RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
do335a, The one silver lining of the issue is, that the Monocoat did such a poor job of sticking to the wings I was able to rip it off with minimal effort. Did pull a little filler out that I had used on a few rough places on the wing but a little refill and some very light sanding and the wing will be good as new. I did not strip the top of the fuse yet, will probably do that sometime this next week end. Hopefully it will come off as easily as it did the wings. I dorked a landing up a little on my edge and broke the tip off my 26 X 10 propeller. $50 bucks down the drain. I'll spend a little time on it first so I can fly it again Sat., but I'll get back on the decath Saturday night.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 9:47 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11231945

RE: Radios
Running A9 with Optima 9 rx's in all my planes except two. In those I have optima 7 rx's.
Posted on: 9/15/2012 8:52 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11229282

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Thank you Zor, As you may have read, I've had issues with the Monocoat. As a result, I'm ripping the Monocoat off and going back with the Ultracoat that I have never had an issue with. Unfortunately I'm removing the green and yellow as it has not cooperated. I'm going back with the blue with white stars. Early on, you recommended I should try cloth. I didn't because I was unfamiliar with it. I should have listened to you and tried it. If the bottom had been less successful, I would strip it all and do the cloth now but I'm trying to salvage some invested time at this point. Glad your sailplane has worked out.
Posted on: 9/11/2012 8:57 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11225734

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Thanks for the advice Ed, I gave up on the green and yellow monocoat. I tried to improve the finish trying different techniques but could not help it. I ordered blue ultracoat and should have it by the end of the week. I'm going to rip that green stuff next weekend and start the recovering process for the upper areas. I've already cut Ultracoat stars out for a white starburst pattern. The lower trim on the fuse and bottom of the wing is already Ultracoat and had an excellent finish. All green will be replaced with deep blue Ultracoat. Maybe the blue will be easier to match than the tree was. Ultracoat may have had a paint to match but I coyote to check. I had ordered a supply of Ultracoat for a couple of small glow powered planes I plan to build. I also have a design and scratch build gas unit I'm drawing some plans out for and it will be Ultracoat. Sometime in the late winter or spring I'm going to try cloth on a Top Flight SR9 kit I have. No more Monocoat for this man. I learned my lesson.
Posted on: 9/10/2012 7:48 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11224490

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Dumorian, The acetone was misted onto the green with a mister bottle. I've had success with this method on Ultra but the mono obviously has a different chemistry. I do think the acetone was a mistake with this covering. The heat activation is so poor on the monocoat I didn't think I would be able to heat the trim enough to stick it. Ron, I tried the windex method first but could not get any adhesion with a test strip even after about 20 hours. Perhaps this not enough time. Testing the acetone on a test piece actually worked however my test Pc was solid. The wing was open bay behind the green which may be a contributing factor. BTW guys don.'t worry about my taking a statement as rubbing it in or negative. Obviously I am having an issue here and something you say might cause a light bulb to come on and help me to understand where I screwed up. Ed, Another mistake I made was the green. Should have stayed with colors that have worked for me such as red, blue, black, or white. I tried the green because I wanted to be a little different some of my other planes. All good advice guys, keep it coming might help or others that have seen where I have failed.
Posted on: 9/5/2012 7:20 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11218945

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Ed, your plane looks great! I wish mine looked half as good. Still have to paint the cowl. I've purchased two different greens from the rattle can dept. at Lowes and unfortunately niether one matches good. Someone told me to try John Deer Green so I'm going to drive over to the John Deer Tractor dealer and see if they have a can.
Posted on: 9/4/2012 8:30 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11217805

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
nh4cio4 Thanks for the complement ED. It looks okay from thirty feet but up close is pretty bad. Worked on it some more this week end. I know, I sound like a broken record but the Monocoat was a big mistake. I cut out stars and stripes on yellow Monocoat. I installed the trim with acetone. When I misted the acetone and placed the trim on, it looked really good. However, after curing all night the next morning I discovered the trim was extremely drawn up in to wrinkles and overall just looks terrible. I plan to fly it like it is for now but, when the dead of winter gets here, I'm going to rip that crap off and go back with UltraCoat since the white and the Black & White checkers are Ultracoat. I may rip it all off and try some of that Coverite some of you told me about. Hate to do that as the Ultracoat portion of the covering is perfect. We'll see how I feel about it st the time. I have some other builds waiting in the wings that I want to start including a scratch build that I have not decided on a name yet. In fact, I havn't even drawn out the plans yet but I did buy a DLE55 the other day so I'll draw some plans around it. It will be some kind of Stick only it won't look like a stick. Anyway, I digressed enough. Decath pics below.
Posted on: 9/4/2012 8:23 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11217794

