Yet another Lil' Satan build...

RknRusty wrote:Nice perfect wingtips you've got there, JP. Ultracote is good stuff. I'll be glad when I run out of MonoKote. I just botched a wing job on my Bean build and had to patch it. And with white it seems to show up worse than the colors. It still looks okay though.

So you think ultracote conforms better to curves such as wingtips?

Phil

pkrankow wrote:

RknRusty wrote:Nice perfect wingtips you've got there, JP. Ultracote is good stuff. I'll be glad when I run out of MonoKote. I just botched a wing job on my Bean build and had to patch it. And with white it seems to show up worse than the colors. It still looks okay though.

So you think ultracote conforms better to curves such as wingtips?

Phil

It does for me. It seems more supple and able to bend and stretch. The temperatures for glue activation and shrinking are wide apart, so you can choose with confidence where to set the iron. The first time I ever used shrinkwrap was red Ultracote on my Bean when it was new. It went on perfectly with no wrinkle fights at the tips. It made my job look like an expert did it. Same with my Li'l Satan.

The MonoKote temperatures overlap so you have to be almost shrinking to get good adhesion. If you accidentally shrink before you are ready it's aggravating because it stiffens. And later if you need to tighten it up after flying on a hot sunny day, Mono doesn't have as much shrink left, where Ultra will tighten right back up.

When I first started with both brands I needed a heat gun for final shrinking, but now I only use the iron without a sock.

These are only my humble opinions. I haven't enough experience to address the subject with authority, just my own few tries at it.

Did anything break?
Judging by the size of the loops, you might want to ease the CG rearward an 8th of an inch.

No breakage. Crash was caused by loose lines and pilot confusion. Adding washers got side thrust right now.

Looks like it was holding tension well up to that point. I tgink you were flying quite well. At least it lives to fly again.

Ron

Sometimes you gotta have busy feet to keep the tiny planes tight in the loops, especially in a breeze.

Allright, here she is with side thrust and the cg about 1/4 inch behind where the plan shows. Prop is a 5 1/4x3. Did the math and it's doing 44.15 mph. A 4 3/4 prop took some of the mush out of the loops. I'm sure a tee dee will solve that problem completely.

Looks great!

Good job.

Very cool, didn't know you could still buy these http://brodak.com/1-2a-lil-satan-kit.html.

I've a WC1 from 10 years ago that seemed to be very close to the Lil Satan design, flys really great, tons of fun. A friend and I are trying to figure out combat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dZs7VaWkeM&feature=plcp, I can't imagine R/C would ever be this much insane fun.

Unfortunately the WC1 seems to be out of production. Seem very tough except for the two beams out the back are too flimsy on the WC1 and break, imagine the same for Lil Satan.

Haha, that was a serious lawn dart. I hope they weren't demolished.

He was using his traditional vertical landing technique. Both are OK but he needs a new needle valve assembly. He'll be keeping Norvel in business for a while. I think we could use a hint book on doing this w/o screwing each other up. Amazing how goofy one looks doing this, or maybe that's just us.

JPvelo - I have some ideas on a combat launcher (stooge?), maybe you could give me a quick description on how yours works? Anyone have one w/o a string you pull?

My stooge is incredibly simple. It consist of two milkcrates, two bungee cords, an old tee shirt, some zipties and two tent stakes. Will get some pictures of it when I fly on Thursday.
Jim

daddyo wrote:
JPvelo - I have some ideas on a combat launcher (stooge?), maybe you could give me a quick description on how yours works? Anyone have one w/o a string you pull?

Here is my trusty stooge. Be sure and stake it down on the outside with a cord so you don't pull it over. The bathmat is a $5 buck mat from Big Lots

You don't have to watch the whole video, it's pretty boring. But I show the stooge at the beginning. For my slower planes I bungee the whole table to the top of a barstool. Just pull it out with the control lines when you're ready to launch. I add extra bracing to my bellcrank mounts on all models I've built since I started using it. But it takes a pretty light pull to free the plane.

Great (and a bit scary) ideas guys, I figured out how to search 'stooge' on here and saw both your other detailed posts. Sorry to hijack the thread, but you've both been very helpful, thanks! My next purchase will be body armor...

daddyo wrote:Great (and a bit scary) ideas guys, I figured out how to search 'stooge' on here and saw both your other detailed posts. Sorry to hijack the thread, but you've both been very helpful, thanks! My next purchase will be body armor...

My bath mat stooge actually holds the plane very securely as long as the bungee follows the trail edge of the wing, and the brick just backs it up and adds stability to the whole thing. Just don't get a mat that's too thin and floppy.

I use Rusty's concept with an old towel. I clamp the towel to a board, and the brick is my only source of tension on the wing. I use 2 vise grip welding clamps (C-clamps would work just fine, probably screws too) one at the back corner of the folded towel by the tail, and the other by the wingtip. This is fastened to a table top.

For airplanes with solid wings with stiffeners like my lil wizard I use two small pieces of thin foam board insulation to let it slide out easily. I find on heavier and underpowered airplanes like the lil wizard angling the board to have UP even though the elevator is neutral is best.

Phil