I started this plane about a month ago. I was looking for something to replace the plane I flew a lot last summer - (56" ws) - flown off water, at night, with lights.

The plans are from Outerzone (http://www.outerzone.co.uk/) - don't go there unless you have a lot of time!!! I blew them up 150% to give me a 66" wingspan.

Even though I was building from plans I still had 2 issues - one was excessive drinking while building - the other I don't remember....

The first issue was a crooked fuselage. I mounted the wing to the fuse yesterday and found that the tail was off by over an inch so I had to break the CA bonds and reglue the tail so that it was straight. Today I noticed the wing has a down angle (about a degree) from the thrust line. Sheesh!! I can fix it, but I should have measured the wing saddle angle BEFORE I glued the fuse together.

Here's a couple pictures of progress so far.

Harry

So, it's both a gasser conversion and a woodie conversion, and you've greatly enlarged it, as well.

That's about as cool as it gets.

It's coming out alright so far. I have the wing saddle issue to fix, but it should be a nice flyer when I get done. The tail feathers have been enlarged about 10% to give a little extra control. And, I still have to work out a cowl for it. 2 litre bottles are too small. Gonna have to get one of those 3 litre ones I guess.

Harry

She's looking more like a Bokkie now! Still have some spackling and final sanding to do, but she's almost ready for paint.

Harry

Finally got around to finishing the motor mount and cowl. The original Bokkie had a gas engine on it which weighed a lot more than the motor I'm using (and it's oversized for this application, but that's ok - I need the weight ). The motor mount is a piece of padauk, an African hardwood. It's heavy, too, but I need the weight. This thing is tail heavy just by looking at it. It has a longish tail and since I added an additional 10% to the tail feather area it's even heavier in the rear. So, I may have to add additional weight to the nose to get the CG in the right spot, but we'll see. It's still coming in under my target weight.

Harry

The paint job didn't come out as nice as I would like, but I really, really, REALLY, can't seem to get the hang of it. I think it's the most time-consuming and difficult part of building, but since I don't plan to stop building any time soon I'll keep working on it.

This is the first time I've put a spinner on a scratch-built plane. I usually don't bother, but this one looked like it needed it. The one I bought looks a little too big to me. It could also be the shape of the cowl that makes it look funny. The gap between the spinner and the cowl isn't parallel, but it should be ok.

Harry

I think it was the angle of the cowl that made it look funny. It isn't attached yet so I took it off, sanded it a little, and put it back on. Much better.

Harry, your Bokkie looks great. The spinner looks good and gives you some of the forward weight you need. Excellent!
Can you get a big LiPo way up front?
It will be a sweet flyer.

Thanks, Whiskers. The biggest lipo I have right now is a 4s4000. I'm hoping it's big enough to get the CG in the right spot. If not I can always buy a bigger one.

Harry

Way to go!
I'd rather add battery than dead weight.

Almost done!

I'm down to just a few details before she's ready to fly (battery strap, rebalance spinner, and a couple other minor details).

The final numbers are shown below.

I put a 4S4000 battery as far forward as I could to see where it balanced. Ends up it's nose heavy. I have lots of room to move the battery back. I may pull the cowl off and replace the hardwood motor mount with something lighter to reduce overall weight.

Maiden probably won't happen until this weekend. The soccer field 3 miles down the road is a little small for maidening a 66" wingspan plane.

Harry

Excellent! Nice job!
Just looking at it tells you that it will fly superbly.
Have a virtual pat on the back.

Originally Posted by Whiskers

Excellent! Nice job!
Just looking at it tells you that it will fly superbly.
Have a virtual pat on the back.

Thanks again, Whiskers.

Now that I know where the battery will be I installed the battery velcro and strap.

The spinner is a no-go. I tried a lot of things, but it just doesn't spin true. Causes a lot of vibration. I may get another spinner in the future because it just doesn't look right without it.

Harry

Looks like I'm going to have to prop it down a little.

BP2826-4 1000Kv motor
ZTW 60amp ESC
APC 13x8 prop (data sheet said it would pull 740 watts on 4S which comes out to 150w/lb)

I put the wattmeter on her and the numbers were a lot higher than expected:

83 amps!
1083 watts! (219w/lb)

max motor amps - 50!

I'll probably swap out the 13x8 for a 13x5 and try again.

Now that I know I have a lot of flexibility with battery placement I may try a 3S battery also.

Harry