The 35% Dalton Aviation Extra 260 19.2 lbs Build, Fly, .... and Repair thread

[BoneDoc]

Hi Guys,

As a few of you might know, my wife and kids are out visiting their relatives in Indonesia for a full 2 months. Meanwhile, I have to find something to do otherwise, I'd go nuts :D.

So I've always been impressed with large E-Conversions. However, most are converting ARFs designed for gas, and I'm not about to fork out the electron's version of a 100cc engine.

Enter Bob Sawyer. On this thread in FlyingGiants.com, he actually took a 40% Carden 260 all the way down to 28 lbs, equipped with DA 100. Many thought the plane would not fly, or break at the first snap. Yet to this day, he's had 40 pretty hard flights of it without any signs of wear or fatigue.

So my mind start churning. What if I can take a 35% plane and take it all the way down to 20 lbs, and use the available powerplant that most people here are overpowering their 50cc conversion with? I have a 110 HV already, so I just need battery and motor.

Since there are no ARFs out there that comes even close to 20 lbs with standard setup, I have to resort to a kit. Enter Dalton Aviation's Extra 260. Many raves about its flying qualities as well as overall IMAC / 3D performance, so 814 dollars later, I'm off to the most ambitious project I've ever tackled. The most I've done in terms of building is a SA Edge 540. Any of you SA owners / builders out there, there's no plane that will fly as well / light as an SA. Likewise, properly built, I should be able to nail this down.

Wish me luck :D.

[NumbSkull]

Good luck Josh!!

Cant wait to see how this works out for ya!!

[sun.flyer]

This should be a fun project to watch. I am assuming Josh you will be doing a build thread on this as well? Looking at the manual it definately looks like there is the opportunity to take out some weight on it without compromising the structure.

Ditto on Numbs comment, Good luck Josh!! :)

Tim

[BoneDoc]

:D.


One of the neat concept that Bob taught me is the idea of "weight budget." Come to think about it, since it makes sense to budget our finances, time, etc, why not budget the weight? Bob has kindly given me the realistic budget to hit (since I have zero experience with this).

Fuselage 40 ozs.
canopy complete 10 ozs.
Tail feathers 20 ozs.
Engine cowl with topcoat 12 ozs.
Carbon wheel pants and landing gear with
Titanium axles & Kavan wheels 16 ozs.
Tail gear 1.5 ozs.
Carbon wing tube 5 ozs.
Wings 64 ozs.
Carbon spinner 4 ozs.
Prop 6 ozs.
Servos 16 ozs.
Battery and switch 4 ozs.
Receiver, hardware and extensions 17 ozs.
Covering 12 ozs.
Graphics 3 ozs.
Total 14.406 lbs.

That will leave me 6 lbs for the power system. I'm considering 12S 5000 mah setup mated to a 2 lb motor, which will give 4000 watts. That's 200 watts / lb, not as "crazy" as some of these models, but definitely plenty.

[blucor basher]

Josh -

Awesome. Glad you decided to jump into this one head first.

When do you expect to finish?

[BoneDoc]

It has to be done before July. My 2nd year start in July, and then I'll be too busy to do anything meaningful (RC related at least :) ).

[BoneDoc]

Ok, so here is where I am right now.

I've framed up the fuse, sheeted the turtle deck, and sheeted both elevator / H Stab. Not bad for several day's worth. And in the process, I've removed over 1/2, probably closer to 3/4 lbs altogether.

Here are some pics.

[blucor basher]

Impressive!

[sun.flyer]

Sweet looking good Josh. Looks like one Giant sized SA kit thats for sure. :) What motor/esc are you planning on using?

Tim

[mexico]

subscribed

What does this mean? "I have not removed some weight from the LG plate and restaurant."

[BoneDoc]

Lol, it was 3:17 am when I posted that message. I must be half asleep.

What I meant was LG plate and motor box. There's at least 2 Oz to be had by lightening them.

[mexico]

I guess we now know who does the cooking in your house.

[NumbSkull]

Looks great Josh..

