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NCFM
P.O. Box 8090
Rancho Santa Fe,
California, 92067
USA
(858) 485-1137
© 2003
All rights reserved
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Latest
News |
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| 06/09/10 |
Yes....Yes.....Yes...!!!!...We are still in business!
I am personally guilty of not updating this news page for a year and a half.
As difficult as things have been for everybody in the past year (and we are no exception) and as low as retail sales have dropped, you would think we would not forget about updating the website and letting people know that we are still here and their favorite models are still in stock.
But Nooooo!......I forgot!
I got an email the other day from a customer who was wondering what's going on. If it wasn't for him, this page would still date back to a year and half ago.
We mingle with the local crowd here in Southern California and keep up with things and events on the news groups on a daily basis. Because of these interactions we tend to forget that there is a segment of our customer base that navigates to this website independent of other sources and doesn't neccessarily know much about the latest news on our shores.
So for anyone wondering about NCFM, we are still going strong.
Well......as strong as might be expected under the present circumstances.
But we are keeping our chin high and looking into the not-too-distant future for good things to come.
For one thing, as some might know and others might have seen, the Bluto is in development even as we speak. Flight testing is continuing as weather permits and we hope to have the build manual completed soon.
I will also post pictures of the Beast as soon as we are assured of the final configuration.
We are also re-issuing the HP60 with some minor modifications. The HP60 will hopefully be available for sale by June 15th.
So keep checking back and hopefully we won't forget to post updates every once in a while!
Cheers
Matin |
| 10/26/08 |
Out of Stock? ......Nah!!!!
Hope nobody noticed, but we were short of Halfpipe and M60 kits for a few weeks.
Not since May, as the post below suggests! I've just been lazy updating this page.
But the drought is over and shelves are full.
So order away!
Matin |
| 05/20/08 |
Told You!
We are temporarily out of the M60 kits.
We do have the wings but somehow ran out of fuselages. (Those who ordered extra fuselages know who they are!)
It will probably be a week or so before we get them back on the shelves. That's barring any shortages we don't yet know about!
The Moth and Half pipe stock is running low too. So it's not a good time to procrastinate!
Cheers
Matin |
| 04/01/08 |
This is not an April Fool's Joke!
Well, the goods finally arrived and we have kits to sell.
No really!.....The drought is over....for now...
The order buttons will be activated at midnight tonight (12:01 AM PDST 4/2/2008).
I believe we have everything in stock (the HP60 is still out) so don't be shy and order away!
Them who sent emails have already been notified.
Them who snooze will lose! (JK)
Happy shopping!
Matin
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| 03/25/08 |
There Is Light At the End Of The Tunnel!!
It's been six weeks since we placed an order with one of our suppliers.
Uncharacteristically, a company which ordinarily delivers for a week, has not been able to fulfill our latest order. We were finally told, last week, that it was due to some internal restructuring (!) they were going through and that the storm has now passed.
We have reason to believe they are telling us the truth. And we think we will get parts in less than a week.
We have disabled the order buttons for all the kits while we take inventory of our stock (or is it: "take stock of our inventory"?!!) and wait for parts to arrive.
If you wish to be notified when we are selling again, send us an email and we'll put you on the "Notice List". Now this is not a waiting list and, NO, we don't take payments in advance!
Hopefully this shortage will pass and never come back.
Cheers
Matin |
| 03/1/08 |
Ooops! We Goofed!
We ran out of M60s a few weeks back. So we scrambled to order more.
Most of our suppliers, said they could have parts delivered by this week.
So, we went ahead and listed on the order page that the M60 will be available March 1st.
All of the supplier lived up to their commitments. One didn't!
As it turns out, said supplier never even put the order through!
GRRRRR!!!!!
So here we are on March 1st, and we are missing ONE part for the M60 kit!
With apologies to those who have been patiently waiting, we have to wait another week or so for the missing part to arrive.
From now on, we'll make sure others live up to their commitments, before we make promises.
Matin |
| 01/24/08 |
M60 Back In Stock
As promised we have M60 kits fresh from the oven (!).
The order buttons are active and for now we pretty much have everything in stock.
We don't expect this to last though. We did receive a couple of deliveries that were not quite what we ordered! The items have been reordered and hopefully this faux pas will be transparent to most of you.
