Official Black Horse Fairchild Model 24 Argus 2357mm ARF Discussion Thread

[Gordon Cambridge]

Also I am thinking of fitting a camera, has this been done? Any guidance appreciated.

regards, Gordon

[Gordon Cambridge]

Hi,
I am fitting a radial Saito gas 4 stroke, 33cc, model FG3R33. Engine fits very neat into cowl. But I have spent a lot of time working on central alignment which has been complex due to rather odd guidelines on firewall, and OS and DLE templates. Can anyone tell me why the factory marked firewall vertical and horizontal markings are misaligned to both the engine template markings?

So far as I decided to fit the engine first and have drawn on computer a paper template, that gives a centre of cowl prop location at 160mm from firewall when mounted on a 5mm Paxolin homemade mount. Has anyone fitted this engine?

Next I am interested to learn about c of g, as I would rather beef up front end than waste weight by just adding lead.

Many thanks

[USMA-82]

Still enjoy flying the Fairchild - nice handling characteristics and a real attraction because you don't see this model too often. My only advice after many flights would be to beef up the attachment points for the main gear, and the mounting area for the tail wheel. Both have ripped out on less-than-perfect landings, and could really use a little more support.

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[texasbuzzard]

just finished my 24 and pleased overall. here are a few suggestions other than those listed in previous posts. the ball links that came with the kit are junk IMHO as the balls are very tight and caused servo hum so i replaced them with dubro 4-40 links. check the pre-drilled holes for ailerons and flaps as i noticed miss alignment on these surfaces. i installed a dle35ra and need to add 2 lbs to the nose to attain balance. i will be doing a engine run to set the carb needles soon and hopefully will do the maiden when weather clears. BTW i did add a 1/4 in. hole aft of the cowl to adjust carb with the cowl mounted.

[USMA-82]

If anyone has a spare set of wheel pants - maybe their Fairchild has had an early demise - please let me know. MRC only sells a detail parts "kit" that contains alot more than what I need. Thanks!

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[Terminater007]

Here's my Fairchild

Just need the model club to open now to maiden it :(
must of been a Friday build - missing 2 of the strut attachment pins and the Rudder was bent - had to fix and recover
using Hanger 9 True RED covering HANU866 which matched

Powered by Eflite power 160 on 10s 5000mah
had to add 8 ounces of weight to get the CG right,

[Thor100]

I think they might have got it wrong in the manual as far as the hinges go, if you use the short hinges on the rudder and the long one's in the flaps and ailerons ( after cutting down one end for the flaps ) it all works out fine.

[Spinny Testaverde]

Such a good looking model in the air, would love to chase a tandem one day.

[althepal88]

Thor100, One of the first things I would do is replace all of the screws and bolts. Get a couple of 5mm x 55 bolts and locknuts for the landing gear. I painted the hinge covers, control hinges and most of the grey plactics red. Ahhh, those hinges. They are a mess, huh? You can't really go by the manual with those. Just cut the hinges to the proper length to fit without poking the monocoat. They will take a lot of epoxy (or whatever you use) to stay in place. My door hinges came already installed. Reinforce the wheel pants with either CA or epoxy and some fiberglass cloth. They will break, and they cost $85 bucks to replace. Stay tuned to this thread and go over each post.

[Thor100]

Again a problem, the fitting that screws onto the flap is too big for the cut out, the one supplied is too big and has 2 mounting holes the one in the manual shows a smaller one with only 1 mounting hole. Has anyone else found this ?

[Thor100]

Still poking around and test fitting things, apart from the above post has anyone noticed that the hinges for the flaps ( 67 mm ) are too long and poke into the covering ????

[Thor100]

Hi Guys
Just unpacked my Argus, and of course I have a few questions.
Just about to start gluing in hinges ( wings ) in the manual they say there are 6 short 44 mm and 18 long 67 mm total but if following the manual you need 12 short and 16 long
Aileron 4 short x 2
Flap 3 long x 2
Horz Stab 6 long
Rudder 4 long
Door 2 short x 2
I am presuming that not all hinges are needed in the wings
Any help would be great and I'm sure there will be more questions as I progress
Thanks

[althepal88]

yes

[slinky-1]

Hi OV10,

Thanks for your post.

