Haven't made an entry in my blog for a while, but here's my latest acquisition! A Hangar 9 J-3 Cub 40. I normally don't go for ARFs but I miss my old Goldberg Anniversary Cub so I bought this unfinished ARF from a fellow club member. A Saito 56 Golden Knight will be powering it.

Well, the Thomas Morse Scout wasn't in my hangar for long. I decided to trade it for a .50 size nitro heli. Ended up with an older Compass Knight 3D 50 heli in good shape and with updated electronics. I would have enjoyed the WWI Warbird, but the guy I traded with really wanted one and I ended up with my first nitro heli.

Also I am almost done with the Kyosho PT-19 ARF restoration. Should be able to fly it this weekend. I just need to glue on the windshields, the rollbar , and make some numbers for the sides. Did a full radio system check, checked all the throws, the CG, and did an engine run-up. This little Saito FA-56 purrs like a kitten at idle and roars like a lion at full throttle!

Happy Flying!

Mark

This followed me home from our club's Fun Fly yesterday. I made a trade for a kit that I owned, it was an offer I could not refuse.

K&W Model Airplanes ARF of a Thomas Morse Scout S-4C. It's never been flown. Just needs a few finishing touches to the build/assembly. Now I'm on the lookout for an OS 70FS Surpass to put on it. I have a brand new OS 91FS Surpass but I've been told that it's too much engine for this airplane.

So now I'll have a Kyosho PT-19 ARF (under restoration and almost completed) and this warbird in the hangar.

Mark

Yesterday I maidened the Ultra Sport 40 that I've been working on for 15 months. The flight went well, although my knees were shaking like they always do on that 1st flight!

Thanks to all who followed the build log!

Mark

With the weather turning nicer here in Western North Carolina, I've been able to spray paint. Here is the progress of the Ultra Sport 40. It's now got its basecoat of white butyrate dope sprayed on it. Once it dries, I'll apply the trim coats of red & blue, followed up with clear dope.

The fuse was covered in silkspan and doped/sanded/filled. The wing was covered in silkspan and then lightweight nylon fabric that was doped/sanded/filled. Lots and lots of sanding between coats, but it was worth it.

I can't wait to fly this beautiful bird!!!

Mark

Went to the field and had a lot of success! I brought my PC-9 and after a few hairy moments after takeoff I was able to trim it out and it flew nicely. Perhaps a little bit better than its predecessor.

My friend Tim also brought out the Great Planes RYAN STA I restored and sold to him last fall. He's converted it BACK to electric power with modern Lipo batteries and brushless motor versus the old NiCads and brushed motor/gearbox setup it was originally designed for. It flew perfectly, only a couple of clicks needed to trim it out. He was ecstatic! It's his first low wing plane and he was a little nervous but this plane is a great flyer. Too bad Great Planes no longer makes it as a kit.

All in all a good day.

Well, the PC-9 (version 2.0) is done and ready for its maiden flight. Maybe tomorrow or Sunday, when the weather is better. My plan is to make this one last a LOT longer than the last one.

Now it's time to get to work on the vintage Kyosho PT-19 ARF restoration. The wing is almost done. I repaired some minor dents and issues, reattached the center of the wing and just to be sure I glassed the center section. The ailerons are re-hinged with Dubro pinned hinges now.

The fuselage is in progress as well. The repairs to the rear of the fuselage are done, with a patchwork of balsa, filler (made from balsa dust & titebond). It's just as strong as new.

Time to fit the new cowl and install the radio gear. I'm going to experiment with using carbon fiber arrow shaft pushrods, instead of the balsa ones that were originally fitted in the ARF kit. Should be just as light and stronger. I might want to do some aerobatics with this one and don't want the pushrods flexing.

The engine will be the Saito FA-56 4-stroker that came with it when I bought it. The Saito has been bench run and tuned; it runs great and at idle it purrs like a kitten.

Once everything is fitted and checks out, I'll remove all the gear and cover the plane in 21st Century Coverite Fabric, with the original PT-19 color scheme.

Stay tuned!

PS If you like my blog, please let me know! I do this so I can share what I'm learning about building/flying/repairing/restoring RC planes and help others who might be doing the same thing!!

I decided to "repurpose" some old racecar graphics I had in a box. It was good quality vinyl, I just didn't use it on my racecar. So I thought "why not use it on the planes?".

I added this to the bottom of the Scout 15 wing to help me see it better.

What do you think?

The UPS man showed up today and brought me my new favorite tool: an A-justo-jig. I've been trying to win one of these on Ebay and finally just decided "to heck with it, I want one"! So I won it.

The experience builders love the A-justo-jigs they have so I'm looking forward to my next build.

Also am getting very close to finishing up the PC-9, version 2.0. I promise to be more careful with this one! Even though the supplier stated it was the "same" ARF as the original (size .40 version) there were a few changes/differences in the fuselage and wing mountings from my previous one. No problem though, I just modified whatever needed to be changed to make the old wing work with the new fuselage. The cowl needed to be altered slightly as well.

The maiden should happen soon!