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Ron, Can you give me a rough idea what you paid for the cowl. I'm useing the plastic cowl on mine and like you, I expect it to crack and fail over time. I covered one of the wings yesterday and hope to get the other one next weekend. At that time my covering will be complete. I used ultracoat for some white, and black & white checks on the bottom. The ultracoat worked perfectly and was easily applied. In fact, both wings are covered on the bottom. All I like is the top surfaces on the one wing and a little trim work (star burst pattern), for the rest of the plane. As I may have mentioned before, the upper surfaces are Monocrap. This stuff is awful. At one point yesterday, I seriously considered ripping all the monocoat off of the plane and putting in an order for Ultracoat. But against my better judgement, I'm sticking with it on this job. This will be my last plane to use monocoat other than some trim lines or something like that. I have used Ultra for years and never had an issue of any type. On my 3D or sport planes I will continue to Ultracoat but earlier in this thread, some of the guys have sold me on the coverite cloth covering. That is what I'm going to try on my scale type planes in the future. Did not update any photos this weekend so I'll catch them up next weekend. I won't be able to work on it during the week, pesky side activity called a job you know. Actually glad to have one this day and age.
Posted on: 8/20/2012 6:42 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11199531

RE: New Hitec Aurora 9-Channel 2.4Ghz Radio System
Randy In addition to what Jimf14d says, make sure your throttle stick is at idle. My A9 will sound a continuous alarm if I turn it on with the throttle stick on any setting other than full idle.
Posted on: 8/11/2012 6:54 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11189210

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Thought I would post a little bit about how I install hinges. First, I find a metal jar lid and place about a spoon full of petrolium jelly in it. I then turn my covering iron on about 2 or 3 heat setting and place the metal lid on the shoe. As a result the vaseline melts and as you cans see, I bend the joint a few times working the lube into the joint. This will help isolate the hinge joint from any epoxy that might get on it. When done I wipe off the excess epoxy from the hinge before it completely hardens. I normally leave the vaseline on the knuckle as it is a good lubricant for the hinge. But, You don't have to. When finished, find a suitable top for your jar lid and save the vaseline, "(which re-solidifies when the heat is removed)", for the next project. I had some in the jar lid for a couple of years and used numerious times. I finally replaced it with fresh vasiline for these pictures. Also, I smear a little vaseline on the covering around the hinge area to keep epoxy from sticking to the covering and allowing for easy clean up prior to it completely curing.
Posted on: 7/29/2012 9:33 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11174049

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
As a side bar, I found some tape at a local Tractor Supply Co. It's called tarp repair tape, (very soft and very pliable), and comes in several different colors. It's a little heavy to use as hinge tape on electric or most models under a 60 size but I think it will do well on giant scale. It looks like a real heavy version of Blenderm tape that the foamy guys use as hinge tape. I will probably place it on the bottom of the Decath to seal the hinge gap.
Posted on: 7/29/2012 9:13 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11174034

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
I have a few more pics of the Decath progress.
Posted on: 7/29/2012 9:04 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11174024

RE: Super monokote - not so super anymore
I used Monocoat this weekend for the first time in about eight years. Man what a mistake. It refused to shrink. I had to rip the covering off the top of the model and reapply with only marginal improvement. I have Super Decathlon kit that I'm building and had a sizable order from Tower. Although I normaiiy use Ultracoat, I ordered the Monocoat from Tower as a matter of convenience. This has got to be the worst covering I've ever used on any of my kits or plans builds. I'm stuck with the four rolls I bought on this kit but, it won't happen again. I had switched to the Ultracoat due to the deteriorating quality of Monocoat even back then but, the poor quality of the film today is estounding. I don't see how they continue to sell it. All I can say is shame on me for buying it as I had few fellow builders warn me about it. I thought how bad can it be and like I said, bought it due to convenience and not wanting to place two orders at different places. This is one mistake I won't be repeating.
Posted on: 7/15/2012 8:21 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11155937