So order away!
Matin
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| 01/11/08 |
It's a stampede !
We knew there are a lot of you, out there, who have been waiting patiently for quite a while for kits. But we weren't prepared for how fast the stock is flying out the door!
We unexpectedly out of Halfpipes last night before we could ready the next batch. No worries. We will have more Halfpipes next week so please bear with us.
We are off to the AMA show today. There are no NCFM booths. We will just walk around the floor, learn new things, meet old friends and make new ones.
With luck, there will still be kits on the shelves when we get back.
Not that we don't want to sell them! We just hate having to tell you we ran out.... AGAIN!
Till later
Matin |
| 01/05/08 |
The Drought Has Ended!
We are overjoyed to announce that we are back in operation and freshly stocked with goodies!
As most have noticed by now, our relocation to the new facility took a bit longer than expected. No surprise there. We badly underestimated the time and effort required for such a monumental (!) task.
But all that is behind us, and in our new home, we have been busily at work for the past month. The new shop, and its new equipment, will hopefully allow us to be more efficient and productive. We will do our best to avoid down times, and the resultant shortages, as much as possible.
The order buttons for the Moth, M60 and Halfpipe, will be activated at 12:01 AM, on Monday January 7th, 2008.
We could have waited until we build a bigger reserve of kits, but instead opted for putting what we have out on the shelves for those who have been waiting patiently. So don't procrastinate! We have materials on order for the next batch, but in case there's a run on the stock you will be left out for a while (hopefully not more than a week or so).
In the upcoming weeks and months, after we catch up with the present demand, we will report on news concerning some exciting new products!
Happy New Year and Happy Flying...
Matin
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| 8/20/07 |
We have scraped the bottom!
The dreaded day is upon us, and we are out of stock on almost everything!
We worked hard in May to produce as many kits as we could to tide us over the transition months. Today the last Halfpipes went out the door and once again we find ourselves in a rush to cut and bag more goodies.
On one hand I am delighted at how fast we sold out of stock as it is a testament to the popularity of our products. On the other hand I know how impatient we get when the kit we want is not available right away!
But first things first! We have to move to our new home (yeah, Derek kicked us out!) and as many of you know, that is easier said than done in this region. Other notable kit makers have moved out of Southern California due to the scarcity of suitable accommodations.
Our hope is to finish the move by the first of the month and start production immediately after that.
The plan is to start with the Moth, put out some M60s and finish with the Halfpipe.
Wish us good luck and we'll do our best to be back with more kits as soon as humanly possible.
Matin
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| 7/18/07 |
No Shipping this week!
Our summer vacation will have us out of town between Wednesday July 18th and Wednesday July 25th.
The order buttons (the few that remain) will be left active but no orders will ship until we get back on Thursday July 26th.
Happy Summer Vacation to us! |
| 7/17/07 |
Monthly update
As you might have noticed, the order buttons are disappearing one by one and we are scrambling to build up the stock again.
As of today we have only a handful of Halfpipes available and that's about it!
We are in the process of moving the shop to a new location, and more than likely won't have another production run until we settle in the new place. My guess is that we'll have more in stock in Mid-August, starting with the Moth which has been out of stock the longest.
So we're sorry (AGAIN!) that we won't have much to offer for a few weeks.
Lastly a bit of news for those interested in the HP60:
The big brother of the Halfpipe is going to be on hiatus for a while. There are efforts afoot, in the shop, to improve it, and it will be back on the shelves as soon as possible. |
| 6/11/07 |
Stock update !
It's
been only 3 weeks since we activated the order buttons and I'm compelled to give a short update of what's remaining on the shelves:
We only have 2 HP60s in stock as of today. Once gone, there will be a while before they are available again.
The HP60 "B" cores are almost all gone. We are down to the last few.
As popular as they have been, we don't plan on having more "B" cores!!
The "B" Grade Moths are all gone too. Like I said before, we're not planning on having more!
That leaves us with a still-healthy stock of Halfpipes and M60s.
On a daily basis, we get questions about the availability of The Moth.
I have also been asked if it will be discontinued now that the UberMoth (from our sister company, UberCraft) has found a following.
The short answer is No. That means: No. The Moth will not be discontinued. As long as there is a demand, we will produce The Moth.
