Super Cub scratch build with mods

[newblood]

After 'getting my wings' with my first SC and not only putting it through trying times but also testing out the majority of the mods discussed on this board, I decided to scratch build a new SC. For reference, my earlier thread on the implementation of most mods from a 'new to hobby work' perspective can be found here: supercubclub.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=tt&action=display&thread=4027.



Parts[/u]

• Fuselage: Stock HZ SC
  
• Main wing: Stock E-Flite Apprentice wing
  
• Tail wing: Stock HZ SC tail wing with PZ T-28 horizontal stabilizer
  
• Landing gear: Stock HZ SC
  
• Cowl: Stock HZ SC
  
• Wheels: Dave Brown 3" light foam, DuBro 1.25" light foam
  
• Motor: Power 480 Plus (www.headsuprc.com)
  
• Motor mount: Custom mount (www.headsuprc.com)
  
• Prop: GWS 9x5 (www.headsuprc.com)
  
• Servos: 2x PKZ servo's and 2x HXT 900's (www.hobbyking.com and LHS)
  
• RX: HobbyKing OrangeRX 6 channel (www.hobbyking.com)
  
• ESC: HobbyKing 50A with BEC (www.hobbyking.com)
  
• TX: Spektrum DX6i (was planning on using my Champ's TX but Flydiver crushed those dreams in my above linked thread)
  
• Pushrods: Stock PKZ rods
  
• Battery: Zippy 3S 2200MAH (www.hobbyking.com)
  

Misc. Materials[/u]

• 1000mm x 8mm OD CF rod
  
• 1000mm x 5mm OD CF rod
  
• 1000mm x 5mm x 1(?)mm CF strip
  
• Alum. sheet 0.5mm thick
  
• Black acrylic paint
  
• Red acrylic paint
  
• Clear packing tape
  
• Black cloth tape
  
• Heat shrink tube
  
• 4-40 bolts
  

Tools[/u]

• Standard screwdriver
  
• Regular pliers
  
• Thin nose pliers
  
• Hobby knife (with copious amounts of spare blades and bandages)
  
• Soldering gun
  
• Material for wire cutter
  
• Dremel
  
• Gorilla glue
  
• Foam safe glue
  
• 5 min Epoxy glue
  
• Masking tape
  
• Ruler
  

Also had my first SC off to the side in case I needed to test anything:


Hope you enjoy!
-N

[newblood]

Fuselage mods[/u]

• Battery box strengthening
  
• Wing saddle
  
• CF Wing hold down rods
  
• Paint
  
• CF spine
  
• CF front strength
  
• Tape
  
  First, the fuselage was stripped of all parts:
  
  
  Next, the stock wing hold down rods were removed using two pliers (one to hold one end's cap and the other to 'twist-and-pull' the other end's cap):
  
  
  A normal human being would normally do the mods first then paint. Not this guy (figured I'd be efficient and let the paint dry while I did my cutting). I don't know if you can tell but I went for a red/black theme:
  
  
  Templates for the wing saddle and battery box strengthening 'plates' were cut out from the Alum. sheet using a Dremel:
  
  
  The battery box 'plates' were cut in rectangles and then sanded down to fit the foam (note that one normally extracts a layer of foam in order for the plates to sit flush. This was not done as the alum. is so thin that it hardly makes a difference):
  
  
  The holes were drilled into the plates prior to epoxying said plates onto the fuselage:
  
  
  The wing saddle was also sanded down to fit and grooves were cut to facilitate 'epoxy-ness':
  
  
  
  
  Next, the wing hold down rods were used a guide to cut the 5mm OD CF rod:
  
  
  The 5mm OD size is a PERFECT fit as it fits the stock caps well and also fits through the channel in the fuselage:
  
  
  A drop of gorilla glue was added to each cap before going onto the CF rods and the rods themselves were coated lightly with foam safe glue:
  
  
  Next, more of the 5mm OD CF rod was used to drill a 'spine' into the fuselage from the tail:
  
  
  Once done, the rod was cut to size and coated lightly with foam safe glue:
  
  
  Next, the 5mm OD CF rod was cut and drilled into the fuselage from the front:
  
  
  Believe my lengths were approx. 150mm:
  
  
  Lastly, the entire fuselage was wrapped in clear packing tape (note that I actually did this before adding the wing hold down rods to prevent 'tape pockets'):
  
  

[killioughtta]

Very nice. Bookmarked.

