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General control line discussion => Open Forum => Topic started by: Eric Viglione on September 27, 2008, 08:47:27 PM
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Well, it's finally done. Spent the day finishing up the beastie and I'm a little beat. I'll try to take some better pics outdoors at the field tomorrow.
Spec's : Aeroproducts Starfire kit, PA .61 on "Quiet Pipe". KlassKote epoxy color & clear.
Had a little trouble spraying the clear, (Murphy's law SUCKS!) and will take a shot at buffing it out in the future. It's not a total embarrassment, but at least it is the right color for orange peel... heh heh.
For now, it's time to see if it was all worth it. Bench trimmed it to the best of my ability, taped all the hinge lines, etc. so we'll see how tomorrow goes.
EricV
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That plane looks awesome!!! Great job on it! Here's hoping it gives many years of faithful service.
Maybe this time next year I will be able to post pics of my Dreadnought(!)
BTW, is that one of your electronics projects on the hearth?
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Looks Great Eric. Wish mine was coming out so well.
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Thanks Steve, it survived it's first day, that's a start.
Randy - you are too kind... your stuff are works of art your opinion means a lot, thanks.
I know it's become a cliché', but this one really flew off the board. I could have patterned on the first flight, except I was being cautious, did some loops, extended loops, lazy 8's, inverted then a square 8 and called it quits because I needed a handle neutral adjustment and I was un-sure of run time.
Other than that, I didn't touch a darn thing... second flight was the full pattern. I flew it a little cautiously, a little big and soft, but there was no need. It's got a nice flat bottom pull out and pulls good everywhere.
I had a little safety net of a spinner weight hidden in the cone for the initial flights , and I'll take it out next week because it's not needed.
Over time as the newness and adrenalin wears off, I'll probably find some things that need trimming, (or find ways to screw up the trim more likely) but for now I'm one happy camper. y1
Special thanks should go out to too many people to list here that were instrumental to helping me along the way, you know who you are, Thanks! And thanks for putting up with my panic phone calls, stupid questions, etc.
It's sure nice to have friends!
It feels like it was a long rode to these first flights! 9 Months is about as long as I've ever taken to build anything and probably my biggest effort to date.
EricV
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Very nice. I like the colors, too. You remind me that I need to make some wheel trousers.
Randy Smith knows what he's doing, doesn't he?
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Nice bird Eric, 8) and congrads on the successful test flights! H^^ CLP** BW@
Time to commit some serious CLPA..!!
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Lookin' WAY NICE Eric!
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Finely!!!!!! #^ Eric knows what I mean. Well now it's done come up and stay with me and fly in the Huntersville contest.
Ed H^^
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Great looking ship Eric. Its going to inspire me to get mine going.
Mark
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I like it a LOT! Great looking plane, great color scheme. Probably about 21 points worth... y1 Steve
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WOW, Beautiful Eric. This one will bring home the bacon, Grins
<but this one really flew off the board. I could have patterned on the first flight>
Looking forward to the day I get to say that!!!
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That model looks very nice. I like the style, the slick canopy, clean paint scheme. Hope it does well for you.
Chris...
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Eric,
As they say....."DECENT" !! Beautiful job. Looks like you got the masking techniques down to a science. Obviously a lot of masking, but the end results are worth the extra effort.
BTW, what's the story with the "quiet" pip? How does that vary from the standard pipe to make it quieter?
How about a few details on the superb finish....what did you cover it with?....did you build it up with talc filler, or go straight to a Klass Kote filler/primer/....and were there any details in the color/clear application that you could pass on to us?
Great job...."you 'da man !!"
Cheers,
Warren Wagner
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What a great Starfire . Looks super clean and mean. Good job #^
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Wow, it does a heart good to see his new baby so well received. Thanks guys, you are making me blush... b1 to be honest, I wasn't sure if people would like my color choices, but most of my planes up to this point have been kinda conservative and bland looking.
I really pushed against my natural instinct to get some colors on this one, so it would pop. 5 colors is more than I've ever attempted or had patience to mask before. Well, I can say that it really does show well in the air, thats for sure.
Warren - I shoulda known you'd have a few questions buddy...heh. <=
The Aeroproducts Quiet Pipe series is a new product from Randy, and perhaps he'd be the best person to explain it, but I can tell you it's supposed to be about 6db quieter, runs around an 18" length (where mine ran great right off) rather than the typical 17" starting point on Randys other pipes, and at a slightly slower RPM than his standard pipe.
