I decided to do a build log for the rebuild of my JW48UL.
The original build can be found here.
It's an ultralight kit that I built out to 16oz with colored tape and only a few pieces of strapping tape.
It flew pretty well but we rarely get light enough wind at Weldon so I thought I would make it stronger and hopefully keep it's aerobatic abilities.

Specs:
JW48UL kit from jwglider.com
Standard single top spar .240" carbon with thin walled aluminum joiner.
Bottom spar is one piece of .080 carbon rod.
Sub-TE spar is 1x6mm flat carbon from Aloft Hobbies.
The fuse gets 4 longerons of .080" FG.
MKS 6100 servos
Lemon rec'r (gyro optional)
4 cell AAA Eneloop battery in nose.
bagged balsa fin
gooped fuse.
Two layers of 3" bidi strapping tape.

Got a couple of pretty special planes this weekend. Been drooling over this plane for 6 long years. Good things come to those who wait.
We were hoping to get them all finished for an international furball but thought a careful build for a record attempt would be more prudent.
These were so hot off the presses that Tim didn't have time to complete his usual cleanup and detailing. That's actually a good thing so I can give them a thorough inspection and gain a little insight on what it takes to make these puppies.
I carefully sanded the flashing off of the fin on one of them today. It's a beautiful fit to the wing.
Decided to use MKS 6125s on a 4 cell AAA pack. I can fit either a Hitec Optima 6 or a Lemon Recr/Gyro. Will go with the Lemon for now.
Here is the Gizmo thread in the Slope section.

Suggested Elevon throws:
Ailerons = low 3mm , med =5mm , high 10mm
Elevator = low 2mm , med= 3mm , high 10mm+ ( for hover landing)

I'm slowly working on a Scout Bee from WindRider. This was a previously started set of cores I got in trade.
The kit comes with pre-installed carbon tube spars approx 1.5" back along the leading edge.
The center joiner spar was also installed as well as an arched ribbon spar top and bottom.
There was a spruce Trailing Edge that I've cut off and will replace with .22x.092" flat carbon.
I didn't like the position of the stock servo bays so I'm moving the servos outboard from their stock position with the pushrods 12.5" from CL.
The full sized servos fit with at least 1/8" clearance on top and bottom.
This is built with DS in mind but not for all out speed.


Specs:
Tower Hobbies TS-64 servos.
5 Cell Eneloop AA flat pack
Lemon Gyro Rec (LM005)
4-40 HD Gold-n-Rod and clevis
2-3 layers of strapping tape
Fiberglass bagged elevons.

This will be my 3rd Bee with a gyro. I'm shooting for about 35oz but with some added carbon and two layers of bi-directional tape.
Specs:
Battery: 5 cell Eneloop AA flat pack.
Servos: Standard sized Tower Hobbies TS-64 (OEM versions of the now discontinued Hitec HS 635). These are discontinued.
Rec'r/Gyro combo: Lemon LM0005
Spars: Replacement .240" carbon rod, 1x3mm carbon ribbon, .080" carbon rod 1" behind LE, 1x6mm carbon trailing edge.

I never did a build thread for my D60 so I thought I’d post a few specs and pics for future reference.

This is a later version of the D60 that I bought from Joe along with a D80. Both were the same color scheme: White with green and black stripes. The bottom is white with black stripes. I ended up painting all of the white on top surfaces fluorescent red for visibility.
All servos were the new Hitec HS-7115TH. 8mm high voltage. I used the nylon horns with the supplied 4-40 hardware.
Battery: Eneloop 5 cell AA
Receiver: Hitec Optima 6
Switch: Switchjack.
AUW: 73oz
CG: 72mm

Weight range of D60 models.
Fuse: 8.2oz to 9oz
Wing: 20oz to 23oz

I picked up a nice used Kinetic 2 Meter this past weekend. There's a few cracks in the tail but it's been repaired and is solid. The overall build looks good but I will go over everything.





Update: A pic on the rock at Weldon after a fun day. 5/19/18

Just picked this up used. It’s been through a few hands before it got to me. Preliminary inspection shows it’s in very good shape. Going to do a little clean up and servo/radio inspection then start in on the programming.

CG: 2-5/8”
AUW: 108oz
Fuse: 59.5oz
Wing: 48.5oz
Wing ballast kit: 10oz
Wing Servos: MKS 6125 (3rd bearing frame on flaps)
Ele Servo: Atx 94761
Battery: 4 Cell Sanyo 4/5A 4000mah
Recr: Hitec Aurora...Continue Reading

I'm finally starting on my 48" build. This will take some significant restraint on my part to build as designed... LIGHT.
The plan is to use no spackle or thinned goop at all on the wing and fuse. Covering will be packing tape and a few pieces of JW strapping tape.

Specs:
JW48UL kit from jwglider.com
Depron fin
Standard single spar .240" carbon with thin walled aluminum joiner.
MKS 6100 servos
Lemon rec'r (gyro optional)
4 cell AAA Eneloop battery in nose.

I became inspired when Aaron came up to Weldon and blew us away with his "Whacrobatics".

JW48 "Whackrobatics" (1 min 13 sec)

I was lucky enough to get one of these this week.
48" molded. Lots of carbon. Stiff. Not much room for gear.
The wing and front of fuse are molded in one piece with a separate nosecone. The tailboom and fin are also one piece mounted just behind the wing TE. The tail is not yet mounted so it might not be square in the pics.

I got this used but in excellent shape.
AUW: 36.5oz
CG: 80mm
MKS 6100's all around on a 4 cell AA Eneloop pack with Spektrum "Carbon Fuselage" receiver.
I was going to switch to a Hitec rec'r but it doesn't really fit anywhere so the project stalled until recently when I bit the bullet and bought a Gen 2 DX8 radio.
Programming and channel setup is odd but I'm getting there.