Any chance you take a shot of the fuse by that extra 330 so that we can get an idea of the size of this bird?

[mexico]

35% Extra 260 should be just over 100" I think.

[sun.flyer]

35% Extra 260 should be just over 100" I think.

Dalton Aviation (http://www.daltonaviation.com/35extra260.asp)

WS=103"

Tim

[NumbSkull]

Thanks guys. I knew it was just over 100" inches, but I'd like to see it next to the 330 for reference. I've got a 330 and know how big it is and how much room I have to work with it, but I've not had the oportunity to line the 330 up with anything over 85 inches.

[mexico]

The fuse and cowl of a 26% 260 dwarfs the 330. A 35% is going to look HUGE in comparison. 6lb plane vs 27 lb plane.

[NumbSkull]

Yup!! That's why I want to see it...

[lazyboyflyer]

It's not going to be easy to make that 20 pounds, but even a few pounds over will be alot lighter than gas. Don't go too light on the batteries, or your flights will be too short. You'll want at least 8 to 10 minute flights. P.S. More pictures please!

[j_z_123]

Very Cool Josh.

More pics! ~20lbs for a 35%'r is going to be amazing.

Jon

[BoneDoc]

LBF,

I personally don't need to fly 8-10 min. 5-6 min is enough. However, looking at 4000 watts on 12S 5000, will give me 7-9 min of mixed flying if the plane comes in at around 20 lbs.


Jon,

Thanks for the encouragement, and for that matter, thanks everybody for your support. I was expecting the "it ain't going to fly right" crowd to come in and say how this plane will break at the first snap :D.

Here are more pics. At this point, I've sheeted the stabs + rudder, and have 3 of the 4 skin for the wing ready. I'm still waiting for the CF tube and phenolic before I can sheet the wing.

[j_z_123]

Looking great! Makes me want to build a kit...!:)

[BoneDoc]

If you've got the time DOOOOO IT :D. I've seen your work before, and they're quite impressive. There's no way you can get a 35% at 20 lbs unless you build from a kit.

[sun.flyer]

LBF,



Jon,

I was expecting the "it ain't going to fly right" crowd to come in and say how this plane will break at the first snap :D.




Should be alright as long as Ben F. isn't flying it.....just kidding Ben. :) Looking good Josh keep the pics. and reports coming.

Tim

[Bill K.]

I was expecting the "it ain't going to fly right" crowd to come in and say how this plane will break at the first snap :D.


Na, most of these planes have been over engineered over the years to be able to withstand the abuse of the big gas motors that we put on the front. Taking one down in weight and using a smoother running electric motor, I don't 'think' you'll have any problems at all. With that wing span a snap won't be like your front yard foamy. Even a fast harsh looking snap on a large plane is much slower than a shocky. Can't wait to see the video when you get it done.

[mexico]

I am curious Josh to hear your impressions once you get it done. I wonder if you will like its flight characteristics better at 20 lbs or if you feel it has lost something with the reduction in weight. Good luck.

[BoneDoc]

I saw Bob's 28 lb 40% Carden 260 fly. That thing is soooo sweet. It does the best deep snap straight into hover that I have not seen in other plane. Basically when he pulls into a deep snap, the plane does 2 reverse somersault before standing on its tail without loosing any altitude. Also at that weight, you can't stall the wing. He does stationary flat spins, and as long as there is power on tap and you're not pointing the nose at the ground :D, you can't crash the plane.

I'll be sure to get the first few flights on video.

[NumbSkull]

Looking good Josh!! I'm anxious to here what you AUW ends up at. Something about those larger planes... The way they carry momentum over the smaller parkie stuff that gives it a much better presence in the air. They almost float through maneuvers.

