I'm pretty much done with the Rotor from Orans build party. I have some thoughts to share on this one..it was frustrating at times and I'm still kicking myself over somethings.

MISTAKE NUMBER ONE!!!!
For some crazy reason...I did not check the tail alignment when I glued it on. Why would I not do this....I have no idea. As a result the tail is leaning 5 ~ 10 degrees to the right. MOTHER! Seriously I must have stared and willed it straight for hours. It bothers me a lot and if I wanted to fix it I've thought about cutting the whole tail off 3 inches ahead of the tail on the boom...rotate and epoxy back in place.

Next comes the great paint screw up of summer of 2010. I've dreamed of a metallic orange rotor since I got involved in this project...I had high hopes for airbrushing some mixed orange and gold airbrush paint from michaels.

First paint job..after hours of filling and priming and sanding..goes on perfect...it was beautiful...it sparkled in the sun...everything I wanted. I clear coated it with Rustoluem crystal clear enamel. Then I started handling it...the paint was so soft it just came off with hardly a scratch...MOTHER!

So I decided I would sand it all down and do it again..this time with some automotive clear coat...purchased for 25 dollars..did a test with this stuff..super hard.

Primer..sand..primer..sand.

Start painting metallic orange again..this time in a hot hot garage. Everything is looking good...BUT it is going on heavy or not drying...things start to run..and run and run. Basically I grabbed a rag and wipe all the paint off.

I'm PO'ed at this point I can't paint the fuse. I woke up at three in the morning...did some sanding and priming and get it ready for paint. Said enough with orange and painted it red with the same auto paint I used on my shredder.

Once that is done I start finishing up the wing...only to notice one of the wings does not have a wing rod in it....DUDE..Oran....no good on this one buddy...run the to hobby store buy some brass tube...and glue it in..hope everything is fine since clearly it does not have the epoxy drilled hole on the end of it....I'm bother by this.

Get the tail all put together...get the plane leaned up in the family room to admire..go upstairs to take a shower...only to come back down stairs to find the tail in half and a wife saying sorry the cord hit while vacuuming....WOW.

Anyhow...I think once the plane gets in the air all will be forgotten.

I don't have a battery or a switch yet...with the steal rod its at 2 pounds 3 ounces...with the carbon rod...its at 2 pounds even.

Battery and Balance and program will be this weeks project.

Hey Dan,

Sorry to hear of all of your troubles with the plane.

If you got a wing without the wing tube why didn't just call me and come by and get another wing?
I have taken one set out of the bags and the rest are still in the bags.

Where are you going to maidian it?

Oranator

the trials and tribulations of building ! got to love that. got to teach the wife that broken planes = more money but it looks pretty awesome now !!

Originally Posted by ORANATOR

Hey Dan,

Sorry to hear of all of your troubles with the plane.

If you got a wing without the wing tube why didn't just call me and come by and get another wing?
I have taken one set out of the bags and the rest are still in the bags.

Where are you going to maidian it?

Oranator

I didn't notice till I had the wing done...but I figure it will fly. Rough landing may take it out..but it will just give me a reason to come by and bug you about doing a full carbon layup wing

I put some work into the wings. I tried to stiffen them some by gluing some carbon ribbon on the leading edge between the foam and the bass leading edge.

I used killz primer and ace epoxy paint...added 2.5 oz total for both wings...

Also I had to cut the steal bar down...not sure if this was because of the one wing or what...grinding on that stuff is a pain.

Originally Posted by c0dem0nkey

I didn't notice till I had the wing done...but I figure it will fly. Rough landing may take it out..but it will just give me a reason to come by and bug you about doing a full carbon layup wing

I put some work into the wings. I tried to stiffen them some by gluing some carbon ribbon on the leading edge between the foam and the bass leading edge.

I used killz primer and ace epoxy paint...added 2.5 oz total for both wings...

Also I had to cut the steal bar down...not sure if this was because of the one wing or what...grinding on that stuff is a pain.

I am trying to get motivated to start building and flying again so if you want to come over that would be great!
You should not have to add anything for strength 1/64 th ply is plenty strong and as for the "steel bar" (It's a DIXIE PIN) they are a tough as nails and as hard as me in the morning!

Oranator