We are in the process of getting more in and we'll make an announcement once they make an appearance! Sibling rivalry dictates that we take advantage of the unavailability of the UberMoth! Once they are back in stock we'll see which one is the more popular..... So there!!!
Many thanks to everyone for their support and kind wishes.
Matin
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5/21/07 |
Hello
From New Management!
It's
the first day of business for us and we're happy to report
we have stocked up on most of the goodies. Some items are
still in short supply, but that should change asap.
It
took a few weeks of sometimes intense work/training to learn
the NCFM operations from Derek and Harris. I must report
that, after the last piece was produced, Harris looked me
straight in the eye and said in a fatherly voice "And
now, son, you know all the secrets". No pressure here!
We
now have a strong supply of Halfpipes and M60s, and a few
HP60s ready for shipping. On the Moth front, we have lots
of wing kits, and the fuselages will be along shortly...
there is much going on here--the button will become active
the day they are ready. If you desperately need one, drop
me an email, as there are 2 or 3 blem fuses available.
As
you might already know, NCFM and UberCraft are now both
under one ownership. In the coming days, I will put up a
much more personal and in-depth overview of the changes,
and non-changes, to both entities, once I can catch my breath.
So, for now, it's back to the shop for me.
Signing
off
Matin
Taraz |
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5/13/07 * |
The
Torch Has Been Passed:
It has been in the works for a little while, but is now
official: Matin Taraz, of Ubercraft, has acquired NCFM.
Matin, Harris, and myself, have been working closely together
over the past couple of weeks to sort out the details and
have a fairly sizable inventory ready to ship when Ubercraft
takes over completely, on the 21st of this month. Our goal
was to have everything ready to go on the 15th, though,
as you can imagine, there is much to cover, far beyond just
teaching the precision nature of producing NCFM kits.
For those that have seen Matin's Ubercraft products, which
currently augment our own, you can understand why we are
elated to have him carry on what we have created, as well
as continue to produce the Ubercraft line... his work is
as fine and precision as anything out there. Harris and
I will also continue to develop, and test new aircraft,
respectively, which will then be handed to Matin, for his
modification, production, etc.
We are attempting to make the transition as seamless as
possible, and probably have more stock nearly completed
right now, than we have had in over a year. We still have
a large amount of logistics and final production to sort
out, but, again, barring any unforeseen setbacks, most
or all of the order buttons on the site will be activated
on May 21st, a week from tomorrow. Please bear with
us through this transition, as the ability to respond to
emails, while in this massive production mode, is fleeting.
On a personal note (as this may be the last day the site
and NCFM emails are still under my belt): I really want
to extend a most heartfelt thank you to the countless modelers/customers
I have interacted with, and come to know personally through
NCFM, and those who have helped support us, and our aircraft,
over the past 6+ years. While I will now be devoting most
of my time to my primary music and production companies
(and looking forward to flying a bit more), I will really
miss being a direct part of NCFM, and that interaction with
those who routinely become more of a friend, than just a
customer. Thank you, ever-so-hugely, once again!
Very happy air!
:)
Derek Choice (formerly of NCFM.... sniffle....)
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4/28/07 |
Foam
slobber abounds:
We're in cutting mode, full-force now. Our plan is to activate
most or all of the order buttons on May 15th, taking this
next couple of weeks to concentrate just on production. We
are in the process of making:
A full batch of M60's, a full batch of 48" Halfpipes,
and a short run of HP60's and Moths.
During this 2 week period, I have decided to disable the order
buttons, to make sure stock is fat and happy for the May 15th
target.
If you would like a kit, and are able to hang in there until
that date, many, many thanks!!
:)
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3/26/07 |
HP60
"B" Core Blowout - $20 per wing set:
Way back when, we had just finished making a batch of 30+
HP60 wing cores, when Harris noticed something he forgot
to change on the tip template. Consequently, the top of
the golf shaft (spars) poked about 1/32" above the
surface of the airfoil, 2/3 of the way toward the tip of
each wing. We decided to just closet that batch, where they
have remained since. Now, I've decided to sell these cores
at a sickly discount, to, not only free up space, but help
fund some upcoming goodies we are working on. Too good to
throw away, not quite perfect enough to ship as standard.
They are being sold @ $20 per wing set, plus shipping, and
only in batches of 3 or more (can only fit 3 per box). These
are still excellent wings, and you can either drop your
own spar system in, or use standard golf shafts and just
block sand the spar down 1/32" just at that area out
near the tip, where it is mostly meaningless, anyway. Or,
cut them shorter and make a ballistic little fatty plank,
etc. :)
The big caveat is that we are not able to provide any other
parts with the cores, since those all go to current production
kits. If you buy some, you are totally on your own as to
how the plane gets lead balanced, built, spars joined, parts
procured, etc. If the planform is unmodified, the CG will
be the standard 6-1/8" back from the nose (using
1/4 x 1-1/2" elevon stock - BalsaUSA.com) just as the
normal HP60, since these are the normal HP60 wings,
just with a slightly thinner tip (maybe a little faster?).
If you want to play around with your own design, or home-brew
an HP60 at a good discount, this is a good opportunity.
If you are interested, please email
or cal 858.485.1137, with quantity, etc.
Just a note: International orders would be non-cost effective,
since the shipping would be as much or more than the cores--better
that these only ship Fedex Ground to the contiguous lower
48 states, given the size of the box.
:)
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10/10/06 |
HP60
Kit Revision - No More Pre-Installed Spars:
Our first release of the HP60 kits came with the spars pre-installed
in the wings. This was well accepted and also allowed us to
ensure proper structural integrity in the initial months of
feedback coming in to us. Our goal was to, ultimately, make
two versions available, one with pre-installed spars, and
one without. Unfortunately, Harris' infamous bad back has
continued to get worse, and he is no longer physically able
to help with any production.
Consequently, as of this morning's pow-wow, we have both decided
to convert the HP60 over to our standard kit format, without
the pre-installed spars, thus reducing the price of the kit
from $149 down to $120 (since a portion of the original price
obviously included Harris' labor for the installation).
One other benefit is that the HP60 should be more readily
available, with production not being slowed by that process.
Presently, the HP60 order buttons are disabled, while I work
on a manual addendum and kit modification to thoroughly explain
the process of gluing them in (which is already at the bottom
of our FAQ page... just needs to be augmented a tad).
As was our intent all along (since starting NCFM), Harris
will now just be sitting on his butt, watching the SDSU Aztecs
lose even more football games, and designing/prototyping new
airplanes, which is a good thing... I know he has missed it
over the many, many months we have been sidetracked by other
things. Who knows... maybe it is time to dust off the new
Bluto, as well?
Thanks for reading!
:)
Derek
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9/21/06 |
NEW,
UNIVERSAL BALLAST SYSTEM:
Effective
October 1, 2006, we are switching over to one, Universal
Ballast Kit, for all of our aircraft.
This kit will fit the Moth, HP60, and M60, as well as many
other, non-NCFM kits. For the 48" Halfpipe, the outer
tube would need be cut down to 9", though it is not really
necessary or recommended for that particular plane (see HERE,
if you're curious as to why :).
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7/18/06 |
Cool
article
on the future of batteries (or lack thereof). |
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6/29/06 |
HP60
Manual Revisions:
Doh!
There is one paragraph out of sequential order in the manual,
near the bottom of Page 9, where it refers to the
2nd layer of strapping tape. That procedure should be done
BEFORE covering the wing, of course!
One other bit of general info on the tail mount:
One or two drops of thin CA can be applied/smeared on the
front plug-in end of the fin boom, and allowed to FULLY
DRY before inserting, to increase tightness and/or friction,
if any is needed. The stock fit is clean and tight, but
there can always be minute variations in the carbon, through
either manufacturing or ambient temp/humidity. If the fin
wants to tilt even slightly, you can also put opposing micro-drops
of CA at the correct spot of the boom, right where it leaves
the mount, almost like a shim, to minutely adjust the fin
angle, as well. Worked for me once, anyway, after a less
than perfect landing.
Tail Boom Length: You can cut the fin boom down to where
the LE of the fin is about 1/2" +/- behind the TE,
when the boom is fully inserted. Do this after you
have CG'd the plane, as you may or may not want that extra
little bit of length to assist in balancing.
Hint: If you want, you can add a small, temporary piece
of masking tape over the root hole of the spar, before gluing
in your lead shot, just to prevent any stray BB's from wandering
in there to look around. As of late next week, the shot
will be a thing of the past, as we will be switching over
to pre-made lead slugs, instead.
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6/27/06 |
UberCraft
is here!
A good friend, and local flyer, has developed a seriously
modified Moth package (with our complete blessing... we love
'em!). They are now available in kit form, and occasionally
RTF. These utilize our own wing kits, with UberCraft's super
sleek, super cool, molded fuselage. Very, very nice, smokin'
fast machines!
They are really worth a look... check 'em out! (Note: We do
not sell or provide technical support for them... only the
UberMaster knows). |
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1/15/06 |
I
finally had a chance to write out our current method for installing
the spars with Gorilla Glue. It is located at the bottom
of the FAQ
page. |
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1/11/06 |
The
"J8". This is the first of several "modular"
prototypes we are working on, as we begin to head back into
a bit of composite territory. Last year we built and tested
a few 72" "Hybrids"
that were very promising. Continuing along those lines, Harris'
brother, Alan Nelson, just completed a 72" carbon prototype
he deemed the "J8" (likely named after an old surfboard
he built in the 50's). Alan is arguably one of the best veteran
hand-shapers in the world, of both balsa and foam surfboards,
as well as airfoils and aircraft, R/C and full-scale, did
the plug/molds for some of the original Shrike fuses, hand-shaped
the 8ft carbon Bluto plug/molds, etc., etc. With homes in
both Baja and Costa Rica, he often has an abundance of time
to work on shaping, designs and layups. While not here in
the states much, Alan is, and has been, an integral part of
our R & D.
The video of the Parker run is located HERE
(19mb, mpg), and was shot on Gary Legerton's cam by Vic, I
think, and the still below was taken by Joe Zepeda (thanks,
guys!). Hopefully I will get a chance to shoot some good close-ups
soon... Alan really did a beautiful job on this thing!
Gary w/the J8 Proto
Wishing a rockin' new year, great wind, plenty of sun, and
perfect health for everyone reading this (and those who are
not, too)!
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6/17/05
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In-shop
Halfpipe "photo build":
I agreed to build a Halfpipe for a good friend "Randy",
and decided to take pics of every step in the building process
(multiple pics, in most cases), and then video the maiden
toss, float or choke! The plane was finished last night, and
the ZIP file containing 119 JPG build photos is located at:
http://www.northcountyflyingmachines.com/rhpbuild.zip
- 26.5MB. When viewing, make sure to "arrange by name",
so they appear in order (more or less).
Many of these techniques can be very useful for building other
foam aircraft, so I figured I would post it here. Since a
lot of guys are not familiar with polyurethane glue, the manual
references epoxying in the spars, but I went with the PU glue
on the build; I much prefer it as it makes for a stronger
plane, torsionally. There are necessary specifics in the manual,
so don't build with just the photos--they will definitely
help, though, if you have the bandwith to D/L them.
There are also a couple of other procedures that are not in
the manual, i.e. the jig setup for how we bevel the elevons,
routing the gear bays, hot-iron temp settings, tip covering
techniques, routing the fin mount, balance jig, etc.
By some lucky streak in my building, it balanced perfectly
at the recommended starting CG. Wind allowing, the plane will
maiden today, and hopefully we can get a short video of the
first toss and dialing in the sweet spot... how ironic if
it just crashed and burned!
Update 6:00pm: The wind was a bit off-center, but more
than good enough for a maiden -- 2 clicks left, 1 click down,
CG was spot-on, and had a great, 20+ minute maiden flight!
All up weight was 23.6 ouces. If you're bored or curious,
the "first toss" video is at hpmaiden.mpg
(26MB).
:)
Derek |
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5/18/05 |
Source
for a cool Tx Case!! ~ casesgalore.com
After tons of searching, I found this case online and really
like it! All black, ultra-tough ABS exterior, with "pick
'n pluck" charcoal interior foam, that allows you to
remove any of the hundreds of little 1/2"x1/2" cubes
to shape the foam exactly to your gear. Price is $30.99 +
shipping from Placerville, California. We don't sell them,
but thought we would pass on the link. Was shipped immediately
with tracking info emailed. :)
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3/9/05 |
Halfpipe
kits have now started showing up on doorsteps and there is
already a build thread evolving at:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=342797
This is a great resource for us, as it allows any updates
or modifications to be posted here immediately, in case we
overlooked or missed anything. It is always exciting for us
(and a little scary) to release a new kit, wondering how the
first builds will turn out and, more importantly, the first
few maiden flights.
