1.6 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0009.JPG
    IMG_0009.JPG
    1.5 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0015.JPG
    IMG_0015.JPG
    1.3 MB · Views: 0
  • IMG_0023.JPG
    IMG_0023.JPG
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
Last edited:

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
I've only built one of Zeke's kits - the Mini Drake - and the kit was great! The instructions were OK to follow and while I wouldn't recomend it as a 1st kit, it would be OK as a 2nd or 3rd for sure. It looks like with some extra sanding time this one is going to turn out great though! It's certainly easier to have the slots be a little tight and need sanding on the tabs rather than slots too wide and sloppy gaps to fill. Sounds like he ended up with a batch of balsa stock that was a little thicker than his first kit production run.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
I've had a lot of balsa of varying thickness but this is crazy with every sheet at least .072 and some even thicker. It's workable on the fuse but the wing is a real bear as the ribs have two slots right next to each other with only 3/32" separating them. One slot is 1/64" and the other is 1/16". It's tough to not break that critical separator as that provides the space for the spar stringers. I'll work it out but it sure would be a lot easier if the wood sheets (or slots) were proper size.

The plane specs at 9-11 oz and not sure if that is with or without battery. The almost ready to cover fuse with tail feathers is only 55.2 grams and I'll knock some of that off when I start sanding. I think I can keep it close to target weight even with the extra weight of ailerons and flaps. At 36" wingspan she'll still be a floater. I just hope it turns out as good as the Monocoupe did. I hope so because my only other built Cessna is the C-180 from Dave Blum/Mountain Models. That one flys amazing! Pix of it below.

Joe


Cessna 180.jpg PreMaiden 003.jpg
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
I now have the fuselage 95% done minus covering.

I already knew the improperly matched balsa supplied in my kit was going to also be an issue on the wing build so I started with the smaller bits. The ailerons and the flap construction. Ugh...... All I can say is Zeke you sucked majorly on the Cessna kit that I got!

Just like with all the mismatched fuselage parts all of the tiny, itty bitty aileron and flap ribs had to be meticulously sanded by hand to fit. I may take a day or two off before I tackle the wing construction as I already know it is going to be a problem. I'm afraid the poor fitment issues are going to push me over the edge and I may end up just stomping the wing into oblivion out of frustration. It's a crime to have a kit of a really nice plane like this supplied so incredibly poorly. I'd have been much better off cutting it from plans with an Xacto knife..... Argh!!! :mad:

Joe
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
As an idea to help with opening the slots up (instead of sanding down the sheet), see if you can sneak a nail file out of the mrs side of the bathroom - I've had really good luck with using those on different sanding jobs...
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
As an idea to help with opening the slots up (instead of sanding down the sheet), see if you can sneak a nail file out of the mrs side of the bathroom - I've had really good luck with using those on different sanding jobs...

I tried that. The nail files I have are too thick.Well over 1/16" thickness. I have to use a scalpel to make a snails pace progress on the slot openings and sand the tabs and hope I don't break the rib separators while trial fitting. The rib separators are the critical part and MUST be properly cut. The build would have been SO much easier If Zeke had paid attention to the sheet thickness that he supplied in my kit. He blew it on my kit on a massive scale. :mad:

Joe