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Author Topic: Brodak Electric RM ARF to glow  (Read 1343 times)

Offline Mark Mc

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Brodak Electric RM ARF to glow
« on: February 19, 2020, 02:00:38 AM »
Well, normally, I don’t do posts until I get a good ways into a project, or have finished it, but I think I’ll just post this as I go, as I don’t know how much time I’ll get to throw at this, and it’s a pretty simple process.  I already have a Brodak Electric Ringmaster ARF, but I was wanting a glow powered RM ARF.  Checking the Brodak site did not show them available.  **SIGH**  I figured I’d just have to wait for them to be available again.  Lo and behold, at our club’s Winter Banquet last month, on the White Elephant table there was an Electric ARF RM kit sitting there.  My door prize ticket got called before anyone else who wanted it, so I snagged it.  Serendipitous.  I figured it would be a quick matter to convert it over to glow power.   All it will need is to have the battery box/motor mount removed and replaced with the usual glow arrangement, and filling in the cutout in the wing leading edge.

As I was cleaning up today (moving stuff from one pile to another), the kit rose to the surface.  So I pulled the fuselage out of the box and cut away the battery box.  After removing the sides, the top and bottom of the battery box pulled away quite easily.  I don’t know what they used to glue the lite ply to the balsa fuselage, but when I pried the ply away, none of the balsa came with it.  I’m betting that the doublers will pull away just as easily.  That’s okay, as I was going to replace them anyway.  But now I’m wondering  about my electric RM.


Here’s the fuse with the box cut out:




Now I have to clean up enough to get to the box with my ½ x ¾ maple.

Mark

Offline Mark Mc

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Re: Brodak Electric RM ARF to glow
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2020, 04:49:04 PM »
Okay, I had a little time last night to dig out my maple sticks, so I did some more work on this.  As I thought, the ply doubles pulled off with very little resisitance, not taking much, if any, balsa with them.  I glued in the mounts and s section of 1”x1/2” bals to fill in between.  Then I grabbed a piece of scrap balsa and sanded it to approximate shape to fill in the leading edge cutout.  It’s not structural, so I just fit it close and glued it in, sanding to fair in the shape of the leading edge.





I may or may not have some extra time soon, what with the Corona virus and all, so I might have more time to devote to this, though who knows when I might get out to fly it.

Mark

Offline Mark Mc

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Re: Brodak Electric RM ARF to glow
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2020, 04:51:15 PM »
Oops,

Offline Mark Mc

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Re: Brodak Electric RM ARF to glow
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2020, 10:05:17 PM »
Okay, I made some time to work on this today.  I cut out the doublers from some good 1/8” light ply and glued them in.  I trimmed them up, and then covered them with as close a match as I had to the Brodak covering.








So, after a few hours of work, I am now just at the point where I’d be if bought a nitro ARF from Brodak.  Well, not quite the same point.  The doublers are much better ply and glued in quite well compared to the Brodak ARF.

Mark


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