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2/28/05 |
Update
#3: Order buttons are now active for the Halfpipe!
Welp, we feel very good that everything is ready for the first
round of kits to begin shipping this Thursday, 3/3/05 (please
feel free to wait until that time to order). We will do our
best to get all orders placed before then out on Thursday,
though some of those, plus any INTL orders, may have to go
out on Friday. We will still be doing a ton of final steps
this week, so please
bear with us & hang in there... e-mail
replies may be a day behind.
If you do decide to order, please make sure to read the Notes
on Ballasting, prior to adding a ballast kit to your cart.
We have not yet created a specific ballast setup for the HP,
and that page may answer some questions, as well as save you
some $.
Thanks!
:) |
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1/25/05 |
Another
really good, NEW M60 photo build thread located HERE.
The others are located HERE.
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8/24/04 |
Latest
CG's, Gorilla Glues, Gooping Test Results
Over
the last few months, we have been arduously experimenting
with the aft CG limits on some new planforms, as well as the
Moth and M60. We are finding that they can be pushed far more
aft than expected, but certain factors must be considered…
On
the Moth, we have always considered 1-3/8" to be pretty
optimum. I have currently pushed my CG all the way back to
1-9/16 (1-21/32, to be exact), which noticeably increased
the speed, turning and pitch authority, HOWEVER, that came
with price: With it set that aft, my UP elevator travel is
now at 3/64" (just over 1/32"), which is nearly
invisible to the eye, yet performs beautifully. THE BIG PROBLEM
WITH THIS METHOD: Servo Resolution! There is more play in
the gears of the 85MG's than my total up travel, making the
plane a little difficult to maintain a level track at times.
For years, we thought that this simply meant the CG was too
far aft. One of the other pilots who is also flying at this
CG, and experiencing the same gear problem, loaded his servos
with a rubber band, eliminating the gear slop, and it is now
the best I have flown. Needless to say, at these finite travels,
ANY slop at all, in the servos, linkage, potting, etc., is
a killer. The Hitec Karbonite gears claim high strength and
low slop, but I can't seem to find them for the 85's? I need
to check that out, as well as some digital servo options.
The newer 1-1/2" CG + 1/16" + 1/16" down rule
has been very good for most pilots, but the above is critical
to maintain smoothness (thus energy & speed). Given the
close coupling of elevator to CG, and especially on a 0-PM
airfoil, we don't recommend a CG any forward of 1-3/8"
any more, and, to me, that's still too far forward. If you
are getting any hyperstall, bobbing of the nose, or feeling
any mushiness, the plane is likely nose-heavy and/or has too
much elevator travel. When optimally CG'd, it should be fast
as heck, with neutral elevon trim, slams the turns without
any hesitation, and fly inverted with only micro amounts of
forward stick. On the M60, 1-13/16" still seems pretty
close, though we are also experimenting more with that. Some
or much of the above may apply.
Keep
in mind, you can STILL go too far aft… if your elevons are
trimmed below neutral, you have essentially added flaps, thus
a big-time decrease in speed… be aware of your neutral trim,
as it is critical. As dive-testing many flying wing airfoils
is rather inaccurate, due to a number of factors, inverted
flight performance, speed, and turning authority without hyperstall,
are the best indicators.
GOOPING THE FUSE: We have aborted this method entirely, at
least as a stand-alone covering. It does provide a beautiful,
glass-like finish, when done correctly (sanded, spackled,
Krylon'd, then 15-20 coats of thinned Goop 1/2 hour apart,
then allowed to cure for 3 weeks in heat), but the longevity
is suspect, and a "Manatee Nose" is probable. We
did make a nose mold and have been testing polyurethane rubber
noses on gooped fuses, and it has shown great results, but
may be unnecessary--we're still contemplating the viability
of these. Also, Goop alone, does not provide the necessary
tensile strength on the top of the fuse at the rear of the
flight compartment and the top of the fuse at the wing's TE.
