Does anyone besides me thinks opening up that side door is going to weaken the fuselage?

Originally Posted by Saskford

Thanks Russ. For me the hardest part was making the decision to cut into my new plane. After that everything fell into place.
Gary

I think we all have that same "First Incision" issue !? I haven't gotten mine yet, but the UPS tracking says they'll be here Wednesday .. then I will spend a month figuring out where I will cut mine open and what changes with servo linkages I want to do .. I AM the "Great Procrastinator" ! But, it's pretty tough to plan without having the model in your hands. The only thing I'm sure of is that the first project is going to be to change out the receiver and start playing with programming a new radio for throws, mixing and the like .. beyond that, it's "we'll see" !!

Russ

Originally Posted by Tom Smith

Does anyone besides me thinks opening up that side door is going to weaken the fuselage?

I do, but I don't think that cutting a hatch in the bottom or top of the fuse will reduce that risk ? I sort of thought I would glue some lite ply "scabs" onto the inside of the fuse as stiffeners, but got to see what it all looks like before starting that. So far, the weak crash spot seems to be at the windscreen / side window area, from the one or two crash photos I've seen.

Russ

Saskford - How 'bout a mini how to on how you did it? (looks great by the way!)

Paul - How much longer before the next video?! I’m starting to experience withdrawal symptoms!

Still just chomping at the bit here, I just checked at the LHS, still no word on the back order AND Tower's offices are going to be closed for the 'holiday' so no news 'till Tuesday! ~ Robin

FlyZone Select Scale DeHavilland Beaver Maiden Flight Off Land (3 min 39 sec)

Originally Posted by cubcrafter60

Hey Guys - Stopped by the LHS on the way home today still no news there, but got an e-mail notification that they were back in stock from Tower, so we'll see, maybe next week!

Robin:

I'm assuming ( NEVER assume ) that you mean the the LHS got an e-mail that the Beavers were back in stock ?

Russ

Skyline:

Congrats on your maiden..

Russ

Originally Posted by MiniBoy

Skyline:

Congrats on your maiden..

Russ

Thanks Russ, I did it a while a go, but wanted to re-share it with the new folks in the thread.

Originally Posted by SkylineFlyer

Thanks Russ, I did it a while a go, but wanted to re-share it with the new folks in the thread.

That's good, as there are a few of us waiting for a new batch of Flyzone Beavers to get into the pipeline and come our way, and we're "chomping at the bit", as CubCrafter says !

Russ

Originally Posted by cubcrafter60

Saskford - How 'bout a mini how to on how you did it? (looks great by the way!)

I used a new #11 x-acto blade and a straight edge to do an initial shallow cut. From then on I used the blade free hand and cut right through. There is very little foam around the window so you need to cut vertically. On the hinged side I also cut vertical but on the latch side I cut on an angle so that the door self aligned when closed. When the door is all cut out, the servo tray was still be glued to the door so I used a fine toothed x-acto blade to saw through it next to the door. There is also some glue between the door and the servo tray support but a little pressure applied to the door bottom (through the roof hatch) popped the door off with no damage. For hinges I cut a small nylon control surface hinge in half giving me two hinges about the same size as the fake ones. I cut slots on an angle and glued the hinges with epoxy. I put a wooden stop on the latch side of the body with a magnet imbedded in it and a metal plate on the inside of the door. I used my machine shop tools to make the little pin that allows me to pull open the door. Basically it is a 1/16” brass rod with a flat end on it like a nail head which allows your fingernails to grip it. On the other end I threaded the rod so that a nut would pull against the inside of the door when you pull on it. The rod is 1/8” longer than the door is thick so that the head can be pushed against the door when closed making it less noticeable. To open the door I hook my fingernail under the head and pull it out the 1/8” and then I can grip it well enough to open the door. I am not a very good instructor so I hope this makes some kind of sense to you.
Gary

Originally Posted by MiniBoy

Robin:

I'm assuming ( NEVER assume ) that you mean the the LHS got an e-mail that the Beavers were back in stock ?

Russ

You know what they say... No, I signed up on Tower for an e-mail alert when they got back in stock, just so I'd know, and they did! I think you can do that for any item not in stock. (Oh oh, now I'm assuming!) Anyway he told me that the midwest warehouse has them and closest warehouse isn't supposed to get them 'till March but they're trying to shake one loose for him (ie. me)!

Hopefully it won't but if this is going to go into March I might just have to pull out the set of 72" Beaver plans I have from M.A.N. and get to building! ~ Robin

ok well I just checked TH and they are in stock, so I pulled the trigger on this one. says it will be here between the 20th and 26th. I live in Fl so there are plenty of lakes and ponds around to get her up off the wet stuff. Wow I haven't been this excited in a while.

Originally Posted by cubcrafter60

You know what they say... No, I signed up on Tower for an e-mail alert when they got back in stock, just so I'd know, and they did! I think you can do that for any item not in stock. (Oh oh, now I'm assuming!) Anyway he told me that the midwest warehouse has them and closest warehouse isn't supposed to get them 'till March but they're trying to shake one loose for him (ie. me)!

Hopefully it won't but if this is going to go into March I might just have to pull out the set of 72" Beaver plans I have from M.A.N. and get to building! ~ Robin

O.K. .. I have no clue as to how Tower handles dealers .. we don't have a LHS within miles of here. Apparently your LHS ordered his from another warehouse or distributor .. I think I now understand the conundrum ?!

It's a pity, as they shipped mine Thursday and I will have them Wednesday, assuming the sky doesn't fall or we have another blizzard !

Hmmm .. I Googled Tower and came up with this ..

"ORDER FULFILLMENT To serve you better we now have two warehouse locations. In some cases your order may ship from either our Nevada location, our Illinois location or a combination of both. If you feel that your order is missing merchandise, please carefully read your invoice as your order may have been shipped from two locations and may arrive on two different days. We will always attempt to deliver your items from the warehouse nearest you. In the event that the closest warehouse is out of the item(s) you ordered, we will ship from the other location to save you the inconvenience of a backorder".

Russ

Gary - Thanks, makes perfect sense to me! I've debated on whether or not to do the door mod or not, I guess it will depend on how comfortable I feel with the any link set up. If I do decide to put my Futaba receiver in it I'll go ahead and filet her! ~ Robin

Originally Posted by cubcrafter60

Gary - Thanks, makes perfect sense to me! I've debated on whether or not to do the door mod or not, I guess it will depend on how comfortable I feel with the any link set up. If I do decide to put my Futaba receiver in it I'll go ahead and filet her! ~ Robin

Your welcome Robin. I have some future plans that will require access to this area so I decided to open it up now. I also want to add some collars to the rudder and elevator control rods on each side of the servo arms as a backup to the lock screw. It will be easier to do through the door.
Gary