RE: Building a large foam plane
The best thing you could do is try to find a book by Keith (Sparky) Sparks on building in blue foam. My local hobby store a copy on the shelf a couple of months ago. He wrote several articles that featured foam airplane construction. I met him at the Small Steps fly in over in Dallas when Randy Randolf ran it. He is a nice guy and made some neat planes. His planes were covered with clear monokote and scuffed up with sand paper and painted with monokote paint IIRC. I think he is a member here but I haven't seen a post from him.
Posted on: 9/17/2012 2:42 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11231487

RE: Need a project for OS.15LA
If you don't mind building have look at this plane. A Bridi Aircriuser. I built one with a stretch wing because I was thinking about making it electric and it still only wieghs 3.5 pounds. I added a little more wood in the wing also. Built per the plans it should weigh about 3 pounds or a little less. Its off the ground in just a few feet and lands like a feather. Mine is powered with an OS FP25 and I fly it at half thottle most of time. I have posted a pic before but I will post it again. http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/aircruiser25.html
Posted on: 9/3/2012 3:01 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11216070

RE: Battery For JR Radio XP 8103
I just got in and checked the mail. My new battery from Radical RC was in the box. That took 48 hours or less for these folks to process my order and have it to me. Thats just great. They will have my battery business in the future. Thanks again Hoosier for the link to these fine folks.
Posted on: 8/18/2012 3:30 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11198094

RE: What do you use to clean your monokote?
I have been using Fantastik for 30 years. It seems to cut the oil pretty well. It does contain ammonia but since I iron down all my monokote its never been a problem. Plus as soon as I spray it I am wiping it off. I no longer use paper towels. They scratch the plastic covering. I have found that my old Tee shirts work very well. You almost don't even need a cleaner. The hard part is convincing myself that I can stop wearing them. I am not one to give up on a garment just because it has a few holes and stains.
Posted on: 8/18/2012 3:18 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196924

RE: Super Tigre G 90 Muffler: Lost front baffle
I have a ST 40 ringed and wanted to remove the baffle if it has one. I couldn't figure out how to get the friggin' muffler apart. How do you disassemble these mufflers?
Posted on: 8/16/2012 1:55 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196085

RE: Battery For JR Radio XP 8103
Hoosier thanks for the link. I have ordered an 1100ma NiCad with the JR plug on it. Their email stated it should be here in about 3 days. Wow, what fast shipping. I went with a Nicad because I suspect thats what the radio came with from the factory. I have never had a problem with a nicad. I have never had a problem with a NiHi either. Anyway this should fix me up. So thanks for the help. TT
Posted on: 8/16/2012 1:51 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11196081

Battery For JR Radio XP 8103
I have a JR 8103 radio that has a battery pack from superbatterypacks.com that deosn't hold its charge. Their website is down and has been for a while. I can't find a pack locally for a decent price. One hobby store has 1200ma packs for $25 but the owner has been sick and doesn't open very often. So can you folks recommend a place to get a new pack? The pack I have now is a 2250ma pack and takes 45 hours to charge with a wall wart. Can I use a smaller pack like a 1100-1500ma pack that will charge a little faster? Like in 24 hours or so? Thanks for your help. I can program the radio and so forth but I just don't know much about electronic stuff. I don't mind ordering on line and would like to buy local. I am in the Ft Worth Tx area and have checked with Roys and JTs hobbies. There is supposed to be a hobby shop in Weatherford that caters to electric stuff but I can't find a phone # for them. I was checking the JR subforum and a poster named Fizzwater IIRC said he prefered Nicads over NiHi packs which is what I have now. Opinions on that are also welcome.
Posted on: 8/16/2012 9:43 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11195808