Mark

I did a little work on the PT-19. Still don't have any idea which manufacturer's ARF this is, so maybe we can uncover it's identity by...uncovering it! The plan is to recover it in 21st Century Fabric to give it a little more realistic finish.

I did have to re-epoxy the center wing joint as the back half of the joint had come unglued. I managed to spread it apart a little bit and run some 30 minute epoxy into the joint by heating it up with a heat gun and thinning it out some. I'll also fiberglass the joint to ensure it doesn't separate in flight.

If anyone recognizes this PT-19 ARF, please let me know. It's 60.75" wingspan.

I was starting to get comfortable with the Seagull Models PC-9. Today I was practicing Cuban 8's and got it a little too low and fast on the 2nd half, came over the top and the wings weren't level. I rolled the wrong direction and didn't have time to correct my mistake.

It was such a nice plane, only the 4th flight. I did learn a valuable lesson though: practice fast maneuvers up HIGH!! I had been doing big, lazy Cuban 8's and thought I'd try one over the runway and a much tighter loop. It just got away from me and I paid the price.

Luckily the engine doesn't have a scratch on it and the radio gear all seems fine. The plane hit a tree at full speed, and somehow the nose went through everything unscathed. The rest of the plane is toast though.

On the bright side, the maiden for the Scout 15 went great and it flew like a champ right off the building board.

Mark

Got the wing covered today, and applied some decals. Had absolutely zero trouble with the Monokote. The club decal was purchased, and the "SCOUT" lettering was made from an old racecar decal I had in a box. Just cut the letters out separately, rearranged, and voila! "TECHTONICS" became "SCOUT".

So very close to being ready to fly now. The hinges are all CA'd in place, just need to install the battery switch, hook up the aileron servo, and fit the landing gear in the wing.

I hope you've enjoyed the build!

Mark

Just some pics of the current fleet in my hangar.

Additions to the fleet are on the way:

Craft Air Scout 15 - my winter build. Almost completed with the build and upcoming maiden flight!

Ultra Sport 40 - ready for paint. It's next on the "work list" after I'm finished with the Scout 15. A kit build last year and I decided to cover it in dope & fabric so I had to put it on hold during the winter (too cold to paint).

Sig Aerobipe (.10 size glow biplane). The other winter build, it's framed up and ready for covering in dope & silkspan.

Hangar 9 PT-19 ARF - recent acquisition off of Craigslist. Needs a restoration and will get a Fox .45 2-stroke engine.

Got more done on the Scout today. Finished the fuselage, mounting everything (fuel tank, battery, engine, etc). Fitted it up to the wing to check for lateral balance; only needed 1/4 oz on the right wing to balance it. I guess I put TOO much of the heavy wood in the left wing panel...drats.

Also it's a little nose heavy, which surprised me considering the long tail. I'll know for sure once I get everything covered and installed.

This should be ready for its maiden soon!

Mark

Took the new (to me) PC-9 by Seagull Models to the field today and maidened it. The OS 46AX performed nicely, no issues with being mounted inverted.

The plane itself as was a little nose-heavy, as I was conservative with the initial CG placement . As a result it required some up-trim to achieve level flight and it landed a little quicker than I am used to. Luckily the small wheels stopped the plane pretty quickly on the grass runway. LOL. I was pleased with how it flew; I think once I get it properly trimmed and balanced it'll be a nice sport plane.

I'm going to move the CG back a little bit by moving the battery pack aft, put on some larger wheels and have at it again soon!

Mark

Finished covering the fuselage of the Craft Air Scout 15 in base color today. I'm using Orange Monokote and so far it's gone on so easily. I just don't see what all the negative hub-bub is about regarding Monokote. I'm using new rolls purchased from Tower Hobbies, and it goes on just fine, adheres well and shrinks when necessary. This is the fourth plane I've covered using Monokote and am very happy with it.

Now on to the wing!

Mark

Picked this up on Craigslist, along with another plane and an engine. It was complete, and had 2 extra sets of wings. The original wing was kind of trashed, so I ditched it and used one of the extras. Has an OS 46AX on it that came with the plane. It was kind of stuck but runs great now.

It needed some TLC and I reworked the control system, changing from wobbly pushrods to more positive Gold-n-rod for everything. Realigned the wing so it's mounted squarely and redid the wing mounting blocks in the fuselage. The original wing mounting block was kind of sloppy.

Fired it up today, did a complete system check and hope to maiden it tomorrow.

Made some progress tonight...

Time to start covering the Scout 15. I'm going with an Orange/Blue/Gray Monokote scheme. I always like getting to the covering stage, I enjoy covering. Plus it means it's almost ready to fly!!

Enjoy!

The 2nd wing is in progress, since I sold the 1st one to a fellow modeler who needed one and contacted me after seeing the build log. This one is my first "scratch build" from plans...so far so good!

I know this is an "old school" type of plane (.15 size trainer) but I'm looking forward to seeing how well it flies. I've added some extra spars to the 2nd wing, and it looks an awful lot like a smaller version of a SIG 4*Star wing now. And THAT plane flies great!

More to come....