Ok, so now that I'm back from my deployment, I can start building a Bobolink. To my surprise, one was waiting for me when I got home!

I've seen some comparisons to the Colibri, and judging from the fact that the instructions mention that plane a few times instead of the one I'm supposed to be building, I'm guessing they are pretty much the same as far as building goes.

I've never built anything but foam, so I'll be asking for advice along the way.

Should I go with the stock linkage or try something else? I've always used threaded golden rods, so the whole wire thing has me a little concerned. I know they are light, but what's the best way to connect them?

Any reccomendations on filling the seam on the fuse?

I'm going looking for servos and a RX today. I'll put some pics of the kit up once I get rolling.

Jim

EDIT: This turned into more or a "help Jim build his Bobolink" thread. Now that it has been built/flown, my do/don't list appears at page 4 or so.
Thanks everyone
Jim

Glad to hear that you made it back friend.. nothing quite like returning from an overseas deployment.. Hope your build goes smooth and the maiden even better.....


BD

Originally posted by porterj
I've seen some comparisons to the Colibri, and judging from the fact that the instructions mention that plane a few times instead of the one I'm supposed to be building, I'm guessing they are pretty much the same as far as building goes.

I have one of each. The wings and pods are identical. The Bobolink comes with a throwing peg for the wing tip and two control cables instead of just one, the boom is longer, and of course the tail feathers are different.

Cool, so do you have any recommendations that I may not think of? I picked up some Cirrus 6.2 micro servos for it and a high tech electron rcvr.

Just a note to say thank you for your service!

Wayne

Wayne, thanks, it's nice to be appreciated.

Mike, did you leave the seam in the fuse, or fill it some how?

I didn't do anything to my Colibri-V fuselage, and I haven't actually finished my Bobolink yet. I'm waiting for servos. What did you have in mind for the seam?

I talked to the guy at the LHS today and he recommended just sanding it a bit and putting a strip of white tape on the bottom to protect during landings. I had been thinking of filling it somehow, but his way seems both easier and
functional.

That sounds like a good idea, especially since you can easily change the tape. But as far as landing go, I'm more worried about the fin!

Will it hurt the plane that much if I don't shape the wingtips? I'm thinking it would do more harm if I shape them poorly that it would if I just leave them thick.

Where do I get a kit to make Servo extensions. I have to put the plugs on after I run the wires through the wings.

Should I replace the wire in the servo, or just connect to the connecter?

Tks
Jim

Originally posted by porterj
Where do I get a kit to make Servo extensions. I have to put the plugs on after I run the wires through the wings.

Should I replace the wire in the servo, or just connect to the connecter?

Tks
Jim

Jim,

I bought some light servo wire in bulk from www.radicalrc.com, cut the servo leads in the middle and soldered in an extension. This ends up pretty light. I've also used a 4-pin Deans between wing and fuse to avoid having to access the receiver, but that's heavier.

I've seen an internal computer-industry connector that's a 4-pin version of a servo connector. These'd be ideal if you could find them.

Check out the building tips at the Taboo XL Site for pictures of the process.

Best,

Marc

I would at least round the wingtips. You do not have to thin them. See the Hyper DL thread I did in this section for pictures. I would encourage you to fiberglass both wing tips up past the joint of the wing skin to wing tip block. You may even want to but a second layer around the peg ~ 2" diameter. The Hyper DL is a bigger version of the Bobolink, kinda.

On the aileron extensions, the easiest way to get by is to buy pre-made extensions that are long enough and then take the connector off. To do that, you get a new #11 Exacto and lift the small black plastic tab that holds the metal connector in. If you have not done this before have the LHS show you how they do it.

I used small pieces of heat shrink and left the connectors in the wing tube. That way I can later pull out the servo, put a connector on it and use it again.

Plan out the pushrods also so that if the boom flexes, the rudder will be pulled to correct for the yaw. PM me if you want, I learned alot about this type, building and flying it.

Reinforce the pod inside before doing any installation of the gear. Fill the area where the wing pin will go inside the pod.

great info. I'll be hand launching so I'll leave the pin out for now at least. I'll go get extensions today.
The boom flexing is something I didn't think about. Didn't think there would be that much stress on it. Maybe there won't be since I'll not DL it?

Originally posted by porterj
great info. I'll be hand launching so I'll leave the pin out for now at least. I'll go get extensions today.
The boom flexing is something I didn't think about. Didn't think there would be that much stress on it. Maybe there won't be since I'll not DL it?

Dear Porter,

Why wouldn't you want to DL it? It's really very easy and gets so much more height. I can only describe it as magical!

Seriously!

Marc

hmmmmm, Maybe I'll think about it.