Scale Build Off - Ryan Navion from 1960's Control Line Plans
- Thread starter Joker 53150
- Start date
I wish I knew, but the empty roll doesn't list a brand, and the backing (which is removed before installation) had nothing listed either. Since it's plain white I'm hoping that any brand I end up with will match so I don't have to re-cover the bottom.
The receiver for this plane is a FrSky 6-channel, in TAERGG format. Channel 5 is for the wing gear retract servo and channel 6 for the nose retract. Two retract servos are being used because I want the wing to be removable, and the servo for the main gear stays in the wing. I hadn't thought about that earlier when I was making the servo tray, but I was still able to modify it easily enough to hold one more servo. Since this receiver also handles telemetry I'll also add the voltage sensor to report back battery voltage and signal strength.
Pictured are 4 of the 6 servos for this plane. Not shown are the aileron servos. On the far left is the servo which will handle the nose retract. It's positioned upside down to give me a straighter run to the nose of the plane. The pushrods need to be trimmed still, and some additional support is needed to keep them from flexing, but initial tests show it all works smoothly. With this configuration there should be plenty of room for a battery tray. Some additional clean-up is still needed inside, and the magnetic hold-down for the canopy needs to be made.
Pictured are 4 of the 6 servos for this plane. Not shown are the aileron servos. On the far left is the servo which will handle the nose retract. It's positioned upside down to give me a straighter run to the nose of the plane. The pushrods need to be trimmed still, and some additional support is needed to keep them from flexing, but initial tests show it all works smoothly. With this configuration there should be plenty of room for a battery tray. Some additional clean-up is still needed inside, and the magnetic hold-down for the canopy needs to be made.
I'm finally far enough along to be able to test all of the retracts together and discovered two small problems. First, the nose wheel is slightly larger than the one I've ordered for the Navion, so it hits the LE of the wing and sticks a little. Second, the retracts still need a little tweaking to make them lock in the fully open and closed positions. Other than that, they all function as planned and I can move on to other work, such as making the nose gear steer.
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So this is my first dance with MonoKote and I like it more than the other standard weigh films. The plane has WAY too much white on it now but color will soon be added.
A little color really does wonders! The lettering and some windows will really bring it to life.
SpaceWalker1992
Member
looks great! I like those wing tip tanks in the full scale, at least stripes on the tips are a must, if not the whole tank.
I'm adding the stripes, but not the actual tanks.
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The lettering will really make it sing. Great job on the covering so far, it looks a lot better than anything I've ever done and likely will do.
Thanks, but set your bar higher than that! I just choose my picture angles carefully, to hide all the warts and blemishes. 
I've been super lazy recently, and haven't touched a plane in almost two weeks. Today some of the details on the Navion were finished up, meaning it could go through taxi tests. Ailerons still need to be finished, the canopy isn't secured, graphics aren't made, the main retract cover isn't installed, and a few other items need to be done before it's officially ready to fly. But it's close!
Awesome.
roversgonemad
Member
You're a lot farther along than me.... My wildcat is still just a stack of balsa.
Get yer butt off the computer and start building! I need to know how that plan builds before I start mine someday!
Progress has been SLLLLLOOOOOOOWWWWW recently, but I finished up some more of the graphics and got them installed. I still need to make a USCG "anchor" emblem for the red stripe on the nose - it is screaming for a little more detail up front like that. The battery tray is also finally in, along with the BEC to power the 6 servos. My receiver is a 6 channel FrSky using all 6 channels:
Throttle
Ailerons
Elevator
Rudder/steering
Wing gear retract servo
Nose gear retract servo
The wing and nose gear retracts are on different servos since the wing is removable. The servo for the wing gear stays with the wing and the nose gear's servo stays in the fuselage. This helped avoid a much more complicated build, and also allowed me to adjust the nose gear separate from the wing gear, and those mechanical retracts can be touchy!
The canopy doesn't have the "window" decals added yet as I plan on sanding the canopy down a bit for a better shape. I really don't like the final shape on this one, and I've spent too much time making this bird to be unhappy with a major detail like that. So other than the canopy, it's pretty much ready for final testing. I need to make sure it's got enough power with the current motor, and will upgrade it if necessary. The maiden is in sight!
Throttle
Ailerons
Elevator
Rudder/steering
Wing gear retract servo
Nose gear retract servo
The wing and nose gear retracts are on different servos since the wing is removable. The servo for the wing gear stays with the wing and the nose gear's servo stays in the fuselage. This helped avoid a much more complicated build, and also allowed me to adjust the nose gear separate from the wing gear, and those mechanical retracts can be touchy!
The canopy doesn't have the "window" decals added yet as I plan on sanding the canopy down a bit for a better shape. I really don't like the final shape on this one, and I've spent too much time making this bird to be unhappy with a major detail like that. So other than the canopy, it's pretty much ready for final testing. I need to make sure it's got enough power with the current motor, and will upgrade it if necessary. The maiden is in sight!
AWESOME! I like the scheme a lot. You've done a BEAUTIFUL job.
Many thanks. I'm really hoping for an uneventful maiden!
The canopy shape has been bugging me for weeks, and I'm finally doing something about it. The first canopy I built had a good shape to it, and I stupidly wrecked it. The second design was close, but I was impatient and didn't spend enough time getting the shape right. The result was a canopy that bulged a little too much on the sides and at the back. The front also had a little extra mass to it.
Since all the other tasks are about done and the weather is crappy I figured this was a good time to fix it up. Out comes the random orbital sander, and 20 minutes later the workbench is covered with dust and a good shape has emerged! The pics below are after the first rough-sanding. A little more was taken off after this to thin it all down a bit in spots. Spackle was then applied, and after it dries it'll get sanded lightly, and then covered with a thin fiberglass cloth.
I'd love to have been able to mold the canopy in with the fuselage so there was no seam, but that would have made putting the battery in slightly more complicated!
Since all the other tasks are about done and the weather is crappy I figured this was a good time to fix it up. Out comes the random orbital sander, and 20 minutes later the workbench is covered with dust and a good shape has emerged! The pics below are after the first rough-sanding. A little more was taken off after this to thin it all down a bit in spots. Spackle was then applied, and after it dries it'll get sanded lightly, and then covered with a thin fiberglass cloth.
I'd love to have been able to mold the canopy in with the fuselage so there was no seam, but that would have made putting the battery in slightly more complicated!
