Article Horizon Hobby's Hangar 9 Brand Harmon Rocket RV-6 .46 ARF w/ EVO 46 Review

[Mchone, Jake]

Thanks fo rthe hints.

I'll look around, I probably have some gear around from my old Aresti that is tougher than nails. Also, I figured as much fo rthe firewall paint, even though the discriptions say it is fuel proof, my Seagull Extra330 .60 had the same mount and grey paint and i'd have more paint residue than oil on its belly at the end of the day, thanks for the tip! I beleve I had some Deff spray laquer somewhere.

The U wire control from my Pulse worked very well, nice and stiff with no warps. The wing is finished, so im off to spray the firewall and install the motor and throttle!

[pittSteeler]

I am putting the plane together right now, (it is amazing by the way) and how do you expect to have the 3 servo wires at the rear of the plane (2 elevator and 1 rudder) reach the electronics in the fuselage? Those also need extensions yes? Were you able to circumvent this? I don't see how that is possible. Receiver in rear of plane? Prob not. Must be a typo and you actually need five 12" servo wire extensions for this plane.

Also, I'm not sure about how to extend the needle valve. Can someone explain how to do this? I've never done that before. I'm using a .46 OS max FXI motor for this baby. Can anybody suggest a prop size based on that?

[Mchone, Jake]

Not quite, pitts...

The ailerons should be on a Y-harness, and the elevators can be if you dont have a radio with the mixing capabilites called for for seprate duel aileron operation, but a 12" extention might work for the fuse. with the servo leads. I only have 4 or 5" extentions on the ailerons and I have plenty of extra comming from the wing to meet up with a short Y from the Rx.

An extended needle valve is just a wire put on the needle vlave..there is a hole a the end of the needle valve a wire goes in to extend it. As for a prop, an 11x6 or 11x7 APC or Evo prop would probably be best, or even a 10x7 for a little more speed.

[pittSteeler]

yea i have a 6 channel radio with mixing. So I am thinking i will put three 12" extensions for the 3 servos in the tail, and two 4 or 5" extensions for the two aileron servos. I may decide to put a Y harness on the ailerons though, not sure. Do you think its safer to use Y harnesses on both the elevators and ailerons regardless and to avoid mixing?

Also, I'm not sure about balancing the plane. What about accounting for a full fuel tank? Do we balance without the fuel tank and just move the battery pack until the plane balances correctly?

[Mchone, Jake]

Two Y's are no problem (espesially sense they are not both in the tail), thats what they are for, just make sure they are connected correctly and securely and tire them togather with some string or a small zip-tie(my favorite) so they stand no chance of comming loose. If anything it is accually safer to use more Y's because you have less wires in the airframe, so less chance for any interfearance, also, the plane is just that much lighter, which is never a bad thing.

s for ballancing, yes, the plane should be totally ready to fly, but WITHOUT any fuel in the tank. CG is sensitive, but not that sensitive, and the manufacuter probably sets the recomended CG a little aft of the most favorable point to account for the added fuel in the nose. But, it really doesnt make that much differance. But never ballace with a tank full or even half full because when the plane is nearing the end of its flight, with the fuel tank empty it will become more and more tail heavy and therefor a lot more sensitive on the elevator control and much easyer to stall, especially on a model like this.

Up date on mine...

I have a couple coates of Deft polyurathane sealer on my engine box and firewall, aswell as on the painted LG area and brushed onto anything else that could be fuel soaked as the plane ages, like around the LE wing mount holes and the TE bolt bar and inside the nose where the fuel tank goes and on the back of the firewall and inside of the engine box. I will give it all a 3rd and final coat today before mounting the engine. The wing is finished, so the fuse is all that is left. Im going to try to put both the rudder and elevator servos of the left (looking from the rear) side of the tail to help offset the weight of the side mounted engine to the right so that, along with the battery being placed on the left, I shouldn't req/ any extra wng tip weight!

Pix soon

[pittSteeler]

Deft polyurethane sealer? So you are saying to paint the entire engine area and anything that could get fuel soaked with that sealer? How long does it take to dry?

I am leaning toward getting Y harnesses for both the ailerons and elevators. Prob best to avoid the extra wires as you say. Also, I have to run to the hobby shop after work today to get the servo arms for the aileron servos. I know they need to be a bit longer. How long should I get these servos arms? 1.5"? 2"? Also, I think the aluminum servo arms look sweet on Tower Hobbies and other sites, but they're expensive (like $6.99 each). Anyone know where we can get these aluminum servo arms for cheaper?

Also, I see that one dude put the tail servos inside the fuse, and ran the pushrods through a hole in the plane. He cited a possible problem in the manufacturer's design could create horizontal stab problems. Myself, I could do without the exhaust coating the servos back there with muck, but other than that I don't see how the servo weight could create the problems he is saying. The plane's designers would have had to have been morons to not take that into consideration by externally mounting the servos back there.

Jack, where do you get the polyurethane sealer, and exactly what should I be looking for in terms of the wood type it is intended for, etc, etc.?

[Mchone, Jake]

Its not required, but just good to do if you want the model to last a couple years. I got board and painted all the wood last night inside and out with wood sealer, but only the grey painted wood needs to be sealed so the paint doesnt run when it gets fuel and oil on it. It only takes about 20min to dry depending on the humidity in yourhouse, its raining here so it took about 30min between coats on mine. I did 3 coats on the grey areas and one thick coat on everythign else. But that was just because I was board. Only one think coat on the grey surfaces is needed.