RE: Can Keith Sparks spark the build comeback?
I have noticed in our club that many members are beginning to build again. Mainley from plans but I also have been seeing an interest in kits. Not sure why however I welcome it as I like to build also. It seems like the arfs are taking a big increase in price which may be driving this somewhat. For example, I considered a Funtanna 125 recently to replace an older one I had crashed. It was about $80 more than I was willing to pay considering what it was worth to me. Actually, it worked out well for me because I ended up buying a couple sets of plans I found at Airage.
Posted on: 7/9/2012 8:50 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11149508

RE: [Awaiting Approval]
A123's have a little better density than life's but both are the same voltage. Also if you have been running 6volt nicads or nimhs you do not need voltage reg. The a123's are 6.6 volts nominal. They will be at 7volts immediately after charging but will drop to 6.6 or 6.8 very rapidly. There is fact page at hangtimes hobbies.
Posted on: 7/8/2012 3:34 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11147885

RE: Why are we using NiMh...really?
I'm in the process of changing over to A123's. They are much safer to charge than lipos. They can dump their enery much faster and safer than a Nimh or Lipo. You do have to learn a new way to charge and monitor them than the other types but I have a few planes changed over already and can say that I'll never look back. They won't work well for the electric guys due to their size but, if you fly Gas or glow, they are the only way to go IMO. There is a very large thread over at FG concerning the A123's. There may be one here as well but I have not looked.
Posted on: 7/8/2012 1:39 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11147753

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Thanks Steve. Did you fly the Cherokee this morning?
Posted on: 7/8/2012 7:55 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11147419

RE: Has the extreme Heat stopped your flying
I have not flown in two weeks. The last time I flew was at our local flyin two weeks ago. We had an electric crash that day. Before we could get to it the resulting grass fire was out of control. We used about 8 or nine 3 lb fire extinguishers and only got it half under control. By the time the fire dept. arrived, the fire had covered an area the size of a high school gym. Apparently the lipo was the first at the crash scene and didn't like the situation too much.[:'(] In addition, to consistent triple digit temps, we are experiencing a severe drought at 14 plus inches behind on rain in Western KY. I looked at the thermometer this afternoon and the temp was 108 F. I know this is not to big a deal for the guys out west, but for us it's pretty extreme, especially when coupled with the much lower humidity than we are normally used to. Tomorrow, (SAT), I think they are calling for 105 F. I'll be in the shop building on a Dynaflight Super Decath. kit again this weekend. My shop has A/C but with these temps, I wonder how it is holding up to the extra strain. We are normally in the low to mid 90's here by late July, and most of us tolerate that fairly well eventhough we would prefer the 80's.
Posted on: 7/6/2012 10:32 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11146089

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Here are a few more pics as I work on the Decath. The first one if I have the order correct, is the dual radio switches, the second one is where the ig. switch and fuel dot will be located. the third one is the bottom covering and the last one is the side covering.
Posted on: 7/6/2012 9:56 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11146099

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Mike, Thanks for the link. I'm ashamed to say, I've seen this on their website for years but since I have been a Ultracoat junkie I've ignored it. In fact, I thought it was another film covering. This definitely shows promise for me and I plan to try it out in the future. I looked over the color selection and feel this is what I'll try on the SR-9 next winter. I will probably try a few pieces on a 2 X 4 to get the feel for the way it works. Again thanks,
Posted on: 7/5/2012 4:32 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144507

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Mike, Is a prepainted or dyed color selection available? Or do you have to paint and seal everytime? I know this is a dumb question, but, it just shows my lack of understanding with this type of covering system. Thanks,
Posted on: 7/5/2012 9:04 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11143908

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Edited out a double post. Not sure what happened.
Posted on: 7/4/2012 9:47 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11143422

