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

[James Gregory]

I've been putting mine together it's awesome Dle 35 Ra fits beautiful has the template no cowl cutting at all coming together sweet :)

[SrFalcon]

Have just started my build and appreciate all the info in the posts above. Two questions:

1. What length servo lead extension have you used for the ailerons and flaps? I guess the lead on your servo will vary, so perhaps the question should be, how much should I have as surplus where the lead exits the wing root? I was eyeballing it to be about 12" of available lead length from the wing root exit, to allow an easy connection to the rx. Any comments appreciated.

2. The (in)famous hinge pins - My kit came with 8 long and 16 short hinge pins. As noted in earlier posts, the flaps require 3 long pins a side and the ailerons use 4 short a side, so that leaves me with 2 long and 8 short pins. The elevators use another 6 short pins, leaving me with 2 long and 2 short pins for the rudder, which doesn't make sense. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance for your comments

[harleyhog1200]

In answer to Number 1, l have about 7 inches of aileron servo wire hanging out of the root of the wing. I then have 12” extensions attached to my Rx/Gyro which then exit the access holes in the fuse making it easier to attach the wings and then stuff the extra back inside the fuse to fly. When not flying, I simply unhook and tape the extensions from the Rx/Gyro to the outside of the fuse for storage and easy access the next flight.

For number 2, looks like Black Horse packed your kit wrong….there should be 16 Long and 8 Short for a total of 24. Contact Motion RC for the correct parts. Also note, on page 24 of the manual, that they have the hinge count wrong for the flaps/ailerons in the table …..the 6 and 8 should be reversed…at least it is incorrect in my manual.

As a side note, make sure you leave enough gap for the flaps to allow proper operation….a good 1/16” to 3/32”. I got my gap too tight and had to redo them….a major bummer.

[SrFalcon]

Thanks, makes sense what you did with the extensions, i gotta order a whole bunch of different lengths and have stock on hand for the winter build season.

On the hinges, I figured as much, but for sure the flaps take the long hinges and the ailerons take the short ones right? I noted the same error as you did for the manual.

Thanks for the tip on the flap gap, I'll watch out for that, sorry to hear you had that happen, the manual is rather limited in detail. This is my first pin hinge installation, and despite watching all the YouTube stuff, I still had my first aileron turn out stiff because I didn't clean out all the epoxy at the hinge line prior to cure. I was debating whether to do both sides of the hinge at the same time or just glue the hinges into the wing, let it set and then do the aileron. In the end I opted for both at the same time. Would be interested to hear what folks on this thread think.

As I was waiting for the epoxy to set on the first aileron, I tried fitting the aileron servo onto the canted rib on the other wing. It's a tight fit but with some filing I'm sure it will slip into place.

How the H do you drill pilot holes and screw in the aileron servo mounting screws?? The angle of the rib and the size of the access hatch do not allow any drill or driver to get in there at a right angle to the mounting surface. I've tried the right angle dremel attachment, a pin vise, small straight drill, nothing gets in there at a right angle.I've read all the posts here and RCG and don't see any mention of this. I'm still on the building learning curve and acquiring tools, so am asking for advice here on how best to install the aileron servo screws. Maybe just glue in the servo like the foamies??

Thanks

[harleyhog1200]

Anyone using any elevator mix with their flaps? If so, how much

[SrFalcon]

Flap clevises are too large to fit into the indentation cut outs on the flaps, have two mounting holes instead of one as shown in the manual, and just for fun the clevis width is too narrow for the supplied screw heads.

Did your flap clevis fit into the flap cutout and have one mount hole or did you just do some surgery. The ones in my kit seem way too large. Thanks

[SrFalcon]

Hey, Aerodale, I thought the same thing and just today I noticed that I had the left lower landing gear on the wrong side. I took it all apart and double checked my right and left (lol) and then put it together like it is supposed to be and Shazamm, everything lined up perfectly. I thought the tolerances were off, but I was totally wrong. Look at it this way, we are the guinea pigs on this airplane. Not a lot of written text in the manual. To answer your question; if all three holes align it is the proper right vs. left gear; the small screws keep everything together in case you axel comes loose.

Yes, swapping the lower struts does help, but not completely. I found that once I got the lower struts on the correct sides, the small alignment screws would fit perfectly, but the axle holes were off, and when I put an axle bolt through the shock and strut holes, the small screw holes were then not aligned. Here are some pictures. I don't have the impression that this is due to tight tolerances, as opposed to simple misdrilled holes that have a bad jig being used at the factory. I've opened up the strut small screw holes .5mm, but its not even close to allowing the screws to slip in, and there's not enough meat left on the strut to keep opening the holes. My only choice is to assemble the wheels onto the struts without the small screws, and I will let Motion know about this. A lot has been said in this forum and elsewhere that this is a good quality kit, but I'm finding lots of things that need work arounds, Hoping to hear comments from those of you who have assembled this bird, as you've probably figured out solutions along the way. TIA.

[RCBobP]

I have the Black Horse Gilmore Red Lion, powered by Saito 3-cylinder radial. Love the radial, and would use one for the Fairchild. I see one of you went with the Saito, and I've seen a video with someone who went with a UMS 7-50cc. Any thoughts on using one of these engines?