Classic Build: Flair Sunrise

[JF1980]

The Flair Sunrise. A traditional all wood 100" soarer. This 2 channel floater has an under-cambered wing and all moving tailplane. The Sunrise gave me an introduction to thermal soaring around 13 years ago; I was 15 at the time and ever since I've found myself looking at the clouds and jealously watching birds circle above me.

Warning... This is most definitely a nostalgia build!

I wasn't fortunate enough to have owned the Sunrise but flew one after a slope meet was called off due to a complete lack of wind. Some of the older guys had come prepared for this eventuality, armed with thermal sailplanes and bungee lines. I tagged along, helped to lay out the lines and watched the guys trim out their gliders. The Sunrise immediately grabbed my attention; the glide ratio was awesome compared to any of my slope gliders. With a reasonably strong hand launch the pilot was able to fly a decent sized circuit for trimming and then catch it.

It was a cold but completely clear and sunny winters day. Not great thermal conditions if you ask some people. I've often found days like that to be ideal with a good temperature differential and bags of lift being generated by car parks, roads, houses or industrial buildings. This day was one of those. I was further impressed by the Sunrise as it returned 10 minutes from a bungee launch with no lift; other similar aircraft giving more like 5-6. Once the lift started to kick in the Sunrise had several 45-60 minute flights which were putting the larger and more expensive aircraft to shame.

After looking on and listening to the guys discuss thermal activity and flight strategy, I was offered the chance to have a fly of the Sunrise, an offer I jumped at. I had three flights, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. My last flight came in at 20 minutes which I was thrilled with and still would be today. That pretty much sold me on the idea of silent, naturally powered flight.

Unfortunately even back then the Sunrise was a difficult kit to get hold of. Flair had stopped production of it some time ago and shops didn't seem to keep it in stock. Eventually I gave up the hunt when I was presented with the chance to buy a used Osprey 100" for next to nothing. That was a pretty good sailplane and lasted me a lot of years. It was great on the slope up to about 10mph. It's performance couldn't compare to the Sunrise but still wouldn't have too much trouble picking up thermals. I flew it in several cross country competitions, it couldn't compete with the moulded machines which were just starting to show up but it still provided a lot of enjoyment. The Osprey died several years later after I specced out, it had no air-brakes and a spin wouldn't bring her back down. I received a phone call a week later after it dropped in to someone's garden out of a tree -- six miles away!

Many years later, and many thanks to eBay I have gotten my hands on a Sunrise kit. I posted a wanted ad hoping that someone would eventually clear out their attic and find one... Someone did!

I haven't found much information on the Sunrise online so decided to post a build log for others who might find themselves doing the same at a later date. It's been a long time since I've put together a traditional wood kit so I'll also appreciate peoples input if I get stuck along the way. After such a long wait it would be a real shame if I don't build her straight and true.

There is one major issue I have with the Sunrise which is that I don't have a flying site suitable for laying out a bungee. Looking at the amount of space I have available in the fuselage my immediate thought is that the Sunrise could be electrified. One option would be to modify the fuselage and fit a brushless motor and folding prop at the front. My only problem with this is that it's non-reversible and after it taking me so long to source a kit I don't want to end up with a dud. The second option is to build a power pod to sit over the wing. The pod could house the ESC and a small brushless outrunner with folding prop. The battery would ideally sit in the compartment between the wings, or alternatively in the large radio bay designed to enclose classically proportioned radio gear.

I can't decide which option to go for as the idea of a pod sounds good but I'm concerned that it's going add a lot of additional drag. In the meantime I'll get on with building the tail and wings.

I have a second point of procrastination. Should I modify the original design and fit air-brakes. A nice to have option, the additional radio won't add much weight as micro servos are so small/light these days, I'm just not sure it's worth the bother. My previous experience with air-brakes on old wooden sailplanes is that they are a bit of a hassle to maintain. Wire runs always seemed to snag, or they wouldn't close properly etc. I do remember that some companies used to sell plastic pop-up air-brakes but I can't find any reference to them online anymore. Could anyone point me towards a source for these?

[jjscott]

This will be a nice build to watch. I'm not familar with this plane but am anxious to see it. Post some pics of the box and plans.

Someone must have designed and posted a detachable nose that can be either powered or original nonpowered. Granted, it's not original, but it's close.

