TX-Deck's R/C PT-40 project

[TX-Deck]

Well gentlemen, for xmas my wife was kind enough to present me with a complete remote control airplane rig, and I thought y'all might like to watch the progress.  Just a note before I begin...  If I wanted to simply fly an R/C plane I would have gone with an ARF kit (almost ready to fly) instead of the do-it-yourself kit, which is basically a box of balsa wood and some plans.  After almost 35 hours invested so far, you can see my progress.  From the get go I haven't been in a hurry to fly, and dig the heck outta woodworking, so I took the kit route instead.

The workbench....



4.5 hours of work brings me to the Tailfin and Rear Stab.  It took a great deal of time to get the leading and trailing edges rounded, flush, and even.  I think it turned out pretty good, only time will tell how well it flys!



Next the directions led me to the assembly of the fuselage, not very exciting but after working on it for a while I could tell the design of the plane is very strong and all parts act in some form or fashion to reinforce another part of the plane.   (I'm gonna need this as my urge to lawn-dart anything with wings takes over.)



Every redneck favorite, the Right Wing.



The kit came with pre-cut jigs for both Dihedral and wing washout.  I chose the more conservative "A" wing, with more dihedral for those newbies who have never flown an R/C plane before.  You can see the black pen marks showing the line to cut in order for the wing halves to meet at the proper angle.  It looks like the mark, second from the top, is way off, but it is actually on the same rib as the lower mark, you just have to look a little closer as the camera didn't capture any depth in this shot.



I'll stop with the left wing/right wing jokes, here they are together and currently being glued in the middle with 30-minute epoxy.



And finally another shot with more wing bracing in place, at this point I'm almost done with all the inner wing support.



To get to this point it took around 25-28 hours I think, somewhere in there I lost accurate track of what was completed and at what time.   I've made some more headway since these pictures were taken and I'll post another round as more of the plane comes together.

TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Excellent work Deck!    Well, it looks like you have accomplished the most involved task that there is in kit building, and remarkably well. . . I haven’t seen the recent variants of this model (the MKII) without monokote, it looks like they have strengthened and simplified  the empennage and fuselage building lots, as you used to have to jig those in the same way as the wings with a million little twigs. This was a royal pain for me, as I never could get all those little toothpicks just right. I have given some instruction using these planes however and they, like the earlier PT-40's are probably the best trainers that are out there.  Congrats,Excellent work. . . and keep the pics coming in! BTW, you have a buddy box instructor lined up?I just found an R/C electric Bf-109 that is amazing looking for the simplicity of a small foam electric. This one is SCALE looking. . .maybe a second plane for ya deck??? you can also convert this to glow power with something like a .15-.25 size engine, and add some wire gear.   http://www.hobby-lobby.com/bf109.htmTX-EcoDragon

[LW_Tornado]

I dunno Eco, i used to watch my neighbor build em, I'd say the hardest part is skinning it and making it look good lol, with the hair dryer technique , lmao. Anyways, good luck manford !!, oh and  btw, the Newest version of the pe-8 , has it been changed since you sent it to me the first time, if so , can i get one ??S~ T-Dawg

[TX-Zen]

I've said this at least a hundred times that Manford is a mechanical genius and I believe these pictures are proof. Manford has a rare and amazing gift to be able to build or modify anything, and there is no apparatus that he cannot figure out. He once built me a custom paintball gun gas-through stock out of a real M16A2 stock. The quality was so high that the seam on the stock lined up perfectly with the seam of the paintball gun when screwed in as tight as it would go...first try out at that. Once, when I lost a leg in the amazon, Manford hooked me up with a prosthetic that not only saved my life by allowing me to hike it out of danger, but was such an interesting conversation piece around the bar that chicks flocked to me. I scored much leg with that leg. Make no mistake, our boy Manford is a true genius of the mechanical arts. TX-ZenBlack 6TX Squadron CO

[TX-Deck]