Thanks for the pic too. I think I could squeeze one in my hanger to work on it, now to figure out how to afford it.. :D

[fbw4]

I am very interested to see how light this turns out to be. I did a similar project several years ago and managed to get a 33% down to 23 pounds with duel motors and 16S4P. I plan on going your rout with the power system now that big outrunners can do the job. Dropping to 12S and a single motor will remove over 3 pounds and put me under your 20 pound target weight. I fly a 50CC plane on 12S weighing 17 ½ pounds and the power is spectacular so adding a couple pounds should not affect the performance much. Good luck and keep us posted.

http://www.rccraze.com/extra.html

[BoneDoc]

Man, your build was definitely harder than mine. How's the power at 160 watts / lb?

[BoneDoc]

Ok, I'm officially 1 week into the build with an overnight call thrown in there somewhere. All the wing skins have been sheeted. The R wing has been cored out. In coring out the wing, I saved 1.8 Oz. I should close to 2 Oz just for skinning the wing the way I did. BTW, the credit goes to Bob doing this in the first place. I'm just copying his design.

[fbw4]

Man, your build was definitely harder than mine. How's the power at 160 watts / lb?

My 33% has good power at 160watts per pound but I would definitely want more for competition. You can see in these videos the pull out after the vertical snaps is slow and would be a problem in some of the advanced patterns.

This first video was the maiden flight
http://www.rccraze.com/extra.wmv

In this second video I zoomed out on the upline to give you an idea of the vertical power and speed.
http://www.rccraze.com/extra2.mpg

This third video was taken during the noon demos at MWE2004
http://www.rccraze.com/mweextra330.mpg

My plane is quit a bit smaller then yours and even with all my changes could be built lighter so on your bigger plane 20 pound is still very doable.

[mexico]

I don't know about power levels for competition but the plane is so smoothe in your videos. Beautiful.

[BoneDoc]

Great flying! What a floater even at that weight.

[blucor basher]

I watched the one with Jason flying. Awesome plane.

[BoneDoc]

It's starting to look like a real plane now :D. I still need to glue the vert fin, but for the most part, it's the lack of parts that is holding me back, namely the wing tube, phenolic, canopy and cowling. That will enable me to sheet the wing, which then will let me set the incidence and cut the elevator and ailerons.

At any rate, the plane weighs 5 lbs 1 1/2 Oz as she sits on the last picture. That includes the heavier alum wing tube that I recycled from my Lanier Edge.

[mexico]

Will you install a wing tube of some kind in the wing halves to accept the main wing tube or is the sheeted foam wing strong enough by itself once the caps are installed?

[BoneDoc]

There's a phenolic that you install as kind of a sleeve for the wing tube to slide in and out from.

[blucor basher]

It's not included?

[BoneDoc]

It is. It wasn't shipped with the original order :D.

So I actually got the wing tube yesterday. I just didn't open my door after 4 pm to notice that there's something in my front door.

Right wing sheeted as we speak, but had a @#$% brain fart. I start putting glue on the left top wing panel before realizing that. Oh well, I'll just have to get another set of sheets ready for that.

[sukhoi26mx]

Incredible Josh. Can't wait to see the video!

Scott

[BoneDoc]

I'm getting impatient also. But I do need to slow down a bit, hence that brain fart :D. Anyways, I inspected the "damage" and instead of buying more balsa, I just start sanding off as much of the polyurethane glue that I can.

So the right wing is off the sheeting table. It only weighs 22 1/2 oz unsanded, and with some tape still in there. So I'm definitely within goal to reach or beat 32 oz per wing. The L wing is now on the sheeting table. Man moving those bricks are a PITA (good workout though :D).

[BoneDoc]

So the wings are sheeted, phenolics glued, and leading edges installed and sanded. Man what a dust storm. I wouldn't be surprised if by the end of the build I develop some kind of hypersensitivity toward balsa dust :D.

I'm really close to an ARC state now. The next big thing is to set the incidence.

Here's where she sits
Wings 45 Oz
Tail surfaces including vert fin + stab tube 16 5/8
Fuselage 39 1/8 Oz
Wing tube 8 3/8 Oz

Total 131 1/8 Oz, 8 lbs 3 1/8 Oz. Not bad right :D? So far, the only thing that didn't make the budget is the wing tube, which is already CF, but it's a really strong CF. No biggie.

