Feefo Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 After a bad day at the slope a few weeks ago (OK it wasn't THAT bad, but enough to make me think that a £700 model might not be a great idea), I decided that as a 1st F3F'er the Willow was the way to go. Several pestering emails to Ian proved to be enough that I managed to bag 1 of the last Beta models at a good price, and a bit more in that it was the carbon winged version. And so on to the assembly…..First intention was to do the wing fit out. I thought I'd got enough clevises, but obviously I hadn't so ordered some with some extension cables, heat shrink, mpx plugs, epoxy and other bits needed for the build. However, delivery on Friday showed I HADN'T ordered the clevises so that :censored: that 1 up. :confused: OK so the fuse needs the inner nose gluing in. The way I've done it is to 1st put some lightweight filler on the inner nose and put the nose cone on. I then pushed the inner cone in until about an inch stuck out. Result is no wobble from the outer nose cone on the inner. This was then glued into the fuse after wrapping the outer cone with tape so I didn't glue the 2 together (the things you learn eh?). The supplied servo tray needed a little dremeling to get a good fit, along with a recess to let the excess epoxy mix stop pushing the sides of the tray in where the ballast tube sits.But now I've got a dilema. The ballast tube is about 290mm internally. I was going to use the Typhoon's slugs, or at least some the same size (35.xx mm), which means the centre of the tube falls just right at about 105-108mm BUT the retaining spacer is only going to be about 10mm. My prefered method is a retaing bolt through the wood stop, so a 10mm piece with a 5mm hole doesn't seem to have enough wood either side of the hole to be strong enough IMO. It also means that the accesss to the ballast tube is not the easiest as the tube is under part of the inner nose. A couple of poor pics to help explain… So, do Ia, make the ballast slightly smaller, say 32mm which would mean I can pull the tube forward 10mm or so giving me the finger space required?b, make/buy a new ballast tube which is a good 1" or so longer so I've got better access access at the front but I don't have to go dremel happy?c, dremel the top of the inner cone away to give me access but keep original ballast size and tube? This is def the least fave option for me at the moment. Thanks for any opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_B Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 make your own tube up ....i did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Could do, I've got some plastic waste tube that the 'phoons slugs fit into (the type sold for a Flying Fish), so I could roll some glass cloth around that. I wouldn't have to worry about the cloth bonding to the tube, just use the cloth as a reinforcement to stop the tube bending. Longer would be better I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the.Timinator Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Take a look at the Extreme method. The ballast is retained by a sort of rubber spacer, about 10mm thick, with a chord round it to pull it out. In use, it is an effective interference fit, but easily rmoved when you want the weight out. HTH Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoyo Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 How about just drilling a hole in the top of the inner cone so you can put your machine screw in to lock the ballast but still have the strength? it only needs to be big enough to pass the screwhead... The whole arrangement there, wing shoulders and all, looks exactly like my Acacia III. ut for that the ballast is a shotgun loading slot from underneath. Ballast is then held in with a wooden plug with a paracord loop sticking out of the side, which the sliding nosecone holds in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 I thought of that way Yoyo, but it still means getting the ballast in is a little fiddly.Bigger tube seemed the better option, so I used the plastic tube I've got with an offcut of carbon sock to give it some rigidity. It needed the sock to take up a bit of a gap in the servo tray cut out. Now I'd say I haven't made it fully carbon as the rx antenna's would end up near the tube but that's as much sock as I had TBH. I'm sure it'll be fine as there's no flex in the tube now and I'll try and get enough epoxy under it to help support the tube. Internal length is 360mm, so I'm going with 9 x 19mm x 35mm slugs (315mm) because I have them, although I could do 11 x 30mm but would need to make some more. Not sure if I can be bothered making new ones.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isoaritfirst Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Will it be ready for the 15th up the Mynd. Great way to test a new model - in your first comp.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 No sorry Mike, can't make the 15th. I can't fly saturdays due to family commitments. Anyway I doubt it'll be ready due to suppliers not getting their orders to me, still waiting on parts..... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian F3F Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I've arranged for the new models to come witbn ballast tubes 350mm long and 20mm wide, more ballast and balances better with the improved inner nose length. All feedback welcome. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 11, 2011 Author Share Posted October 11, 2011 +1 from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Not sure if this is cause for concern or not, but the Willow's needing 246g :eek: of lead in the nose to balance at 109mm (I know Adam pushed back to 108, recommended 100-105). And I can't get it all up front :confused: I'm wondering if the best course of action would be to make the stopper for the ballast from lead filled tube which would need to be permanently in place (but removable to load the ballast obviously). Not sure if I used too much epoxy in the v tail when it needed a mod, but this seems really tail heavy. Out of paranoia that I'm doing something blatantly wrong on setting up the CoG (hang over), I've done nothing other than balance with a bag of lead shot taped to the nose and will return in a few hours to see that I'm not about to make a cock up. (can I say that?) Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fubar Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Try melting the lead and casting a slug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 I'll still not have enough room. I've just poured the shot in the nose and it takes 135g, ok the volume will reduce a little if I melt it so I might get 160g max. It seems like a lot of lead to balance it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonesoaring2003 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Doesn't sound right, I'm sure ian will be along soon when he gets back from Sutton Poyntz, as an aside I saw him flying the willow this morning and I was very impressed, seemed a very easy plane to live with, well thought out, and reflex was like a speed switch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Agreed there GS, but after some coffee, bacon butties and paracetamol it does need 246g. Give or take a bit..... So....I've gone down the melted lead poured direct in to the nose (man I hate doing that, why does it give me the shakes?) while sitting in a (dog) bowl of cold water. With the nose filled with solid lead, and 4 rectangular pieces of lead about 10mm x 40mm (2 each side of the battery, CoG is now 105mm :party: . This build has been a labour of love, small problems tho, all of which would be over come by a more experienced builder, but has given me headaches all the way. I'm sure the neighbour has wandered into his garage at 1.30am to hint at me that he can hear the Dremel..... Only thing is I'm not sure if it's a bit heavy. 2575g unballasted? Ballast capacity is 9 slugs which if I use lead filled pipe will be just under 1kg, from memory about 850g if I use 6 brass slugs from the Typhoon and 3 lead filled pipe pieces. Melted lead fills the available nose, I know many don't like this method but I had to IMO Not as neat as the original layout, and I've had to lose the toggle switch, ariels still to be secured. I've never done the balls attached to rods before, took a couple of attempts before I was happy, but results seem ok. Pain ITA to attach to the v tail control surfaces, my fault for deciding on JB Weld I guess. Took between 3-4 hours to set, and I had to check them constantly due to them moving which would have caused them to rub on the fuse tail. Only thing I haven't done is attach the covers for the control rods on the top of the wings, not sure if I will as they don't seem a great fit, although they may be sanded to the right contour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonesoaring2003 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 loooking good Feefo, lead in the nose looks very neat!Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyr Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I got a Willow this very Day, :D Cant wait to set it up nice and Not try and catch it on landing , arggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Dont ask :o Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feefo Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Is it a Beta version or 1 from the new moulds Bob? It wasn't the 'phoon was it? Alex, the pro's of pouring moulten lead in is that it's very neat. Slightly dodgy tho, but no wasting space for the epoxy to sit on top of. If I had the space I'd have used the shot mixed in epoxy tho, I just didn't have the choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbyr Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Its a Beta mate , So not perfect . Still nice though . And yes i tried to catch the phoon landing , and well it was nice right up until it twa#/ed my leg and snapped the fuse just past the repair . not un-fixable though . My willow is Adams Gromit express from Lundy . which is nice :party: Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gromit Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Woo-hoo ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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