Upgrades and Changes

After the maiden flight it was evident that my Boomerang was nose heavy. My plane is not the only one, so it was good looking at how other club members resolved this. I had already moved the battery as far back towards the tail, which included 38 grams of extra lead. I then removed the lead and located a strip of stick on weights from a tyre shop. These were cut in half and placed under the lower horizontal stabiliser. This immediately improved the CG balance and the second flight went very well. The wind was blowing, and my plane had no problems at all.

The most recent change was upgrading the Spektrum AR400 receiver to an AR6210. The AR400 is not a long range receiver and after hearing about planes flying away when out of range it was an easy decision. The AR6210 has 6 channels and a data port which can connect to the Spekrum TM1000 telemetry module.

A Du-bro exhaust deflector was fitted to help keep all the exhaust oil and fuel off the plane during flight.

The aileron receiver cable now has an extension to help prevent the receiver pins from getting damaged. It is also easier to connect the wing.

Future upgrades may include the TM1000 telemetry module and GPS module to help locate my plane.

 

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Thank You.

My Boomerang is complete and so my next challenge is learning how to fly. I must thank a few people. Patsy and Richard for all their helpful information. Brian for all his dedicated help setting up my plane in his workshop. Graeme for running in my engine and pre flight test. Kev for doing my transmitter range test. Stephen for testing my plane on her maiden flight.

 

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Maiden Fight

I spent the morning with Brian, an experienced club member testing the OS Max 46 AX II engine. All went well after checking various items. This included the tank, spinner and propellor settings. The engine ran well and so the next step was taking my Boomerang to our club.

I had assistance from several club members which included checking the balance, transmitter range test and running in the engine. This all went well.

Another experienced club member, Graeme then tested my plane before her maiden flight. After several hours working on my plane, it was finally flying. I still need to adjust the balance as it is slightly nose heavy. My Boomerang was tested by Stephen who has lots of experience with glo engines. It was very rewarding seeing my plane fly for the first time.

 

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Pre Flight Setup and Trim.

I spent an evening with an expert who gave me lots of tips, and changes to improve my plane. These included changes to the fuel tank, switch, battery, dope sealing, landing gear collets and more.

I still need to complete the pre flight trim and engine run in. If all goes well this should happen soon, and my new plane will be in the sky this weekend.

The trim info and final setup will come soon.

 

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Installing the Engine & Propellor

I bought an OS 46 AX II engine. I already own an OS 29 MAX III and think they are great. The user guide tells you to measure 110mm from the firewall and this would be where the propellor is. This could vary depending on your engine size and I am not sure about the P factor caused by this powerful engine.

The manual also indicates screwing the engine into the plastic mount. My mount is well and truly set after using thread lock on the bolts. I need to ensure the holes drilled are 100 % correct. I have bought 4 hex bolts with self locking nuts.

With this is mind, I will be getting a local club member to help install my engine. I am not sure if my 11 x 6 Master Airscrew propellor is balanced, so will check this as well. Hopefully the spinner will fit without slipping when the throttle is high.

Another issue is the fuel line. I fitted a fuel inlet on the side of my plane. The fuel hose does not run straight from the tank, and the filter makes this even more tricky. These are all questions that will be better answered by an experienced club member.

The engine was fitted after painting dope over the mount and engine area. The dope will dissolve the colour on the film, so be careful. The holes did not line up exactly and so the engine is about 3mm to the right. I think it may actually help improve the P factor issue. Time will tell.

The propeller was gently sanded on the edges and fitted with the spinner. I had to increase the propellor hole to fit the engine perfectly. The spinner is not a great fit, so still need to sort this out.

I still need to setup the throttle servo and push rod.

 

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Working with CA and Epoxy Glue.

After watching the Youtube movie "All about epoxy glues for RC models" it became evident that having a high quality epoxy is important. I bought all my ZAP glue from my local hobby shop and was pleased with the results.

In the end I bought the 30 & 5 min Epoxy, Medium and Thin CA, Thread Lock and Canopy glue. It all adds up, but fine if you are building other models.

The epoxy was easy to use and mix, and cleaned off the plane with nail polish remover. (Acetone)

The CA glue was more of a challenge. The thin CA runs very fast and it is easy to get on your fingers. In a panic trying not to glue your fingers, you may end up glueing things around you. Check the glue bottle does not have any excess CA before pushing down the cap. Mine did, and sprayed CA glue over my plane.

I would suggest buying the small bottles of CA. They need to stay in a fridge and do not last long. Make sure you put the bottles in a container to avoid damaging your fridge shelf.

I used a spot of CA glue on screws that are permanent. The servos holes were filled with 2 drops of thin CA and left to dry. This was after the thread from the screw was made in the wood.

The canopy glue was useful for glueing foam rubber inside the plane

 

 

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Installing the Servos.

I bought the JR 519 and 539 servos to ensure they would fit. They are also a good brand. Fitting the brass collets and grommets was easy after the first servo. Fitting them was easy. The photo clearly shows the location. The rubber grommets are the wrong way round in my photos, and were all reversed. The little lip needs to be against the servo.

I presume the horn was cut in half, as these servos do not come with the ones shown. I cut them in half as shown in the guide. This was done when joining the push rods.

After reading the article in the RCMN magazine, I added the 2 drops of CA glue per hole. This involved removing the servos and making sure the CA glue did not fill the hole. The glue has to cure before putting the screws back in. Failing to do this would make them a permanent fixture.

 

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