[NumbSkull]

Looking good Josh!!

It makes that 260 look like a toy next to it.

[blucor basher]

I saw this thing yesterday, and yes it is very light. Even if he doesn't make the weight budget exactly, it's going to float like a feather. I've volunteered to video the maiden.

Josh - here's a few little sketches to get you thinking...

[BoneDoc]

Ben, I was going to do just that, but you're ahead of me my friend :p.

Me likes #2

[BoneDoc]

How about this to match?

[SD_Raptor]

Josh,

Great thread - now I'm thinking 35% electric. Running the numbers, a Neu 2215/2Y-750BAM with 6.7:1 gearbox and a 28x14 prop (Mejzlik) gives just over 4100 W at the prop while keeping the current under 110 Amps to let you use the HV110. With good 12 4900 packs, and some throttle management solid 8 minutes flights seem realistic. The motor and packs weigh in at 5 lbs 8 oz. A bit over your power system budget but not bad. This doesn't include the motor mount or ESC.

Randy

[BoneDoc]

Thanks Randy,

You should give it a try if you have the time on hand. IMHO BAM is an overkill, as it was designed for 25-30 lbs planes. I think 1527 2Y with 6.7 GB is better suited. However, I'm strapped for cash also, so I'm going with A60 18L for now. We'll see how this goes.

[SD_Raptor]

Thanks Randy,

You should give it a try if you have the time on hand. IMHO BAM is an overkill, as it was designed for 25-30 lbs planes. I think 1527 2Y with 6.7 GB is better suited. However, I'm strapped for cash also, so I'm going with A60 18L for now. We'll see how this goes.

I think the 1527 are only rated to 3300W for 30 sec and not recommended for 4000 Watts. The A60 will be close to its limits but should allow some good performance.

With LiPo prices slowly dropping, and the ability to build a plane more lightly, going giant electric is becoming more attractive.

You have given me more food for thought.

Randy

[BoneDoc]

:D.

There's only one way right now to get a frame this size, this light, and that's to build your own. IMHO when you convert an ARF, you're starting behind the 8 ball already.

[GWRIGHT]

I'm using an A60-18L now, and it rarely gets to 130 degrees at the end of a flight, usually 10 to 20 degrees less, although it's rated for 60 amps on 10S and I'm flying it on 12S and peak current in the mid 90's (4200+ watts). Temps indicate it could do a lot more, but it's way more than I need in a 16 lb plane the way it is now.

[BoneDoc]

Thanks for the real life data Gary.

As for the progress, I've got the incidence set on the wing and the stab.... Now the real pickle is that I don't have a band saw to cut the wings :)

[GWRIGHT]

BoneDoc, check your PM's

[SD_Raptor]

Thanks for the real life data Gary.

As for the progress, I've got the incidence set on the wing and the stab.... Now the real pickle is that I don't have a band saw to cut the wings :)

Josh,

I read the build instructions today. In the instructions, it seems to show cutting th eailerons before setting wing incidence but it seems easier to set the incidence with the wings still in one piece after sheeting.

Do you or others concur?

I am really looking forward to your maiden and subsequent flight reports.

Randy

[BoneDoc]

Yep, set the incidence first, then cut the ailerons.

[SD_Raptor]

Yep, set the incidence first, then cut the ailerons.

Thanks! One less mistake I will make if (when) I build this kit. from the various build logs, the Dalton planes seem to be at or very close to the top of kit manufacturers - for quality of materials and design. Your build log certainly reinforces what I have read elsewhere.

Randy

[BoneDoc]

I concur, and definitely worth the money compared to a Carden's basic stick design. Alternatively, the Aerotech kits are 150 dollars cheaper, but does not include CF wing tube and stab tube.

[R/C Dallas]

BoneDoc

Awesome build your doing! I have a CA Model 31% Extra 300L builders kit that I am doing (slowly) as an electric and am looking for ways to get the weight down around 18lbs AUW. Your progress is very encouraging and I will be watching closely. What do you plan to use for covering?

