Spacewalker balsa build: HobbyKing Sponsored

[Joker 53150]

I've used a few different HK colors for film and so far, all have been fine. They've got a great cost-per-square-foot compared to other films. You're right with your concern, if it's not manufactured right, put it in the clearance bin and note that there is no adhesive on it. At the right price they'd sell out shortly and could restock with properly made stuff.

 

[willsonman]

Too true. If you will note, I did not conceal anything. And you will see I am about to do that again...

Time for a little heart to heart. I wanted to like this model in EVERY way and I'll admit that I was hesitant to really bash on this kit. I've come to one of the most critical parts and I'm just floored about how this goes together and its just not entirely right. I will underscore here that what I am about to outline is very OCD of me and pretty much 99.9% of the rest of you will not care.

Starting off here, I'm showing that the motor box built as-is DOES NOT mount using the laser-cut holes in the firewall. Those are for the glow motor mounts. With that out of the way, this then becomes a custom install as there are ZERO instructions for measurement, placement, or even how to fasten the box to the firewall.


So, placing the motor box with the center line of the motor on the horizontal reference line on the firewall, you can see that the center of the motor shaft is about 3 mm too low. This is because the cowl is touching the frame of the motor box. What this does is make the line for the cowl have a little bit of a wrinkle... I'll outline this later when I present the solution. THIS MOUNTING WILL WORK! Its just 3mm from perfect... and it bugs me.


Enter the adjustable motor mount for medium motors from Tower Hobby. Sure, I had to spend $25 on a motor mount, sure I had to drill and countersink new holes for this particular motor... but 3mm is worth it... trust me. This little doodad can be extended and retracted for a variety of lengths. You can also add in a bit of up or down angle thrust. Right and left you can still do with washers if you want to. Our firewall has right built-in.


The next few pictures show you just how bulky the motor box is by comparison. You can even see where I shaved off the top corners of the motor box to get it to sit right.






I installed using the same method... center line of the motor on the horizontal reference line. I then used a square on the vertical center line going straight out to where the tip of the motor was meeting the square. This meant that the mount was slightly offset. but the tip of the motor would be dead center at the nose. You can also see in this shot that there is a little bracket for you to place your ESC as well and includes a cable tie to keep it secure.


Ok, so here is the money shot... see that even transition where the red meets the white part of the cowl? Yeah, that is nice now. Before it was slightly concave and it really bugged me. Not to mention the spinner is dead on the center of the moulded part of the cowl. And sigh of relief.


Much much much much better. The spinner is nice. I like that it is made FOR electrics and vents air to go over the motor. Nice aluminum back plate too. Perfectly round AND balanced!


So I hope you can forgive this perfectionist. If you build this model you will have to install the electric mount as I did. Keep in mind that this is also the last nail in the coffin here...

This is NOT a beginner airplane.

This is a real shame. The motor mount is what makes this thing fly and not having any instructions, reference lines, or even pre-cut holes for the mounting... just wow. It's a deal breaker. I will also say that the way I did it... took all of 5 minutes. It is not hard to do but can be intimidating if you have never had to do it before.

 

[Joker 53150]

Knowing you a bit, you did a good job in tempering your annoyance with the motor mount issue. While most people would just make it work, you did what I would expect you to do, and you fixed it the right way. I'd have probably just modified the stock one with ply and made it work, but that's a less elegant solution, and certainly wouldn't provide the flexibility your mount offers.

With some of the rehab projects I've taken on in the recent past, that style motor mount would have saved me a bit of work. Two recent planes, the Kadet Senior and the Kadet Mk. 1 both required more down-thrust than I originally dialed in, and simply tilting the parts on your adjustable mount would make that project quick & painless.

This is one of the things I really like about this forum, there is ALWAYS something to learn for the next build!

 

[nhk750]

I used that same motor mount in my T-Craft build and I loved it. Nice and adjustable for a perfectly centered motor. Well worth the $25. I didn't know that the bracket was for the ESC, that is good info. I didn't use the bracket and left it off as my ESC was mounted in the exhaust box for a perfect fit and max ventilation. Your build is looking great!

 

[roversgonemad]

It have the same style mount on my 27% Extra 260. They really are very flexible. They greatly simplify electric conversions.

 

[willsonman]

Yup, they are great pieces of metal. They also add a bit of weight for those conversions which you greatly need! Sometimes the ESC will not fit which is why they make it a bolt-on. you can remove it if not needed.

nhk750: That is a very tidy setup. I hope mine turns out as clean as that. I've never been exceptional in cable management. Even in my years of computer case modding it was never my strong suit.

