SIG Skyray w/ 20FP

[Dave Moritz]

Just finished 'er up and ready for a maiden flight. Built from a kit but tossed the ply ribs and used 3/32 balsa at all stations. Other suggestions gleaned from this forum (particularly Brett's) were incorporated such Ultracote, adjustable leadouts, weight box, CG, etc. It came out just a hair over 31 ounces. Stay tuned.

Dave Mo...

[Dave Hull]

That's got some classic stylin', Moe!  Nice!  A great way to disguise a Skyray---so's you end up with a sleeper....

The Divot

[Geoff Goodworth]

Nice landing gear, Dave.

What is it?

[john e. holliday]

Looks great.  Should fly well for you.

[John Carrodus]

Veeeerrrrryyyyy Coooooooool Dave. Looks a million bucks at lightspeed.

[Dave Moritz]

Hey, some nice complements here - thanks! The landing gear is 1/16" aluminum from either RSM or Brodak. Light speed? Well, not quite yet but a nice thought indeed.

So, I take it out into the back yard for a pull test via the armstrong method. Perhaps a mistake, perhaps not. At any rate, you can see the results here. Bell crank mount and four ribs are toast. Will need to reinforce the 3/32" balsa (or use a ply rib) around the bell crank on the repair and make certain I use a scale next on the next test. Merd happens (apologies for the appropriate French).

Dave Mo...

[MikeyPratt]

Hi Dave,
OMG, how hard did you pull it?  You only have to pull test it to about 30 pounds or so even with balsa ribs.  I was waiting for a flight report on how that Skyray “35” flies for you.  It doesn’t look to bad, So I'm sure you’ll have it fixed in no time, then give us a flight report.

Later,
Mikey Pratt

[Tim Wescott]

Well, if you were pulling it "to spec" then it's a good thing in its way -- better now than in the air.  30 pounds doesn't feel like much at all, so if you're not used to pull testing you could have pulled it way too hard.

The Skyray has you gluing the bellcrank mount to two ribs and a spar doubler which is, in turn, glued to the spar.  This is absolutely rock solid when done right.  Assuming you remembered all the glue joints and used just about any decent modeling glue (yellow alphetic, white glue, epoxy, or well-applied CA) the platform shouldn't move.  So pay close attention to what gave way, and if it was a wood-wood joint look at how well it was glued -- that'll tell you what to do differently in the rebuild.

Feel free to post pictures.  It's always a bummer when you have to repair the plane before it gets into the air, but you already know it's fixable.

[Dave Moritz]

Tim and Mikey:

Appreciate the comments. I seemed to be afflicted with occasional impulsivity in old age, and it picked a poor time to strike.  For whatever reason, I impulsively pulled way too hard in that test. They say old age isn't for the faint of heart. Indeed.

Now as for the Skyray, it's resting but not recuperating in the basement on my work bench. A bit more time has to pass before I can go down there and actually look at it again. In the mean time, I've got a line on a book that explains the ins and outs of iron-on covering. I struggled immensely in getting it right on this Skyray, and refuse to go through that much hassle again in the repair project. Better days ahead, and will keep you informed.

Thanks again.

Dave...

[john e. holliday]

Pull test without scales is very deceiving.  Many times I wondered if the man on the scales read right.   Even pulling Navy carrier planes at 80 plus pounds didn't seem enough.

[Dan McEntee]

Tim and Mikey:

Appreciate the comments. I seemed to be afflicted with occasional impulsivity in old age, and it picked a poor time to strike.  For whatever reason, I impulsively pulled way too hard in that test. They say old age isn't for the faint of heart. Indeed.

Now as for the Skyray, it's resting but not recuperating in the basement on my work bench. A bit more time has to pass before I can go down there and actually look at it again. In the mean time, I've got a line on a book that explains the ins and outs of iron-on covering. I struggled immensely in getting it right on this Skyray, and refuse to go through that much hassle again in the repair project. Better days ahead, and will keep you informed.

Thanks again.

Dave...

   Hi Dave;
    I have a case that I keep all my line wrapping and related items in to have it all in one place, and one of those items is a scale. I bought the scale at a Bed, Bath ,, and Beyond store, and I think it was considered a luggage scale to check you luggage for approximate weight before flying commercial. I think it was 5 bucks at the time. Fishing scales in the range you need aren't too expensive but pretty large. See if you can find a scale like I mentioned first to have on hand just to check things now and then. It's pretty small and accurate enough to be in the ball park for what you need. You just generally need to people to pull test with a scale.
   Type at you later,
    Dan McEntee

[MikeyPratt]

Dave,
You don’t live all that far from me, I know gas prices are nuts but if you can get a chance to come here I’ll help you fix it and cover it.  In sure it wouldn’t take more than an hour or two to be flight ready.  We could even go fly it here if you wanted to.  In know of many people that would help you if needed, so don’t feel so bad because we have all done things like that along the way.  It’s all good we can help you out.

Later,
Mikey

[Motorman]

While you're fixing it you might want to add a fairlead to the push rod. Or, if you have a removeable end, get the right size carbon tube to glue on the push rod. It really stiffens it up.

Motorman

[Dave Moritz]

Thanks again for the good advice, gents. Mikey: appreciate your good offer, but I'll likely go ahead and do the job here so that I can sharpen up my iron-on skills, etc. And M-Man: a fair lead sounds good and that won't be hard to add. I'll keep an eye peeled for a CF tube for the push rod as an option. John: I hear ya! Dan: a Bed B & Beyond visit is in my future.

Dave Mo...

PS Progress is at hand. I can now look closely at the damaged bird it without cringing too much!
D...

[Motorman]

The planes I have the most fun with all have damage repair.

Motorman

[MikeyPratt]

Dave,
Please post a few photos of your progress on the repai, that way we can provide positive feed back to you with suggestions and/or provide suggestions.  We all want you to have a good results with the repair and flying.

Mikey Pratt