[newblood]

Next up was the main wing. The E-Flite Apprentice wing has been implemented on the SC before, all that's required to do to 'adapt' it to the SC fuselage is to cut a little 'pocket' into the wing so it fits the SC's wing bay.

The desired pocket was measured...


...and cut with a soldering gun:


Once this was done, I painted the wing, covered it in packing tape, covered the edges with cloth tape, and installed the servo's (you'll see the finished product in the next few posts.

I ran into one issue: when installing my HXT900 servo's into the wing the 'threads' on one of the servo's seemed worn out: the screw wouldn't fasten tight enough to hold the push rod. I tried various solutions: new screws, new servo arms, and even glue. Fortunately, there's a local retailer here in Calgary who sells the HXT900's for CAD $6 so I just ordered 5 (figured I'd need 2 in the future for flaps and I'll replace my 2 PKZ servo's with HXT's).

[newblood]

While the T-28 tail wing is also a good for the SC, it requires a little more modding.

First, the tail wing was painted and covered with packing tape:


Next, the holes for where the vertical stabilizer goes in were cut. Note that the holes themselves weren't cut, instead I only made an incision in the center of the circle. When attaching the vertical stabilizer, the holes would be 'made themselves':


Next, I used the soldering gun to carve out a 'socket' for the triangular plastic piece (at the base of the vertical stabilizer) so that it wouldn't be raised from where it normally rests on the stock SC (the T-28 wing is a little thicker than the stock SC tail):


Lastly, CF strips were added to the horizontal stabilizer...


...as well as the elevator:


These were glued in and covered with cloth tape:


The 'socket' on the T-28 tail was then lightly coated with gorilla glue and the vertical stabilizer was attached (to prevent 'wobbling').

[newblood]

For the landing gear, I first added two layers of black heat shrink tube to the 'shafts' in order to prevent wobbling of the wheels:



The wheels were then added and secured with 4-40 bolts:


Next, the strut skirts were cut out from the alum. sheet using a Dremel tool. The cut out varies from the stock strut skirt in that it's a little shorter (to prevent digging into the wheels) and wider (to allow for fasteners to the landing gear):


The skirts were then painted and covered with tape. Then, holes were marked for where the fasteners would go:


Lastly, the skirts were screwed onto the fuselage and bent to shape:

[newblood]

At this point, the majority of mods are complete. The 'things-to-do' are as follows:

• Install motor mount and motor (d**n you Canada Post strike!)
  
• Customize electronics layout (still figuring out how to do this)
  
• Install wing servo's
  
• Add wing struts (not sure on this one, what do you guys think?)
  
• Add plastic covering on back edge of wing to protect foam from rubber bands
  
• Program TX (d**n you again Canada Post strike!)
  
• Check balance/COG
  
• Take to the skies!
  

As such, here are some pictures of how she's currently looking:

Top view of fuselage with landing gear and tail:


Bottom view of fuselage with landing gear and tail:


Top view of entire plane:


Normal view of fuselage with bottom view of main wing:


All in all I'm happy with the build so far. Even though it looks like a 2 year old painted it, I'm really liking the paint scheme. What do you guys think?

-N

[somolovitch3]

What is the 8mm CFT for?
5mm for the spine and fore renforcments, carbon strip for the tail........

[newblood]

Good point- the 8mm rod was used for the main wing spar on my stock SC wing. Since the Apprentice wing comes with it already, I didn't use it for this build.

[newblood]

While I continue to wait on my motor, doing some final mods to finish up the plane.

Used black zip ties for the landing gear fasteners:


For the wing 'grip', I cut out a rectangle from the alum. sheet...


...and bent it to shape


I then covered the grip with clear packing tape and duct tape to prevent the edges from cutting the foam:


I received my Tx last Thursday so the fuselage and wing servo's were installed and I proceeded to manually trim and program the DX6i:


I set aileron/rudder/elevator throws to maximum and programmed dual rates such that '0' would be 50% throw in each channel and and '1' would enable 100% throw.