RE: MidWest Sweet-Stick Plans
Hello Andy. Thanks for the offer but I have enough stik plans at this point that I can run them up and down in scale as needed. Right now all I want to fly is the coroplast stik I showed in my last post. This is an amazing plane that is almost indestructable. I do have my wood sweet stik sitting on the workbench so I can charge it for a round of flights this weekend. And like I said I will build another version of this plane with a lot of changes. Mine flies good but I can see lots of room for improvements. Long live stiks. Too bad the RC world is so consumed with ARFs and scale planes. No matter how scale a model is it will always be just a model. I am not sure how I would handle spending 1000 hours on a scale model to only see it crash. Phil Kraft had the right idea with a quick to build disposable model whos loss is just a mild irritation. I have two sweet stik plan versions now. The one the Jim Purcha posted and the original plan from Midwest with the open flat wing structure with no dihedral and the pieced together fusalage. That was the first sweet stik I had and what a flier it was. I even scratch built my own sweetstik from memory when I got back into RC for the second time. I wanted a sweet stik because that was my favorite plane to fly but they were no longer available. I couldn't beleive such a fine model had been discontinued. So I ordered the wood and the radio and engine from Tower. I got out the butcher paper and a booklet on designing model planes and drew up my own plans. Instead of an 18% airfoil my plane had a 15% airfoil. It din't land as slow as my sweetstik but let me tell you that sucker was fast. And it still flew like a stik. Rock solid. Here is a photo. A picture of a picture so its not real good.
Posted on: 8/8/2012 7:45 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11186356

RE: MidWest Sweet-Stick Plans
Hello Allen. The only problem I had at Staples is that the disc I had needed to be labeled a PDF file. When I came back home and recopied the plan I labeled it Sweet Stik.PDF and I was good to go. When I had the plans enlarged I also had them run off a 25% copy for a wingspan of 58" that pretty much matches my GP big stik 40. When you get into the metric stuff my eyes cross and my knees get weak. I started working at my dads machine shop when I was 10 years old. I am all up on on the english method of measuring and fractions for me are a breeze. But that what is what I learned and am bewildered by metric stuff. Its something I need to study on. But anyway I plan to build another Sweet Stik and you can bet the next one will be light weight. It will have built up tail feathers and a non sheeted wing just like the first SS I built many years ago. I wish I had an idea of the hours of flight time I had on that plane. It had been crashed and patched so much and was no longer pretty but it flew like a Sultans magic carpet. I don't know why patched up planes fly so well but they just do. Maybe they have been tweaked and tuned and adjusted to the point that they have no choice but to fly. Here is a couple of pics of my newest Stik plane. Not wood but Coroplast and it just flies so well it has to be seen to be beleived. Its a SPAD, simple plastic airplane design and I cannot figure out why these are not more popular. They are as rugged as a Bowie knife and fly like there is no tommorow. The guys at the field ask lots of questions and really like it but I will be surprised if I ever see another show up.
Posted on: 8/6/2012 8:58 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11183734

RE: LETS SAVE SIG BEFORE THEY GET SWALLOWED BY THE BIG TWO!!!
If you remember an issue or two back from the AMA magazine the son of the owner of Hobby Lobby went to work for Sig. His dad wanted him to take over Hobby Lobby but I guess he saw a better future running Sig. I really don't think you have to worry about Sig going under or selling out. And I agree they make some of the best kits with the best flying planes. I hope to pick up a Seniorita, An LT-25 and maybe an LT-40. I am sort of on a kit stocking spree right now. I have 4 kits in the attic now. I like Sig kits. A Senior or Seniorita looks like a big box of sticks but once you get them going they build pretty fast. ARFs are nice but I prefer to build.
Posted on: 8/5/2012 6:33 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11182261

RE: MidWest Sweet-Stick Plans
oldtyme you put a 45 on a little stik? That ought to go like crazy and climb like a monkey on a string. I have owned two little stiks in the past. They were what I learned to fly on. Both had OS 25s but I don't remember which ones. A couple of months ago I found a kit on Ebay. Im just waiting on cooler weather to build it. Jim Purcha posted a PDF Sweet Stik plan and thats what i used for my Sweet Stik. I downloaded the file to a disc. You have to label it sweet stik.PDF. I then took it to staples and had them run it off. The biggest they could do was a 46" wingspan. Perfect for a little stik. So I cut up the plan and had them enlarge the pieces 20%. That gave me a 54.5" wingspan. Thats what I wanted. I also have the old straight wing model plans that has the open wing framework without the leading edge sheeting. I bought those off ebay and you can still get them. They have a parts tracing that comes with it too.That was the first sweet stik I had back in about 1980. It was light weight and flew very, very well. I cut the wing and added dihedral and for me it flew even better. With the flat wing it was always hunting and needed correction. That could have been old radios and also a by product of the sloppy bellcranks. Here's i couple of pics of my new Sweet Stik. It came out a little heavier than planned but it is rock solid in the air. Its not at all twitchy. Its just like driving my GMC Sierra down the hiway. Stable and smooth. It still lifts off in just a few feet and lands at a walk. I much prefer it the GP Big Stik 40 I have.
Posted on: 8/5/2012 6:00 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11182219