Eco, most of the parts for this kit are die cut on a sheet of balsa, and all you have to do is pop them out and then sand them smooth, then sand some more, and sand some more, and sand some more.   The wing was rather simple to construct and literally holds itself together.  You lay all the ribs out and insert them into a single rail for each wing half, then come across the top of the rail with another thick piece of balsa.  At that point the ribs are pinned in placed but not straight.  Once you add the leading and trailing edges, all the ribs are lined up within individual notches and then you come along on each joint with thin CA (superglue like stuff) and lock them all together.   Once the wing is assembled it is completely straight, and in order to get the correct washout you tack glue a jig to each wingtip.  After you adhere the sheeting to the wing, the washout angle is locked in place and you remove the jigs.  It is almost foolproof!  Very cool kit design, and so far I have been very impressed.If anyone is considering a balsa R/C plane kit and not an ARF (almost ready to fly), make sure you have somewhere that you can build it that can tolerate an ars-load of sawdust.  My garage works well, and I guess anywhere outside would work in a pinch.Here's a link to the kit I picked up at a local hobby shop, the price was the same as online and the difference between tax and shipping wasn't enough to justify a week of waiting on holiday shipping.http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJ557&P=0Don't be fooled by the price, your looking at an extra $60-$70 in parts to finish it out, plus your engine and R/C gear as well.   The ARF combo would be very appealing if I was in a hurry or didn't have the tools and space to build this kit.I'm not even halfway done with this model yet and I've already got a good idea of the next few planes I want to construct.   Next round I think I'm going for an aerobatic stunt type plane, then after that it is on the warbirds.   A Bf109 with TX skin paintscheme is surely in order!   Can you airbrush monokote?   That is something I hadn't even considered.Ok, here's the next round of pics.Here's a close up of the engine mount and controls.  The linkage on the left is the throttle, the one on the right connects to the nylon arm on top of the front wheel for ground steering.Here's those tailfins again, but this time attached to the fuselage, aligned and ready to go.This is a detail photo of the wingtips, you basically finish the wing sheeting then sand it all smooth and glue a piece of balsa to the end.  After carving and sanding for an hour or so, the idea is to end up with a flush and tapered wingtip.  ( I think I got pretty close! )A top angle of the 1/8" balsa wing sheeting.  After all the sheeting is glued in place the washout of the wing is secured and locked into the correct position.  The wingtips have less of an angle of attack, so stalls occur closer to the fuselage first, making it more difficult to enter a spin stall such as the beloved Bf109 loves to doTo control the ailerons, a single servo is mounted in the middle of the wing and hangs upside down in the fuselage.  Both control rods are mounted to a single wheel, so when the wheel rotates, one aileron moves up and the other moves down.  ( These can also be locked in place if necessary for training, I decided to go for it.)This afternoon I effectively came to the end of all the cutting and gluing construction and the next step in the book is labeled "finish sanding".  For some reason I don't think I'm as near done as it seems I am.  Notice the respirator in some of the pics above.   Balsa wood sands very easily, but have I mentioned the sawdust!    Arrrrrgghhgghghhhhh!!!!TX-Deck out.

[TX-Deck]

Thanks everyone for the encouraging words.  I've had alot of fun so far with the project and if my updates become annoying just let me know.Zen, I happened upon an old pic of that AT85 - M16 mod, here it is.  An actual M16 composite stock, modified to fit the Co2 fitting on the back of the AT85 paintball gun.  Comes complete with a gas thru fitting on the bottom of the stock to connect up a remote line to a belt holstered Nitrous bottle.  To answer your next question... yes that is a picture of the only clip fed paintball gun on the market.   10 shots per second and a maintenance nightmare.  (ask Zen)/me shuffles eyebrows up and down a couple of times....[Edit] Just a note on something I just remembered.  To secure the gas-thru hose and Co2 adapter in the stock, I mixed together about 10oz of 30minute epoxy and just poured it into the hollow area in the stock, and let it sit.  After about 10 minutes I came back to check on everything and when I touched the stock to reset it in the vice I was using to hold it, I literally scalded my hand.  The chemical reaction of the epoxy hardening gave off enough heat to almost melt the stock.  Pretty crazy, but makes perfect sense!TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Yeah, I recall that was one of the first kits I knew of that didnt require a Jig to align everything, which at the time was  great help. . this looks like they have managed to raise the bar in construction simplicity even higher, with respect to fuse and tail.As far as an airbrush on monokote. . This can be done on larger models, as long as it isn't too extensive. The weight penalty (beacuse apparently you have to layer it and coat it with fuel resistant gel) and poor longevity are the main factors against this. you can of course do it all in monokote. . it would just be time consuming to make all the little flecks. If however, you buy something that is foam. . . airbrush away! That little bf I posted a link to above could be a fine candidate. . .despite being a tiny model! Paint that up in your TX skin! Too bad its an E seriesWow. . . quick progress!! man. . looking at all this. . .I guess I better clear out the dinning room and finish my Ultimate Bipe!!!S!TX-ARFDragon

[TX-Cage]

one word..ENVIOUS!S~Black 5... end ...

[TX-Cage]

Great work there Manford!  Looking forward to watching you fly her.Guess the wife misunderstood when I said I wanted a new baby for christmas.  LOL.S~Black 5... end ...

[TX-EcoDragon]

Cage. . I have never done this before. . but. . .. . . ROFLOL!!!(err sumthin. . like that)Here is a really great RC resource site, if you can't decide which brand to go with, or how long it ACTUALLY takes to build that scale ride, and if you are looking to read reviews by unpaid actual flyers, or get tips on building etc, go here. . great site!! Right now there is the Great Planes Giant Scale corsair linked right at the top. Read User reviews below that by clicking "User Product Reviews" Or search for whichever model you are after. http://www.rcuniverse.com/Here is a another forum listhttp://rcwatch.com/Find the awesome Saito 4 strokes, JR radio gear. . .my brand of choice, Zenoah gass engines for the big boys, Hangar 9 aircraft and lots lots more at Horizon Hobbyhttp://www.horizonhobby.com/Here is a company that I am not familiar with, but they seem to make very nice looking ARFs at very low prices. . including a hefty sized corsair. I have read some reviews of this company on the above sites, and think they may be worth a  look.http://www.richmondrc.comQuantum models seems to sell all the more exotic makes, EZ is a great company, makes awesome ARFs (at a price), Hangar 9 are great, Graupner is very nice, Dave Patrick makes some of the best aerobatic rides ( I am ordering the Ultimate Bipe 40 I think) http://www2.mailordercentral.com/quantummodels/S!TX-EcoDragon

[TX-Deck]

Thanks Cage, I appreciate it.While on the subject of flying it, anyone who is interested and would like to come out on the first day of flight...   a guy I work with is willing to train anyone who wishes to learn, and believe it or not I'm not opposed to letting someone try this plane out and wreck it.   I suspect I'll be ready to go within the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.You build them to crash 'em, or so I've heard!TX-Deck out.

[TX-EcoDragon]

Darn. . . I am getting Texas envy. . .. I shoulda joined CA squad!!!! heheheh

[TX-Cage]

Sounds like a great plan to me Deck.  Count me in.S~Black 5... end ...

[TX-EcoDragon]

Hey Deck. . . I was looking for a more recent update. . . so hows it coming along??Below are some pics of my plane, not the best quality digital pics. . .Seeing your pics, and talking with cage one night got me fired up to finish my Ultimate Biplane. . which was actually 99.99 % done, I just had to fit the cowl and the exhaust deflectors, drill new holes in the cabanes to adjust the top wings incidence, and bring the CG back. I moved my reciever battery pack into the tail section, about halfway between the lower wing and the tail. This required a covering incision on the belly, and a nice big patch which doesn't quite match the other blue. This is a .46 sized Bipe, and I put my oversized .60 powerplant in the nose, swinging a 12x7 prop (and 12x4 for torqe rolls and hovers) just for kicks. I had Queen Amidala for the pilot. . but during the maiden flight she came loose. . so I took that to mean she has a fear of flight and left her out (saves some weight too).I joined the local flying club, got my profficiency check, and did the maiden flight on thursday 1/16/03. The exhaust deflectors needed some modifications to stay on with the engine running at higher power, so I had to do the maiden flight without the cowling on. My first takeoff roll was kind of humiliating, I did a few taxi tests, the engine died a few times, and I tried messing with the mixture, I also noted that this airplane keeps you busy even while on the ground, its not what you might call. . . well behaved. I never throttled up very high as the plane did a fast taxi even at idle. But once the engine seemed to idle well, and stayed running I felt the compulsion to take flight. As I turned into the wind, and prepared to maiden flight a new plane, with an engine wasn't staying running real well, after not flying R/C for two years, my nerves picked up. . . the mondo torque of this engine, and the light and squirrely ground handling of this plane made it feel like an I-153 on the ground . . .but I wanted to fly it and the sun was near setting. I jammed the power to the firewall, I wasn't ready for needing SO much right rudder to counter all that torque and P-factor, and I added it in too slowly, it went way left of centerline, and into the grass despite full right rudder application a few seconds too late. Ok then. . . add power SLOWLY!!! I told myself.Take #2:I center her up on the centerline and move the power slowly towards 50%, let the tail come up and then add in the rest slowly. This time we track pretty true with constant rudder work to keep it on the runway. And then the wheels lift. . .and she's off and climbing before I get to 60% power.I had to dial in some nose up elevator trim, and some right aileron. Flew nice and quick as I climbed to a safe altitude in the event I needed to glide back home. The engine seemed fine so I did a few flybys and then started some basic, gentle aerobatics. As I went over the top of a loop the engine bogged way down. . I thought I lost it but then it powered back up as I went down the backside of the loop. . . phew.  I have heard about how much of a rock this plane is without an engine pulling it around. . and didn't want to make my first landing be one with no power! I buzzed around trying to land but timid about lowering the throttle,and the engine would sometimes bogg down when I rolled or pitched quickly.  Finnaly I set up on a steep glide path for final, and figured if the engine died I could still bring it in OK. The engine kept chugging. . . I made a beautiful landing and shut the power down, this is one plane though that you have to fly untill it stops rolling, letting your guard down after touchdown is not an option, it is almost harder to taxi than to land! I richened the mixture some, and that seemed to help. So off we went for flight two. This time It ran fine, and I got into some more aggressive aerobatics. My last landing came after the sun had set, and I wanted to go up again, but  daylight was leaving fast. . .I am going to go again if the fog ever lifts, and bring the vid camera and get some shots in flight. This powerplant should give me unlimited vertical, and pretty good torque rolling hovering action. . . My video camera does have a still picture feature with I haven't used much, but I took some shots this morning to show you guys.heres a test. . the rest will followB~

[TX-EcoDragon]

B~