Mike:

Good to hear about the thinner vinyl. Where can it be purchased?

Hi sleep4,

Any sign shop will have high performance. I use mostly 3-M brand vinyl, but many shops use Calon, Arlon, and Avery.

Thanks,
Mike

Yesterday the Xplorer specific ballast set arrived from across the pond via Wixy3, very nice workmanship!

Oh, and I tested out using Windex and the monokote sticky-back trim on another panel I have left over from another plane. It worked very nicely, although some of the stickyness was lost, so I'll probably add a piece of tape along the LE to be sure that the monokote sticky-back trim doesn't peel off in flight.

Hi atjurhs,

Be careful when using Windex, as some varieties of this product contains ammonia which will act as a solvent to the adhesive of the Monokote....might be why you lost the sticky towars the edge. I use just plain water with about 5-drops of liquid dishwashing soap per quart of water. I always allow for about 3-inches of overrun on the vinyl, beyond the LE and TE as that allows me to handle the vinyl and not contaminate the adhesive with any finger stuff. Then I just slice it off clean at the TE and LE with a new razor. I hope that helps.

Mike

Why is windex or any other liquid needed for the sticky Monocote trim? I just stuck mine to the gelcoat using a credit card to smooth it on, worked fine. What does the liquid offer. I would be afraid it would reduce the adhesive quality of the sticky side.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I am curious.

Originally Posted by mlee8249

Hi atjurhs,

Be careful when using Windex, as some varieties of this product contains ammonia which will act as a solvent to the adhesive of the Monokote....might be why you lost the sticky towars the edge. I use just plain water with about 5-drops of liquid dishwashing soap per quart of water. I always allow for about 3-inches of overrun on the vinyl, beyond the LE and TE as that allows me to handle the vinyl and not contaminate the adhesive with any finger stuff. Then I just slice it off clean at the TE and LE with a new razor. I hope that helps.

Mike

Yep, back in the Midwest, I have a friend that runs a window tinting / graphics co. They use water and dishwashing soap sprayed on the glass. It allows you to slide the film around to get perfect line-up and easier to see bubbles so you squeegee all of them out. If not done this way, it almost then becomes a one shot deal and if you miss, then there's contamination, stretching, creasing, and even lots of cussing when trying to reposition. FWIW they also use newspaper and a 3M window cleaner in a can that foams to clean the glass.

Sounds good, I'll lay it down with water and soap instead of Windex, thanks for the tip!

I've ordered a v tail to replace the x tail that I crashed earlier this month. I haven't seen much information on this thread about the v tail. Does anyone have any experience with building and flying one? Are there any hints about it?

Brownie - can't be too bad the reigning F3J World Champion beat a bunch of world class pilots and planes with one.

George

Well, I had a bad DS-168 servo on my right aileron. I ordered a new one from our friends at SUSA before I hit the road, thinking it might get here by the weekend... but it got there yesterday. What great service! Now I can start flying this model this weekend... weather permitting that is... Now if I can just get home... ...

Jack

Bob, Annette, and Alex ROCK!

Target

So Target,
When are you going to build your Xplorer?
You need to get out with us for some flying!
Cheers,
Thomas

Originally Posted by gliding Oz

So Target,
When are you going to build your Xplorer?
You need to get out with us for some flying!
Cheers,
Thomas

Well, I figure I'll have to buy it before I build it!

T

Soon, I think... I'm busy and I have to work this Saturday again!

Does anyone have detailed pics measurements of the topskin removal at the ailerons ??? and the lenght horn -- wing trailing edge

I have troubles getting this moving without binding.

EDIT (xtra info)
In my shadow build, i didn't encounter any problems what so ever, but it seems that the end spar (hope u know what i mean) is much closer to the trailing edge. That's the reason why i can't get it to work.

Thanks in advance.

Greetz
Tim

P.S. if it's no trouble cm would be nice ;-)

2F@$t4U,

I had to make the openings in the top of the wings a little bigger to clear the clevises. I had to clean out the drag spar a bit to clear the pushrods. I also made shorter control arms for the aileron servos. I got my new servo in last night, so maybe I'll get to do some flying this weekend.

Jack