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Author Topic: Brodak ARF Smoothie  (Read 2301 times)

Offline Leester

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Brodak ARF Smoothie
« on: March 18, 2007, 05:19:26 PM »
Well taking advantage of SS Hobbies free shipping on a 50.00 order till midnight tonight I ordered a ARF Smoothie. I see there are no threads on this sooo lets hear from you owners of one.
First off I would like to put a OS 35FP in mine, good choice?? or not ??
How is the B/C and lead outs ?? need replaced ?? I'm sure the clevises are out the window as soon as I open it, how is the room for ball links ?? What needs BEEFED UP ?? Is the recommended tank ok or are the clunks better ?? I'm sure the covering is as usual.
Any hints,tips, modifications etc. would be helpfull.
I love building but the ARF's aren't that bad for the price, and it won't keep me from building one either.
Thanks
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Leester
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Offline Steve Fitton

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2007, 06:24:36 PM »
I've got one here at home I've flown a few times.  FP will work but might be a bit heavy.  Mine balanced allright with a Brodak 40.  I was gonna use a Fox 35 but discovered the Brodak was a better fit (Can't imagine why...).
  I used the stock bellcrank, leadouts, bellcrank, pushrods, hinges.  Only exception was replacing the communist kwik-link with a DuBro one.  I guess ball-link controls can be done, albeit I personally think you'd have a job getting them in there!
  Mine came  requiring a narrow-style tank. The nose and tank compartment hatch pretty much mandate the tank, unless you want to do alot of dremeling.  Happily enough , the back of the tank compartment had a cutout sized perfectly for one of the Brodak narrow style uniflow tanks.  Since my Brodak 40 is a gas hog and needs 5 ounces for a pattern, my tank goes through that cutout almost to the high point of the wing!  The setup works perfectly.
  Mine had flaps made so hard I was unable to cutout slots for pinned hinges, and ended up using the cheap CA style hinges.  They actually work quite well, and I might consider using them again on small C/L models.

The finished product looks much nicer than some of the other ARFs, and flies remarkably well.


Steve
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Steve

Offline peabody

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2007, 05:15:36 AM »
I believe that an FP .35 is a good choice for the Smoothie....and only needs 4.0 ounces of fuel to accomplish even the "modern" pattern.

We have a fleet of these around this part, and there are a couple of "fixes" that apply:
1) offset the rear control horn to an external position: this allows adjustability in the pushrod length and in the flap-to-elevator-ratio.
2) Buy some clear mineral soluble MinWax polyurethane and seal the engine compartment as well as all of the plastic covering seams.
3) "Real" hinges are preferred, but the fabric ones supplied are okay.
4) before gluing the bottom piece under the wing, reinforce the landing gear mounting system with some ply and gussets.
5) "Sleeve" the pushrod from the flap horn to the elevator with carbon fiber, Ala Dixon.
6) Add a "Hampshirte tab", aka area tab, to the outboard wing....about four square inches..this pretty much cures "hinging"...
Have fun!
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Offline Leester

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2007, 10:52:44 AM »
Thanks Steve and Peabody: I got the ARF today, Joe didn't waist any time. The leading edge of the wing has a strip of covering over the top and bottum pieces so they shouldn't creep. Attached is a shot of the wing cover with the landing gear backing. Is this different than yours and still need reenforced ? Do you have a pic of the Tab ?
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Leester
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Offline Steve Holt

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2007, 01:42:34 PM »
Lee,
That is the standard LG mount.  For mine, I cut new side pieces from 1/8 balsa and used them as internal doublers to increse the glue area to the bottom of the wing.  I then used 1/4 triangle balsa as a gusset to both the front and sides of the LG platform.  I've got about 30 flights on it so far, some with pretty hard landings with no problems.

In lieu of running the pushrod outside the body, one of the local experts suggested cutting access holes on both sides of the fuselage and adding balsa or plywood covers on the outside.  This gives needed clearance for the rear clevis and allows adjustment of the elevator after assembly.  The covering you removed from the bottom of the wing provides engough matching film to cover the new pieces.  Mine are glued on, but can be removed if additional adjustment is needed.  If I build another, these will be screwed on for easy access.
Steve Holt
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Offline Leester

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2007, 03:14:31 PM »
Steve: Thanks for the tip on the LG platform reenforcement, I'll steal I mean borrow that for mine.
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Leester
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Offline Leester

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #6 on: April 08, 2007, 10:50:20 AM »
I see no one has said anything about replacing the lead outs. Not being a big fan of crimped lines I was wondering if anyone repaced there's and how much trouble was it to feed the lines through the adj lead out guide? They are the nylon or whatever and seems like it might be a squeeze to get the new ones attached to the old ones through the guide. Was there any clearence problems with wrapped lead outs with the first rib ? If so how did you get in there to trim for the forward line ?  Thanks
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Offline peabody

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #7 on: April 08, 2007, 08:13:41 PM »
"real" airplanes use crimped cables...
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Offline bob branch

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #8 on: April 09, 2007, 07:08:26 PM »
The Axi 2826/10 and a 4 cell lipo are a pretty sweet power match to a smoothie also.

Bob Branch
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Offline bob branch

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #9 on: April 09, 2007, 07:09:52 PM »
sorry for the poor image on the previous post. It was scaled down too much.

Bob
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Offline bob branch

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Re: Brodak ARF Smoothie
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2007, 07:03:14 PM »
If anyone is intersted in the power system pics they will be over on the electric forum.

Bob
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