It also requires a smidge more pitch than the standard pipe because of the RPM range, but a smidge only equals about a quarter to a third of an inch. It has the silicone rubber diverter molded right into the tail cone and feels more substantial, yet doesn't feel heavier than a regular pipe. In my opinion it is actually quieter, but mostly in the upper frequency range, seems to have a deeper, more pleasent tone to my ears. Next time I fly with Bill back to back I'll be better able to compare.
Finishing - The short answer is that it's:Fiberglass cloth on the fuselage from the wing leading edge forward. The rest of the plane got 3 coats of Sig Nitrate on bare wood, Silkspan wet with mist from Windex bottle, put down with mostly thinner with a few drops of nitrate. 2 coats Aeroproducts Zinc Stearate mixed with Nitrate to fill the silkspan, Sherwin Williams Super Fill rattle can light gray primer, 2 coats, both sanded aggressively, KlassKote white, a very thin coat almost opaque coat, lightly wet sanded, then trim colors , hit edges with credit card and overspray with MrClean Magic Eraser as per the master PTG, and he's right, it works! Then wet sanded out the worst tape edges a little more, then 2 light coats of KlassKote clear.
There are plenty of boo boo's, and I know exactly where all the bodies are burried and I'm not telling! n1 LL~
Perhaps I'll post some pics in the finishing forum of the full masking process (yeah, I've probably got a few hundred pictures documenting the full build actually) when I get a chance.
EricV
Eric,
As they say....."DECENT" !! Beautiful job. Looks like you got the masking techniques down to a science. Obviously a lot of masking, but the end results are worth the extra effort.
BTW, what's the story with the "quiet" pip? How does that vary from the standard pipe to make it quieter?
How about a few details on the superb finish....what did you cover it with?....did you build it up with talc filler, or go straight to a Klass Kote filler/primer/....and were there any details in the color/clear application that you could pass on to us?
Great job...."you 'da man !!"
Cheers,
Warren Wagner
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Very nice, NOw you get to look forward to enjoying your babys company , and certainly not be ashamed to bring her out, very attractive. Should look great on the ready line and in the air.
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Great job Eric.....makes me jealous.... Plan to attend your contest....talk some of your guys into coming over to our Thanksgiving weekend Fun-fly.
Phil
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I guess Randy has a convert. ;D
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Hey Eric,
Congrats on a "Job Well Done" and I too love your choice of colors, and I'm sure you know how I love color.
Is the SV30 a slightly bigger wing than a SV22 or is it all the same with a slightly different fuse shape ?.
Good luck with your new toy.
Cheers,
Champione
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Eric,
Great looking plane. Like the colors and especially the treatment on the bottom! Hope it propels you to the top in your competition endeavors.
Now you will have to have your private stash of Mr Clean Magic erasers. Keep 'em hidden or they will mysteriously dissappear!
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Gorgeous airplane Eric!
However, I'm even more pleased to see that launcher of yours. I called Owen this weekend and he certainly sounds better than the last time I spoke with him. Good to know he's back flying.
Fred
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I have to say that I like the bold colors and combinations. Should stand out well in the air. One of the problems when you get too clever with paints is (not unlike my like my current project), they tend to just disappear in the air - all dark colors and shine that looks slick on the ground turns out to be not so great in the air. It can just look like a smudge against the backdrop. While that can be a good thing (the way I sometimes fly), it's not really good if you want decent scores. Not a problem with Eric's plane. It will stand out well and be very visible (and cool, I might add). While this requires Eric to fly well since it will easily draw attention ( ;D ), it also means that those flat bottoms and smooth curves will just look outstanding.
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Hi Bob, Thanks! The Starfire is a pretty big plane at 685 Sq In and a 60.75" span. It's basically a Dreadnaught without the turtledeck. Randy makes his elliptical wing planes slightly larger to make up for any lift potential that may be lost when compared to his other swept out tip designs. I wanted the cleanest tip possible for dealing with hitting wake, and handling our turbulent field when wind comes over the tree line. So far, I'm diggin' it.
EricV
Hey Eric,
Congrats on a "Job Well Done" and I too love your choice of colors, and I'm sure you know how I love color.
Is the SV30 a slightly bigger wing than a SV22 or is it all the same with a slightly different fuse shape ?.
Good luck with your new toy.
Cheers,
Champione
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As all the others have said it looks great.
Jim