Originally Posted by Aerobatman

Pat,
I wedge my 1570 2s into a widened slot ahead of the stock battery tray. It fits nice and snug and doesn't need velcro to hold it in place. I left a 1/2" air gap on each side of the battery. There IS stock cooling air flow through the fuse. I found that there's a gap behind the nose wheel, this leads to battery compartment, up into the servo bay and out through an 'exhaust' hole under the stabilizer.

Ha, you're right, there is airflow through the fuse! I didn't think about the opening at the nose wheel. And I do have space around the sides of my batt too, so I should be OK then.

Pat

Originally Posted by Chazzman

Gentleman

I just ordered my Cargo trans

can you turn me on to the various threads out there so that i can read up before I start?

Also do you guys paint the plane before building? What kind of paint is suggested?

Any help will be appreciated?

Also any sugestions on where to buy the servos and such?

Chazzman, you have already posted to the main Cargotrans thread here ("C-130 Build tips?"). That one is a very good resource for information. Read through the first 100 or so posts several times (I did!) to get an idea of any mods you will want to do. At a minimum, you will need to cut out the extra foam in the wheel wells (so that there is no foam above where the wheels sit) and mount the props by using a method other than what is outlined in the manual.

Also check out the review on E-Zone here. Keep in mind though that this build was done a few years ago with a pre-production model, and some kit improvements have been made since.

Some guys paint before construction, some after. I was going to paint before, but since I am only going to use two colors (dark gray on top, light gray on bottom), I changed my mind as I want to get all the gaps and cracks filled without having to go back and touch up the original paint job. It all depends on what your paint scheme will be.

As for paints, I plan on using water-based craft paint from Michael's. Since I will be using an airbrush, I will have to thin the colors out with water before spraying. I will try to use as few coats as possible to keep the weight down.

I am using E-flite S75 sub-micro servos. Although GWS Picos or Hitec HS55's should work good too. I wanted GWS Picos, but my LHS did not have any, and I needed to get the fuse together before I could continue the build.

Good luck on your build, and be sure to post your progress.

Pat

OK, so I am almost done with the build. Just a little more paint and some decals, and I'm in business!

So picking up from where I last left off, I decided that I needed access to the servos that I mounted forward in the fuse. I cut out a hatch area in the belly of the fuse. It's kinda hard to mess with the servos, but at least I can get to them if necessary. To secure the hatch, I pirated some pieces from my E-flite Cessna 182 (Rest in Pieces , ing glitches!). Same principle in that the balsa protruding from the hatch cover holds it in place in front, while the magnets are located in the balsa pieces in the back. A small tab protrudes from the back portion to grip it for removal.

Next, it was time to add the mods that are not normally included in this kit. First, I created the protrusions that stick out from the rear fuse area, and I created the wing fuel tanks. These were all created from scrap styro. It was just a matter of cutting out the basic size, then sanding to shape. Toothpicks and 5-minute epoxy was used to attach them.

Then, I created the trapeze assemblies for under the tail fins. The forward part was made from flat carbon fiber stick, the rear portion from CF rod. I also used the flat CF for the outer connection points for the rigging on the vertical and horizontal stabs. Then, I ran a single piece of braided fishing line around the outer perimeter for the basic outline of the rigging in a diamond shape. I cut individual strands of thread, poked holes in the top of the horizontal stab at 1/2" intervals, and afixed the threads with epoxy and CA. I then mixed another batch of epoxy, let it start to set up, then fixed the threads to the upper rigging. After the epoxy set, I trimmed off the excess braid with an xacto knife.

Now that assmebly was complete, it was time to paint. I mixed up the lighter color for the two-tone paint job, hooked up the airbrush, and could not get it to function. Not sure what the problem was, but I worked at it for over 30 minutes. Frustrated, I decided to brush on the paint. Turns out I did not mix in enough white with the gray, and it turned out darker than I initially wanted (see the first pic in this thread). Oh well, I then decided to go with the current paint scheme which is one solid darker gray color. Then, I ran out of paint. Had to go back to the LHS today for more.

