Kits

[john e. holliday]

Yes I am going to post this over here too as some people do not forget easily.  Today we have individuals as well as Mfg's making great kits with their laser cutting.  But, how many times have you gotten a kit with sheet wood that was not quite up to par.  I know the people do their best but, a peice gets thru once in awhile.  How about having laser cut short kits?   I got one from the UK and talked a local(USA) into doing one for me.  It makes for a smaller package and we pick out our own sheet/strip wood.  Might save the Mfg some money as well as us.

I mean all we get is the laser cut parts and full size plans.  Mike Pratt's Primary Force was the first one I had.  It was a profile in which the Fuselage was four peices and had to be glued up.  Made for a very stiff fuselage.   

[Bill Little]

Hi Doc,

I am all for *Short Kits*.  I have gotten three to date.  I had not bought a kit to build, really, for years, but as time moves on, time gets shorter.   And laser cut ribs,especially, are nice!  They are perfect, and finished when you get them!

Full kits are nice, but too much for me to spend at one time.  I have mountains of very light balsa piled up in the basement.  Just collected it over the years.  (only thing I am short on is 1/16th 4-6# for foam wing skins).  That makes short kits a great idea!

Blue Sky models, Tank's Hanger, and Action Hobbies have made me some OUTSTANDING short kits.  Might even convert me from plans/scratch builder to a *kit* builder (sorta).

A good thing I believe.

Big Bear

[Marvin Denny]

I agree 100% also.


  Bigiron

[don Burke]

I made my own short kit(s) by sending RSM a CAD file of the ribs I wanted.  He cut the ribs and I bought the rest of the stuff.  CAD is absolutely the best for that kind of thing.  He was able to use the file as is in his cutter.

[Bill Little]

I made my own short kit(s) by sending RSM a CAD file of the ribs I wanted.  He cut the ribs and I bought the rest of the stuff.  CAD is absolutely the best for that kind of thing.  He was able to use the file as is in his cutter.

That is awesome, Don!  I would like to be able to do that, myself, along with getting a laser to do my OWN cutting.  It would be MUCH cheaper (discounting the cost of the laser! LOL!!!) that way.  I have seen full rib sets from $15 Priority shipped with Contest wood! (I bought them my self) to upwards of $40.  They are all of the same quality if they are done correctly.  I don't buy a $40 set of ribs TOO often.  (but I will at times)

The down side is that I really don't want to spend the time to learn CAD, or the money on the software.  With that money and time, I can buy more wood, engines, and build more.

I applaud those that have!

Big Bear

[Richard Grogan]

I was recently looking into purchasing a cutter. You can expect to spend around 3-7K on one to do our "kits"! There are some used ones available for substatially less. Then the reality hit that we needed a 20KW NG generator for our home during storms a lot more than the cutter!DANG! Maybe someday when I get rich?

I think laser-cut short kits are wonderful. I have 3 of 'em that I got from Pat J. They are the bee's knees!

[Bill Little]

I was recently looking into purchasing a cutter. You can expect to spend around 3-7K on one to do our "kits"! There are some used ones available for substatially less. Then the reality hit that we needed a 20KW NG generator for our home during storms a lot more than the cutter!DANG! Maybe someday when I get rich?

I think laser-cut short kits are wonderful. I have 3 of 'em that I got from Pat J. They are the bee's knees!

Brother Richard,

I left out Pat's *short* kits, but I think it is because they are really much more than the standard *short kit*!  Not much left to get with the ones I have gotten from him.  The water cut Ringmaster 576 kit Pat and Dee first did is beyond my wildest ideas!  I just keep looking at it.......

You should see the Ringmaster Twin!

Big Bear

[wwwarbird]

 I'd be fine if all kits were short kits with plans. I'll supply my own sticks, sheets and hardware anytime, many times I already do anyway.

[Chuck Feldman]

Doc,

Nice post!  Short kits what a great idea. My future kit purchases will be short kits. I have lots of good balsa to use up like others do. Now I just have to finish up all my builds and than think about a short kit to build. When are you coming to fly with us?

Chuck

[don Burke]

Bill,

"The down side is that I really don't want to spend the time to learn CAD, or the money on the software."

