Posted by Aeromister |
Nov 16, 2015 @ 11:44 AM | 6,756 Views
Here's the story - I was considering reducing a set of plans by around 80% for a 4-40 bipe (for a Surpass 26) when Balsaworkbench (Rob) suggested I look at reducing a Sporty Forty by 75% instead. While I really dismissed the notion at first, I changed my mind when I printed out a 78% and an 82% reduced set of the 4-40 plans and started trying to place the engine, servos - and especially the fuel tank. The upper wing mounts looked a little tough to get set right. Proper wing alignment in a Bipe is an absolute must as well as getting the wing incidences set correctly. To top it off, the reduced ribs look like a real pain and cutting all that small sized spruce out... well it made me take another look at the Sporty Forty.
After printing out the Sporty Forty Plans on my home printer (set at 75%) I glued up the sheets to get some idea of the potential fit for a Surpass 26. This design really looks like a very easy conversion. The wing area will come in around 510 sq in (taking account for the Fuse). There is generous room for the radio gear so I can still use full size servos - although the Hitech 225's are almost an exact fit. The wood sizes are easily converted (1/4 converts to 3/16, 1/2 converts to 3/8, etc.). The more I looked at it the better I liked it.
Disclaimer – If you are following along, do not get discouraged if I occasionally take a leave for a week or so. I have a lot of irons in the fire and have to prioritize a bit.
You will notice I now have a Saito 30 in place of the Surpass 26 on the pictures - just trying to stay consistant with Ken Willard's thoughts in his orginal construction article.