So painting will get completed tomorrow, then decals will be applied later this week, with maiden to occur this weekend.

I weighed the plane before applying paint, and with all mods and a 3S 1000mAh Lipo, it comes in at 503g. I will weigh again after paint. I also did some taxi runs in my street, and man those 4 motors sound sweet when they are all humming along together. Got her to just below take-off speed and killed the engines. With the 3S, I definitely will not be flying at any more than 1/2 throttle. I will put the meter on later to see what I'm drawing at WOT.

More in a few days when complete.

LOL, almost forgot to show a picture of the prop paint scheme. I used Testors Steel for the color.

Be carefull with that 3s Lipo! I'd run 2s if I were you, those motors are $11 each to replace! My C-130 runs great and has plenty of thrust with 2s, AUW of 460g. Using a 1570 mah Apogee and haven't reached the bottom of the pack yet with 10+ minute flights.

Originally Posted by Aerobatman

Be carefull with that 3s Lipo! I'd run 2s if I were you, those motors are $11 each to replace! My C-130 runs great and has plenty of thrust with 2s, AUW of 460g. Using a 1570 mah Apogee and haven't reached the bottom of the pack yet with 10+ minute flights.

I have 2 packs of TP1320 2S on the way, should be here tomorrow. I have heard of people using 3S with no problems, as long as you don't run WOT for more than a few seconds. But I will probably err on the side of caution and use the 2S mostly.

i remember when these aircraft arrived at DM in 83, just before i got out. no one had ever seen one before, i asked one of the maintenance guys and he told me it was flying ECM pod. was never sure till now if he wasnt pulling my leg.

Finally, I am finished with my build! And although I'm not exactly thrilled with the final paint scheme, I think it still came out OK. The final touches consisted of finishing the paint job, painting the wires in steel, and adding the decals. I used some of the decals from the kit, but I also had to custom make some others. I downloaded the font for the letters and numbers, and copied some Air Force logos (USAF Europe and Electronic Security Command).

Final weight, 518g, 18.7oz. Paint added 42g, but I saved 27g by going with a TP1320 2S instead of the 3S. I may have a CG problem because of all the stuff on the tail. I think CG is at around 55mm from LE. I have read that most planes fly better with CG around 50mm. A few grams of clay in the forward fuse may be in order.

I plan on maiden this Saturday if the weather cooperates. It seems we may finally get some of the rain that we so desperately need here. But of course it wants to come on the weekend I want to maiden a new plane! If I do get it flying this weekend, I hope to have a fellow flyer get some video, which I will post here.

Sorry about the low light in the pics. It's dark right now and I don't have the best lighting in my house. I will take a few good daylight shots before maiden and post them also.

Pat

Just took a few more pics, this time in bright sunlight. Enjoy!

crxmanpat

It's me again!
thanks for the info
I have one burning question will a GWS Nano servo fit in the wings for the ailerions?
I ordered my kit, but it is still not here yet so I have nothing to see before i order servos,

Originally Posted by Chazzman

crxmanpat

It's me again!
thanks for the info
I have one burning question will a GWS Nano servo fit in the wings for the ailerions?
I ordered my kit, but it is still not here yet so I have nothing to see before i order servos,

Absolutely. I was going to use GWS servos, but my LHS was out, so I went with the S75s. Any micro type servo should work too.

Pat

I've been hearing good things about the S75s. What do you think of them? I'm going to use them on my Corsair build.

Brian

Pat,
Your "EC-130H Compass Call" looks great! I love the scale details you added. Post a video for all to see when you get her up. Did you run the aileron servos to separate channels? Is so and you have a computer radio I'd suggest setting up 'flaperons'. I dialed in 50% flap throw and the plane just hangs in the air on approach. Worry about that though until after your maiden!