I'm not going to ask for a list of mods, have seen numerous discussions on that. i traded an r/c trainer kit for askyray kit@ a swap meet today. I am considering using the ply ribs as templates for new bals ribs. If i glue several together and coat the edges with CA, will these make decent templates? Or should I use some basswood or?

Thanks
Steve

I'm not going to ask for a list of mods, have seen numerous discussions on that. i traded an r/c trainer kit for askyray kit@ a swap meet today. I am considering using the ply ribs as templates for new bals ribs. If i glue several together and coat the edges with CA, will these make decent templates? Or should I use some basswood or?

Thanks
Steve

Try this thread:

http://stunthanger.com/smf/index.php?topic=23870.0

 and this thread

http://www.clstunt.com/htdocs/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=198043&mesg_id=198043


and this link (the original post on Iskys board):

http://www.aeromaniacs.com/brett.htm

     I rebuilt mine after someone crashed it and did exactly as you describe. The original ply/spruce wing shattered into 1000 pieces. I rebuilt the wing with all balsa parts, and it has survived at least 30 crashes with only dings. Any other questions that might be left after the above, please let me know.

    Brett

Hi Tim,

Steve didn't say much about trying to make the USA team at the Team Trials, so a single gear is fine.  I flew a Flight Streak for years with a single gear and no real ill affects.  Look back at some of the Soviet planes that had wheels on just the fuselage centerline and tip skids. 

I might have gotten th ewrong vibes, but I got the impression that Steve is simply wanting a profile to hang the K&B .20 on which he can fly and do stunts.

Bill

Steve didn't say much about trying to make the USA team at the Team Trials, so a single gear is fine.  I flew a Flight Streak for years with a single gear and no real ill affects.  Look back at some of the Soviet planes that had wheels on just the fuselage centerline and tip skids.  

Well, I find takeoffs and landings to be much more pleasant with a two-wheel gear, although tip skids would go a long way toward making me feel good about one-wheel takeoffs.  I also don't feel that a single-wheel gear gives me much chance to practice my takeoffs and landings in a realistic manner (never mind that in practice I fly mostly over a mix of grass and noxious weeds, which make that difficult as well).

This is what the rule book has to say about landing gear:


I don't find single-wheel gear without tip skids to be realistic, so I would figure that any contest I entered with it would be a roll of the dice, however heavily loaded in my favor.  I like to be on the right side of the rules (or at least be in a position to argue them over to the left of me), so I wouldn't want to show at a contest with a single-wheel gear.

I would expect that any single-wheel (sans tip skid) plane that I flew in a contest would automatically give up at least ten points each on takeoff and landing for the loss of realism and smoothness.

So if Steven wants a plane to just fly -- sure, keep the stock single wheel and have fun with it.  But if he's going at it to develop himself as a stunt pilot, I would highly recommend that he use a two-wheel gear, as well as a tall tail wheel to give it the right stance for a smooth takeoff.

I will be adding another wheel. Sometimes I hafta use a stooge and 2 wheels makes it easier to use the one I have. There are few people at my club field who can hand launch a c/l plane correctly.

I do most of my flying at my RC club field; Even though there's folks there that are willing and able to launch for me I can get a lot more flights in when using a stooge because it takes about a flight's worth of time to go ask for a launch!

I've been flying a Rummage Sale Refugee Skyray that came to me entirely by luck ($10, complete with an FP-20, heh heh heh); while I think a flapped plane corners a lot prettier, the next plane (or three) up on my building board is going to be a Skyray.

A one-wheel landing gear works just fine with an SLD (Self Launching Device).  You just need to put a Drag Rag (old bath towel) on the outboard wingtip to keep it aligned until the moment of truth.

I put a drag rag on the outboard wing, but on the times that it has fallen off and I launched anyhow, everything has worked out OK. If the inboard wing is laying down, just step back a little on launch.  It might not be a good takeoff by the rules, but the airplane will become airborne without any great excitement.  Just hold some up in the handle and let it blow off the ground.  It will step up rapidly and you give it some down and off you go. We aren't talking pattern points here.

I put a roll of paper towels under the inboard wing for single gear airplanes.  If you hit it on landing no big deal (don't ask....) 

I never understhood the adversion to single wheel gear in sport planes like skyrays and streaks.  If the field is rough keep putting a bigger wheel on it until it works.   

It is much more likely that catching a weed on takeoff will cause more problems than the single wheel gear. 

   My issue has been that catching weeds is much more likely with a single-wheel gear. We fly off he grass all the time, including contests, and what you need to do is be able to pull the lines tight and clear of the ground before the launch. That's just about impossible with a single wheel gear unless something holds the outboard wing down, and even then, there is a tendency to tip over on the inboard wing immediately after release - which jams the leadouts and lines into the ground, and adds to the chances of lines getting caught.  Yes, it can be dealt with with good footwork and perfect releases, but the odds are not as good as with a conventional gear. I've seen too many cases over the years.

   Brett

The aluminum LG from the Brodak 38 Special should work well on a Skyray.  They worked really well on a Flite Streak that I had.  I think they are about 10 dollars and are small amd light, made of thinner stock than most other aluminum LGs.  Will give you enough prop clearance for a 10 inch prop with some Electra light 2 1/4" wheels.

The aluminum LG from the Brodak 38 Special should work well on a Skyray.  They worked really well on a Flite Streak that I had.  I think they are about 10 dollars and are small amd light, made of thinner stock than most other aluminum LGs.  Will give you enough prop clearance for a 10 inch prop with some Electra light 2 1/4" wheels.

   My original Skyray used the aluminum gear from a SIG Phazer and the fat 2 3/4 or 3" Lite-Flite wheels. I later changed the gear for some old Hallco RC "fuse bottom" gear by cutting it in half, and rebending it to go up along the fuse sides. It was a little lighter than the Phazer.  But anything like that will work, including cutting it yourself from .040 2024-T3. It gets on and off the ground fine and has huge ground clearance for the whopping 9" prop.

    Brett

Your hobby shop has 1/2" balsa??

Whoa.  I have to order mine in.

By the way: if you've got a wire bender, it's really easy to bend up a set of gear for your Skyray.  You can either do the through-the-wing mount dealy-bob, or you can drill two 1/8" holes right together about 1/4" forward of the wing, and make a pair of 'half gear' pieces.

But if you prefer sheet metal, Buck's gear idea will work fine and look good.

Eric at RSM has a set of aluminum gear for smaller profiles that work very very good.  I wish I could remember what they are for.

BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM