OK, I know this is a little off subject, but I gotta ask. I am at a point where I have to many planes for my little house. I have a shed that I sectioned off a 6'x12' area with a window shaker A/C for a little hobby area (little I know). I'm thing about making a PVC plane hanger and using this to store the planes. The A/C does not have a thermostat, so I thought I would put the A/C on a timer to keep the room cool/comfortable. Do you think this will work or will this environment effect the planes & electronics? Thank you all for your opinions.

Humidity is what affects balsa wood planes. Hot and cold really isn't a huge problem but humidity and dampness is. For foam planes they should be able to take almost all conditions .
I would say to try and keep the humidity and a set level and keep the temp above 0F and below 100F degrees.

Humidity will also kill the pots on your servos and make them jittery-or worse.

Are you guys/gals using full range receivers in this aircraft? If so, are you using a satellite receiver also? Thinking about putting an AR400 full range receiver in there since I'm not utilizing flaps. Seems like the foam is a lot more dense on this plane than others and that concerns me.

Personally, I would not worry about a satellite. Its usually when there is a metalic barrier (ie chrome type paint like on my Mustang). Mine is fine but I am using Frsky 2.4 which tells (beeps) at me if there is a range issue.

Originally Posted by rcflyinff

Are you guys/gals using full range receivers in this aircraft? If so, are you using a satellite receiver also? Thinking about putting an AR400 full range receiver in there since I'm not utilizing flaps. Seems like the foam is a lot more dense on this plane than others and that concerns me.

Thick foam isn't going to reduce the range of an AR400. I use the AR400 in my X8 wing, which is made of the same type of foam and about the same thickness. I've had the X8 to nearly 3400 feet altitude. If go further than that in your Skybus, you're not going to be able to see it anyway.
Carbon fiber is more likely to restrict signal travel.

Hey all,

I have found a method of ground handling that is working well so far. I have used JB weld to fix the tail wheel straight. No good for taxi obviously. But on landing, as soon as the mains touch, I release the elevator back pressure and let the tail stay up then use rudder until its pointing to where I want it to go and then let the tail settle down.

I found the free castoring tail wheel useless.

I also found that it has a wicked tip stall when the cg is too far aft. Mine now has a ton of lead in the nose plus the 2700 3s lipo.

Here is how version my version 2 retracts are. I cut the pieces out of square aluminum tubing that is 1 inch OD with 1/16 wall thickness. This is the perfect width for a 2 1/2 inch Dave Brown threaded tire. I drilled the holes for pivots and axles first to help keep them square. I used a hacksaw, drill and files to remove the material that didn't look like a landing gear. As shown it weighs less than the plastic fixed gear and feels stronger. I haven't mounted the servos to acuate it yet because I am still deciding between a torque rod with the servo beside or a push rod with servo behind. I will probably paint black on the front face of the gear legs to make it look more like the real one. I could also use a drill and file to remove some material. It would also be possible to add balsa or dowel pieces to the outside edges to make the struts look round. I also added about 1/8 inch more ground clearance for the props. Version 1 is still working without a failure. Version 2 looks a lot better when retracted though and still retains the scale cowling shape.

Nice work. Does the joint between the two Al struts lock when extended?

The back of the lower leg sits against a 1/2 high piece of plywood so i guess you could say that it locks. It will be locked by the servo actuating it. The servo arm will point straight aft and the pushrod will go directly over the center screw of the horn. I am using HK proportional analog 180 degree mini servo. The drag linkage behind the wheel takes all the force. The servo only has to hold the lower landing gear leg vertical. I am going to replace the drag linkage in the photo with one made from 1/16 x 3/16 aluminum strip.

Excellent design, please keep us informed about the further developments. It might be a good idea that once you have all the parts you photograph them laying next to each other on your green work base so we can guess measurements if needed. Also specify what you use as the pivot point junction, small nuts and bolts? and how you attach them to the foam. How wide is that DB tire, I use Kaman 2-1/2 inch tires but those are 1 inch wide and probably won't rotate in your assembly. Being from the European continent I wonder what size aluminum I will be able to find, but it definitely won't be 1 inch square with 1/16th walls.

Originally Posted by pilot40874

These are some pictures that were taken a week ago at the Apollo RC park in Encino, CA.

My friend, Ken Simmons was able to capture some fantastic shots of the Dynam DC-3 in flight.

Check out those moon shots!

Is this the Dynam plane? I've had this plane for some time and it doesnt look the same. Did you take off the letters and numbers? I got mine from NP but this one looks better

The other day I was looking at a small soda bottle and came up with the idea for a drop bay on the C-47. Still have to work out the door mechanism but seems like it might work out.

Figured I would join in on this thread, and post my facorite picture of my C-47. This has quickly become one of my favorite planes to fly, and I've been thinking of picking up another to turn into an AC-47. You guys have done some amazing things to this air frame and this thread has been a blast to read.

Welcome to the discussion, 4bangen, great photo!