Re: Baby Flite Streak build thread

[RknRusty]

...My first plane looked like a hammered turd. I even covered the whole thing without taking the backing off.

Haha, that sounds ugly. But I bet it flew. Damn you must have really had the iron turned up hot.
I was afraid I'd be over doing it if I posted pics of all of my steps. I'll take the Camera out to the shop tomorrow.

[Cribbs74]

...My first plane looked like a hammered turd. I even covered the whole thing without taking the backing off.

Haha, that sounds ugly. But I bet it flew. Damn you must have really had the iron turned up hot.
I was afraid I'd be over doing it if I posted pics of all of my steps. I'll take the Camera out to the shop tomorrow.

Yeah it flew well for a bit. I didn't read the instructions on the packaging so I had no idea about the backing.

Overdo it nah! Besides sometimes pics help explain things better for us tactile learners. The masking and painting is something I wouldn't mind catching a glimpse of. I need to repaint my Wizard in the near future.

[RknRusty]

I was touting the Glad Press N' Seal earlier. It did great covering the wings when I primed it, but after cleaning them of the leftover glue left by the Glad wrap, it wouldn't stick again. So I masked the Monokote right at the wing root with blue painters tape, and the Press N' Seal stuck to that just fine to cover the rest of the wing. Still easier than covering with newspaper or something like that.
I'm cutting out Monokote stripes to stick on the white wings for the other colors. My paint colors matched up pretty well. I haven't done anything ugly yet, but we'll see how those stripes work out. I've whacked the thin fragile rudder about a thousand times but it has managed to survive with minimal visible damage.

[Ivanhoe]

Yeah it flew well for a bit. I didn't read the instructions on the packaging so I had no idea about the backing.




"When all else fails, read the instructions!"

[RknRusty]

Okay, by request, here are the painting pictures.

Here it is with the masking on it:


And here it is with the masking off. I peeled up a corner of the Monokote with the masking tape, hopefully it'll stick back down tightly. The blue comes later today:

[ZACATTACK]

For a guy that was worried about MonoKoteing you sure did a good job Rusty. One thing...all that masking..painting..press n seal...could have all been avoided with Monkoteing parts prior to assembly...just a thought to experiment with on your next build...MonoKote is great stuff to use when you know how.You could put some nice designs on that plane now very easily with Monkote trim. I think you got it down Rusty!! Love the job as usual!

[RknRusty]

I like to paint the fuse. It resists dents and strengthens it better... Imho. It is a pain though. That Rustoleum is wonderful stuff. Safety Red is the name of that color.

[ZACATTACK]

Is that JB Weld on the nose Rusty?? Whats the plan there?

[RknRusty]

Gray primer on the nose, painted over epoxy. It'll be Navy Insignia Blue this afternoon.

[RknRusty]

The fuse is all painted. It needs to cure a couple of days before I put the clearcoat on it. That ought to pretty it up really good. The blue is not as dark as I hoped, but it should look okay. The engine is just on it for show, it's not time for it yet. I'll play with the wing stripes tomorrow. I posted a picture of the nose so Zac could see what un-sanded epoxy on the nose looks like.





You can see where I carved out room for the starter spring. The epoxy is wavy.

[JPvelo]

This is going to be a big plane. I don't know how much it's going to weigh, but they say a TD is right for it. I have a mint .051 ready for it.
[/quote]
You'll be fine. Just took my Stork out for it's maiden flight, 36 in span, 250 sq in area, 1/2 oz of lead in the nose to balance. Thing hauled ASS with a TeeDee .051!

[RknRusty]

After I Monokoted the wings but no paint, it weighed about 4oz. More or less since I used a non-precision 4oz fishing sinker to counter-balance the thing. I hope I haven't over painted it. I tend to do that sometimes. The rain from a tropical storm halted my finishing. I hope to get back to it tomorrow. So far it balances right where the plans say with the engine on it.

[Ken Cook]

Rusty, this is a bit off topic but here is my friend and club member Dan flying a 7' wingspan streak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dj2WzUPgOM Ken

[RknRusty]

Wow, that's like reeling in a Marlin.

[RknRusty]

I got all set to spray on the clearcoat when a thunder storm blew up. 98% humidity put an end to that plan.
But I was checking the elevator throw and it has a lot more down than up. I'm afraid it's not enough of one and too much of the other. I really don't want to open it up, but if I do, it's better before I put the stripes on it.

Trying to hold a protractor as straight as I can it looks like just around 25 degrees up, maybe a bit less, and 35 degrees down. If 25 is enough up, I can make a stop for the down throw.

Any thoughts on 25 degrees of up elevator for this bird?

