Willy Nillies Super Sport 250

Turbojoe

Elite member
Can I join in on the Willy Nillies club? Mine is complete enough for test flight. If successful then I'll "clean up" some of the temporary things like the UMX gear mounting with latex caulk that I just kind of smeared on. Installing this UMX gear required so many test fits to keep the angle on the pushrods so they wouldn't bind. I HATE those linear servos!!! I probably made and remade servo mounting 5-6 times in both the fuselage and the wing. Next build will have normal gear in it for sure.

This isn't a build thread. I thought I'd post shots of some of the mods I made during the build. In the finished shot here you can see the aileron servos mounted on the top so in case I did some belly landing I wouldn't destroy the servos when landing. After I know it flys well I'll made some covers.

Look again at the fuse and you'll see I added a "cowl" for the motor.

Joe
 

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Turbojoe

Elite member
Starting at the front I installed 2-56 blind nuts so I could use a normal motor in the future if I choose to. I also whipped up a design for the UMX firewall motor mount and 3D printed it.

Joe
 

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Turbojoe

Elite member
I like landing gear but I wanted it to be easily removable. I made an insert to hold the gear into the slot and that insert is locked into place by the wing dowel. Clean and simple. Look close and you can see the wood I added to servo as the "slot". No pictures but I made the wing bolt on.

Joe
 

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  • Landing gear slip fit.JPG
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Turbojoe

Elite member
The UMX gear....I got the whole mess from a UMX Pitts S1 that I bought on eBay quite a while back. I won't do this again. My hands are way to big to work with this tiny gear. Once I know it flys great I'll clean up that mess I made with the caulk I mounted it with.

Joe
 

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  • UMX and Servos 3.JPG
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  • Pushrods 1.JPG
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Turbojoe

Elite member
Hatches. I love adding hatches! The hatch at the front for the battery is a must. The fuse is designed so well that the hatch didn't compromise strength in the least. It's a good thing I did the hatch because the UMX gear is so light that I couldn't balance until I used a 2S 460 mah battery, added 1/2 ounce in the nose and the minimal weight of the landing gear is a must. Even then It's on the verge of being tail heavy. I think it'll be OK though. The AS3X will help stability.

I've been dealing with some health issues and I'll try to get the maiden done soon. I'll report back maybe with video if I can remember to take the camera with me. (I always forget it).

Joe
 

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rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
Thanks for the pics - I'll be following the hatch path next! :D Nice touch on the cowl too - adds some class!

Best luck and wishes on the health front too.
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Small plane build updates have been a bit slow here for the last week or so. I can't believe I got this Super Sport kit way back in August. My self imposed torture of modifying it to use the UMX AS3X gear kind of put me off for a while. I just wasn't confident a system designed for a 3.2 ounce plane was going to cut it in something more than twice that weight so it sat all this time. I knew the motor was the weakest link so I started digging and found the UMX onboard ESC could handle 4.9 amps continuous. BINGO! The Willy Nillies 1306 motor would be fine on a 5x3 prop and I had an extra one for my spare Eaglet 250 kit. I unsoldered the UMX motor wiring from the board and soldered the 1306 motor direct to the board with no connectors. Plugged in a battery and YIPPEE! With that out of the way I centered all the control surfaces and ran the AS3X through it paces and everything works perfect. It looked awful plain so I added a kinda lame looking red starburst graphic down the side.


Even with the 2S 500 mah battery on board it felt light. I almost choked when I put it on the scale. Just under 5.6 ounces! It ought to be a nice floater and fast too. All I need to do now is the maiden. At the rate I've been going that might be a while........

Joe


Starburst.jpg UMX electronics.jpg Willy Nillies 1306 motor transplant.jpg AUW Ounces.jpg Triple Threat!.jpg
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Thanks Doug. I was shooting for this morning but the local weather report says the wind is at 8 mph climbing as high as 15 mph later. I'm looking at the orange trees in the back yard and the gusts are considerably more than 8 mph. Looks like later in the day Thursday is the next under 6 mph time frame. At least it's not raining like last week and temps will be back up in the 70's.

Joe
 

TooJung2Die

Master member
I like it! I think the shooting star graphic on the side is very appropriate. It's what you'd expect to see on a vintage airplane like the Super Sport. How do you feel about the UMX servos? Are they up to the task?
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Thanks Jon. I think the UMX servos will be OK at this light weight. They're just a major hassle to install and get the linkage angle just right so it doesn't bind as it moves. It took multiple failed attempts on the ailerons and I'm still not 100% happy with them but at least there is no binding now. As soon as the wind dies down to where it's not blowing the oranges off my trees I plan to actually fly her and find out how well/if it all works. Looks to be windy tomorrow too. :cry:

Joe
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Dadgummit! The wind just won't let up. 62 degrees and beautiful blue skies but too much wind to be fun even with a .40 size plane. These tiny birds would just fly backwards. Hey Doug, maybe release a canard plane soon? They fly "backwards". LOL. ;)

Joe
 

Willy Nillies

Elite member
At least it's warm there and not snowing and not 30 degrees! Like here! And still blowing 30 mph!

Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
At least it's warm there and not snowing and not 30 degrees! Like here! And still blowing 30 mph!

Doug and Becky
WillyNillies.com

I always hated the very small amount of snow and extreme cold I've been subjected to. I stand and applaud those of you that live in those areas! I've been to several countries and so called "paradise" islands while in the Navy. Phoenix is still my first choice to live. Unfortunately it's just windy here this week..... Next week who knows.... :rolleyes:

Joe
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
Well it's really nice down here in Florence, AZ and it looks to be nice at home in Mesa too. I got a call early this morning and had to head down to help my daughter with some home repair problems. She's more important than a R/C flight so it looks like a maiden reschedule. Might be able to work it in tomorrow or Saturday. I might do the long drive out to the unfinished industrial area with paved streets. I need to maiden my Park Scale Models Monocoupe 90a too. She has been a display only model for a few years now. I just did a full inspection and she's ready to go. I'd love to fly the big Eaglet 50 again too but it's all about the smaller birds for now.

Joe
 

Turbojoe

Elite member
She flew! Actually she quite flew well once off the ground. On the ground was another story. Ground loops aplenty! I'm working on editing out all the ground loop footage (I'm still trying to learn video work) and will post it up soon I hope. To be fair even the trike geared planes took a lot of corrections as the road surface has a lot of aggregate in it and is not near as smooth as it looks in the video. Also I didn't have near enough toe in on the main gear and not enough rudder throw either. Rather than damage it doing ground loops I stopped while I was ahead and flew the other birds. I'll make some adjustments before the next flight and I'm sure takeoffs will be much smoother. If not, I'll just add a nose wheel.....;)

Joe