If it were my plane, I think I would go with a power pod similar in appearance to what would have been used when the plane was new. That would mean the ESC and batts in the fuse, or glow, messy but much simpler. I just posted a Gentle Lady pod from 1985 that may give you some ideas. http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1002801
Jim

[rudynix]

JF1980,

You could always go to your LHS and pick up some wood and make duplicate parts for the fuselage and make yourself two fuselages, one stock as per plan, and the other electric.

Rudy

[scaflock]

One option would be to modify the fuselage and fit a brushless motor and folding prop at the front. My only problem with this is that it's non-reversible and after it taking me so long to source a kit I don't want to end up with a dud. The second option is to build a power pod to sit over the wing. The pod could house the ESC and a small brushless outrunner with folding prop.

I have to agree with Rudys' idea of going to the lhs and getting the wood to build you up a second fuselage. I faced the same decision when building my Paragon. I ended up building a second fuselage and installing a E-flite Power 25 outrunner in the nose. The wing can be swapped between the two fuselages depending on the conditions.

I have a second point of procrastination. Should I modify the original design and fit air-brakes.

Add the Spoilers/airbrakes!!! It's not hard to set up and it's very cheap insurance. The weight is not going to be that much and the wing won't even notice it.

[rudynix]

Hey Jeff,

I actually got that idea from you when you were doing your Paragon ;)

Rudy

[JF1980]

So, on with the build.

I'm not very familiar with including photos in posts so bare with me. If you can suggest a better way of doing this then please do. I'm currently just using the attachment tool.

I won't go in to too much detail. I'll scan the building instructions and attach them later on. I would prefer to go in to more detail on any modifications or areas of difficulty.


Tailplane:

Starting with the tailplane is always nice as it's relatively quick and easy. I seem to remember that having one part of the puzzle completed provides great motivation to move to the more difficult bits and get the project finished.

Building the tailplane was very straight forward. Pin the balsa spar, square LE and pre-shaped TE over the plan. The leading and trailing edges need to be packed up as shown on the plan. Ribs are then cut to length out of 1.5mm and 3mm balsa sheet, all 10mm in height. Glue these in place between the LE/Spar/TE.

Now glue the ply face plates to the root of each half and sand the entire tailplane to a symmetrical section, as shown on the plan. Drill holes into the root of the tailplane halves to accommodate the joiner tubes. I found it best to drill the holes in rib 2 slightly oversize, dry fit the tubes and joiners then glue the tubes in place using balsa dust and CA to fill any gaps. A small pinch in the end of each tube will safeguard against losing the joiners inside the tailplane.

I was slightly over enthusiastic while sanding the ribs and have made the section betwen the LE and spar a little flatter than I had planned. Seeing as the section is symetrical I don't think this will be too much of a problem. There are only four ply pre-shaped parts used so it won't be much trouble to build another tailplane from the plans if it does prove to impact performance considerably.

Finally the ends are sanded so that any overlap on LE/spar/TE is flush with the last rib. The tips can then be glued in place and sanded to the same profile as that shown on the plan.

[scaflock]

Looking good so far! I agree with the plan of starting with the tailplane first. It always gets me in the mood to do the rest of the build. Your work looks very clean too.

[Gary Binnie]

Looking good and brings back memories. The only problem I had in the whole build which I didn't really notice until afterwards was a slight bend to one side of the rear fuselage.

Have stuck a photo of mine in so we can see a finished one.

I still have the instructions but the plan fell in to the cold water tank in the loft, doh!

Cheers

Gary

[JF1980]

Thanks for the comments guys. I uploaded some photos of the plans and a scan of the instruction booklet.

I've been thinking about the power options. For now I think I'm going to build her as a pure glider and look at the power pod option. I've recently started playing with microcontrollers and the Sunrise would make a perfect test bed for things like GPS tracking, airspeed and altitude sensors etc. Having a power option with plenty of space to spare in the fuselage would be a big bonus. I will make paper templates of the fuselage components so that I have the option of building a powered fuselage later on.

Building a power pod won't be quite as straightforward as it could be due to the wing halves connecting to either side of the fuselage rather than directly to each other. Still it shouldn't be beyond the wit of man to throw something together...