Update: Plane flew great this past weekend. Zero clicks of any trim needed and crow settings were good. Plane flies great on the front side with a predictable stall unless you are really yanking on the ele with high rates.
DS was smooth with very little ballooning at higher speeds.
I took a few landing approaches but got her down safely. Still need to get used to using my left thumb.

Time to start on JW #2 in my Quick Build series. I'm pretty sure this one wont be finished for the Spring season.

Like the others, this one will be built from the JW "Classic" kit available from jwglider.com.
Standard sized servos: Tower Hobbies TS-64 (OEM versions of the now discontinued Hitec HS 635).
4 cell AA nimh battery pack, also from Tower.
2 layers of Bidi strapping tape and a simple covering design using Hobby King covering.
The fin will be the stock coroplast and the balsa elevons will probably not be glassed.
This one will be built with the stock carbon tubes instead of the solid fiberglass rod spars used on #1 build.
Target weight is around 50oz.

D80.
The first few pics are of a Joe Manor built plane for reference.

Fuse dry weight range: 15.6oz to 20.6oz
Wing dry weight range: 49oz to 56oz

Joe Manor's original molded D80 build thread.
Joe's original bagged D80 Build thread.
My First D80 I bought here on RCG....Continue Reading

I picked up a DM8 Spektrum module for Futaba a few months ago and finally got an antenna and replacement antenna mount to fit it in my 9C.
I've got a few things to test out with it including my Gyro Bee and a Sunbird.
I couldn't find any pics on the web showing what this setup looked like and what exactly was needed.

After seeing Aaron and Bruce fly their Tweety JW's I knew I had to have one.
Then I got a chance to fly Bruce's this past week and started to get the build ready the day I got back.
Extremely stable plane for its size.

Specs:
4 cell AAA battery in the fuse
MKS 6100 servos
extra bottom spar
carbon TE
Hoping to squeeze in a Hitec Optima 6 rec'r
2-3 layers of 3M extreme BiDi tape
Hobby King covering.

This is a Prototype build using JW wing cores cut to a 30° leading edge sweep.
I'm going to try and build it similar to my 40oz Bee and Rebel DS wings to compare DS and strong wind frontside performance.

Specs:
48" span using 30° sweptback JW cores
Stock JW spar system with custom joiners. 4 piece .240" carbon tube.
Carbon TE
Additional carbon spar to make an A-frame
5 cell AA battery pack
Std sized Hitec analog servos with Karbonite gears. Actually Tower branded TS-64
Hitec 6 channel Optima receiver
3 layers of 3M extreme bidirectional tape
2mm Coroplast winglets
4-40 hardware
Probably going with FG bagged elevons

This is an oldie but I replaced the battery this week and wanted to post the build specs for future reference before I forgot them...

• JW60 Standard (Classic) kit.
• Hitec HS 5475 Std sized digital servos
• 5 cell 2/3/A sized battery pack in the fuse. I'll avoid these in the future and stick with AA Eneloops.
• fully taped and gooped fuse. Goop tinted with Testor's enamel
• 2 layers of extreme tape on the bias
• balsa fin (replaced a few years ago)
• fixed TE 6" in and out board.
• 2-56 hardware
• bottom hinged
• carbon sub TE
• layer of goop on spackled foam and over last layer of tape
• Monokote covering

Top speed was 177 IIRC, if it was blowing I usually put up a heavier JW.
Up close it has a bit more of a textured surface compared to my other builds that usually have 1 or 2 more tape layers.
Other than that, I think it was one of my best builds and it flies well.
Oh, I also ended up drilling and pinning (with .080" FG) the bottom spars and joiner when they loosened up. I had used Mercury rubberized CA and it let go... JB weld from now on!
When she was young , fast, and pretty...


and now the old lady looks like this..

I need a replacement for my Gyro Bee that I killed a few months ago.
I'm trying very hard to build this one simple, cheap and lightish.
Target weight is 30oz.
Build Specs:
Bee II cores
Std Hitec servos: HS 425's.
4 cell AA Sanyo Flat pack.
upgrade to .25" Fiberglass rod to replace the std carbon tube spar
.080" fg rod arched I-beam in stock location.
5mm x 1mm carbon ribbon sub TE spar.
Strapping tape: approx 2 full layers of standard 3" Bee tape.
thinned goop
spackle used sparingly
Oversized 2mm coroplast winglets
balsa wingtips (not winglets)
Orange Gyro/Rec'r

I'm starting on a plan to build 3 JWs by next Spring. The idea is to develop a quicker building, lower cost, lower weight, more versatile airframe than my usual efforts.

All three will be built from the JW "Classic" kit available from jwglider.com.
They will use standard sized servos and 4 cell AA nimh battery packs.
The current plan is to use only 2 layers of strapping tape and a simple covering design using Hobby King covering.
The fin will be the stock coroplast and the balsa elevons will probably not be glassed.
One difference is I will be building the first one with solid fiberglass rod spars instead of the stock carbon tube spars to prove if they are stiff enough and without a significant weight penalty for use in future builds.

I was lucky enough to get one of these awesome planes a few month ago. I've only flown it twice with speeds less than 200.
This one is a lighter version. MKS 6125's with third bearing support frames, 4 cell AA battery in the nose. Quite an amazing plane and good looking in the air. AUW is 51oz.



...Continue Reading

Windburner- 48" molded plank. Incredibly fast. Maidened last Christmas.
MKS 6125's in aluminum frames with external support bearing .
Oversized control horns
AA 4-cell Eneloop pack fits perfectly
Approx 52oz AUW



...Continue Reading