Build Log Windrider Habicht

[Ben D Wing]

Only managed to sort the tail out today, but any progress is better than none!
The molded tailplane roots on the fuz have to be sanded to ensure a good bond with the epoxy and the best way is to fix some coarse grit paper to a piece of 8"x2" hardwood. This ensures that the root stays flat and even. Whilst both tail halves were setting in postion I braced them with masking tape to ensure they stayed in position, see photo. When attaching the elevators I noticed that the holes to facilitate the elevator joiner were too close in so I opened them out to achieve a uniform gap at the mass balance end of each surface.
The completed elevator pushrod has now been installed and the two photos show how I configured mine, ie. the clevis rod is fully inserted at the tail end which still leaves plenty of adjustment possibilites at the servo arm.
Hopefully tomorrow will see a whole day of slope soaring so no more progress untill Monday perhaps.

[suirendoujin]

I was not able to get any building done on Saturday. Was able to get some building time in this morning. Worked around the rudder, elavator and hatch. Nothing exciting. Working on the hatch did explode one little unexpected land mine, though. The 9 mm dowel I had placed as reinforcemnet interefered with the pilot bucket part of the tray. So, had to cut that one and epoxy another one in.
Make sure to check the polarity of the hatch hold down magnets. I just put a small mark on it with a magic marker, Worked like a charm. And those magnets are doing their thing while the epoxy cures.
Hopefully, I will get more done later in the day. Nice lunch break.

[salisbug]

Cannot wait for mine to arrive.........

[Steve.650]

Who is selling these in Aus. Salisbug? or have you ordered direct through Ming? Definatly on the must do list!!

[rustytumbles]

Haven't seen any advertised anywhere in Aust. Should be able to order from ming. A mate of mine has ordered quite abit of stuff direct from him before.

[Ben D Wing]

Rain stopped play at the slope today so I managed a bit more on the Habicht:
I have now installed the rudder assembly and the photos should give the general idea and there are a couple of tips worth passing on maybe;
Firstly, check the hole spacings of the supplied rudder horn against the servo horn you are using as mine didn't match. I simply replaced the original metal piece with a modified Hitec horn and this enabled the control wires to remain parallel.
Secondly, the top rudder hinge will require trimming to size at both ends as there is limited depth available within the structure. The rudder post will also require careful trimming before finally fixing in place.
I covered the rudder post in white Solarfilm prior to gluing in position as it helps to blend in with the rest of the white airframe. I also covered the cut out in the rudder (for the elevator linkage) as bare wood doesn't look nice and is likely to absorb moisture at our slope!
Looking at photos of the real Habicht I noticed that it has struts under the tail and I'm not sure whether or not to add these, but I will be adding a ply plate under the skid position to minimise scuffing from slope side landings.

[salisbug]

Originally Posted by Steve.650

Who is selling these in Aus. Salisbug? or have you ordered direct through Ming? Definatly on the must do list!!

G'day Steve,

I got it straight from Ming. Arrived tonight. Worth every cent. The quality is a quantum leap up from the FlyFly modern gliders.

[suirendoujin]

Bend D Wing,
Forgot ALL about it!!!! My go...!!!!
Yeah, right. Those holes has to be the same distance apart. Otherwise!!! Habicht DOES have a BIG and HUMONGOUS rudder, so
Thanks so muc for the reminder. Now, Gotta think about fabricating a servo horn. Aint so difficult, though.

[Ben D Wing]

Hmm, came to fit the closed loop system on the rudder and found that one of the adjusters wasn't threaded! A delve into the spares box came up with some alternative adjusters in the form of ball joints (with the balls removed because of sharp edges) and some threaded rod.
I've now set up the rudder and elevator throws as follows:
Rudder, 60mm each way measured at the base of the rudder (instructions recommend 20-40mm) with 40% expo.
Elevator, +20mm, -15mm (instructions quote +/-15-20mm) with 20% expo.

[suirendoujin]

Here's how I fabricated a pull pull system for my DG1000.

[justy g]

Great thread guys, I am really enjoying following it. To be able to produce good quality kit of a classic vintage at this price is outstanding..we have never had it so good

[Ben D Wing]

suirendoujin, That's such a simple way of doing the closed loop linkage, wish I'd thought of it.
Anyhoo, I thought long and hard about your idea of a front compression strut between the wing roots and how it fouled your cockpit floor, so I came up with the following idea: As the photos show, I cut the cockpit floor at an angle which then allows a 3/8th square rammin brace to be fitted across the wing root L/E. The hole in the floor is then filled over with Solarfilm covered ply sheet which will still allow a 1/5th pilots head to be fitted, after all every cockpit needs a pilot!
Also I plan to use the hook and elastic band method of holding the wings together as I'm not keen on them being so ridgidly fastened to the fuz. Therefore the front metal screws will be redundant and the rear fastening plates will be for anti-rotation purposes only.

Onwards and forwards........

P.S. sorry about the photo quality, house lighting and a mobile phone don't give very good results.

[Ben D Wing]

Suirendoujin, any more progress? We need your info and photos please!

A little bit more completed tonight: I have fitted some blue plastic coated electrical wiring to simulate the cockpit coaming as seen on the full-size plane, so I just need to fix the canopy and pilot (when she arrives) and then I can finally move onto the wings.
The whole cockpit tub is secured to the fuselage with four strong magnets and two steel locating dowels (as supplied in the kit). The fuselage mounted magnets are already factory installed so this just leaves the cockpit ones to be epoxied in place along with the two location dowels. I found that the positions marked (by the factory) were not in exactly the correct position so I did the following to achieve correct alignment: I first epoxied the dowels in place as the pre-drilled holes were nicely in line. Then the inside of the rim of the cockpit base was coated in epoxy and the magnets gently positioned. Before the epoxy set I put the cockpit tub in postion on the fuselage and this allowed the magnets to slide about in the glue and align themselves perfectly. The tub was then left in place untill the epoxy had hardened. Hopefully the photos will show better than I can describe! BTW, don't forget to make sure the polarity is correct on all four magnets before applying the epoxy!

A question for Ming; What wind speed range is suitable for the Habicht? My guess is between about 7-12 MPH given that the wing section is a 'Clarke Y'.

[suirendoujin]

Sorry, no progress the past couple of days.
Yes, letting the magnets move freely? through the epoxy in the hatch assures proper fixation of those magnets at proper location. Thats what I did also.
Where did you get your pilot figure?

[Joespeeder]

Hi Ben D Wing,

Where did you find the female pilot?

Thanks.

Joe




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