With regards to the brakes; does anyone have links to reference material or commercially available air-brakes. I'm sure somebody used to produce plastic 'pop up' air-brakes.

[OzzieSloper]

JF, i saw air brakes on a web site last night and now for the life of me i can't remember where it was... it may even have been ebay.

i'm loving your build log so far and the sunrise is exactly the plane i'm looking at getting for it's shape and what seams to be ease of build.

can't wait for more updates.

[JF1980]

Looking good and brings back memories. The only problem I had in the whole build which I didn't really notice until afterwards was a slight bend to one side of the rear fuselage.

Have stuck a photo of mine in so we can see a finished one.

I still have the instructions but the plan fell in to the cold water tank in the loft, doh!

Cheers

Gary

Gary, it looks like you've covered it in solar film. The instructions recommend against polymer films and specify micafilm which I believe is similar to fibafilm. I do prefer the transparent look, did you have any problems covering the under-cambered wing section? What did you use to finish the fuselage?

[JF1980]

Fin / Rudder:

The fin and Rudder are pretty easily put together. The LE and TE of the fin are cut from stock 10mm x 12mm balsa strip. These are pinned down over the plan along with the rudder LE (again 10mm x 12mm strip) and the pre-shaped TE stock.

Ribs are formed from 10mm x 3mm stock sheet just like the central ribs of the tailplane. Once glued together the entire assembly is sanded to a symetrical section, the rudder LE is cambered at a 45' angle on both sides to create the hinge as shown on the plan.

Finally the paxolin horn is drilled and then glued in to the rudder with epoxy.

[JF1980]

Wingtips

Now for the wing tips. Once these are done I'll have to make a decision about the airbrakes.

I noticed that there are no dihedral braces used to join the tips to the inboard panels. I guess this could be a good thing as I would prefer to have the tip knock off on a heavy arrival rather than it damaging the inboard panel and possibly fuselage.

The instructions mention that the LE and TE should be packed up as necessary to suit the wing profile. On the plans the TE packing is shown for inboard panels; a piece of 1.5mm balsa under the TE between each rib. I assume this will be the same for building of the tips. No LE packing is detailed on the plan which has left me a little uneasy.

For now I have dry fitted components over the plan to get a feel for the construction process. I'd appreciate any comments on packing up the LE and general tips for building the wings nice and straight. Hopefully somebody will come back with ideas this evening so I can get on with the build while I have some momentum going.

[JF1980]

I had some ideas on the power pod front. I'm thinking of creating a second hatch over the section between the wings, a few inches behind the front hatch. This will make ballasting or fitting an altimeter over the CG nice and easy.

The hatch could be left off when the power pod is fitted, with the bottom of the pod covering over the gap. The pod could be held in place with the wing joiners, fitted while the wing is being attached, the joiner going through a plywood plate which forms the core of the pod / post. This would mean removing the wing to change the lipo but that shouldn't be too much of a problem and will keep the battery right over the CG. I'll check the plans tonight to see if a lipo will fit under the joiners.

Any suggestions on a power setup? I was thinking a 3s2500 lipo (because I have quite a few of these already) and a cheap Chinese outrunner.

With regards to the air-brakes; I found the prefabricated units, they're made by Graupner: https://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/servlet/AI?ARTN=1000.250

They do look a bit heavy, maybe I'll stick to letterbox style brakes after all. I'm thinking of using a sub-micro servo underneath each one and driving them directly with a wire pushrod. I really don't want to deal with wire traces running to the fuselage with weights and elastic to pull them back down etc.

[Gary Binnie]

Good spot on the Solarfilm! It was originally covered in Fibafilm as I followed the instructions back then. I think my instructions have the word 'Micafilm' crossed out and 'Fibafilm' added above in pencil!

I was never really happy with the Fibafilm, had to use Balsaloc as an adhesive and it doesn't shrink much, quite difficult to get it neat around the wingtips. When I rebuilt it (from a bungee launch accident) I used Solarfilm and it works fine. By ironing on to the bottom spar first and then the ribs the film copes with the under camber.

Have you seen the Zlog altimeter? Very small and neat.

Build is coming on rapidly, might have to drag my Albatross out and finish it off.

Cheers

Gary

[JF1980]

Yes coming on quite quickly. That's the up side of being credit crunched out of work!

