Screw up

I made a mess of the pictures so here is one that is bigger.

Things to do while waiting.

I am waiting for a laser cut kit of a large Ringmaster designed for competition. It uses a molded leading edge and a built up trailing edge. I haven't used either technique in any of my planes and figured I should get some experiance doing it. I made a mold form using the airfoil from the Primary Force model. I soaked some balsa and wrapped it around the form. Success. I made up a trailing edge and it came out well. Then I figured that the acid test would be to make a wing using these parts. The wing came out straight and quite stiff. Now I have a good wing and no plane. I whipped up a fuselage using the Primary Force numbers and in line arrangement. Slightly different shape and the tail is bigger. All up weight is 38 ounces, the lightest plane of that size so far. 586 square inch wing, Fox .40 engine. Balance came out within 3/8" of plan so it should fly as is. If the weather ever warms up. A snow storm ruined plans to get and engine for the El Camino last weekend. I'll try again next weekend. I have to borrow a pickup to get the engine. I got a new 3 ton chainfall to lift the engine when I get it home. I've needed one for a long time and finally got one.

Some good weather

I got to fly the Primary Force and it flies well. There was a few trimming areas to be attended to but the wing is straight that is the most important thing at the present. I flew the foam wing Ringmaster and I am very happy with the way it flies. I was doing some loops and went inverted when the engine stopped. I thought it was high enough to tuck it under but it wasn't It's repaired now ans waiting for another test flight. The wing held up to the one point landing, which is good. I reworked the two Fox .35's I have and the first runs smoother. I machined the block so that the back plate fits closer in like a "stuffer back plate" without the stuffer. I also smoothed out the ledge that leads into the bypass port. I did the same to the other engine plus putting a radius on the crank intake cutout and the hole at the back end of the crank. I added a piece of aluminum to the back plate in addition to filing the block to fill the case more. I haven't run this one yet, maybe today. I'm still waiting for the long kit of the Primary Force but I'm about to give up hope. I ordered a short kit of the Ringmaster 576 and it should be in very soon. The designers, Pat Johnston and Dee Rice, have made a sport version of the same plane by eliminating the flaps. It should fly a lot better than my 125% of the S-1 Ringmaster pictured in an earlier post. The El-Camino is coming along well. I got some books that show how all the parts fit together. The underside is cleaned and rebuilt. I saw how the body bushings assemble in the books and realised that the broken bolt on one of the bushing mounts was broken at the head and not rusted off at the threads. I loosened the other bolts and raised the body enough to get at the bolt and ended up welding a nut to the bolt and put the impact wrench to work on it. If you have a rusted in bolt use the impact wrench first, don't use a wrench as you will break the bolt. The impact wrench shocks the bolt and takes it out. It's scarry to watch it slowly turning but out it comes. I put some lube on the new bolt and tightened it down. I stuck my finger in the hole in the opposite corner and felt the nut so I put a bolt in that one too. The books paid for themselves already. My nephew has a new Nissan Titan pickup and has offered it to m e to get the engine for the car. Nice kid, he blows things up for a living. I hope to get the engine next saturday. Year One has wiring harnesses for HEI ignitions and one wire, internally regulated, alternators. Seeing that the original harnesses are a mess and I want to change the alternator I think that is the way to go. I a line on a pair of bucket seats and I'm looking for a bench seat. Ebay has a bunch but they are pick up only and far away. I sent the ARF Primary Force to LA and it arrived OK. I have another plane boxed up and ready to ship. Should be fun when I get there in late April.

My first kit in many years.

I am finishing up the Primary Force long kit I got from my want ad in one of the forums. The original owner had mostly built the wing and fuse. but the tricky stuff had to be done by me. It is a laser cut kit another first for me and the parts fit is very good. The weight should be in the low 40 ounce range as I need to install some tail weight to balance it properly. The lookalike I built using the little stick wing balanced on the money with no added weight. I'm using a bigger engine than the original so I have to expect some balance problems. I also am finishing up a Ringmaster with a foam wing I cut about a year ago. This is my first foam wing control line plane. I've built a lot of r/c foam wing planes.Ready to fly weight should be in the low to mid 30 ounce range. 25 degrees and windy in CT today. Building weather. I made and offer for a couple kits. I don't know if it will be accepted, changed or rejected.

Perry Rose

The replacement plane has flown and ,to me, it flies very well.The flight shot has the model at the bottom of an outside loop. This is the first time I did the loops at the correct height, 4 to 6 feet off the ground to 45 degrees up. I received a partial kit of the Primary Force from someone in PA. The wing had been started and the fuse. was started also. I didn't get the plans but I can figure how to complete it. I also molded a balsa leading edge for another Ringmaster. I plan to make a foam wing for this one. The 71 El Camino has new control arm bushings. I have to do some more cleaning on the frame then paint and reassemble the front end. I have to get new ball joints before I can put the tires back on.

Perry Rose

Replacement plane

This is the result of trying to change a .20 size Ugly Stick to control line. I decided to make a new fuselage using the Primary Force ARF as a template. I installed an OS .40 in the nose and the model weights 48 ounces. Landing gear is from one of the crashed planes as is the engine. I started to build a ringmaster with a foam wing. I have built many foam wings for r/c planes but this is the first for c/l.

Perry Rose

Attrition

I went flying with the yellow ringmaster and on the second flight all the elevator hinges broke. A total loss, well not total the engine survived but not without some damage. I ran it on the bench and all seems well. A few days later I took the red white and blue ringmaster out and lost line tension doing overhead eights. The model flew to the outside of the circle returning line tension so hard it tore the EZ-Just plastic handle apart. This time it was a total loss. The engine crankcase is bent and in need of replacement, if I ever get around to it. I have to wait on the Primary Force long kit as the seller/mfg. is out on leave for a while. I made all the changes to the ARF and it is boxed and ready to send to LA. I put a "want to buy" ad on two forums and got a response. One Primary Force long kit for $60.00 plus the cost of the hardware he bought and shipping. A pretty good deal. In the meantime I looked at a .20 size ugly stick hanging in the basement and figured I could convert it to control line. I stripped all the covering off the wing, cut it in half and cut the root ends square to take the dihedral out. I planned to use the fuselage but decided to make one with some balsa I had. I opened up the Primary Force box and copied the fusellage shape and cut it out. I laminated it with 1/64" plywood and assembled all the pieces.(somehow I changed this type style) So far the weight is 46 ounces. Not too bad for an r/c wing. I plan to use the .40 OS engine that crashed on the yellow ringmaster. The temperature is forcast to get into the 50 degree range early next week so I'll apply the clear coats and it should be ready to fly in another week or so. I've been flying my modified Twister and it is going well. I can do the beginner pattern and some of the maneuvers of the AMA pattern as well. Namely the four leaf clover, hour glass, reverse wingover, inverted flight and verticle eights. I haven't tried the horizontal square eights yet. A Fox .35 doing the honors here. I bought some transparent iron on covering from Sig and I don't like it. I have used Top Flite Monokote ever since it came out in the late 50's. This other stuff dosen't stick nearly as well and creates problems trying to get it stuck. I think I have to use Balsarite with it. I won't buy it anymore.
Perry Rose