For power I'll be using Hyperion's Z5045-18 (which is very close to the Hacker A60-18L) and hope to make 3600-4000watts on 12S1P TP 3850 and 5000 Extreme batteries. (I have the 3850s right now but would have to purchase the 5000s) I am also considering A123s in a 14S2P configuration as a low cost alternative but the weight would be a bit more than the LiPos.

Another interesting setup I've been looking at in Motocalc and Drive Calc is 10S1P with an APC 26 x 15 prop. Thrust and pitch speed are close, if not better than the 12S 24x12 numbers but at a significant reduction in weight and therefore lower cost. Watts/lb would be down but the effeciency of the 26" prop looks like it makes up the difference. It might be a little too much pitch for hovering but should be decent for aerobatics.

Has anyone out there tried a 26 x 15 prop on a large Hyperion/Hacker/Axi outrunner?

Bluecore Basher - I love your Air Force scheme...I retired last year after 25 years and would love to use it on the bottom of my plane. With the star in the center of course! Would you mind?

[BoneDoc]

I'm starting to get a little burned out at the pace that I'm going. It would've been so much easier had I just go with a stock build. Not to mention, with every turn, there's a new skill to be learned :p.

I am "re"sheeting my hatch again. The first one came out crooked because I did it upside down. However, since I took out some of the stringers and formers, there was no way I would've been able to do it right side up, because there's no support / little support undeneath the skin.

So what did I do? First glue the skin to the center stringer, then with the hatch firmly taped / clamped to make sure that it's straight, turn the fuse upside down :D. Talk about creative construction technique :p

[sun.flyer]

So what did I do? First glue the skin to the center stringer, then with the hatch firmly taped / clamped to make sure that it's straight, turn the fuse upside down :D. Talk about creative construction technique :p

Ahhh... yes, one of my favorite past times gluing my fingers directly to the project I am working on. :) Keep the faith brother, I think you are doing a great job and I am sure that with some patience and perseverance you will achieve your goal. ;)

Tim

[BoneDoc]

Thanks for the encouragement. By skin, I meant sheeting, but as shown below, there are plenty of me on that plane now :D. If I ever went missing, just look for my DNA on my planes :p.

[blucor basher]

Bluecore Basher - I love your Air Force scheme...I retired last year after 25 years and would love to use it on the bottom of my plane. With the star in the center of course! Would you mind?

No, go ahead, it belongs to the USAF anyway!

[blucor basher]

Josh - bring it to me. I'll finish it for ya. But, then I get to fly it!

[BoneDoc]

I was going to let you fly it anyway

[sun.flyer]

Thanks for the encouragement. By skin, I meant sheeting, but as shown below, there are plenty of me on that plane now :D. If I ever went missing, just look for my DNA on my planes :p.


The signs of a true craftsman at work. :)

Tim

[NumbSkull]

I was going to let you fly it anyway

Careful Brother... Remember what he did to your AJ? :D

[blucor basher]

A 1.5 outside snap, to be exact.

What's wrong with that?

:D

All I want to do with the Dalton is one tail touch. That's all. Then I'll be happy...

Ok, one MORE tail touch, THEN I'll be happy...

[NumbSkull]

The "snap" part was exactly what I was referring to... ;)

Will the tail touch be from a hover or from an inverted harrier?

Josh... Better put a few layers of covering on top of that rudder if your going to let Ben loose with it...

[BoneDoc]

I'll put a skid plate on it, how about that :D.

[SD_Raptor]

Better make it a CF skid plate to keep the weight down ;)

[BoneDoc]

lol,

I'm going through this finishing part that is tiresome and in many cases, yields little to show for. Today I spent hours sanding, measuring, cutting holes, etc. But it's coming along. I'll post some pics later.

Time for nap :). I have my PT test tomorrow.

[SD_Raptor]

PT test - last time I took one of those (say 35 years back), the DI handed us our score cards and told us to fill them out ourselves - and not get too carried away with unbelievable scores. He was too hung over to follow us around the course :cool:

Good luck with yours.

