Willy Nillies "Eaglet 250" Beta Kit Build and Flight

TooJung2Die

Master member
Not sure why you got one shorter one? They should have all been the same.
Right? I'm baffled too. Everything looked even and square before I removed the webs from the sheet. When I found the short web I assumed there had to be another matching shorty. Nope. Then I thought I might have picked up a piece that isn't really a web. Nope. It must've come from the twilight zone. :confused::)

short web2.jpg


Center webs are not needed. But we include them for those that insist on it.
Good. (y) It only makes doing the sheeting more difficult. As light as this airplane is going to be you can forego the webbing altogether if you want.
 
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Right? I'm baffled too. Everything looked even and square before I removed the webs from the sheet. When I found the short web I assumed there had to be another matching shorty. Nope. Then I thought I might have picked up a piece that isn't really a web. Nope. It must've come from the twilight zone. :confused::)


Good. (y) It only makes doing the sheeting more difficult. As light as this airplane is going to be you can forego the webbing altogether if you want.
You're not the only one. I got a short web too, but I didn't notice until after I installed it so now I have one bay with a gap.
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Bottom sheeting:

IMG_1793.JPG


Top front sheeting:

IMG_1796.JPG


Sheeting needs sanding to smooth it out. Now is the time to mount the aileron servos. How did you secure the servos to the ribs? I might screw them to the ribs. I'll harden the screw holes with CA. Anyone using hot glue instead? If I use the short servo arms the push rods will have to be installed before the top of the wing is covered. Once covered there is no getting to the servos.

Jon
 

Willy Nillies

Elite member
Yes, now is a good time to install aileron servos. Be sure to remove stickers on the sides of the servos. The cut tolerance on the servo cutout is very very tight. You may have to slightly sand the sides of the servos and or the cut out. We prefer to sand the servo a little bit. It usually doesn't take much for a nice snug fit. We normally glue the servos in at the tabs WITH MEDIUM or THICK CA. Be very very careful with thin CA as it can wick into some servos and ruin them.

Pushrods with Z bend can be fairly easily installed into the servo arms after cover. Pushrod hole can be trimmed out as needed to fit your servo/arm combo.

SIncerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Be very very careful with thin CA as it can wick into some servos and ruin them.
There should be a warning label on servos not to use CA. Don't ask me how I know. :) If I use glue on servos it is always hot glue. It never gets inside to cause damage. If the servo ever needs to be replaced you can release the hot glue with a squirt of alcohol. The downside is it can be heavy if you use too much.
I am using 4.3 gram servos of forgotten origin. They fit perfectly in the provided servo holes. I only needed to file a small groove for the cable to slip through. (y)

Be sure to remove stickers on the sides of the servos.
I take them off because they serve no purpose other than to fall off by themselves. Why do you remove the stickers?

Jon
 
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I had to add a piece of balsa to act as a riser for the servo to reach the servo arm cutout. I actually managed to screw them down but that was a heck of a job.
 
What servos did you use that needed a "riser"?

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
The aileron servos. You can see that TurboJoe had to do this too in his build. The edge of the bottom sheet that runs along the rib is not flush with the servo rib like it is in the picture you posted.
 

Willy Nillies

Elite member
Ok. More specifically, what brand, model number servos did you use for the ailerons?

We have no problems whatsoever with the servos we recommend. Would like to know what you are using so we can get some specs and see if there is anything we can do to make the servo cutout work for more than our recommended servo.

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 
These are the servos that were provided in the completion kit from your website. Just to be clear, here is the picture from Turbojoe's build log.

276112_6626f5cda352e15c0c736d690583343a (1).jpg


I am talking about the pieces of plywood that he put underneath the servo to move it up so that the servo arm will clear the cutout.

Compare that to a picture that you provided that shows the bottom sheet does not extend as far past the servo rib.

275902_da9c53a97104c6f67f4d8b217ed74df5.jpg
 

Willy Nillies

Elite member
Center sheeting at wing root should be trimmed to suit what ever servo you are using. Or servo horn cutout should be opened up to accommodate what ever servo you are using. Adding extra is always counter productive and adds weight.

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
These are the 4.3 gram servos I have. I don't remember where I got them. They fit perfectly in the rib opening. A small groove for wire clearance was all that was needed.

IMG_1797.JPG


Servo horn cutout should be opened up to accommodate what ever servo you are using.

