Thursday, November 3, 2016

Spoiler checkup finished, & ready to go!

I'm getting down to the "short rows" of getting my old aircraft back up to speed and airworthy. My old Spoiler was the last major hurtle, before getting back on the builds I had started and not yet completed. Next, I have to do a few things to my little Ford Escape to be able to haul this stuff (used to have a RC trailer, not now).

I've had this spoiler since 2008, and it was a prototype for a planned production run that never came to pass. We spent a few thousand $$ on prototypes, debugging, etc...the economy crashed in the fall of 2008, and the shop that was building these for us went out of business. Oh well, best laid plans, right? Anyway, this thing is a blast to fly. I was surprised to find that even the flight battery was OK, when I pulled it from about 2-1/2 years of storage! I gave it a once over, found a few loose screws and minor covering repairs needed, lubricated the engine, and she's ready to go!

You can see a quick checkout of the electronics here:
http://rcdave.blogspot.com/2016/10/checking-out-electronics-on-my-spoiler.html 

Here's a short check flight video from 2008


Some covering repairs made, ready for engine cleanup...



I use HiTec servos & Spektrum radio gear...


The flight battery is a 4200mah NiMH Hydrimax, still in good shape!


O.S. 1.20  2-stroke glow makes loads of power, even with the stock muffler.


I found the Vess 17 x 6 Sport prop to be the best fit for my use.


Dual servos in each wing panel, no need for a balancer. The ailerons flex enough to make up for any servo mismatch. 



All cleaned up, and ready to go!




Dave AMA119484
http://www.RCDave.net