Looking forward to the pics!

Randy

[BoneDoc]

Ok, time for some pictures. I'm a bit farther along, but here are some pics of the progress.

[BoneDoc]

Ok, Weight count so far

Fuse + hatch + tail + wings + wing tube = 7 lbs 4 Oz actual (116 Oz)
Budget was/is 139 Oz For all those things combined.

I'm well within the goal, yeeehaaa :)

[mexico]

looking good. The hatch is as big as the AJX. How much weight would you save if you skipped the iron on all together and flew it naked?

[GWRIGHT]

Ultracote light transparent adds just over 7.5 oz to a 1660 sq in plane, including a little opaque trim. Having covered three of those, all in the same scheme, within a couple months,..two of them in the same week,..I thought it would be an interesting data point to collect <G>. So with the regular stuff (not the lite version) i'd guess you'll have 3/4 of a pound of covering. It really is a significant number. I found out about this on one plane I built that had a 5 oz airframe weight boned out (400 square inches,.. yes, I build with a lot of air <G>), it had a 1.25 oz alu. wing tube and socket , and it was 8 oz exactly after covering. This was normal heavy opaque covering. The lesson was that just counting the wooden airframe and covering,.. the covering was 1.75 versus airframe of 5, or 35% of the weight was covering. Ready to fly weight with 3S 2100 and A20 system plus 4 servos is right at 20 ounces. I learned that the smaller the aircraft, the less of a percentage of weight you could remove just with design due to the small percentage of the completed product being airframe. The larger you go,.. the airframe is a higher percentage of total weight,.. so on his 35%,..some rather drastic savings can be had.
As a side note,.. covering costs a lot when you cover larger planes and you notice it more when doing large orders for multiple planes of the same scheme. In a two week period I covered 2 of the 38", 2 of the 63" and 2 of the 90" versions of said aircraft, all in the same scheme. That was 17 rolls of trans purple and 5 rolls of cub yellow, and I swore I would never again plug in a covering iron as long as I live <G>

[SD_Raptor]

Ok, Weight count so far

Fuse + hatch + tail + wings + wing tube = 7 lbs 4 Oz actual (116 Oz)
Budget was/is 139 Oz For all those things combined.

I'm well within the goal, yeeehaaa :)

Awesome results! It is really looking like an airplane now - it must be hard to stop and take a break at this point.

You are pushing me closer and closer to building one for electric power as well. At under 20 lbs, snaps and rolls will stop very quickly and harrier landings will be possible in dead calm air.

[BoneDoc]

If this were a funfly, I would do that in a heartbeat. But since this is suposed to look scale, I'll take the weight penalty. Besides covering adds a lot of torsional rigidity also.

SD, IMHO you should really consider it. There's no other way you can get an airframe this light from an ARF package... at least not the way ARFs are built these days.

[SD_Raptor]

SD, IMHO you should really consider it. There's no other way you can get an airframe this light from an ARF package... at least not the way ARFs are built these days.

I'm waiting to see what, if anything fails on yours ;)

Then I'll know what to do differently :D

When you cut the ailerons, is it necessary to cut them to manufacturer's recommendations or is there some freedom? I would rather trade off precision for IMAC rather than large area and/or throw for 3D.

[BoneDoc]

lol, I'll let you know either way.

You do have room for your own preference in anything. There are some design limitations to follow... such as don't cut the elevator beyond where the stab tube is :D.

[BoneDoc]

Ok, not settling down here, I prepped and sanded the wings tonight. The ailerons are also lightened. Saved about 2.5 oz total by doing that. It may seem insignificant, but it all adds up.

[GWRIGHT]

Worry about the grams, and the ounces, then the pounds, will take care of themselves. What's that old saying from the politician "A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking real money",.. substitute gram for billion <G>

[BoneDoc]

So true.

[mexico]

Holy aileron batman. The Dr has been in sugery - nicely done.