I seriously considered opening up the cutout. I didn't like the resulting angle between the servo arm and the aileron control horn. They didn't line up. Rather than reposition the control horn I did the same as Turbojoe and added spacers at the cost of a nanogram of weight.

IMG_1798.JPG


The short servo arms are just long enough to get a z-bend in the hole. I enlarged the servo cutout just a little more to make it even easier.

IMG_1799.JPG


Last two sections of sheeting are glued in place. No gaps and no filler needed, just some sanding to smooth it out.

IMG_1800.JPG


Jon
 
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TooJung2Die

Master member
Here are some "bare bones" views.

IMG_1806.JPG


IMG_1805.JPG


She's almost ready for covering. I have a good selection of covering film but no clear idea what colors I'm going to use.

This has been one of the easiest balsa kits I have ever put together. I made some comments along the way but they weren't intended as criticism. I was simply sharing my experience. Nothing I found was even mildly frustrating. Willy Nillies makes great airplane kits.

Jon
 
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Turbojoe

Elite member
Here are some "bare bones" views.

View attachment 156639

View attachment 156640

She's almost ready for covering. I have a good selection of covering film but no clear idea what colors I'm going to use.

This has been one of the easiest balsa kits I have ever put together. I made some comments along the way but they weren't intended as criticism. I was simply sharing my experience. Nothing I found was even mildly frustrating. Willy Nillies makes great airplane kits.

Jon

Looking forward to seeing your covering scheme for this one.

Joe
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Very nice Jon! Can't wait to see how you finish it!
Looking forward to seeing your covering scheme for this one.
Thanks! I have a few partial rolls of SolarFilm. I never used Solarfilm before. I heard it has some dedicated users that swear there's nothing better. It's made in England and I believe it is no longer available. I covered the horizontal stab and ailerons tonight. It's like I'm learning to apply covering film all over again. I have gotten very familiar with document laminating film. This stuff is NOTHING like doculam. It shrinks like crazy. It's stretchy and likes to stick to itself. I think once I learn what heat to use to tack, seal, shrink and stretch I'll like it too. Anyone got some tips on how best to use this stuff?

IMG_1813.JPG


As for color scheme it will be very conservative. Nothing fancy since this film is unfamiliar. I am making all the flying surfaces white. The fuselage might be a different color or it may be white too. I dunno yet. :)

Jon
 
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Willy Nillies

Elite member
We haven't ever used solar film. I'm sure google can provide some useful resources?

Sincerely,
Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
I'm one of those die hard dedicated SolarFilm users. I thought I would cry when I heard they had closed their doors and by then you couldn't find any in stock anywhere. I still have several rolls but they'll only be used for the most special projects. I won't waste an inch of what I have.

I've tried just about every film covering and for me there is nothing better than SolarFilm. Ultracote has since become it's replacement though it pales in comparison. I have a bunch of Solite (also from Nelson) too but I hate it because the only opaque colors are black and dark blue. The rest are almost transparent. It is light though. The static cling sticking together forever problem is easily addressed by rubbing baby powder into the adhesive side after you finally get the backing off. Just wipe off the excess with a paper towel and apply. The baby powder doesn't affect the adhesion. I've never had the problem with SolarFilm.

The SolarFilm is not ultra lightweight so make sure anything aft of the CG is as light as possible. Also shrink is finite and a bit less then most. Once you reach its max shrink that's all you get. It won't shrink any more so pull it as tight as possible BEFORE starting to shrink and then shrink slowly to avoid wing twist and maybe damage on this tiny bird. I set my 21st Century iron (with sock) to 300 degrees and work fast when tacking it down. Wingtips and curves are easy to do at that temp with NO wrinkles.

Once you get going with this stuff I think you'll love it. If not then I'll take it off your hands. ;)

Joe
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
Once you get going with this stuff I think you'll love it. If not then I'll take it off your hands.
Joe, thanks for the tips! I'm glad you can confirm this is good film. I'm going to measure the temperature of my TopFlite iron with a Fluke meter and make marks at the suggested SolarFilm settings. Compared to doculam this stuff has great shrink. Seems like it'll stretch easily over complex curves like wing tips too. It may not be ultra-light film but on the list of film weights it's one of the lighter general use films. Some of it is on rolls and some of it is wrapped on flat cardboard. Looks like I'll get to know and love SolarFilm and when it's gone it's all over. :( Have you ever used the fancy colors? I have some that looks like metal flake.