RE: How good of an engine is the thunder Tiger Pro 46?
I have a TT Pro 46 on a Big Stik 40 and it pulls it very, very well. Matter of fact with an APC 11-5 prop it is so fast the guys at the field were afraid I was going to pull the wing off. It will climb at almost straight up for as long as you want to go up. Its my best and most favorite engine. This is the second one I have owned and think they are as good as an OS engine. I have owned several TT engines and every one has been an excellent performer. Buy with confidence.
Posted on: 7/30/2012 8:53 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Glow Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11175430

RE: LT-40 vs. Kadet mk II
[quote]I built a couple of SPADS a few years back and that just didn't satisfy. [/quote] Too bad you didn't like your SPADS. I have only built two and love 'em. They fly as good as any wood plane I have ever had. Here is a picture of my newest one. It has an LA 46 on it. It has 600 inches of wing area for a 19oz wing loading. It takes off in 20 foot and will fly down to a total stall and never drops a wing. With the LA 46 it is NOT fast but I didn't want fast. It won't fly or land as slow as the Sig trainers you asked about but I built it in one day. And the plane airframe only cost me about $15. I made all the parts for it I could including the tail wheel mount and the main gear. If I built another Sig trainer it would be a Seniorita. I have owned three of them and there rank at the top of my list for favorite planes. And they look so good with transparent covering on them.
Posted on: 7/30/2012 8:35 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11175414

RE: 1st annual Idaho Falls SPAD RACE Pics
BW that looks like it was a blast. Too bad you folks are so far away. I would love to race with you. I have a NIB Magnum 52 and may have to build a DPS for it just in case. So far as I know I have the only SPAD at our club. It gets lots of looks when I bring ot out. I have a SPAD Stik. Sort of. Its a little modified. It will easily outfly my GP Big Stik 40. I guess because it was so cheap and easy to build I don't mind throwing it around and doing stuff close to the ground. I cannot figure out why these planes are not more common and popular. I hope you post pics from the next race.
Posted on: 7/27/2012 3:21 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11171599

RE: Non-OS engines
Ameyam I have magnums, super tigre, thunder tiger and os engines. In the past the os engines were hands down the best. easy to start and just ran forever it seemed. I got out of rc 10 years ago and got back in a year and half ago. My first new engine was a magnum 52. It threw the rod on the third tank of fuel. It took a month to get a replacement. I also bought a magnum 25 when they were on sale. Both engines are still new in the box. I don't have planes to put them on at this time. I am sure my first 52 blowing up was a fluke. The 52 FS Magnum I had ran well but didn't seem as powerful as the OS version. I had it on a hanger 9 Cub and it always felt underpowered. there was no comfortable margin of power if you needed it. I also bought a ST 40 ringed engine a few months ago. I could not start it without an electric starter. Now that its broke in it will hand start sometimes. I got a deal on it until I had to buy a $30 starter to get it going. Its an OK engine. It should last a long time. I have a TT 46 pro on a big stik 40. It hand started the second flip of the prop. Its my best engine. It runs as well as any OS I have ever owned. I have owned several TT engines over the years and everyone has been just perfect. That would be my recommendation to you for brand to choose from. I have a new OS LA 46 that was a real bugger to start when brand new. I had to use the electric starter on it. Then all the screws stretched and I lost compression. I had to remove the engine to locktite all the screws and that fixed that problem. Its not as powerful as the old FP 40s I used to own. I believe the OS engines may not be as good as they once were. I sure did like my FS 46 engines and wish had them back.
Posted on: 7/22/2012 9:07 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11164460

RE: Can YOU tune a 4 stroke by ear?
[quote]Can YOU tune a 4 stroke by ear?[/quote] I just use the fingers on my left hand. Using my ear sounds like a good way to wacked on the head by the propeller. Just to be serious tuning by "ear" is all I have ever done.
Posted on: 7/15/2012 4:25 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11156450

RE: C.A.P. Hurricane
Just pulling your leg of coarse but I really want to see what you bought.
Posted on: 6/15/2012 9:13 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11119823

