Originally Posted by doxilia

On that note, I couldn't help myself and had to dig up Ralph's OP quote:

After dealing with the complexity of my UFO Build I feel the need to build something simple. By simple I mean your basic 4-channel airplane with no paint, no pipe and no retracts.

A simple classic that should go together relatively quickly i.e....less than three years!

I was wondering when someone was going to bring that up!

Like fine wine, it takes time!

Ralph

I might be going a bit overboard with the tri-stock! But back in the day I flew a few SF's & VF's in helis and they proved to be shakers that would actually cause aluminum main frames to crack. Since the Super Kaos doesn't have plywood fuselage doublers I decided a few extra pieces of tri-stock would help to stiffen things up a bit!

Ralph

Nothing like an old fashion build. Plenty of tri-stock. Not these light plywood, fall apart on first hard landing builds.

Very nice work!!! I have one of these kits stashed away along with the 40 sized, but instead I built one of Laser Cut USA Kaos' from BAC. Either path will end up with a nice Kaos, but I think your original kit will result in a stronger fuselage. Mine ended up at 5.3 lbs, less fuel. I will be interested in your final weight.

As you know I favored the original Joe Bridi scheme for mine.

Thanks Dave! That's one really nice looking Kaos!

Ralph

Wow! That’s a looker! Gorgeous...

I wish I had the ability to finish an airplane as well as that one! Beautiful! I love the Classic look of the scheme.

All the tri-stock in the engine & tank compartments have been sanded flush with the top and bottom of the fuselage sides. The chin block has also been attached.

The chin block had cupped over time and wouldn't sit flat on the fuselage without rocking left & right. Being of the same density as most of the wood in this kit it was a bugger trying to sand it flat. So to cut down on the area that would have to be sanded I rigged up a high tech dust collection system and had at it with my Dremel tool. It's not real pretty but doing that made it much easier to sand flat and also lightened the block a bit.

Ralph

Wear a mask

Originally Posted by RC YEAGER

Wear a mask

Balsa dust tastes great.

Not much progress, but progress nonetheless!

Carved & rough sanded the chin block flush with the fuselage sides.

Turns out I won't be able to use the 14oz. DuBro fuel tank that I was planning to install. It's too long and will interfere with the steering linkage. Their 12oz. tank is also too long. So, I'll be using a 12oz. Sullivan slant tank which is about 3/8" shorter than the DuBro tanks.

Anyone have any idea how long a muffled SF will run on 12 ounces of fuel?

Ralph

Depends on prop and throttle use, but 8-10 minutes.

Thanks! I can live with 8-10 minutes!

Ralph

OK, I've been dragging my feet on this build for quite a while now and I finally figured out why! The more I fly my electric models the less interest I have in anything glow or gas powered. It seems at this point in my modeling career e-power make the most sense for me. So with that epiphany I've made the decision to go exclusively with e-power.

As far as this Super Kaos is concerned I kicked around the idea of abandoning this project altogether and getting rid of it. But the more I thought about it and considering that the wing and tail feathers are pretty much done I'd hate for all that work to go to waste. So I thought about converting the current fuselage to e-power but that would have involved a LOT of extra work plus the fuselage is not the lightest thing you'll ever pick up. So I made another decision and I'll be building an all new dedicated e-power fuselage!

For power I'll be using a Scorpion 4020-540KV motor with a Castle Talon 90 speed control. According to the Scorpion prop chart it looks like this motor with an APC 11x8.5E or 11x10E prop will produce similar numbers to what an O.S. .61 SF with a stock muffler puts out.

Ralph

I started the new fuselage by making the parts & pieces for the motor crutch. Because of the nose gear and the forces it might generate I stayed with 1/4" birch plywood for the firewall as per the plans. I dropped back to 3/16" birch plywood for bulkhead number 2. The nose ring is from the kit which is 1/16" birch ply. Everything else is 1/8" light ply.

It doesn't look it but this structure is surprisingly ridged!

Ralph