Bird of Time

[Aros]

One thing I know I will eventually want to do is have the skin redone to showcase the ribbing structure. I think it's a great compliment to this classic airframe and wing. I have to wonder how much of a nightmare it would be to "de-skin" the current livery (wing and tail) and add new skin with orange translucent covering (similar to the photo below). Nothing I will want or need to do anytime soon but down the road I would love it. I may have to outsource that job, lol.

[xviper]

I think de-skinning can be done fairly easily with a heat gun. Slice the skin open in an area between ribs, heat it up as you peel it away. It should come off in big sections.

[killickb]

Mine is still for sale -- not flown at all last year if I recall correctly. It is the GP version with all of the RC AIR mods installed. Was a great disappointment after the flight capabilities of my original scratch built version. That Dynaflite model looks great !

[Aros]

I think de-skinning can be done fairly easily with a heat gun. Slice the skin open in an area between ribs, heat it up as you peel it away. It should come off in big sections.

I'll have to look into the process when it comes time. Maybe it's not as bad as I am envisioning. killickb where do you find RC Air mods? I tried finding a "Ben" from there who I hear has mods specific to the BoT.

[Aros]

Alright my servos and bellcrank arrived today so I started digging in. I should have my own YT show for the comedic factor alone. I am so far out of my element when a model isn't PNP it's embarrassing. After much finagling I managed to secure the servos to the tray. I had to add balsa pieces to one of the servo housing sections in order to fit. As is typical of me I overdid the epoxy and it basically looks like something a preschooler would do. Ah well, once the wing is on out of sight out of mind.

I found a piece of wood I used as the base for the bellcrank. That went easy enough. So the next step is to get some of those cylindrical rod holders, mount the elevator, motor and rudder. The motor mount is going to be the biggest task left I think as I am dry fitting it now and I just don't quite get how to do that successfully. I may have to reach out to a friend for that job. From there it's simply adding the rx, ESC and battery, program the radio and get her ready for her first thermal task!

[xviper]

Looking good. I've used the popsicle stick trick for servo mounting myself. Regarding your bellcrank, in your picture, when you are about to connect up the servo rod, then the rod to the elevator, rotate it 90 degrees clockwise so that the servo rod part of the bellcrank is at the bottom. It'll get a more direct shot without having to bend too much. They way you have it, the rod will have to bend in an upward arc to reach the holes.

[Aros]

I will revisit your post when the time comes...I'm not entirely sure what you mean but I bet when I go to connect the rods it will make sense. Thanks xviper for all your advice and help!

[xviper]

Your bellcrank is mounted perfectly. In the picture, it looks like an "L". When you connect everything to it, it should look like an "r". It'll all make sense when you get to it.

[Aros]

Oh yes I see what you mean. I had just posed it as an "L" for the photo, lol. Thanks!

[Aros]

Alright further progress. I received my rod connectors and kwik links so I was able to get the rudder installed. Both servos are installed with pushrods...Have the elevator servo connected to the bell crank. Next up is putting the elevator together and installing. Have a feeling like xviper suggested there may be some unsavory unmentionables flying out of my mouth at certain points throughout the elevator install, lol. If all else fails I have a buddy who is going to help me finish up the build, mainly the motor mounting and elevator if needed. I have the E-flite Power 32 brushless motor and it's a tight fit and I am not sure how to appropriately get the right measurements to drill the holes needed. More research is needed. I see it comes with a template but I am still unclear of the precise process. Definitely good learning for this PNP guy but with the precision and accuracy required the first time around, there's no second chances on the motor install.

[xviper]

Getting the holes in the right place can be a real hair puller. If the template provided isn't the solution for you, I suggest doing something like this and I'm sure you'll come up with something like it once you see one possibility.
Get your motor and put the mounting screws in all to the same depth. Get some rubber stamp ink or even a fresh Sharpie. "Ink" the heads of the screws and make an impression of screw heads onto a piece of paper. You'll need a hole in the middle of the paper for the motor shaft to go through. Does the firewall that came with the plane already have a hole in it for the motor shaft? If not, you'll have to drill one that's big enough so that you can move the motor around once you do a dry fit. Now you can see where the motor shaft stick through and how it looks relative to the hole. Now put the new template onto the outside of the firewall so that the motor shaft is close to where it would come through. Make some center punch indents where the center of each screw impression is. Take off the template and drill your holes. Do a dry fit and you may find you might have to ream out one or more of the holes to get the screws to line up with the holes in the motor.

