Official Nexa 2060mm SBD-5 Dauntless Discussion Thread

[James]

I'm sure this will be one of those "duh" questions, but I'm putting this bird together now and I see no way for the servo wires from the wings to run up through the top of the main wing section into the fuselage. Just cut a hole in the center? What am I missing? This manual is not detailed enough.........

I mean, how else would you get the wires into the fuselage without seeing them? Yes, you will have to cut little holes in the top of the wing that will hide under the fuselage so they can run into the battery hatch to then attach them to your receiver.

[Doss6504]

I'm sure this will be one of those "duh" questions, but I'm putting this bird together now and I see no way for the servo wires from the wings to run up through the top of the main wing section into the fuselage. Just cut a hole in the center? What am I missing? This manual is not detailed enough.........

[downwindleg]

Hey, anybody doing 3D printed bomb and carriage parts? Also, don’t see any indentation for the antenna.

[downwindleg]

Welcome to the group. Let us know how your doing.

[Grover54]

This is a beautiful bird, always wanted a Dauntless. I found one NIB for $500 and jumped on it. Will it be worth it?

[downwindleg]

Ok, here’s the new Robert tires. 3 3/4”. Had to drill out the supplied centers a bit but they worked out OK

[downwindleg]

Ok. Piece number one heated and formed to wing and then painted. Gluing is next.

[downwindleg]

At last, some progress. Got the little tail piece attached today. Thought I would have more time to work on the plane with this snowy weather but life got in the way.

[downwindleg]

Has anybody discovered the slot for the antenna that plugs in front left of the canopy? I have not Ben able to find it. I sanded tapers into the plywood piece that comes with the kit and put the first coat of midnight blue spray paint. Great match by the way.

[downwindleg]

Love to see some video of this beast flying Matt. Or anybody else for that matter….especially with the stock electric setup.

[Matt Mathias]

Tempted …. Does anyone know if a small Saito radial 33 would fit in this. It’s how I save on buying planes .. no radial, no plane))

Yes it fits great. I have the Saito FG33R3 in mine and flies it great. I have the heavy scale wheels and a aftermarket working bomb drop. must epoxy in the baffles though.

[handyman220]

I'd be interested in those wing fairing parts also. Any chance you'd be willing to sell some?

[MrSmoothie]

The wing-join fairings worked out very well -- after sanding, priming (I use SEM high build primer which is an outstanding product) and painting (BEHR latex which I matched to the original blue), these were attached with canopy glue, although in one area I used BSI Gold thin CA with a fine applicator. I've made and painted the bottom ones (a different profile to account for dihedral) and ready to glue them on.

[downwindleg]

Hey MrSmoothie, any chance you could send me the files for those farings? I am about as far away as I can be from you and still be in the continental U.S. so that might be the best way to go. I have a friend that could print them for me.

[downwindleg]

Very nice. Looks like the bottom of your pieces are flat. If that is the case, I could use the same thing and just glue it only on the center section side so that the outer wing panel could still be removed.

[MrSmoothie]

My test today making the molding as a 3D part was more successful than I thought it would be. After printing, the parts were heated with the lower of two settings on my cheapo heat gun, and then were easily formed to the airfoil section. Interestingly, the parts didn't get too hot to touch, or too hot to contact the wing surface. I refined the part's section a bit more and printing new parts now. It'll take two sections on top and bottom, but the real moldings were at least two or three sections. Finishing these off to a smooth surface will be easy -- some sanding, followed by multiple coats of SEM brand high-build primer, with a bit more sanding.

[MrSmoothie]

I was tipped off (by LDM on RCG) that the furnished molding is next to useless. I had already wondered about making the molding as a 3D part and printed tests yesterday. Getting the section and scale was the easy part. For my model, it would take two pieces to span the wing chord. The hard part was conforming to the airfoil contour, especially at the leading edge. But I did some tests with a heat gun and was actually surprised by my results. I'll report back when I do them "for real". On the ESM, the outer wing panels are glued, not removable. But I agree there could be a way to make them permanent to the center section. These fairings/moldings were wider than I think most people realize. I've carefully scaled photos and decided that on my 1/7 scale Dauntless they should be 17 or 18mm wide, meaning 5" or so actual size. Too bad I don't know anybody visiting the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola this week! That's one museum where, with most aircraft, you can walk right up to (or crawl under!) them.

[downwindleg]

I’m thinking maybe making a profile pattern for a 3D printer instead of the supplied material. For this Dauntless, the problem is that if you use the supplied material, you can no longer remove the wing. But a T shape that you could attach to the center wing section that overlaps the outer wing panel might work. Not sure I want to go to all that much trouble for squint scale.If I decide not to use the supplied material, I’ll let you know

[downwindleg]

I’m thinking maybe making a profile pattern for a 3D printer instead of the supplied material. For this Dauntless, the problem is that if you use the supplied material, you can no longer remove the wing. But a T shape that you could attach to the center wing section that overlaps the outer wing panel might work. Not sure I want to go to all that much trouble for squint scale.

[MrSmoothie]

I'm curious about the flexible molding provided to cover the juncture between center and outer wing sections. The real plane had such a molding as it covered the bolted flanges joining the sections. I'm working on a 71" ESM Dauntless and I'm having a hard time coming up with a good solution to fabricating this molding so that it will be flexible enough to go around the front third of the airfoil. Can anybody tell me more about the material provided in the Nexa kit? It looks like it can be purchased, but unfortunately as part of a large hardware pack that costs $65.
--Specifically, how wide is the molding?
--Longshot I know, but did anybody opt not to use the material and willing to sell it?