Archive for September, 2008
Posted by DismayingObservation |
Sep 17, 2008 @ 05:42 PM | 10,154 Views
Well, it would appear that I can add another plane to the list of past models.
Funny thing is, I'm not too broken up over it.
I refer to the loss today of the second (and final) Raiden Tech Zero Fighter-25. That model was my very first review here at RCGroups and a "beauty shot" of it when it was new graces the Wikimedia Commons as a public domain photo.
Poor little plane was never quite right after a mishap with a crossed-up elevator control crunched the horizontal stab. Since Raiden Tech/Nitromodels has absolutely ZERO spare parts for said Zero, not to mention the worst customer service in the history of model aviation, I had to make do.
I was trying to get the little monster flying right earlier today, but the elevator simply wouldn't stay aligned due to flexing of the repaired stabilizer, itself incorrectly installed when I first assembled the model. My fault, I fear. All it wanted to do was to pitch up no matter what I did. 'Twas an ongoing problem which really took all the fun out of flying it. I figured it was do or die. Either the thing was going to fly or it was going to become a static display with the O.S. FX 25 and radio gear destined for one of those neat little Great Planes .25 warbirds I'd passed up in favor of the Zero..
About the time I got it to pitch down instead of up, the repaired stab let go.
Lawn dart!
In a way, I was relieved. I paid less than a hundred bucks for it, delivered to my door about a year ago. I...Continue Reading
Funny thing is, I'm not too broken up over it.
I refer to the loss today of the second (and final) Raiden Tech Zero Fighter-25. That model was my very first review here at RCGroups and a "beauty shot" of it when it was new graces the Wikimedia Commons as a public domain photo.
Poor little plane was never quite right after a mishap with a crossed-up elevator control crunched the horizontal stab. Since Raiden Tech/Nitromodels has absolutely ZERO spare parts for said Zero, not to mention the worst customer service in the history of model aviation, I had to make do.
I was trying to get the little monster flying right earlier today, but the elevator simply wouldn't stay aligned due to flexing of the repaired stabilizer, itself incorrectly installed when I first assembled the model. My fault, I fear. All it wanted to do was to pitch up no matter what I did. 'Twas an ongoing problem which really took all the fun out of flying it. I figured it was do or die. Either the thing was going to fly or it was going to become a static display with the O.S. FX 25 and radio gear destined for one of those neat little Great Planes .25 warbirds I'd passed up in favor of the Zero..
About the time I got it to pitch down instead of up, the repaired stab let go.
Lawn dart!
In a way, I was relieved. I paid less than a hundred bucks for it, delivered to my door about a year ago. I...Continue Reading
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Posted by DismayingObservation |
Sep 11, 2008 @ 06:57 PM | 9,909 Views
As I once pointed out, there isn't anything quite as rewarding as taking something which, once discarded, is brought back to useful life.
Work nears completion on the badly handled Great Planes Cessna 182 stuffed with a new O.S. LA 65. Got the whole works complete with radio (albeit an obsolete transmitter) for all of fifty bucks. The engine was worth more than twice that. Its Futaba receiver is currently doing duty in my old .46-powered profiler. Lots o' engine for something intended for use with a .40, but very similar to the way the same plane is represented on both RealFlight simulators with very promising results.
The transplanted VQ Model Cap-10B .60 flap servo covers converted to aileron servo panels work to perfection. However, repairing the mounting blocks where the struts attach to the fuselage proved to be troublesome. The only thing making the whole affair easier than normal was the fact that the original owner failed to epoxy the servo tray in place. Still couldn't get the tray out all the way, but as it appears, the struts are more show than structural. The mounting blocks and recommended hardware are more suited to a park flyer, so I fixed the blocks as best as I could.
There was a strange pushrod setup for the throttle which didn't seem to engage in any possible way with the throttle arm on the O.S., so I got me a DU-BRO throttle cable, trimmed it to fit and voila! I have throttle control!
The Sullivan fill valve from the dearly departed...Continue Reading
Work nears completion on the badly handled Great Planes Cessna 182 stuffed with a new O.S. LA 65. Got the whole works complete with radio (albeit an obsolete transmitter) for all of fifty bucks. The engine was worth more than twice that. Its Futaba receiver is currently doing duty in my old .46-powered profiler. Lots o' engine for something intended for use with a .40, but very similar to the way the same plane is represented on both RealFlight simulators with very promising results.
The transplanted VQ Model Cap-10B .60 flap servo covers converted to aileron servo panels work to perfection. However, repairing the mounting blocks where the struts attach to the fuselage proved to be troublesome. The only thing making the whole affair easier than normal was the fact that the original owner failed to epoxy the servo tray in place. Still couldn't get the tray out all the way, but as it appears, the struts are more show than structural. The mounting blocks and recommended hardware are more suited to a park flyer, so I fixed the blocks as best as I could.
There was a strange pushrod setup for the throttle which didn't seem to engage in any possible way with the throttle arm on the O.S., so I got me a DU-BRO throttle cable, trimmed it to fit and voila! I have throttle control!
The Sullivan fill valve from the dearly departed...Continue Reading
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