RE: C.A.P. Hurricane
We need pics!!!
Posted on: 6/15/2012 9:12 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11119821

RE: SPAD Debonair
Patrick and Villa are correct. The flutes do run chordwise on the Debonaire. I had to go to the spad site and check. I guess I was thinking of the wing for the spad stick which does have the flutes running spanwise on the bottom of the wing. Sorry about that. I should have caught that because I posted earlier that I used the Deb wing diminsions but the Spad Stik build method.
Posted on: 6/10/2012 2:43 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11113529

RE: SPAD Debonair
Villa the Debonair has the flutes running span wise and they do suggest scoring where the top 4mm meets the two spars. Skerts when I was going to build my first spad I read nearly every build on spadtothebone.net and picked what I liked best about each plane. I liked the diminsions of the Deb but didn't like the double spars or the 4mm top skin. So I used the wing build method for the Spad Stik but made the 60" wing. Also instead of my ailerons being sandwiched between the top and bottom skins my ailerons are part of the bottom skin with a 2mm cap glued on. I used silicone glue for this and also for gluing on the tail feathers of my new spad shown in the other thread. Silicone glues coro very well but for wing skins I would use the slow CA like recommended. Before you start to build read all you can at the spad site and make yourself a coro splitter. I made mine with a paint stir stick. If you go to spadflyer.com it will show two planes on the first page. Click on the left picture and it will show a close up of the wing on the right side of the page. There you can see they used 4mm and installed sub ribs in front of the spar. If you look close you can see they cut several of the flutes on the inside of the top wing skin so the 4mm would follow the sub ribs and make a nice airfoil shape instead of the tent/angled shapr you were refering to. They also cut one flute behind the spar to releive pressure to make gluing down the trailing edge easier. If I build another Spad I may give this a try because its so much easier to find 4mm than 2mm. You can find links to these sites and for a place where I bought my 2mm in my thread New Spad. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11094335/tm.htm
Posted on: 6/7/2012 8:44 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11110025

RE: SPAD Debonair
Hi Skerts glad you like my plane. That plane the 2.5" american pipe. I have never seen the smaller pipe around here. That engine has a 10/6 APC prop on it. The plane weighed 6.25 pounds and still flew well for having just a plain bearing motor on it. It looks a little better now because I put black bans on the wing and tail. I also had flutter in the ailerons and switched to duel servos and moved them out as far as the leads would reach. Problem solved. I have the thread New Spad right by this thread and it has pics of my second Spad. Having made both types of fuselages I have to say I like the coro fuse better than the PVC fuse. The PVC plane has the 60" wingspan per the Deb plans. My new spad has a 48" wingspan and the same wing loading because of the lighter weight. My first Spad flew very well. Better than I thought it would. The new spad is head and shoulders above the old plane. It flies as well as any plane I have flown in a long time. My Seniorita was better but won't take the knocks the spad will take. When I get this out at the flying field everyone has questions about how its made. After the guys see it fly several have stated they may build one. And these are all ARF guys. I seem to be the only builder out there. Of course I am not but you just don't see many kit built or scratch built planes. Maybe I am going out at the wrong time plus I am new to the club. Anyway keep us posted on what you decide to build.
Posted on: 6/6/2012 6:49 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11109431

RE: NEW SPAD
Okay I have test flown my new Spad and after a few tweaks it flies like a dream. At first it climbed like crazy and had to have a large amount of down trim to fly level. Power changes cause pitches that had to be trimed for. Checking the incedenc I found that with 0 on the stab the wing had 2 degrees of positive incedence. So I lowered the wing by cutting the wing sadle and I also shimmed the motor mount down about 3 degrees. Now it flies as good as any plane I have ever flown. I like it much better than the GP Big Stik 40 I have. Its a real pleasure to fly.
Posted on: 6/6/2012 10:41 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11108810

RE: SPAD Debonair
Yep you can make the changes you want to make. The only thing you would have a problem with by putting the cut out on the bottom is it makes it harder to convert to a tail dragger. The first spad built was a Debonair and I centered the rudder with two angle pieces cut from downspout. I flew mine with a TT GP40 and it wasn't overpowered. Unless your 30 is a hot bearing type motor it will be on the weak side. I gave my first Spad to a buddy and he is going to install a Super Tigre 40 in it. That should be a good match. Good luck and post pics when its ready to fly. Here is my first Spad.
Posted on: 6/6/2012 10:34 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11108806

RE: NEW SPAD
Stumble I went back to the spadflyer site and clicked on the left hand picture. This brought a closer veiw of the wingtip and there are sub ribs in the picture to help form the rounded airfoil. Plus in the pic you can see they cut several of the flutes on the inside skin so the plastic would roll over. Plus one flute behind the spar. If I build anothet SPAD I will give that a try with a 4mm wing. It would be nice not to have to hunt down 2mm sheeting.
Posted on: 6/5/2012 9:33 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11107317

RE: Available Stick Kits
If you are talking about Ugly Stik type models here is a nice plane at what to me is a reasonable cost. Plus these come with high quality hardware and the last two kits I bought from these folks came with GP adjustable motor mounts. Plus some of the nicest wood around. These are Joe Bridi designs and his planes fly like a sultans magic carpet. http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/aircruiser60.html
Posted on: 6/5/2012 9:22 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11107306

RE: Ideal trainer
Wind that plane looks like a good choice for a trainer. I learned to fly on a Little Stik with an OS 25 on it. Small bore engines can be found on Ebay all the time. Getting them shipped to Italy might be the problem. Here is a link to a similar .25 sized plane. I have one of these and my buddy is building one. They are light weight and can be built in a weekend. Mine flys very well and is stable enough to be a good trainer. http://www.bridiairplanes.com/hangar/aircruiser25.html Here is mine with an extended wing for electric flight. I decided electric was too expensive to get into so found a new in bax OS FP25 on ebay for $35. Thats the good thing about small motors. No one flies them much anymore so they go cheap.
Posted on: 6/3/2012 9:16 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11104750

RE: Fuel Issues
You should be pumping the fuel out using the line going to the carb. If you can't pump the fuel and your engine will only run on a prime then you either have a tear in the fuel pick up line in the tank against the nipple or your clunk has been thrown foward and is up against the top of the tank. My guess is the clunk is wedged forward in the tank. Shake the plane a little and see if you can hear the clunk tapping in the tank. If you do then you probably have a hole in the fuel line and will need to remove the tank and put in a new pick up line. Sometimes if the clunk is stuck a good shake will free it up.
Posted on: 6/1/2012 12:48 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11102804

RE: NEW SPAD
Hy Stumble. I had forgotten about spadflyer.com. I had looked at their site about a year ago. Since you are building one of their planes I have a question. They show the wing leading edge having a rounded shape to it instead of the more angular shape that the Debonair wing has. Are the flutes cut on the inside of the top skin and sub ribs used in front of the spar to give it a rounded shape? That to me was the whole reason to use 2mm because it makes a better looking airfoil. The 2mm is only a little bit lighter in weight than 4mm because the only difference is the height of the middle spacing plastic ( i can't think of a good term for it) so not having to use 2mm would be a money saver for sure. I had tried an experiment with 4mm and cut some of the flutes at the leading edge and then a couple more cuts between the leading edge and the spar and got a better looking airfoil. I just never built a full size wing with 4mm and sub ribs.
Posted on: 6/1/2012 9:31 AM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11102535

RE: NEW SPAD
Hey Stumble. You don't have to have 2mm coro to build a good flying plane. Have a look at the Debonair that uses 4mm for the wing top and bottom. Here is a youtube vid of a Deb flying. I don't know what else you could ask from a sport plane. This guy also does some 3-D flying with this plane. Also watch another video from him called Dingbats Spad. Its a neat looking plane too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nma5sYEvP40 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsKn7dza-RM&feature=relmfu The 3d stuff http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRV6ZXC9EM Dingbats Spad
Posted on: 5/31/2012 7:07 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "S.P.A.D. Aircraft - Coroplast design"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11101875

RE: rubber bands for wing hold
Levram thanks for the tip. I have a Big Lots about a mile from me. My new plane is a SPAD made from coroplast. I looked at it a little closer and the second rubber band was about to break. The front hatch has a sharp edge on it on both sides and it was cutting the rubberbands. A few seconds with an X-Acto knife fixed that problem.
Posted on: 5/29/2012 9:00 PM by Author "ratshooter" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11099397