Sky Ranger 40 : Old School Model Works

Zetoyoc

Elite member
I didn't finish the wings. I couldn't help it. I had to see what the fuse was going to look like. The wings are very close to done. Just a bit more sanding, servo hatches, and actually mating them together permanently. But before I made another mess shaping the left wing TE ( balsa dust is super fine and fluffy by the way) and while my space was clean and clear I pulled out the other sheet of plans.
I dry fit everything first and am happy I did. The plans had me glueing things down one or two at a time. but if I had done that it would have been fairly difficult to get the next bit into the slots. So I built the structure making sure to keep it all square, then glued that built up bit to the fuse side. It worked well.
I had to lay it out on the wings to get a feel for the plane. It is the biggest model I have made. and is looking good.
I am now more motivated to get back to it and actually finish up some of the bits instead of having everything half built :)

-J

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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
I didn't finish the wings. I couldn't help it. I had to see what the fuse was going to look like. The wings are very close to done. Just a bit more sanding, servo hatches, and actually mating them together permanently. But before I made another mess shaping the left wing TE ( balsa dust is super fine and fluffy by the way) and while my space was clean and clear I pulled out the other sheet of plans.
I dry fit everything first and am happy I did. The plans had me glueing things down one or two at a time. but if I had done that it would have been fairly difficult to get the next bit into the slots. So I built the structure making sure to keep it all square, then glued that built up bit to the fuse side. It worked well.
I had to lay it out on the wings to get a feel for the plane. It is the biggest model I have made. and is looking good.
I am now more motivated to get back to it and actually finish up some of the bits instead of having everything half built :)

-J

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Looks like your magnet clamps are working really well. Might be some people wanting those
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
It has been a few days since I have worked on this. I have been distracted. New airplane resurrection projects, New to me airplanes, and a new transmitter this week. very distracting. but tonight I put a bit of time into the fuse and got as far as I can go now before getting back to the wings. the manual said to mate the wing to the fuse... guess I have to go back and get the wings together now. but tomorrow. I have inhaled enough balsa dust for one night. :)

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Zetoyoc

Elite member
That went together great. Are there magnets holding the top hatch?
Yes. There are 4 total along the centerline. Two attracting each other in the front and two in the back. I also reversed one set so I can only put it in in the right orientation. I tend to like a nice strong hatch closure. This seems good so far but I have more magnets similar to the 4 that came in the kit I can add too it if needed.
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BATTLEAXE

Legendary member
The wings are now one piece. It is looking better and better. Next ailerons and tail. not much to go. ok well, lots of details but it is looking like a plane now.

I did get a little distracted fixing an uproar I dropped a battery on the tail and broke. :( lol

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Man both those planes look like they are gonna be a lot of fun, in such different ways too. You could take both of them to the the field and feel like you had a full day
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Oh, I am so used to foam planes and 9g servos that I keep forgetting to look into servos for this. What servos do people use in these larger planes? And where do you go for good deals on them? Or is it best at this size and weight to stick to the name brands stuff? The uproar has futaba s148 do I just get more of those?
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Man both those planes look like they are gonna be a lot of fun, in such different ways too. You could take both of them to the the field and feel like you had a full day
Thanks, I have seen some videos of the uproar flying and you are right they should be a lot of fun together in different ways. I would have gotten the uproar in the air for the first time tomorrow or so but the snapped h-stab put me back a bit. I am really looking forward to flying it. The next issue with that is it now tail heavy without the nitro motor. I may extend the motor mount out some and try to squeeze in a bigger battery. I'll have to keep practicing with my foam ugly stick a few more days. oh darn, :)
 

speedbirdted

Legendary member
Oh, I am so used to foam planes and 9g servos that I keep forgetting to look into servos for this. What servos do people use in these larger planes? And where do you go for good deals on them? Or is it best at this size and weight to stick to the name brands stuff? The uproar has futaba s148 do I just get more of those?

Usually, standard size servos. That's what I use for all my large airplanes for control surfaces. I use mainly Hitec servos in new planes, though a lot of my older planes came with Futaba servos installed (Mainly S3000 series though I do have a plane from the 1980s with its original FP-S26 servos that work perfectly even if they're a little slow) and I have never had problems with them. However, avoid the fakes! They will cost you dearly...

Something to consider is that standard servos draw significantly more than 9g servos. Don't skimp on BEC! I would say 5 amps minimum is what you want. Many ESCs only have 1 or 2 amp BECs which will likely cause a brownout. A glitch buster is never a bad idea either.
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
Usually, standard size servos. That's what I use for all my large airplanes for control surfaces. I use mainly Hitec servos in new planes, though a lot of my older planes came with Futaba servos installed (Mainly S3000 series though I do have a plane from the 1980s with its original FP-S26 servos that work perfectly even if they're a little slow) and I have never had problems with them. However, avoid the fakes! They will cost you dearly...

Something to consider is that standard servos draw significantly more than 9g servos. Don't skimp on BEC! I would say 5 amps minimum is what you want. Many ESCs only have 1 or 2 amp BECs which will likely cause a brownout. A glitch buster is never a bad idea either.
I have some old airtornics servos I would just need to rewire. I staled them out on the tester and they did draw a bit more. about 850ma. my esc has a built-in bec of 8a to 20a peak. so not too worried there. I do plan on getting a few external bec for the future.
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
It has been a few days. I have lots of excuses. but really, aside from some hot days when I didn't want to work and other distractions, this part of the build is not very showy. The pictures I have now look nearly the same as the last but this time I got brave and drilled the holes in the wing and fuse to get the mounting screws in. I measured that many many times and I managed to get one screw in at a slightly different angle than the other but in all, I think if I am off any from wingtip to tail I might be off by 1/16th inch at most from one side to the other, so I am fairly pleased with that. The tail is now permanently mounted and Lots of sanding and shaping have been done. Also, I started on another kit while the tail was drying and I needed something to do :)

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I may have to settle on a color scheme here fairly soon.

-J
 

OliverW

Legendary member
It has been a few days. I have lots of excuses. but really, aside from some hot days when I didn't want to work and other distractions, this part of the build is not very showy. The pictures I have now look nearly the same as the last but this time I got brave and drilled the holes in the wing and fuse to get the mounting screws in. I measured that many many times and I managed to get one screw in at a slightly different angle than the other but in all, I think if I am off any from wingtip to tail I might be off by 1/16th inch at most from one side to the other, so I am fairly pleased with that. The tail is now permanently mounted and Lots of sanding and shaping have been done. Also, I started on another kit while the tail was drying and I needed something to do :)

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I may have to settle on a color scheme here fairly soon.

-J
Youve been bitten by the building bug! Isn't balsa building more enjoyable than the foam builds?
 

Zetoyoc

Elite member
That's ok - we love all kinds of building around here! :)
I really should get back to this build. I stopped for a day or two to think of how i wanted to do the rear tail wheel and linkage. it isnt quite as straight forward as I had hoped. While I thought about it I started an RV-4 and it took over my attention. :) I did take pictures of that build nearly all the way through but never started a build thread on it so things have been quiet from me. I am in the middle of covering the RV-4 now so should get back to this soon.