Well, after my miserable failure last year to build an XA-8 in two hours like the magazine article said I should be able to, I started thinking about how I would make a nice looking airplane that I could build from scratch in only two hours.  It would be powered by a Bee engine of some kind, and for purposes of build speed it would use a Brodak engine mount and landing gear.  I thought long and hard about how to do the design and what it would look like.  I’m pretty sure I’ve come up with a design that could be completed in two hours if one was willing to settle for one color for the whole plane.

After several months of refining the design in my head, I sat down to my work table and promptly discarded the design.  Since the Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon is next month, I figured I’d use my ideas on a Beginner’s Ringmaster and see if I could get the plane built in two hours.  I’ve documented the build on video for posterity.  Enjoy the video.






I didn’t make the two hours that I had planned on with this.  I guess that was a pretty ambitious goal I set.  The build time was closer to two hours and 45 minutes.  Start to finish was three hours, but I had to stop several times to sip some rootbeer and re-think how to do this for a Ringmaster rather than my original idea, so two and 45 for the build.  The final weight ready to fly is 5.7 ounces.  A little more than I’d hoped, but still quite flyable on a Black Widow with a 5x3 Cox prop and 25% nitro.  The balance point is at 10%, which would be plenty stable for a Beginner.  I’ll move it back to 20%, and then tweak as necessary.  The elevator throw is ±22 degrees.  With that huge elevator it should work pretty well.  I can move the pushrod in one hole on the horn later if necessary and get more throw than I need.


I still think that with better tool and material staging, doing my original idea with one color and all straight lines rather than the Ringmaster’s curves, I could do it in two hours.  The design in my head was very straightforward, kind of like a miniature Pathfinder.  Maybe in a month or two I’ll go back to my original idea and time that.

Anyway, here’s the result of my power build:








Today was my day off, so I set my alarm clock early.  I didn’t even sleep in because I wanted to fly this thing.  So up I got and looked out the window.   Rain…   *SIGH*  I even took the engine back off last night and changed out the original copper/beryllium reed with a new mylar reed, replaced the rock hard venturi gasket with a new rubber gasket, installed a new case gasket, and gave the tank a good cleaning.  The engine is all dressed up with nowhere to go...


Mark

Since it was raining and I couldn’t fly the THT Beginner’s Ringmaster, I thought I’d give it some trim.  I tried several shapes for the canopy, but couldn’t find anything I liked, so I’ll leave it without a canopy.  I don’t have any checkerboard MonoKote trim sheet, and at $5.99 a sheet I’m not going to buy any.  So, this gives me a chance to try the GLAD Press N’ Seal method of applying MonoKote trim.

For those not familiar with it, it uses the super-clingy Press N’ Seal plastic film made by GLAD.  The procedure is to:

1)   Spray Windex on a sheet of glass and put a sheet of MonoKote on the glass.
2)   Squeegee the Windex out from under the covering sheet.
3)   Put the pattern for your decal/lettering/whatever over the sheet.
4)   Cut out the pattern with a NEW knife blade.
5)   Apply a sheet of Press N’ Seal over your design.
6)   Peel the plastic up with your design stuck to it.
7)   Spray Windex on the surface you’re attaching your design to.
   Apply the design to the surface and work all the air bubbles out from under it.
9)   Let set overnight.
10)   Peel off the plastic the next morning, using light heat from a heat gun to make the Press N’ Seal release
11)   Use an iron or MonoKote Trim Solvent to seal the edges of your design.

Here’s my first try at using this method to trim a plane.  You don’t need to use tape to hold the film down, it’ll naturally stick to the glass firmly.  I just used the tape so I’d have something to draw grid lines on to ensure the squares were uniform.  Also, I think I was a little too aggressive with squeegeeing out the Windex from under the MonoKote, as the squares were a little reluctant to peel up with the Press N’ Seal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Ludstz6xI&feature=youtu.be




Not a bad first try at this method.  I could have made my lines more uniform.  And using covering leftovers is definitely better than shelling out $6.00 for trim sheet.

Mark

Well, I made the maiden flight of this plane today.  I went out to Delta Park, but I was the only one there.  All the other Fireballs were down at the Fall Follies in Salem.  I brought along my stooge and runway, just in case, so I was able to get in 11 flights for the Fly-A-Thon.  I had planned on getting ten flights, but I threw in one extra just in case I got my count wrong.  The engine wasn’t cooperating, so I only did wing-overs and loops.  The video shows the entire maiden flight where I just did roundy-roundy to feel out the plane out and note how much I had to adjust the handle for neutral.  After that are just the launches for the remaining flights as video proof of the flights for the Fly-A-Thon tally.  Well, mostly just launches.  I also included the landing for the fourth flight, as it was mildly interesting when it occurred.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu6bLgtD7-k&feature=youtu.be


Unfortunately, I couldn’t fly my electric S-1 Ringmaster ARF, as the grass field I had the stooge on wasn’t quite large enough for 60 foot lines.  Ah, well.

Mark