THE
BEST FUSE COVERING METHOD out right now (thank you Daemon!)
seems to be: Sand/shape, seal with 1-2 coats of thinned goop,
apply strapping tape, apply Solartex (Ultracote will work,
by Solartex is better, on the fuse), then 1-2 more coats of
thinned goop; (give or take a few coats of goop here and there).
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6/25/04 |
For
the Moth, some pilots are beginning to really like the
"... an inch and a half CG and a 1/16" elevator
up travel" rule. Experiment, to make sure you are
getting the most speed and agility out of your Moth! |
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Ongoing: |
There
is a pretty cool, HUGE 50 page thread in RC Groups right now,
showing a photo documented build of an M60 & Moth,
in the UK. If you want to see close-up pics of certain procedures
you can CLICK
HERE. Building pics begin on about page 4. (Note:
There may, or may not, be some deviations from our recommened
specs, but it is still a very good visual source to have as
a reference).
6/04: There is a new Moth Build photo thread located HERE,
that just came to life and appears to be a very good build. |
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2/20/04 |
Solartex
versus Ultracote on a Wing (our experience):
Originally, after our first application of Solartex on an
M60, we really liked the way it wrapped compound curves and
it's overall properties on a wing. After a little time, though,
it does not seem to have the necessary tensile strength to
maintain optimum rigidity over EPP, for the higher speeds,
such as DSing... there is a noticeable torsional difference
when comparing one wing done in Solartex to another done in
Ultracote. Solartex is also slightly heavier, so overall,
we are more happy with Ultracote, on a wing.
For the fuse, though, Solartex is very good when used over
strapping tape, and maybe sealed with a coat or two of thinned
goop, etc. (See 11/02/03 comments below). |
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11/02/03 |
Update
on Goop & other fuselage coverings:
A year or so ago, we began experimentng with thinned goop
as a covering for EPP fuselages. Originally, we were applying
2-4 relatively thick coats, which worked okay, but the finish
was still somewhat rough and not much flight longevity. We
then began to spackle fill the fuse, which helped the finish
tremendously, but strength was still an issue in some areas.
Finally, we began applying 15-20 coats of very thin (like
warm chocolate syrup) Goop, over the finely sanded, spackled,
painted fuse, and the finish was like glass. If the fuse was
allowed to cure for 2-4 weeks in a warm environment, the strength
and durability were greatly improved.
We have been relatively happy with this method, but it does
have its weak points. Namely, on hard impacts, the nose and
other stress points may wrinkle, which can be taken out with
a few distant passes of a heat gun. It is actually the goop
covering that holds most of the wrinkles, not the foam...
the foam will pop back to shape when the wrinkled covering
is peeled off. We figured that, if the foam can't compress,
the Goop can't wrinkle, so we tested some fuses that had epoxy
filled noses, with 1/8" of foam meat, then Gooped over,
but it added only a little more resistance.
We are now working on an entirely new nose material that will
lend itself beautifully to the Goop method, without the wrinkle
penalty... it's a couple months off, but in the works. We
also have another, huge project going that should be a great
step forward in durability, etc. That, too, is even a few
more months off, but well under way.
A few guys have begun to apply a couple layers of Goop, and
then maybe some strapping tape, and then Solartexing the entire
fuse over that. Being a fabric, Solartex wraps compound curves
beautifully, and is pretty tough. This is probably the
best method out right now for an acceptably clean finish
that gives good durability. Ultracote or packing tape, by
themselves, are fine for wimpy little girly landings, on grass
or pillows, but they will rip, shred and peel, and the sun
will take its toll as well; wrapping curves cleanly is also
a problem.
While we mention it here on the site and in the manuals, the
Goop method is definitely not a mandatory thing, and we simply
provide the info as an alternate way of covering, if you're
looking for a colored, mirror-smooth finish, that may or may
not wrinkle, at least until our new materials and techniques
have been tested and released. If you're not sure, maybe read
some of the the posts on rcgroups.com (slope section), and
do some experimenting... you may come up with something perfect!
Oh yeah... one other aspect of "Goop" is that, due
to its chemical composition (namely Toluene), it is prohibited
in many countries. In Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc.,
a lot of pilots are using "Shoe Goo", a thick, clear,
gel-glue that has very similar properties, and are thinning
it with Xylene. It's not quite as "flowey" as thinned
Goop, but seems to be working, and is usually available from
shoe repair stores, some hardware stores or ???
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