RE: Byron T-34/Bonanza Plans Needed
I used Spring Air retracts. I used a plastic strut cover from Robart for the nosewheel. It just encapsulates the wire nose gear from the kit. I forget who makes the nose door kit. It was just a set of hinges with a stretchable piece of wire between the doors. The gear would hit the wire and pull the doors closed when it came up. I didn't use any strut covers on the mains. I think adding functional struts would be quite a bit more weight. I used the standard Robart warbird wheels with a foam insert inside for strength. I wasn't real impressed with that setup. I'd probably recommend a little beefier wheel. On the wing, I used the setup per the plans. Long torque tubes with a central aileron and flap servo. Again, saved a little weight. Also the very thin ply that is glued over the torque tube slots makes for a very scale-like hinge appearance. The hinges are robart hinge-points with about an inch of aluminum tubing (1/8" dia I believe) clamped down and glued onto the hinge. This was per the Byron directions. The extra length helped grab into the foam better. You're servo idea sounds fine, and might work a little better. I just liked the all hidden approach. The cockpit I made wasn't from Byron. I just made a removable balsa box that sat in the middle of the fuselage. I had a couple of light ply braces underneath it that screwed into some mounting blocks glued to the fuselage sidewalls. The instrument panels were generic from one of the plastic cockpit companies. I never finished detailing the cockpit before I sold it, but it still added a nice effect. Good luck, Brian
Posted on: 8/14/2005 10:34 PM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3263074

RE: 1/6 scale Sig cub
I know it's not a Sig cub, so pardon my intrusion, but this is a Goldberg Cub that I first built as a standard J-3 about 18 yrs ago. I dinged the wingtips a few times and then removed a couple of bays during repair. So it became a clipped wing cub. Added the float kit after a couple of years - great fun! Flew for several years with a Saito .65. It was getting old and beat up, but I loved the way it flew. So a couple of years ago I stripped all the covering off, made some repairs and rebuilt it as a supercub (just added the Great Planes cowl). Still flies like a champ. I put a Saito .80 in to improve performance on floats. A little overkill though. I fly at 1/3 throttle most of the time with wheels. Can't beat an old cub. Full scale or model. Brian Hernando, MS
Posted on: 8/10/2005 11:11 PM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3251117

RE: Byron T-34/Bonanza Plans Needed
By the way, call the guys at IronBay. They had a replacement plastic lens for one of the wingtip nav lights missing/lost in my kit. They were very helpful, and although they haven't re-produced that kit they did have some parts. I bet they might be able to copy a manual for you. Worth a try anyway. http://www.ironbaymodelcompany.com Good Luck, Brian
Posted on: 8/8/2005 12:32 AM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3241039

RE: Byron T-34/Bonanza Plans Needed
I finished a Byron T-34C about 2 years ago. Good looking model. I had an OS .91 surpass in it. I flew it a few times and sold it because I needed some $$ for a full scale project. I think I sent the manual with it when I sold it. If I have any documentation anymore it's in a box in storage. I'm moving in about 3 weeks, so hopefully I'll have lots of RC stuff back by that time. If you don't have any luck, email me in a month or so and I'll see if I can find anything after unpacking. There really wasn't much in the way of plans or documentation. Just a small booklet. Like any Byron, not much conventional construction to it, so plans weren't all that warranted. I happened on the kit out of pure luck. I was a Navy pilot. A buddy of mine came across the kit at a swap meet for $150. He called me and asked if I was interested. Of course I was. Took me a long time to get around to building it though. I think it was produced in the late 70's or maybe early 80's. Funny enough, the side of the box said it was a T-34C Bonanza. I'm sure construction was just like the Bonanza models. Those manuals ought to be just as good. If you have any questions, fell free to email. Maybe I can help. briancantrell@bellsouth.net
Posted on: 8/8/2005 12:27 AM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "RC Scale Aircraft"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=3241031

RE: Pitts M12 26% plans available soon
I'm sure you probably have an example you're modeling, but I have a good friend about 1/4 mi down the road who built and flies a full scale one. I can take pictures, measurements, etc if you like. I've got probably 10 hrs of flight time in it. Incredible airplane, especially with the 3 bladed prop. The front cockpit sure is blind on the ground though - much better in the back. Keep us posted on the plans. Brian
Posted on: 2/11/2005 4:02 PM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2646998

RE: Removable Wing Halves
Thanks for the help. I think I may go with the blade joiner. I've found that Sig makes one. I'm gonna try to get some more info on their product. Looks like aircraft grade aluminum. They use it in their 1/3 scale Spacewalker kit. Bruce - I did some searching for "blade joiner" and came across more of your comments on the high stress points at the root and tip of the blade on the top and bottom respectively. Makes sense. I think with Sig device you would permanently attach the blade portion in the wing panels and slide this into a machined aluminum joiner receptacle in the fuselage. There's a picture on their website. Again, thanks for the responses. Brian
Posted on: 2/9/2005 11:23 PM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2641059

Removable Wing Halves
I've been lurking here for a few weeks and gathering info. The project I'm about to start is a 90" Grumman Ag-cat from some old (1978) Floyd Fitzgerald plans. I'd like to modify and modernize the plans some using Turbocad. I recently purchased version 9 (professional) on ebay. I had some experience with an old CAD program called drawing board, and also took a drafting course back in college (15 yrs ago). I think I should be able to pick it up fairly quickly. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions as I move along - Here's the first one. I'd like to build the model with removable wing panels. It has 3 degrees of dihedral, so I don't think a straight tube through the fuselage is very practical. It just couldn't extend into the wing very far. I haven't built any planes with wing halves that are detachable. Looking for advice or links to any other methods that might work better. Is there a way to have the tubes aligned with the spars and go only half way into the fuselage. Seems like this might be a bit weak though. How about some sort of plate (similar to a dihedral brace) that would extend into a rectangular receptacle in the wing? I know I've seen some of this type stuff on giant scale kits, but haven't built one like this before, and havent' been able to track down any how-to's for scratch building/designing. Again, any pics, links, or just plain old advice would be great. Thanks, Brian Cantrell
Posted on: 2/9/2005 11:57 AM by Author "cbcflyer" in the forum "Scratch Building, Aircraft Design, 3D/CAD"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=2638484