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Guys, Worked on the decath some more this week. Started covering today. I have a few more pictures but I'm on a kindel fire tonight and can't upload pictures through it. I'll be back on a computer tomorrow where I can update the pics. I know a lot of you purists wanted me to cover with cloth. Sorry, I took the easy way out and have been using film. Mainly because I've never used cloth and don't feel comfortable with it. I have a Topflight SR9 kit that I may start in the fall. Maybe that one would be a good one to learn cloth covering on. I'll do a build thread on that one and get you guys to coach me on the cloth covering if that's okay. Have a good evening.
Posted on: 7/4/2012 9:45 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11143420

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Kolbboer, Your plane looks great. I may have to leave the stars off also. I'm useing Monocoat and Ultracoat so I may attempt cutting out some stars.
Posted on: 6/18/2012 4:59 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11122927

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Waco, I know what you mean. I like to build from plans. For some reason, I really like that little Hot Hots plan by Dan Santich. I have a set of plans I purchased from RCM plans and have built this plane three times in the last twelve years or so. The first time I built per plans and it flew perfect for years until I got a little carried away with it while flying low and fast. The second I experimented a little with some counter balances on the tail and rudder plus a little more rearward CG. It too, flew extremely well. This has been a little plane that I have practiced diff manuvers with when trying to learn something new due to it's ease of building. The last Hots I built Iexperimented a little more, this time with incidence. This plane flew okay, but, not nearly as good as the first two. I actually lost it flying in a normal manner due to a tx module failure. I'll probably build another 40 size because they are so handy to have around. I have purchased more Hots plans since I like them so much and will build them simular to version 2 of 48 WS. I bought Hots Biped plans. 81"WS Ultra Hots for a 50 size gas. And a Giant Hots for a ZDZ Super 80, I think it's 92 or 94" WS. Sorry to ramble, I was just agreeing with and adding that the same builder can build the same plane whether plans build or kit build three times and they all behave differently, sometimes on purpose, but, many times by accident. I got those plans RCMPLANS.COM if anyone has an interest.
Posted on: 6/5/2012 7:15 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11107150

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Orthobird and do335a, Thanks guys for the info. It seems like I remember something about do335a's plane weight now. I have been on and off this build so much I sometimes forget what I've read in the past year concerning it. I'll be very happy if I can come in around 17 lbs. do335a, I'm running a 18 X 10 three blade Biela composite propeller which shold help me on clearance.
Posted on: 6/4/2012 4:31 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11106417

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
orthobird, I'm a little concerned about what the overall weight will be with the ZDZ40. I made some marks on the fuse where the balance point would be when the plane is complete. After adding the additional trays, the fuse balanced with the ZDZ and servos mounted. When I finish the cowl and install the spinner, propeller along with the control rods and wires from the servos to the elevator and rudder I may not be so lucky. I initially weighed the engine but, that was back in the fall and I forgot what it weighed. I knew I should have written that down[:o]. I'm guessing the plane will come in at 20 lbs dry but time will tell. I'm running dual A123 2300 mah batteries on the rx but, the extra bat and switch is only 6.6 oz. If it's too bad, I can drop one of the bats but , I like the redundancy of secondary switch and wiring/connectors. Not to mention having 4600 mah avail for long flight times and numerous flights between charges is a nice +. Thx,
Posted on: 6/4/2012 9:51 AM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11105947

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Forgot one of the pics prior to installing the fuel tank this time. Don't know why I initially put the tank up front as I didn't plan to detail the interior. This is going to be something to knock around with. I guess I was in the glow fuel mindset where tank placement is more of an issue. The gas is more forgiving in that department.
Posted on: 6/3/2012 8:29 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11105343

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
Moved the tank to the CG and things are much better. Also the fuse seems to be balanced better at this point. The last pic is where I plan to mount the rx. I epoxied a tray in there which is currently weighted with a piece of steel until the epoxy cures. Thanks Guys for pointing that out to me and thanks to you darrolair for the tank move suggestion. I like this much better than what I had.
Posted on: 6/3/2012 8:25 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11105338

RE: Building a Dynaflite Super Decathlon
darrolair, Very good idea. That may be what I do since I don't plan to scale the interior anyway. I had thought about mounting a tray and a Go Pro at the CG however, the fuse is so large I can still mount the tank on the CG and the Go Pro tray and servo above it should I decide on the camera. Thanks,
Posted on: 6/3/2012 2:11 PM by Author "WILDCRASHWILLY" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11104969