[Jack Marcotte]

Holy Smokes!!! I can't believe the size difference on the stabs btw the Slick and Carden. Wow that's an eye opener.

[TBrum]

Now that the stabs/elevators are ready for covering, I switched gears tonight and got the canopy glued on with Automotive Goop.

A little trick I picked up from the boys on FG is to pin a string to the backing plate of the canopy, loop it around a fuse stick and fish it through to the front of the fuse (exit out the motorbox) - if you pull tightly and tie the string to the motorbox you can pull the backing plate tight against the turtledeck to ensure the glue cures with everything in the right place.

Tomorrow, I'll take all the tape off and snap a picture of the finished product, but it feels really nice and flush to the fuse sides and hatch!

[TBrum]

Onto finishing the Rudder -->

First job is to hollow out the cavity for the Durant (first picture). This Rudder will have 3 servos in it delivering over 1200oz of torque - should be enough

Second job is to cut the three control horns and groove out the slots in the foam for the horns (pics #2 and #3 have the horns temporarily in place - no glue yet). Again, the key to a properly working Durant system is that everything is square to the the hinge line.

The trick with the multiple servo Durant configurations is to ensure the control horns are positioned directly in the center of the notched areas in the boxes (3rd picture). If not, when you attach the metal arms and servos to the horns there will be interference with the box.

In the last picture, I have the 3-box unit epoxied in place and the hinges have all been aligned with the piano wire and are curing in place with Ultimate Glue. I'll glue in the horns and finish off the recess in the rudder tomorrow so I can move onto the wings!!!

[scaleguy]

Originally Posted by TBrum

Yeehaa!! The stabs are officially done and ready for covering (too bad covering only arrives on the 8th!!).

I got the hard point sanded flush, drilled and tapped for 6-32 bolts. After tapping, I soaked the threads with thin CA and then cleaned the threads with the tap again - it makes for an insanely strong thread - impossible to strip these threads (with standard hobby tools anyways!!!)

The servos are also installed!!

Just a finish sand with 400 grit and they will be ready for covering.

Trev,

JAT!

Could the 6-32 cap screw be reccessed intot he dowel for a more asthetically pleaseng look? I meean the dowl would probably need to be a little bigger to accomodate the flat washer but....

Hey are these in my Baby Yak? I don't recall having to put any bolts in?

[TBrum]

Originally Posted by scaleguy

Trev,

JAT!

Could the 6-32 cap screw be reccessed intot he dowel for a more asthetically pleaseng look? I meean the dowl would probably need to be a little bigger to accomodate the flat washer but....

Hey are these in my Baby Yak? I don't recall having to put any bolts in?

Yep... the cap screws could easily be recessed into the dowels. The dowels are 1/2" diamater, so there is still lots of meat there to still do it on this set-up. I would just use a forstner bit and recess a hole big enough for the washer and about 1/4" deep. The only thing is that it makes it tougher to cover and finish off - you'd almost have to paint the recess and hope the covering doesn't start to lift around the edge of the recess. Jack - If you want this mod, let me know - 5 minutes and the mod could be done!

No Jim - we didn't put in these hardpoints on your Yak, because we did the plywood root caps with 2 screws/tabs on each stab into the fuse. Adding in the hardpoints could still be done on your's Jim - a simple 1/2 hour's worth of work!

Cheers

Trev

[Tyler P]

Quick questions: 1. What did you use to core out the holes for the DD boxes, and 2. I've noticed that Jack's elevators aren't counter-balanced. Is there any advantage either way in that regard?

All my planes have been counter-balanced, but I'm wondering if there might be more stability in a non-counter-balanced setup, as there's more leading edge area on the stab that way.

I like the looks of counter-balanced tails better, but don't know which way to go with my build. Mine is definitely going to be a IMAC/3D hybrid, with emphasis on the 3D aspect.

[TBrum]

Originally Posted by Tyler P

Quick questions: 1. What did you use to core out the holes for the DD boxes, and 2. I've noticed that Jack's elevators aren't counter-balanced. Is there any advantage either way in that regard?

All my planes have been counter-balanced, but I'm wondering if there might be more stability in a non-counter-balanced setup, as there's more leading edge area on the stab that way.

I like the looks of counter-balanced tails better, but don't know which way to go with my build. Mine is definitely going to be a IMAC/3D hybrid, with emphasis on the 3D aspect.

Hey Tyler! I core out the holes for the boxes with my Dremel tool and the router attachment... works really well and you can get them very precise!

As for the counterbalances, I'll leave the flight differences for others to comment on. Carden shows the Extra260 and Extra300 with no counterbalances, while the Extra330, Edge and Yak have counterbalances. Doesn't mean that you can't change this, but we just followed stock design on this build.

I'd be interested to hear from others also what differences the counterbalances make in terms of flight characteristics! (or is it just for esthetics??)

(For my 43% Edge, I will likely put counterbalances on the ailerons also to make it look more scale!). I think the real Yaks have counterbalanced ailerons also (Am I right Jim??)

Cheers

Trev

[wingburner]

Originally Posted by TBrum

Yep... the cap screws could easily be recessed into the dowels. The dowels are 1/2" diamater, so there is still lots of meat there to still do it on this set-up. I would just use a forstner bit and recess a hole big enough for the washer and about 1/4" deep. The only thing is that it makes it tougher to cover and finish off - you'd almost have to paint the recess and hope the covering doesn't start to lift around the edge of the recess. Jack - If you want this mod, let me know - 5 minutes and the mod could be done!

No Jim - we didn't put in these hardpoints on your Yak, because we did the plywood root caps with 2 screws/tabs on each stab into the fuse. Adding in the hardpoints could still be done on your's Jim - a simple 1/2 hour's worth of work!

Cheers

Trev

Trevor, I have had all my others countersunk..BUT, perhaps we'll leave this one and I'll find some button head bolts'. They would look less intrusive, especially on the SMOOTH finish the DDD system leaves behind compared to all the linage and servos showing

Jack

[scaleguy]

Originally Posted by wingburner

Trevor, I have had all my others countersunk..BUT, perhaps we'll leave this one and I'll find some button head bolts'. They would look less intrusive, especially on the SMOOTH finish the DDD system leaves behind compared to all the linage and servos showing

Jack

Good thinking Jack.

Yes button head bolts would give the stab a "pop-rivet" look instead of that HUGE bolt head .... and NO additional work!.. I Liiiike....verrry much!

[TBrum]

Originally Posted by wingburner

Trevor, I have had all my others countersunk..BUT, perhaps we'll leave this one and I'll find some button head bolts'. They would look less intrusive, especially on the SMOOTH finish the DDD system leaves behind compared to all the linage and servos showing

Jack

Button Head bolts would look nice for sure! If you don't want them countersunk (easy to do also), we'll need 1" or 1 1/4" long, 6-32 button head bolts! Let me know!

Ya... that's a clean bottom!! No servos and linkages!