Aluminum servo arms are nice, but complete overkill on a mid-speed 40 sized model, lus, they are under the wing and under the stablizers, you won't see much of them. I wouldnt waste that $ on them Just get a pack of replacment arms for your brand servo and pu the longest ones on the ailerons. The last hole on the arm should be protruding no less than 1/8th" and no more than 1/4" is nessisary. If you really want a clean look, go with Hitec (or another servo with white arms) and the included control horns. This is a nice little bird, but no need fr overkill, really, on a $140 ARF.

I'd say that was more of a personal preferance on his part for a cleaner look, also, it will be a faster plane without the bit servos sticking out in the wind. Keep in mind,he was useing a Saito .82, the biggest motor anyone should put on a .40 sized plane! Im tempted to put mine inside, just for a cleaner look to the tail as well as the faster top speed, but its SO much easyer to just scrw the 2 tail servos right to the outside and use short, no slop linkages, but it really doesn't matter as far as structural integraty is conserned.

The polyurathane sealer you can pick up about anywhere, Wal-mart, ACE, Hobby-Lobby, craft stores, Lowe's, just about anywhere that would have spray and house paint. The Doller General might even have some. Just any Polyurathane sealer is fine. Just make sure its clear color finish, or your grey parts might turn out with a "brilliant cherry wood finish" Also, get a smal can of it, no a spray can unless you feel like masking off the plane. A small 1" foam brush works well and is ususaly under 70 cents. The smallest can is best as it doest take much at all.

Good luck!
-Jake

[Mchone, Jake]

Here are a few pix of my build so far. No step by step pix as everyone knows what an ARF looks like when joining the wing halfs and such, just detail pix of what isn't in the manule..minus the polyU coating as there is no differance in appearance

[Mchone, Jake]

Well, I've opted to run wires and tubes and have the servos inside the fuselage, just simply for the clean look. Im not going to get to fly the bird for quite a while because of this nasty weather thats settled in for the winter stay on the east end of the country. I'll probably not get a chance to fly it for a week or two so I might as well take that time and make it nice.

I painted the main gear and installed a tailwheel from my Pulse as well because the one included is crap, just like the wheels, so I used Du-bro rubber 2.75" low bounce tires from my retired Sig King Cobra. Very nice and fill the pants well, but they are not too big (but 3" tires WOULD be, mind you )

All I have left to do is cut the cowl and install the pushrods! OH! and the stickers...gatta sticker it up too

Pix later today.

[KenCz]

Jake,
One other thing to check once you get the engine mounted (and flyit??) is the motor mount.
I found the one supplied by Seagull very flexible and of poor quality.
I could easily grab my spinner, apply light pressure, and the mount would flex considerably. Other guys at the Club agreed.
I replaced mine with Great Planes mount and it is a lot more solid.
All I had to do was trim/shape the upper leg of the mount to clear the cowl.
Check yours out and decide.
Ken

[Mchone, Jake]

Mine seems pretty hard, especially when I drilled the holes. I've used other Seagull mounts before with no issiues (that I noticed), but it might soften up after it gets used and fatugied from heat, cooling, and vibration, so I will keep an eye on it as I have no extra mounts right now, but if it does soften after a few flights i'll have to replace it. Thanks for the heads up!

Im nearly finished, all thats left is the cowl work. I'll get the pics up this evening.

Ken, how did you do your cowl? I'd like to keep it tight around the Saito.
Thanks!

[Mchone, Jake]

Well, its Finished!

I just wish the wind chill wasnt 28*!

Finished it last night and I am very pleased with the finished result, but im not as pleased with some of the ARF.

The cowl had several cracks in the paint and scratches, but no biggy, tht happonds, I mean...who knows how old the ARF was by the time I baught it on RCU. The origional tape was still sealing the box which was in great condition, so it wasnt the guy's falt. The landing gear (main and rear) are total crap! The tires are VERY hard foam and crappy wheels, and the tail wheel is as crappy. The wheels pants are also very thin and easly broken, and the way they have to be installed on the main gear lgs and axil is confusing and time consiming. Aside from these, the ARF is great quality, nice parts fit and great to build and makes a nice looking model, rivaling GP or H9 ARFs that cost $60 more!

I cant wait to fly it, but untill then, here are the rest of the build picks with the discriptions.

Flight vid and report ASAP.

[KenCz]

Jake,
Finished my cowl much the same as your although I managed to keep a strip of cowl/f-glass between the 2 valve heads plus I went with a remote glow igniter to avoid the extra hole in the cowl.
I had to to open up a larger exit hole on the bottom - overheating and deadsticking on mine with a Saito 72. Also, I used thin balsa (painted black) to close out the LH side opening at the front of of the cowl. These changes increased air velocity over the cylinder itself and stopped the overheat/deadstick problem.

Good luck on the maiden and let us know how it goes!

Ken

[Mchone, Jake]

I might also have to open up the hole a little too as mine even wanted to get too hot on the Pulse when the full head and some of the case was out in the air.

I'll probably get a new cowl or two, as I think they are still available, so I can get my holes a little tighter around the valve covers and on the needle valve up top. If im not broke again at the time (like I am now) I will also use a remotr glow starter. Im going to put one on my GP RV-4 1/4' because trying to find that plug when I cant see it is a pain!

Im going to get a nice aluminum spinner to match the style of the maroon one that was included with the ARF, and try to find one replacment or CF wheel pants andpossibly main gear for it as well.

Im going to try to fly it today if the battery gets done cycling before I have to head to work @ 2pm.

[KenCz]

Sounds good. Let us know how it goes.
I also have the RV-4 1/4 scale and love it. I"m using the recommended OS 91 Surpass.
Flys well with a 14/6 APC prop. Very scale I'm told. Sometimes I'd like a little more power in it - Maybe something in the 100 - 125 range.

Good Luck!
Ken