Okay, on to putting it all together. I started by shaping the launching blade. I basically sat outside (well ventilated area!) and used a dremel with a cutoff wheel to get the blade to shape. I found it a bit wide, so I kept the tang wide, but the finger blades narrower by removing some off the back, and some off the front.

When I was close enough, I moved on to 150 grit, then 320, then 800, then 2000, then 3000, then some auto polish, then some isopropyl to clean it off.

I've never shaped an offset peg, so I wasn't sure if I had it fairly symetrical, so I traced my final work onto paper, folded it over, and it was on the money.

So in it went with some epoxy, followed by thin CA to further penetrate. Careful with the epoxy - there's an open channel from the blade insertion point to the outside edge of the aileron - I was prepared with masking tape and parchment paper.

Wing joiners - I wrestled with them for 15 minutes, and I found that trying them in both ways helps, and that my wings basically had to be pressed into the fuse, lightly smooshing it, for the screws to thread in. The larger joiner has a very small non-threaded portion to help start it without cross-threading. DON'T force it. The screws all tightened a bit on me towards the end, and another warning that you don't need to cinch these down tightly - just a little snug.

If you get into trouble with the smaller joiner, you can always thread a screw from the top to get them back into shape.

My...Continue Reading

I've been dragging my heels.

First it was a missing rx battery, then it was just regular being busy, but now, there are no excuses - I need to get this plane out and fly fly fly.

Maybe I was spurred on by a tip strike with my beloved Blaster that's rendered it in fairly rough shape. It's already been patched by the previous owner, so this would really make a Frankenstein out of the wing.

Hrmmm, well, let's take everything out and re-examine. I'll be actually accomplishing WORK against this thing tonight.

So, here are a few pics up close of the neat details this amazing bird features:...Continue Reading

I just got this plane, well-loved but not battered, and for the most part, it's an excellent plane. I'm an intermediate-level pilot, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Setup for me consisted of finding all the little fractures in the balsa frame and applying some CA. Then I fixed all the little tears in the covering, some from inside even, using a carbon rod and a little 3M book tape. I also bridged a few spans inside the plane where the light ply had been broken, especially the spars across the fuse near where the wings mount.

The balance between strength/weight is a tricky one, and this plane isn't delicate, but it's certainly built as light as possible, so if you're used to ham-fisting a foamie, even when putting components in/out, you'll eventually hear a thin ply breaking sound. Next I popped in an ESC and an RX, and set up the TX according to 3DHS's info. Balancing was easy - you hold her by the wing tube and she should be slightly nose-down.

The wheels are tiny, which don't help at my local site, but you can take off in a few plane-lengths providing you can find a smooth spot (landings are a different story).

In the air, she flies like a much bigger plane. Low rates are almost scale-like in appearance (though the elevator is still a bit twitchy), and she really feels like she's smoothly gliding/cutting through the air. With an Omega 72g motor and a 10x5 prop, it was the perfect blend of sport/acrobatic and 3d. The plane I know that this most feels...Continue Reading