I've been flying for over a year RC planes with my club using my own high wing balsa electric plane to train but originally learn't on control line with nitro engine planes back in the 80's! So still I would say I was newbie. Showing my age though!! but have fallen back in love with RC.....
I love building planes and I think when I saw James fly the Fairchild 24, I fell for it straight away. I'm at the electric stage of the build and was wondering, as there are two servos one for each aileron. I have an Admiral 8ch receiver, do i just plug the 2nd aileron into a free port and assign that to a free channel? All advice greatly appreciated.

Best Wishes to all

[OV10]

Hi Guys, New to Squawk but have recently coming to the end of my build of Fairchild 24 Argus and was wondering if anybody has any photos of inside the cockpit, so I have some reference where to position Esc, Bec and Receiver and batterie packs. I'm new to the hobby and was hoping for some advice. Maybe Alpha can put me straight

I cringed when you indicated that you are "new to the hobby" and looking for advice, especially on a giant scale airframe thread such as the Argus.
I sincerely hope that you meant something like new to electric powered models and not as an unadulterated newb to flying.
If you actually are a newb to flying, am pretty sure that Alpha WILL set you straight about learning to walk before trying to run.
If you truly are a beginner to RC flying, this forum really is a great place to get all sorts of help and welcome to the Squawk.
Best regards,

[juppzupp]

Hi USMA
yes I have some 6S Lipos - but not 15 like you. Even if, the charging is taking too much time in my limited slots for modelling. I never charge the Lipos the day before as it's too dangerous for me to keep them in the house like this. I will use 6S6200 Zippy compact with ~890g which I will push as far forward as possible and a Turnigy G160 with ~650g. Nevertheless you are right - it might be needed to add some lead. On the other hand I like the challenge to get large models in the air with only 6S. It works very well with my Graupner Starlet 2.400mm, with 6,8kg - it can go vertical nearly endlessly. @ ~90A.

Jan

[slinky-1]

Hi Guys, New to Squawk but have recently coming to the end of my build of Fairchild 24 Argus and was wondering if anybody has any photos of inside the cockpit, so I have some reference where to position Esc, Bec and Receiver and batterie packs. I'm new to the hobby and was hoping for some advice. Maybe Alpha can put me straight

[USMA-82]

Yes, the Fairchild is about 2 pounds lighter, and the fuselage is slightly shorter than the Stinson (although the wingspan is slightly greater!).

My only concern about going with a 6S system would be the need for additional weight in the nose to achieve CG. The nice things about 12S - no extra lead in the nose, longer flight times for the same power and smaller, more scale propeller. Yes, you spend more time re-charging and the expense is double for the batteries, but once you have a number of 6S planes, you tend to have quite a few 6S batteries.

I usually show up at the airfield with a metal ammo can filled with 15 Gens Ace 4000mAh 6S 60C batteries, plus one more. With that set-up, I can bring both the Phoenix Stinson and the Fairchild to the field and have four flights on each.

I call that a good day.....

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[juppzupp]

oh, that's surprising! Considering the wing and fuselage shape, I would have assumed the Fairchild is more sporty. How about the weight? Due to the infos I currently have from different forums, I would think the Fairchild should be ~2lbs lighter? Important for me, as I will go for 6S only (with ~100A so about 2,2kW power).

Jan

P.S.: I found a video of the original Fairchild: it would be great if the undercariage would at least work have as good (which I do not think):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U4lERd7aeM

[USMA-82]

Furthermore I am not 100% sure if I should go for the Fairchild or for the Phoenix Stinson.

You can't go wrong with the Phoenix Stinson, either. I have both, and they both look and fly great! I think the Stinson is slightly faster and a little more aerobatic, but that's probably due to the amount of drag from the Fairfield's gear struts. I am flying both with a 1.60 motor and 12S power. Overall, the Stinson came out about $150 cheaper using the same motor, ESC and servos in each.

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