[Aros]

That's a good idea xviper I will give that a try, thank you! The firewall does already have the hole in it for the motor shaft. Just need to add/drill out the 4 holes to mount the motor. I say "just" like it's going to be some walk in the park or something, silly me.

[Aros]

Shocked myself by getting the elevator installed without too much peripheral profanity. Wow, talk about a major PITA!! I just stuck with it and tried to be as patient as possible (had to take more than one break to step away before I threw it against a wall lol)...Got the holes drilled for the motor mount. That part actually was a lot easier than I anticipated. However, I can't get the motor seated and in the right orientation to screw it in place. Looks like I am going to need my buddy after all. Once that's complete it's easy sailing from there pun intended. Thanks again xviper for all your guidance!

[xviper]

Nicely done. That bellcrank assembly looks real professional. As for getting the holes lined up for the motor screws, I also shed a bit of sweat with that. If you can just get one screw started, the rest is a lot easier. Don't tighten the first on up until you get all of them threaded. Then you can cinch them down evenly. The motor will suck right up to the firewall. Mind you, I used a HobbyKing GliderDrive motor, so there's no moving parts on the outside, just the shaft spins. If you've got a motor where stuff is spinning, then you may have to ream out a hole or two in the proper direction so the motor won't touch the sides when spinning.

[Aros]

Yeah it's a real bear because the main casing spins which is why I can't get the orientation to stay where I want it as I feed it closer to the firewall. And boy is it a TIGHT fit, I hope it spins freely once mounted. I'm trying to visualize what you mean by that last sentence; "If you've got a motor where stuff is spinning, then you may have to ream out a hole or two in the proper direction so the motor won't touch the sides when spinning."

[xviper]

I think you know what I meant about the “stuff spinning” (as in the motor casing). The other part ........... If you find that the motor touches on one side or the other or on top or bottom, that means you have to move the motor away from that side of the nose wall. To do that, you have to shift the holes over but once drilled, you can’t move the holes, so you extend the hole(s) by elongating them with the drill bit in the direction that the motor needs to move. You don’t make the hole bigger in diameter, but you drag the hole away from the side that’s touching. By doing that, the screw still fits and won’t pull through the hole. If you make the hole too large, you can always use some small washers.
Now, if you have a case where the whole motor touches on all sides as it goes toward the firewall, that means the motor is too large in diameter. Your option then, is to reach into the nose cavity with a Dremel and sanding drum and file down the wall to make it thinner. You don’t have much thickness to work with so be careful not to grind it all the way through. The other option is to get a motor that’s totally encased, like the HobbyKing GliderDrive. With those, it doesn’t matter if parts of the casing touches or gets wedged into the nose since nothing turns there.

[Aros]

Ahhh, I see what you are saying now. Thanks for taking the time to explain it very well! Hopefully once I get it aligned and seated/mounted it will fit okay since it is recommended for a 32-size brushless. They recommend Rimfire 32 specifically but I would think the E-flite Power 32 is the same specs overall? Edit: I just checked and both outer diameters are 42mm so I should be good to go. Thanks again!

[xviper]

My Gliderdrive is 38mm diameter, so there was plenty of room. I find the way they spec out the Eflite motors to be hard to make comparisons easily, at least not without some digging. I run mine on 3cells and the motor is a 960kv and it has lots of pull. I original planned on 4s and I could still do that but I don't think the plane needs that kind of get up and go.

[Aros]

Yeah reading other threads I get that same consensus. Definitely overpowered on the recommended setup unless you like to achieve altitude straight up like a rocket, lol.

[Aros]

Well the motor has been a major PITA to mount. I can't get it to seat and lock in. I will get some screws tightened but it still wobbles and backs out with slight pulling. Grrrrr.... I have it loosely seated for now with the prop and spinner in place temporarily just until I can have my buddy take a look and see if he is the secret ingredient.