Agreed on the fibafilm/micafilm; I used fibafilm once on a COX .020 powered model. It was rubbish to be honest, like you said it wouldn't shrink much or contour around tips etc. I think I'll go with Solarfilm too as I like the idea of a transparent red/yellow combo. How about the fuselage? I'm considering nylon and dope for it's durability.

I have the RAM3 altimeter, I've had it for some time and usually put it in my DLG.

Do you remember much about packing the wing TE/LE whilst building yours?

[Gary Binnie]

Wingtips

I noticed that there are no dihedral braces used to join the tips to the inboard panels. I guess this could be a good thing as I would prefer to have the tip knock off on a heavy arrival rather than it damaging the inboard panel and possibly fuselage.



Yep, that's exactly what happens, have glued mine back together a few times (minimal damage). The Flair Albatross is the same, no dihedral braces.

I can't remember building the wing very well, would have thought the lower main spar would need to be packed up as well because of the under camber?

I've started using a very simple tool for getting ribs upright and square to the LE, it's just a rectangular block of steel about the size of an old tape cassette case. SLEC (if they are still going) make this handy plastic rib jig, you could make a version of it yourself.

Cheers

Gary

[JF1980]

They recommend to glue the LE, top spars and TE together, then remove from the plan and add the bottom spar later.

I have some of the plastic rib guides, I used them for the tailplane. I'm just a bit concerned about the LE packing. Will get myself up in the attic tonight and have a fiddle.

[Gary Binnie]

My fuselage is not covered at all, just lightweight filler, sanding sealer and paint (car aerosol). Ok for operating off of grass, the one tarmac landing it had just scuffed the hook.

I think I built the Sunrise in 1997 at the in-law's while we were waiting to move in to the house that we are in now, I don't remember building the wing very well, fading brain cells!

Gary

[Gary Binnie]

That's interesting, I'm guessing that I would have ignored the instructions and built it the right way up! The LE and TE is pre-shaped stock isn't it? The LE would have to be packed up a long way.

Maybe try it both ways dry on the board and see how it looks.

Gary

[pentaxman]

JF1980

I went through much the same process a short while back.

When I was a lad and was learning RC via gliders, I saw advertised a model by Galaxy Models called the Condor. It was much like the Sundowner and from roughly the same era, and all balsa just like yours.

Sadly I could never afford to purchase one of these superb machines and so that was it.....or so I thought.

A few years back I enquired about the availabillity of the plan from the shop owner.
I left it with him for a few weeks and enquired for a second time, to be greeted with a rolled up blue print for a meager price.
So a I built it from the plan a couple of years back.
Like you I had the same quandry regarding getting it into the air.
In the end I decided to fit a brushless motor and folding prop into the nose to provide the weight I needed in the nose because the Lipos (3s 2250mAH) are not heavy enough to provide the leverage of the origional NiCad pack.

I have still fitted the hook for the towline / bungee and I have had sucessfull flights with her launched from both methods.

I certainly have enjoyed flying her, and she is still in my fleet and flyable right now.

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b64/pentaxman/PICT1567.jpg

Best of luck with yours

[JF1980]

Thanks pentaxman, I remember Galaxy models use to offer a nice variety of kits. I have a mosquito from them and two new .25 motors that must have been sitting in the attic for 10 years waiting to be built! I may look at building it electric next winter.

I'm thinking of driving down to Sussex Model Centre tomorrow as I need some wing bolts for my Twinstar. Thinking I might buy the wood required for a second fuselage and also pick up some solarfilm while I'm there.

Does anyone have an idea of approximately how much film I'll need to cover the wing/fin/tail? It's been ages since I've covered a model. I'm going to for a similar colour layout to Gary but using transparent orange in place of yellow and transparent red in place of black. I'll cover the fuselage with red nylon and dope.

[Gary Binnie]

If I remember correctly I used one small roll of black and two of the transparent yellow but you've probably been to the shop by now! Have you built the wing yet?

Cheers

Gary

[pentaxman]

I would probably get 2.5 - 3 meters to allow for patching if you land on rough fields.

I think when I bought my covering a well over ordered, I think I got around 5 meters. I used the extra to cover another park flier plane and I still have extra left.

