Brodak Super Clown ARF

[Maurice Bishop]

Finished in 5 hours, as outlined in the instructions.

Decided upon ASP 25 with a JEN (Just Engines) CL Venturi.

Goes like a rocket with a 9x6 prop. Will try a lower pitch on next flight, maybe a 10x4 if I have enough clearance.

Couldn't get on with those plastic hinges. Had awful problems. Probably my bad technique.

Happy Dayz

Maurice

[Robert Mathison]

 
HI Maurice, I too have a Brodak Super Clown ARF and I fly it with a VECO .19 BB and use a 9x4 prop and 56' .015 lines and it flies great.

           BOB

[Bill Little]

I don't have the ARF, I built one of the first its.  But I use a 9" prop on mine and I'm pretty sure i could get by with a 10".

[Maurice Bishop]

Here she is with a new dress.

I had a poor maiden flight. An alignment problem caused her to have the flying ability of an american patio brick; the harder pulled up, the greater the perpensity toward the ground!

Action taken:

- cut off complete tail section and realigned
- removed flaps
- attempted to change hardware to facilitate direct link from bellcrank to control horn, but I couldn't get the bellcrank bolt undone.
- drilled motor mounts half an inch back to bring the CofG forward. Still need a good 1/2 oz of Prather weight in the tail.
- Removed film and recovered with Polyspan
- 6 coats of Butyrate applied with paint brush.
- 1 coat of Halfords (Fiat Yellow) acrylic automotive spray paint
- the black trim is acrylic water based artist paint, brushed.
- 1 coat of polyurethane spray for fuel proofing.

Have yet to fly her. Waiting for the wind to die down in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK

Maurice
 

[Maurice Bishop]

I have a small problem that's bugging me.

I fired her up in the garden to perform an engine test. All was well, awesome power from the ASP .25 on a 9x4 prop.

However, I was getting a terrific amount of vibration causing the fuel in the tank to fizz and bubbles appeared in the fuel line. The inevitable drop in revs results.

While running, I picked her up and leaned her to starbd so that the fuel had a clear path and the bubbles in the fuel line diminished.

I appreciate that this is the perennial problem that plagues profile ships, but what do others do?

Possibilities:

- a layer of foam rubber between tank and fuse?
- make more effort to reduce vibration by checking prop balance!?
- strap the tank down with cable ties?

Would appreciate all and any feedback.

TIA

Maurice 

[Bryan Higgins]

Nice work Maurice,  Looks Great.

[Balsa Butcher]

Put a piece of thin piece of foam or rubber or cork between the fuselage and tank.  Balance the prop, try it without the spinner.  Put a drop of Armor All in the fuel, it will minize the foaming, Check to see you have a secure fuselage/wing joint especially at the leading edge. - Hope for the best.  

[john e. holliday]

Plane looks great.  Along with adding the thin layer of foam, double up at the back of the tank.  Will make for a cleaner cut off when out  of fuel.  DOC Holliday

[Dalton Hammett]

****************
The plane looks super great and I also have found excellent power in the ASP engines.  I run .32s on 48" + profiles and the engine is way more power than needed.

Dalton H.

[Joe Rice]

Finished in 5 hours, as outlined in the instructions.


Couldn't get on with those plastic hinges. Had awful problems. Probably my bad technique.


 Maurice....  The hinges are supposed to be inserted into the pre-cut slots of the flying surfaces.  It appears form the photo that they are glued to the top of the flying surfaces.

Joe  http://stunthanger.com/smf/Themes/dilbermc/images/post/question.gif

[Michael Boucher]

Wow, I really like the new dress.  She's a looker!

[Warren Leadbeatter]

However, I was getting a terrific amount of vibration causing the fuel in the tank to fizz and bubbles appeared in the fuel line. The inevitable drop in revs results.
 

Try removing the spinner.  I had this problem on a model and after checking that the prop was balanced it turned out to be the spinner causing the imbalance.

Cheers

[phil myers]

Nice one Maurice, I'd like to build a Super Clown later this year. I was thinking of using an asp 21, What should the finished weight be? And what tank size should I use (I'm thinking 3oz)
Thanks for any answers folks...
Phil

[Maurice Bishop]

Nice one Maurice, I'd like to build a Super Clown later this year. I was thinking of using an asp 21, What should the finished weight be? And what tank size should I use (I'm thinking 3oz)
Thanks for any answers folks...
Phil

Sorry Phil, I don't own a set of scales (yet) that would enable me to answer your question. I purchased this Super Clown as an ARF and stripped her down, recovered and painted her. As and when I get some scales, I will drop you a line with the result.

Regarding the tank question, I use the recommended Brodak tank BH-596, which is as you say, is a 3oz capacity.
 
Best

Maurice

[Maurice Bishop]

Try removing the spinner.  I had this problem on a model and after checking that the prop was balanced it turned out to be the spinner causing the imbalance.

Cheers

Warren, you are the man. I removed the spinner and there is a vast improvement. I very much appreciate your input. I have read your posts in the past and have learnt a great deal for your experiences. Thanks for your contribution.

Maurice

[Maurice Bishop]

I am sorry to report that I attempted an outside loop without enough height and this is the result. I have experience of repairing crash damage, but not this severe - particularly when the leading edge has been severed at the fuse - both sides. Awe shucks!  

My chief engineer and launch buddy (thanks Pat) filmed this:



Any suggestions/recommendations as to how best to repair her or should I get cracking with my new Twister?

TX in advance

Maurice (sitting in the corner, sobbing)  

[Larrys4227]

Sorry to hear about this .....  nice lookin' plane.

I've got a Super Clown ARF that flies real well, but I put it together as an OTS pattern trainer plane .... emphasis on 'trainer'. I expect to smash it up, and for 60.00 ... I consider it a throw away.

