Only flown once... but 20 years of hangar rash.

[angry_muppet]

A friend who's grandfather was somewhat interested in RC models was glad to hand this off to me for free, so I'm not complaining!  Robbe Eurotrainer.

As can be seen, there's quite a few punctures in the covering.  There's also a hinge missing from an aileron.  And the plastic wingtips are cracked... Or missing completely! 






It'll take a bit of work to get in the air.

It also has a 4ch 35MHz Futaba controller (still boxed and priced at IR£189...)    I believe the engine is an OS40 (was IR£64)

I'll be needing assistance and advice on repairs/improvements.  I suppose the first thing to be done is to fix the nosewheel (currently steerable)?

Has anyone come across colour schemes in the deep dark recesses of the web?  I have found precious little to suggest this model ever existed!

[goreyflyer]

Clean it!!!
Either patch up the holes or strip and recover the whole plane.
Take the fuel tank apart, new fuel line use brass tube as a section on the clunk line to stop the clunk "doubling back on itself" in the event of a heavy landing.
New fuel line to carb and exhaust.
Does the engine turn over?
Get a drop of after run into the engine.
Take the carburettor off check the O rings. Check and clean main needle and poss new O rings,
Check the throttle arm for seizure.
Spare glow plugs!

[Fred]

Same, clean it, patch and fly the damn thing
They are not meant to be pretty, but to fly, fly and fly

Also, a very quick thing. Can you post your photos on the forum directly? Not Photobucket?
As the photos will eventually disappear, or in my case, they are blocked

[Happy Days]

Nar!!! Forget the above, electrify the bloody thing. You'll need a starter motor, fuel pump and god knows what else to get it running as an IC

[angry_muppet]

I agree Keith! Wives are temperamental enough without temperamental IC RC aircraft... 

I jest (in case she sees this over my shoulder!) 

[angry_muppet]

The whole fuselage is now stripped...



Some mouse damage... Don't think it'd affect the structure too much?



Servos (Futaba FP-148S x4) are all in perfect working order, so I'd say they'll give plenty of service yet?

Unfortunately I can't attach the photos to this thread, it won't give me the option...

[goreyflyer]

Is she still straight?

Or like a banana .....

[Happy Days]

Banana!  

[angry_muppet]

She's still straight...

Question is... How do I remove glued in hinges from the wing?  One wing has 2, the other has 3. 

[EI1638]

A sharp knife and lots of patience. A needle nosed pliers helps for pulling the scraps out. I've had to do this far too often and it's a task I absolutely HATE!

It's even worse than fitting hinges in the first place.

[angry_muppet]

It's even worse than fitting hinges in the first place.

Turns out it wasn't that bad... They appear to have been glued in with superglue. On brass hinges... So any grip it had was long gone!  The ailerons just slid off.  I doubt the rudder and elevators will be so easy.

So much for 24hr delivery...     24hrs have elapsed since the parcel containing battery, motor and assorted goodies was collected; it's still sitting in the depot.

[angry_muppet]

All hinges removed with minimal hassle... 

Now... The power is a different issue altogether. 

How does one mount the motor 40mm further out than the existing firewall? I have 40mm total of spacers, but that requires 60mm bolts which I do not have...  Additionally, the mounting holes on the motor are closer together than those existing in the firewall, so new holes.... But the hole for the fuel tank would preclude that. 

And to complicate the rest, the prop mounting/fitting hole is narrower than the prop shaft... That can be drilled, I suppose...

[angry_muppet]

I also find it hard to believe this tiddler of a motor will power 2kg into the air... 

[goreyflyer]

Remove the captive nuts from the firewall.
Get appropriate size wooden dowl and glue the dowl into the existing holes.
If you can only get 4mm dowl and its smaller drill out the hole.
Align your motor plate to be centre including the thrust line and re drill the firewall.
40mm standoffs are fine.
I'm guessing you using m4 or m5 bolts try "Paddy Denby" in Ferns

[EI1638]

Mounting the motor is easy.

Make a 5 sided box the length you need the stand off to be. You can decide which side you want to leave off, but for some reason I always choose the bottom.

When cutting the back end of the box drill it so that it matches/aligns with the mounting holes for the old motor mount. You will probably need some space (i.e. a hole) to route the motor wiring back from the ESC to the battery also.

Drill the front of the box so that it mates with the mounting holes of your motor mount. You could use the motor mount holes themselves either, it depends on how much fiddling you are prepared to accept when it's time to fit the motor.

Leaving one side off the box means you can easily get a suitable spanner in at the motor mount nuts/bolts.

Plenty of thick gussets on the corners of the box and good joints. Being paranoid I use epoxy when I make my own, but if the joints are good enough cyano or white glue is probably fine.

When you're done the prop driver should be just the right distance from the firewall and you have a spot to strap the ESC onto so that it stays in the breeze

I've use 3mm/4mm ply and then use Al tube as crush tubes in any bolt holes I drill. i.e. I bush the screw holes with suitable Al tube.

The last model I did this for was a Wot 4, with a power system designed to handle more than 1 kW, so it's definitely doable. The model before that barely managed 100 watts. The principle is the same though.

The only thing to be careful of is that you don't/can't crush the wood when you snug the bolts down. Some people use thin fibreglass as used for electronic printed circuit boards, but to be honest the Al crush tubes work just as well and are probably easier to organise.