[JF1980]

I brought 1.75m of each, had to go with Red/Yellow as they didn't have any orange.

I didn't pick up any wood as it was all pretty expensive. I'll do a bit of research and see whether there are still any mail order wood suppliers around, I seem to remember a supplier called Balsa Cabin.

Heading up in to the attic now to tackle the wingtip.

[pentaxman]

Should be enough film if you go carefully with it.
Balsa cabin is still in business and is based in Maldon in Essex, phone number is 01621859711, web site is http://www.zyworld.com/balsacabin/
I do think the cost of all the woods we use has gone up recently, my LHS was trying to charge £20 for a sheet of ply - it stayed on the shelf!

[enrico74ec]

JF1980,

Actually the spoilers are easy to make with balsa, but if you whant a ready drop and forget type thing, you can try this link:
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/rc-sailplane-accessories.htm

hope it helps

Enrico

[JF1980]

Will definitely be placing an order with Balsa Cabin as their prices are much better; I may want to buy in stock for another project at the same time to cut the relative postage cost down, an electric Bubble Dancer sounds nice...

Still not happy with the wing tips. I pinned the LE/TE/Ribs in place over the plan this evening, packing the TE and LE on 1.5mm balsa scraps.

The plan and instructions really are vague; they say 'Pin shaped leading edge over plan packing on scraps to suit rib contour. Pin trailing edge over plan raising the front edge of it on packings as shown to suit rib contour'... I'm not very happy about that because if I were to pack the TE so that it truly flowed with rib contour then the tip would be packed up more than the root. The plans hardly show a thing, in fact they show no packing at all for the tip panels -- Think it's going to take me a while to take the plunge and glue it together.

This kind of thing really annoys me. Why go to the bother of designing a model, drawing up plans and commercially producing a kit if you aren't going to pay attention to detail and ensure that the building notes are sufficiently detailed so as to leave no room for doubt.

[pentaxman]

I think you will find things were like that then.

Computers were not in use for this sort of thing so it was assumed that kit builders already had a few machines under their belt before they moved onto a machine like yours.

Does this machine have any tip braces between main panels and tips?
If not, what I would do is make up a couple of braces from very thin ply at the correct angle and fit them onto the front of the upper and lower main spars.
The tips can then be slid onto these to maintain not only the correct angle but more importantly the same angle on each side.
Being thin ply they will snap off quite readily in the event of catching a tip.
The only mod required would be to make the spar cut outs in the end ribs slightly longer to accomodate the braces.

I have my doubts about using balsa spars too especially on a well wound up bungee.
I remember flying a mates small glider which had the same design as yours with 2 balsa spars and shear webbing in between.
We snapped one wing panel about 12" out on the 5 foot wingspan machine.
All my bungee gliders have used spruce spars, I have even managed to break one of those on the bungee, mind you I really should not have been flying in wing that strong.

If you have decided to go for electric launch, why not make it that the motor can be removed easily and a nose cone fitted in place to convert to conventional gliding? That would save building a whole replacement fuselage, or you could remove the prop and just leave the spinner on of course.

[Gary Binnie]

Well the instructions you get for the Sunrise are much more than you get for a Brian Taylor plan, just a few notes scribbled on the plan, which leaves room for some 'head scratching'!

If I remember correctly it's only the outer panels that have balsa spars (webbed for the first few inboard bays) and the main panels use double webbed spruce spars. I can launch mine on the bungee at full stretch on a calm day and not so far off with a breeze.

Cheers

Gary

[pentaxman]

I was looking at the pictures posted and the spars looked like balsa hence the comment.

I would hate JF1980 to try his machine on a bungee and have a wing fail after all this time searching.

Can I suggest, if you have not fitted all the wing ribs already, that you scan one of the ribs as a referance just incase one gets damaged.

[Gary Binnie]

Howzitgoin JF? Flying yet?!

Cheers

Gary

[JF1980]

Not quite, I've completed the wing tips and will update the build log soon. I've laid out the centre panels and need to decide on the spoiler size/position before going any further.

[JF1980]

Hi guys. Very sorry about the lack of progress; I've been busy over the last couple of months and have been trying to fit in as much RL gliding as I can while the weather has been good.

I'm back on the case now as I just picked up a Multiplex Cularis on sale and I'm eager to get that on the building board. Started the centre wing panels last night and will crack on with them this afternoon.