[GWRIGHT]

Build it up from ribs and sheeting,.. could probably get another couple ounces out. I've done the same structures in sticks versus sheet with holes, then laser-cut interlocking sticks/ribs,.. and simply cutting lightning holes, while beneficial, is by far the worst of the ways to accomplish the task when going for the lowest weight with sufficient strength. One example was a fuselage that was very simple, 1/8" sheet with lots of holes for lightening, and 1/16" sheet over a turtle-deck. I re-designed the structure completely using 1/16" sheet sides with even larger holes, but backed with a very small amount of 1/8" sq framework. Saved 4.75 ounces on fuselage alone,..which was almost 40% weight savings. At the same time, I re-designed the wing with rolled 1/16" sheeting for leading edge, and ribs went from 3/32" to 1/16" highly lightened, with 1/16" cap strips. Wing boned up went from over 8 ounces down to 3 ounces. With various tweaks, plane went from 4.3 lbs flying to 3.5 lbs flying weight.
Again,.. worry about the grams and the ounces will take care of themselves.

[SD_Raptor]

Ok, not settling down here, I prepped and sanded the wings tonight. The ailerons are also lightened. Saved about 2.5 oz total by doing that. It may seem insignificant, but it all adds up.

I see that there is a single servo on the aileron. I thought that most planes this size used 2 servos on each side.

Randy

[RMihara]

Having flown a couple of Gary's designs I can honestly attest to the strength of them. I was wondering about whether there would be sufficient strength in a foam core wing with it's external sheeting removed in sections (like what has been done here) as I've been contemplating doing something similar to the Big U.

A 'D' tube and shear webs in lieu of the foam core would be a fantastic way to save weight, albeit at an economical (and build time) penalty.

Still, this is an interesting project. Looking forward to a successful maiden Bone!

-Roger

[BoneDoc]

Oh ya, this is strong. The key is to put plenty of polyurethane glue where the spar is, as that would be the section that breaks (if it does).

[BoneDoc]

Got my LG, tailwheel, wingbags, spinner and a host of other accessories to complete the plane. The LG from SD Model for their 33% Yak is VERY light at only 7.4 oz. They're plenty strong also, and looks great. Unfortunately, they look a bit small & out of proportionish.

Alas, I'm on call tonight and won't be able to take any pics. Will do so tomorrow.

[BoneDoc]

Ok, so here is where she sits right now. I'm gluing the turtledeck to the fuse, as well as the vert fin. LG and tailwheel is installed now. Here's my 3DH SHP just for comparison.

[bildo baggins]

Kewl BD! Can't wait to see the finished product. Should be mondo impressive

[BoneDoc]

Thanks,

Got some work done, thanks to Ben's help. Here's a mug shot for your viewing pleasure.

...errr, can you tell which state that is :D?

[SD_Raptor]

Where they make Lone Star Beer - still can't recall the name of that particular state. Somewhere north of the Rio grande I think.

Very sharp looking!

Hope the power system is on the way - maiden is getting close.

Congrats on the amazing progress.

[sun.flyer]

Thanks,


...errr, can you tell which state that is :D?


Georgia??? Ahhh I was never good with geography. :D

Tim

BTW - Is it just me or does that motor mount have some series offset to it.

[bildo baggins]

It's that little state where that big band is from I think. :)

[blucor basher]

The plane is so light, I think he'll make the weight target easily.

[mexico]

Nice job Ben. That is a beautifully covered big @@$ wing.

[Tipover]

Awsome build and very exciting project. If this works well, many others will follow in your footsteps. And I have no doubt that it will work well :) Have you decided on servo's yet?

Kevin

[Jeffery]

Thanks,

Got some work done, thanks to Ben's help. Here's a mug shot for your viewing pleasure.

...errr, can you tell which state that is :D?


UUhhh...

On a Texas flag, the red field is adjacent to the 2 "bottom" points of the star, and the white is by the single "top" point.

So let's hope nobody from Texas sees that you have your flag colors reversed. You could get by with just saying your flag was upside down if not for the orientation of the star.