[Ken Cook]

Rusty, I would certainly fly it. You may not even bottom those controls out in flight as a Flite Streak is a pretty sensitive bird. It doesn't require a lot of elevator throw. Most planes generally fly with biased controls needing just a touch more one way than the other. In your situation once the plane goes inverted, it just may need a touch more down to recover and level out inverted. Using a 2-56 Dubro Kwik-Link and a threaded soldered connector on the pushrod would give you the adjustments without having to get back into the plane.

Soldering on a finished plane isn't always the easiest to do but certainly not like it can't be done. Another option would be to select an area about midway of the pushrod and clean the entire perimeter of the rod extremely well. Obviously, choose the area so the pushrod guide isn't in the way. Once cleaned, cut the pushrod in place on the model . Slide on a piece of copper or brass tubing that fits the pushrod about 3/4"-1" long and center the tubing over the cut. I use flux and rosin core solder at this point. Adjusting your elevator and soldering as needed. I clean all the soldered areas using lacquer thinner. Dripping this on the plane could have some bad results. You could also use baking soda and water to clean the area and neutralize it after soldering and avoid damaging the paint.

An even simpler solution would be to shim your control horn. I've made shims from ply, filing and sanding as necessary. I start with a 1/2" wide strip of ply or hard balsa a few inches long so I could hold it. I proceed to make a tapered shim and shape it from about 1/16" - 0 and shim the horn. In your case the wider portion of the shim would go to the back of the horn. Those nylon engine offset wedges can work for this as well. Ken

[dankar04]

I use slow epoxy for doublers and wing/ med. ca for rest of build. If I'm in no rush Sig-ment is fine also. I have use titebond and that works fine also. Ambroid works gook but runs very easy.

[RknRusty]

A tapered shim is a great idea that I hadn't thought of. I'm hooked into the furthest hole in the horn too, so I have some room to work. I had planned to make a stop for the down throw if necessary with a guide eyelet attached to the fuse and a soldered wrap of copper on the rod in the right place to stop when it hits the eyelet hole. One is about as easy as the other. Yours is the more professional of the two ideas.

The humidity is low and the sky clear, so I'm off to the shop to clearcoat it.

[RknRusty]

It's coated with Lustrekote clear gloss. I never had any problem with it on other models, but I must have sprayed too thick on the tail and some of the paint rippled up. Boy I cussed at myself for that. The rest of the plane looks nice. I suppose when it dries I can sand the rough spots and redo it. I think I'll move on to the wing stripes and landing gear tomorrow. If the clearcoat sands off without any trouble, I can spray the bad spots and it'll be done. Ready to fly.

I'm going to fly the Li'l Satan/RR1 tomorrow afternoon around 7:00pm edt.

[RknRusty]

I'm going to fly the Li'l Satan/RR1 tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon around 7:00pm edt.

Well the University of South Carolina Gamecocks were playing their arch rival Clemson University Tigers in the regional NCAA Baseball playoffs, and it was too close to leave. Back to back national champion Carolina won 4-3 to send Clemson home. Next are the super regional playoffs against the winner of the Virginia regional next weekend. Then on to Omaha for the College World Series. 3 in a row BAYbee.

Anyway the flight wagon is packed. I'll probably get out there tomorrow. I know, promises promises.

[RknRusty]

Got the LG on and the blue stripes. I obviously need practice with the striping because I'm not happy with the way it turned out. I tried the Windex method and the heat method, neither had the beautiful results I hoped for. But it's on there now, and the red stripe will be a lot easier. That curvy wingtip screwed me all up. All that's left after the red stripes is to bolt on the engine, hang a bladder on it and she's ready to fly.

[happydad]

Got the LG on and the blue stripes. I obviously need practice with the striping because I'm not happy with the way it turned out. I tried the Windex method and the heat method, neither had the beautiful results I hoped for. But it's on there now, and the red stripe will be a lot easier. That curvy wingtip screwed me all up. All that's left after the red stripes is to bolt on the engine, hang a bladder on it and she's ready to fly.

looks great. very happy happydad.

[RknRusty]

No reason not to maiden this weekend. Here are some pictures. I still need to add some trim to beautify the edges of the stripes at the trailing edge of the wing, but it can wait. I'm tired of working on the details.

Engine side with fuel line hooked up


Inboard side with convenient finger pinchoff for fuel line


Easy access for hemostats for filling the tank


Bladder under the wing


About an ounce and a half (45cc) of fuel (air in this picture)


Beauty pose #1


Beauty pose #2


I showed the pics of my colors to RCG last night and my only reply was "Sorry."

[Cribbs74]

Sorry?

What kind of reply was that? She's beautiful Rusty! You should be proud.

The guy who wrote that is sorry he wasn't able to build a plane half as nice. What a clown........

Can't wait for the vid!

[happydad]

Sorry?

What kind of reply was that? She's beautiful Rusty! You should be proud.

The guy who wrote that is sorry he wasn't able to build a plane half as nice. What a clown........

Can't wait for the vid!

i agree. what better colors could you have? Red, White, and Blue. Very patriotic. happydad

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