You could do 3 things .... rebuild it as is (I've smashed up 2 TF Flite Streaks and rebuilt from splinters), or get a rib set from Brodak and rebuild the wing (your fuse and tail look good), or just buy another complete ARF. Depends on how much time ya wanna put into rebuilding I guess ....

When I only had 1-2 planes, I would rebuild anything. Now that i seem to have a new kit on the bench all the time (currently a Brodak Vampire OTS), I wouldn't take the time to rebuild a 60.00 ARF.  Just buy a new one and slap 'er together.

Thats just me tho .... :-)

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[Willis Swindell]

I haven’t flown my ARC Super Clown as of yet. It weighs 25 oz. has a Brodak 25, 9x5 prop, 2 1/2 oz tank and eyes to see the ground.
Willis

[Maurice Bishop]

I haven’t flown my ARC Super Clown as of yet. It weighs 25 oz. has a Brodak 25, 9x5 prop, 2 1/2 oz tank and eyes to see the ground.
Willis

Willis,

Very imaginative colour scheme! I like it.

I am pleased to report I have found the cause of my 'unscheduled landing'. After careful examination of the video footage and the wreckage, the control rod between the elevator horn and flap hinge failed. Trusting you have used the Brodak hardware, you will have used the brass sleever to join the two control rods to make one. I crimped mine and soldered it. However, under duress with full down elevator, the forward rod escaped the sleeve resulting in loss of control.

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I believe that I did everything reasonable to secure the two rods in the sleeve and feel that I have been let down by this design.

I will rebuild her and I think Larry's suggestion (as above) is an excellent idea. I will purchase a rib set from Brodak as the fuse and tail section are not damaged.

All the best with your maiden flight and do let us all know how she flies.

Tight lines

Maurice

[Warren Leadbeatter]

Warren, you are the man. I removed the spinner and there is a vast improvement. I very much appreciate your input. I have read your posts in the past and have learnt a great deal for your experiences. Thanks for your contribution.

Maurice

Hey Maurice,

Thanks for the kind words, although I'm very sorry to hear that you crashed your model.   It appeared in the video to be flying a bit fast?  (under 4 second laps) Mine uses an OS 25LA with a 10x6 wood prop and does 5 second laps on 60' lines with a rich needle setting.

 I would probably rebuild that as the fuse and tail look in tact.  If I couldn't get the wing back on straight and solid then I would build a new wing.  

What I would do first is check the entire wing for any broken ribs and make necessary repairs being careful not to disturb the wing root.  Next, try very carefully to place the wing back into place and pin it, clamp it or tape it into place making sure everything is straight and square. Any part that is too badly damaged needs to be replaced.  You might need to cut some of the wood away and fill the gaps later.  You also need to make sure that the spars get repaired so that there is some strength in the wing again. You dont want the wings to be held on by just the 1/16 root sheeting otherwise it wont be strong enough.  You might need to make some splints for the the spars out of 1/4 sq balsa for this purpose.  Once I have the wing back in place and are happy then put some thin CA on where the wood does meet up so it is quickly fixed into place. Take some time to be sure that all the damaged joints are glued back together. 

Next I would go about cutting little pieces of balsa to fill the gaps and glue them with CA.  Lastly, use some epoxy to strengthen the whole joint, then fiil, sand, prep, recover and repaint the wing as required.

I have rebuilt several models this way with success.  ie ARF Strega (both wing halves were broken off after running out of fuel during 4 leaf clover), Brodak Cardinal (both wing halves broken off after elevator horn disconnected from pushrod - my bad), Sig Twister, (inboard wing broken off after up line broke), Peacemaker (both wings - after lines breaking), 1/2A Pathfinder (both wing halves sheared after daughter unsuccessfully performed figure .

Cheers

[Maurice Bishop]

I am in receipt of a new rib set from Patti at Brodaks. Great service, by the way. Product arrived very quickly from USA to UK.

Having spent some considerable time studying the crash damage and read tips from Larry and Warren as above (thank you), I have decided to rebuild the wing from scratch.

One small issue, I have decided to use new hardware without flaps and would like to know where I can source pushrod wire as supplied by the original Brodak kit. I have looked at using standard piano wire, but I have found that I need a thick (and heavy!) piece of piano wire to get the required stiffness - particularly for an up elevator push.

The Brodak pushrod hardware is light, rigid and will allow me to bend it into shape.

Any idea where I might obtain a reasonable length of say 24" ?

TX in advance 

Maurice

 

[Larrys4227]

Maurice - Do you have a local hobby shop?  They should have a pretty good selection of wire. You should also use a pushrod guide halfway between the wing TE and elevator LE .... this will eliminate the flexing. Did you use one on the original clown?

FlySafe!  Larry (Larrys4227)

[john e. holliday]

Marice,  I have never trusted that little brass sleeve to join pushrod halves.  After getting the pushrod cut to length I take my Dremel with cutting wheel and cut grooves deep enough in the sleeve and wire that a wrap of copper wire will hold it together.  Then I solder the whole mess.  Also as stated earlier, don't forget a guide midway to keep rod from flexing.

The other alternative is one of the carbon pushrods from CLC(Control Line Central) with the ball link hardware.  You can google Jim at  Control Line Central.  Have fun,  DOC Holliday

[Alan Hahn]

If you solder the rod and sleeve together "correctly", I really doubt that it will come apart. I have used it on my Brodak Electric Super CLown Arf and the P40 Arf and it is really solid. The sleeve is already slit so the solder really should flow nicely between the sleeve and the two rod ends. There is a lot of surface area there.

Honestly  don't mean to be overly critical, but my own belief is that such joints do hold up well.