[JF1980]

Currently working on the wings. I'm almost done, just putting all of the vertical webbing on which is a bit of a slow and painful process.

In the meantime I thought people might be interested to see that a kit has come up on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280371390360&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123

[BrumBob]

I've just come across this thread, having picked up an almost-pair of Sunrise kits last year. When I say almost-pair, there was one complete kit, and another missing a few ribs and the plan.
I've finally completed no 1, with a minor modification. I cut 115mm off the sides, top and bottom ply pieces, reprofiling the nose to give a 40mm square front bulkhead. I've then bolted in a BL2815 motor, 60amp esc, 11*4 prop, 2250 LiPo and 40mm aluminium spinner. First flight was completed yesterday, somewhere over 15 minutes before rain called a halt to flying (I have trouble seeing the model once my glasses get wet!). That was two climbs under power, exploring the stall on the first climb, then playing with thermal turns on the second.

Lessons learned - I think I've got the CofG set too far back as it was a bit sensitive in pitch, with a tendency to dig it's nose in with down trim. I could have left the nose another 15mm longer, ie just cut 100mm off. It locks into a nice tight thermal turn with a minimum of rudder though and not much bank, and was gaining a bit of height before I had to stick the nose down to bring it in. Here's a piccie before the ali spinner went on:
http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/RobC57/th_Flairsunriseleccyconversion.jpg

[BrumBob]

I brought 1.75m of each, had to go with Red/Yellow as they didn't have any orange.

I didn't pick up any wood as it was all pretty expensive. I'll do a bit of research and see whether there are still any mail order wood suppliers around, I seem to remember a supplier called Balsa Cabin.

Heading up in to the attic now to tackle the wingtip.
Covering - i used Fibafilm from the Solarfim people, and two rolls covered the entire model. I think they are 6' rolls.
I'm very pleased with the way it's come out. The fuselage had a couple of coats of Halfords grey primer rubbed down well, followed by three light coats of car spay paint, then two coats of clear.

[JF1980]

Hi Bob.

That looks great. I have been mulling over my options with regards to power and have decided to follow the same route as you. The idea of a power pod is a nice one but I doubt I'll ever launch it with a bungee so it doesn't seem worth the additional bother.

Do you have any close-ups of your front section? Do you feel it's necessary to shorten the nose, I have considered trying to place the flight pack between the wings over the CG but access will be tricky.

Just heading up to the attic to finish off the webbing on the main wing panels.

[BrumBob]

(photos changed to attachments)
I've extended the removable hatch back to the wing band hooks, so I don't need anything to stretch the bands through the fuselage, I can do it easily through the hatch. The servos are 16 gm 2kg DYS units from GiantCod, in fact all the electrics are from the Cod. A 2250 3s lipo goes in next to the esc, and with 115 mm cut off the nose it needs about 30 gm of noseweight. The motor has it's mount at the front, bolted to a 1/8" ply bulkhead, with 6mm holes cut in the exposed corners for a little ventilation.

[BrumBob]

interesting, I'm not sure why the pics came out as links first time - I used the [ i m g ] tags, now uploaded and attached!
Why did I feel the need to shorten the nose? - you hit the nail on the head with regard to battery access. By shortening the nose, I could put the battery somewhere easily accessible. I could have put a hatch in the underside below the wing, as I did on an old Orange Box, but with the thin flat ply sides, I wanted to keep as much rigidity in the structure as I could without having to beef anything up. Any loss of strength caused by extending the top hatch behind the wing leading edge is made up by the servo mounting plates - I hope! By using micro servos, I could fit the ele servo immediately in front of former #9 and below the slots for the retaining bands, and the rudder servo between former #8 and the front dowel tube.

[pentaxman]

I adapted a Galaxy models Condor in much the same way but did not bother shortening the nose.
With the weight of the reciever batteries we used to use in the nose for ballast, I decided it was not necessary to shorten the nose.
I was right since the light motor I used still required the addition of nose weight.
Mine is still fully able to use a bungee and I have launched it in just that way quite sucessfully.

Looks like you have a nice finish on that machine Bob.
Strangely I have the same issue as you do regarding the rain on specs affecting visabillity. I have not yet found a solution for it either.