I have to agree with the time required to learn CAD.  Buying the program is the easy part and in the case of some I've seen fairly inexpensive.  The learning curve can be pretty steep.  The prerequisite is to NEED to do it.  Have a design in mind then use the program to produce it.  The tutorials included with most programs help a little but having to produce something real is different.

I pretty much no longer use full size plans to build anything.  Wing jigs and a building board make it unnecessary to have anything but small prints of the detail parts.  Everything else is from dimensions on the CAD drawing printed on 8-1/2 x 11.  After all full size airplanes were built from prints until CNC came along.   

[Bill Little]

You are 100% correct, Don.  I built a plane that I flew in the NATS from a profile drawing of the fuselage and some dimensions written on the page.  The designer had used the same drawing to make his original. 

Building, as you know, is not a problem for many of us.  The time to *make* a set of stack sanded ribs, etc., is available less and less, though.  The good Lord only blesses us with so many hours on this rock! LOL!!  CAD and lasers have REALLY been a boom to our hobby!

Bill

[Richard Grogan]

Brother Richard,

I left out Pat's *short* kits, but I think it is because they are really much more than the standard *short kit*!  Not much left to get with the ones I have gotten from him.  The water cut Ringmaster 576 kit Pat and Dee first did is beyond my wildest ideas!  I just keep looking at it.......

You should see the Ringmaster Twin!

Big Bear

Brother Big Bear,
My short kits were really short! Mostly ribs and formers! So you liked that watercut 576, eh? I personally bagged that kit for you! Brother Mike Gibson did the watercuts on, IIRC, the cutter he uses for ceramic tiles or something like that? Did you get the stab and elevator in your short kit? My 526 didn't have em'...not sure if Dee sent the rest without or not. That watercutter really does do a fine job!

Which twin are you referring to? The one G-Man is building is also awesome! There are so many, its hard to keep up with them! Pat is a regular Ringmaster-designing machine! There seems to be no limit to what he can dream up.Now that's a GOOD thing!lOL 

[Bill Little]

Brother Big Bear,
My short kits were really short! Mostly ribs and formers! So you liked that watercut 576, eh? I personally bagged that kit for you! Brother Mike Gibson did the watercuts on, IIRC, the cutter he uses for ceramic tiles or something like that? Did you get the stab and elevator in your short kit? My 526 didn't have em'...not sure if Dee sent the rest without or not. That watercutter really does do a fine job!

Which twin are you referring to? The one G-Man is building is also awesome! There are so many, its hard to keep up with them! Pat is a regular Ringmaster-designing machine! There seems to be no limit to what he can dream up.Now that's a GOOD thing!lOL 

Brother Richard,

Thanks or the great job of packing!  The water cutter did as good a job as a laser. 

I did get the stab/elevator.    And that chunk of wood for the fuselage was the nicest piece I have ever seen to be as big as it is!

The twin is the same one as Brother Billy G is doing.  It is a decent size model, some intricate building techniques which I hadn't seen since i built a Comet or Guillows Stick and Tissue!  But I "garauntee" you'uns that it is going to be a sweet flying model!  G-man is using (2) OS 25FPs, I talked to Pat and he said that (2) OS .20FP, BBTU would be great.  I have 4 or 5 of those!  So that's what its gonna be.  Billy G has agreed to ship me th efuselae jig he used, I am just waiting on the shipping costs.  Me, I would go ahead and send it then we would KNOW the costs and a check, money order, or Pay Pal could be reimbursed.  LOL!!!!!!!!

Looking forward to building both.. If I can get a *little* more straightened out, and go on a tear agin, SEVERAL short kits and a couple of the WIPs will get knocked out.  Almost as fast as Sparky when I am ready to go.

Billy Boy

[Richard Grogan]

Sparky speed?hmmm That's a pretty big statement right there mister tell you what!lol Robert builds as fast as some ARFs get assembled!(don't hit me boss, using "Sparky" and "ARF"in the same sentence) Anywho, gitter dun Billy Boy! All I have ever seen of yours was an beautiful I-beam and your S1, and both are sweet! Thats a swell jig G-man has for the fuse. Looking forward to your build threads,ok?