'Fencing' with the 3-Meter B.O.T. !!!

Marleysky wrote:So, your gonna have new neighbors, down the hill?  

Free shipping.....that's a good deal for sure!  Get that magic plastic out and keep the economy going.   Is it going to be an ARF? Or kit built over winter?  

At first read, I thought "plastic magic" you meant: "Bondo"    

It's gonna be another ARF.  Shamefully, I have a 3-Meter B.O.T. kit that is gathering dust in the back room.  My current 3-Meter B.O.T. is at least 11 years old (maybe more), so I've gotten my money out of it, though the last two years have REALLY been rough on the old bird.

Both B.O.T.s have been mapping the area around my house since the early days when I was using 'one-flight-one-shot' Walmart returnable cameras.

Even got this photo a few years ago when my landlord mentioned that a couple kids, playing with fireworks, had burned a lot over in the subdivision.



And the tradition will continue...

Holy Cats!!! Thanks guys!

Good to know I haven't caused 'B.O.T. Overload' with all these posts/videos/photos!

I've been assured, via E-mail, that the new 3-Meter Bird is on it's way along with a purple-wing hand-launched glider that got drawn into the credit card maelstrom.  Don't know if it's big enough to pack a GoPro, but it'll surely handle one of my key fob cameras.  It may also get a hi-start hook epoxied to it's belly, just have to see how my therapy-adjusted shoulder holds out.





I've got some new ideas for videos that I want to try, along with wanting to do some more slope soaring on the levees around here.  If Aero Allen would visit once in a while, I'd be glad to get some action footage of his sailplanes doing the Levee Rat Thing (hint-hint) !

I can't do much about the obstacles around the hill, being a renter and all, but just have to use my best judgment to extend the life of my battered little air force.  The great majority of flights end well, but somedays, a guy just gotta take his hits...

The new house out west won't impact me too much, I just like keeping track of where everybody is for shooting safety.  I've gradually tapered my rifle/pistol shooting down to .22's so as not excite the local populace...an AR or AK, cutting loose on a calm evening, can echo through the hills for a while, though the coyote's are still fair game if the timing is right.

Anyway, nothing to do but try to make a clear spot on the bench for the new arrivals, and the rebuild of the old B.O.T.'s right panel, and the trainer rebuild for a friend, and the stalled Gyrocopter project....

Thanks again for the responses...they ARE appreciated.

Spending Money Like I'm on Welfare Kim

You might also consider mounting the engine and it's pod a little ways back on the wing. This has the double advantage of balancing the plane against packing a camera in it's nose AND preventing fuel from being dumped into the fuse at the leading edge. A piece of ballast can replace the camera when it's not going along.

Adding a camera can be as simple as scotch-taping a key fob camera to a wingtip, with ballast on the other.





The BIG danger is getting distracted with the accessories and launching the sailplane with it's radio turned off !!! ALWAYS wiggle your rudder before launch !!!!

One of Tony's Tee Dee .020's could smoke that 48" handlauncher to altitude on a thimble of fuel.

RknRusty wrote:Bust my bubble. That's actually not the BOT, is it?

Uh yeah, that's the 3-Meter B.O.T. I'm launching in your photo. My 2-Meter B.O.T. is alive and airworthy, and will be conducting Skunk Works Spy Missions until the Big B.O.T. is back on line!

roddie wrote:Sorry Kim. I've always loved seeing the 3m B.O.T.'s aerial shots too. Just curious, what is typical AUW less engine? I'm sure you've seen many glider launch-devices... but there's a couple of really interesting plans/designs in the RCM "Anthology Series" For What it's Worth Vol. V compilation. There's a whole chapter devoted to them. Some of them are a bit over-engineered.. but some people like the challenge of building something that they know they could definitely use. The tow-line style seems to use a "turn-around" (pulley/bearing) which you could mount permanently in the center of where you usually launch at home on the ranch. An elec. motor with a take-up spool for the tow-line can mount to a baseplate with holes to accept anchoring-spikes. You could use a 110V AC wired motor and heavy-duty extension cord where you have power close by. It's actuated by a momentary-type foot-switch.

For engine-assist.. I particularly like a design in the book that uses a 1/4" plywood, vertically-rectangular plate.. with radial engine-mount at the top.. and a lower opening-hole sized to fit over the nose of the model. Rubber-bands hold it on, stretched around the wing hold-down pins. I put a note in that page of the book.. because I would add lining the nose-opening with rubber-tubing; split lengthwise to prevent chaffing the nose.. as well as providing some vibration-dampening. It's a "quickie-mount" for a glider.. that just might be fun to try.. if you haven't already.

Here's a photo of that mount, taken from the RCM book.  

Hey Roddie,

The terrain where I live seems to have been engineered specifically to NOT be friendly toward high starts and winches! You can anchor the thing in a valley, and launch from a hill, having the handicap of the loss of height, plant in on top on the hill and launch from the valley and hike back up the hill to have a decent view, and THAT doesn't cover relocating it if the winds shift, to keep it from dropping across some powerlines. Lots of good cardio, but it gets old.

Luckily, I'm always welcome to fly a the airfield near Painton, a half-hour drive, and Cairo's airport is still R/C-friendly, so it'll all happen there. I've got what used to be called an 'Up-Start' for smaller sailplanes, and a heavy-duty version for the B.O.T.

A long time ago, working swing-shifts in the diaper factory, I became obsessed with imagining a system similar to that you described, except powered by an exercise bike! I planned to use it's rim as a reel, with a line out to a distant pulley, and back to the glider's ring and hook. I'd start pedaling the bike, launch the sailplane, and steer it up and over the top. Luckily, I never really moved on it, but if nothing else, it would have made for some fantastically hilarious video footage !

The 3-Meter B.O.T. ARF has these specs. in it's ad:

Wingspan: 118" (3000mm)
Wing Area: 1050 sq in (67.73 sq dm)
Weight: 3.75lbs (1700g)
Wing Loading: 8.2 oz/sq ft (25 g/sq dm)
Length: 50" (1270mm)
Airfoil: Semi-symmetrical high wing
Center of Gravity: 3¾" (95mm) Back from the wing's leading edge
at the fuselage sides.
Control Throws- Low Rate High Rate
Elevator: Up & Down 3/8" (9mm) 9/16" (15mm)
Rudder: Right & Left ¾" (19mm) 1½" (38mm)

Wrapping up the rebuild on the big B.O.T.'s wing...after it wrapped it'self around a cow fence.

Cool thing is that the extra gussets and ply with this repair to the RIGHT wing ought to the bring the whole thing back to balance, as the LEFT wing has historically caught all the crap, and all the epoxy. Got to remember to dig that slug of ballasting lead out of the right tip though.  

Also, please keep secret that the rib doubler has caused the B.O.T.'s right wing to be 1/16 longer than it's left...hope it doesn't just fly in circles....

pkrankow wrote:I ordered a short kit for a BOT.  You inspired me.  Thanks for the pictures of the insides.

Phil

GREAT! Happy 'B.O.T.'ing' !!!!!!

KariFS wrote:"Patches"  Looks good, and a nice nickname too

Thanks Man!  The poor ole dog has certainly earned it's nickname. May pull off a test flight later today if the winds and my mood align!

Have a good day!!!