 

[rockyboy]

That mount is down to $18 - ordering one now

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLCL4&P=M

 

[Geeto67]

Since we are airing out OCD concerns with this kit....am I alone in thinking that a spacewalker looks unfinished without the dummy lycoming valve covers/heads sticking out from either side of the cowl? Every pic online for this kit shows it without them and it just looks funny to me - it's an iconic scale detail, the same detail a piper cub has, and without it the plane just looks like a toy.

Otherwise, nice work on the mount.

 

[Joker 53150]

Gee, if only Joshua had a 3D printer to make a fake engine....

 

[willsonman]

Oh no! There are dummy engine parts included and I will use them. They look fantastic! I need to paint the cowl first as it comes in a white primer. I'll, of course, gussy it up in my own way.

Rockyboy: Yeah that was the price I paid too, with the expedited shipping it was closer to $25

 

[willsonman]

Moving right along...

I picked up some paint from HD. The sample of the red covering was apparently too glossy for their color matching system. I looked all over their color swatches and found nothing even close. Hoping for some luck, I went to the rattle can area and did find a shade very very close. To prep the parts, I used a pencil eraser to remove any surface marks from working with it and wiped it down with a COTTON cloth and windex to remove any oils. It turned out quite nice in finish. Unfortunately, the stand I had the wheel pants on fell over and the wet paint needs to be touched up.


I also got the bottom of the wing covered. The RED landing gear and pants will break up this intense pattern and I liked the way the servo covers broke up the outer parts of the panel just a little. I'm still on the fence with the bottom of the ailerons. What do you guys think? Checkered, Yellow? I also want to note that there will be a yellow center strip on the wing to match up with the fuselage.


And the landing lights. Took 5 minutes to draft up a reflector in Fusion360 and 4 minutes of print time. Two coats of silver paint and they slip right over the LED. I cut the leading edge balsa off so that the reflector and LED are recessed and I will take the cut away balsa, add to it, and mould a piece of clear plastic to cover this.

 

[willsonman]

Wrapping up the nose, The firewall needed some additional area to vent out the heat from the motor and ESC. I drilled out some holes at the bottom of the firewall for this and should then go through the slots just aft of them on the bottom of the fuselage.


Next up was to mount the dummy cylinders. I'm not going super scale here because the point of this model and build is to show the average person how this goes together. A scale representation would require some additional support work as well as cutting the cowl for proper placement. Using the supplied ply discs, I mounted them as high as I could without bending the cowl.


And mounted. You can also see here how the paint is VERY close in color to the covering. I'll get some detailed shots of them later. In the end, I do not think this is a bad look, but they do stick out way too far and should be slightly higher, vertically.


I got the top covering on one half of the wing as well and did the center yellow strip on the bottom of the wing as well as mount the landing gear. More on that later.

 

[nhk750]

Looks great! that plane has a nice package in the nose.

 

[willsonman]

Thanks!

Anyone have thoughts on the bottom color of the ailerons from post #111?

 

[rockyboy]

I'd probably go for red so it "balances" with the bottom of the red cowling from a color layout perspective.

But that's coming from a guy who is pretty graphically challenged, so feel free to throw suggestion into the trash

 

[willsonman]

So, red on the top AND bottom? Huh. had not considered that.

 

[TexMechsRobot]

I think I'd go with white or yellow. Checkered would look fine but lining up the pattern would make it more difficult than a solid color.

 

[willsonman]

I'm OK to line up the checker pattern. Its pretty easy and I had some practice already with the elevator and H-stab

 

[rockyboy]

Seamless checking pattern would look pretty sweet too!

 

[willsonman]

Well, the paint cured out great on the spinner and got it mounted. The space between the cowl and the back plate is 2mm... my comfort zone. I also got the tops of both wings covered now and the wings mounted. Wheel pants are nearly entirely cured out but looking good.






Next was to prep the balsa chunk taken out of the wing leading edge to make a plastic cover for the landing lights. Just added some 3/16 blasa to the sides and bottom and sand to shape.


I prepped the area for the landing lights by applying some black paint and using CA to secure the back of the reflector to the wing.


Then I used a plastic water bottle and some heat to shrink the plastic over the wood form. Trimmed to fit and applied some tape. Then I applied some canopy glue (Formula 560) and placed for drying. This usually takes a FULL 24 hours to fully cure.


So really all that is left for building is the ailerons and wrap up the empennage. I've decided that the ailerons will be all red. Once I get this flying I can get more creative with yellow covering on the top of the airplane for some contrast. It needs an instrument panel as well so stay tuned for that as well as my attempt at painting the pilot. Overall, she is straight and looks to be a very solid airplane ready to take some abuse. The airplane should balance just fine with the battery but, as usual, I'll cover that in detail once I get there. Lots of little things here and there to tie up but she will be ready for next weekend.