The NULL Systems

Sean Tucker aerobatics in his new Challenger III Biplane

2013-01-27T19:15:00.000-08:00

Sean Tucker aerobatics in his new Challenger III Biplane cutting ribbons at KHWY on 5/19/11.

ESM F4U Corsair 50cc 85" Wingspan ARF

2013-01-22T01:05:00.002-08:00

ESM F4U Corsair 50cc 85" Wingspan ARF

Specifications from Manufacturer

Wing Span: 85"
Wing Area: 9.39 sq. ft
Wing loading: 44.5 oz/sq.ft.
Gas Engine: 50 to 60 cc
MSRP $699.00 (US) as of 10-2013

Specifications for this built

Gas Engine: DLE 111cc Twin-cylinder with standard mufflers
Elevator Servo: 1 x
Aileron Servos: 2 x
Rudder Servo: 1 x
Flaps servos: 4 x
Throttle servo: 1 x
Air Retracts Servo: 1 x
Air Retracts: ESM (2 for main and 1 for tail wheel)
Main gear Doors Servos: 4 x
Receiver:
Power Management:
Master On-Board Ignition switch
Optical Radio controlled ignition cut-off switch
Receiver/Servo Batteries: 2 x Fromeco Lion 2400mAh
Ignition Batteries: 1 x Fromeco Lion 2400mAh

Overall finish

The exterior finish of this ARF is very good with built in panel lines, mat paint job. The interior is spacious.and the designed servo area will work for most applications. The elevator, rudder and tail wheel use string pull/pull system, You can see more details in the official (ESM) PDF manual at this link.

Changes and modifications

For my particular ARF I perform the following changes and modifications.

Replaced

Replaced all oem links with heavy duty Dubro ball links.
Replaced all air lines wit Robart air lines.
Replaced retracts air valve with Robart heavy duty valve.
Replaced all air line plastic connectors with Robart.
Replaced most hardware with SAE hardware from RTL Fasteners.
Replaced the oem wooden dowels with a larger diameter hard wood dowels.
Replaced the oem wing bolts with larger steel hex cap bolts and blind nuts.
Replaced original main gear axles (4mm) made out of very soft material with 8mm stainless steel studs.

Modified

The original firewall had a left thrust line so some modifications are made to fix this issue.
Re-enforced the firewall "tube" (see manual and fig. 1 and 2) )with extra fiber-glassing. Added also in front of the origan firewall an extra layer of hardwood and everything were tide down with bolts and large "fender" washers (fig. 3). Just wanted to make sure the 111 cc engine will not "depart" from the plane!
Created a hatch on the fuselage belly between the tail wheel and the wing.
Re-finished 2 main gear doors because they were painted and finished on the wrong side!

Figure 1


Figure 2

Figure 3

Engine

This model is specified for a 50cc Gasoline Engine but later on when the landing gear, servos and auxiliary equipment installed to achieve the correct CG I would had to add more than 10 lb. of weight! At that point I decided to use a bigger engine for adding weight on the nose A DLE 111cc twin cylinder gas engine was purchased and installed (figures 4).


Figure 4

Landing Gear

The ES M air retracts look very beefy; at least most of the parts (figures 5, 6 and 7) .

Figure 5


Figure 6

Figure 7

The weak links are the axles and the scissors. The original axles bent after the 1st landing and we manage to straiten them by hand! I replaced them with stainless steel (could not find harden steel of these dimensions) 8mm stand-offs (figure 8). Of course I needed to drill bigger holes on the wheels.

Figure 8

Landing Gear Doors

The package included the 3 piece doors for the main gears and the hardware for the piece that attached to the wheel strut with the number. The 2 main doors had no hardware so I had to create hing points and fit the 2 servos to operate them (figures 9 and 10).


Figure 9


Figure 10

I used an EMS Gear and Door sequencer for scale movement of opening and closing the gear doors and retracting the landing gear.

... to be continued

Lynsel's Bristol Giant Scale biplane

2011-10-13T23:11:00.000-07:00

HD Video on Vimeo

This is a great detailed giant scale RC (remote controlled) plane flown in the Tomcats (SCCMAS) air filed.

How To rebuild a DLE 55 cc engine

2011-08-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

In the next few days I will complete the rebuild of a DLE 55cc engine after a crash. The only visible damage to the engine is a broken cooling fin and the throttle shaft was sheared off from the carburetor. The plane crashed nose first from a high altitude so even if the shaft looks straight without x-ray or other methods I cannot tell if any microscopic fractures are developed due to the crash.

WARNING: The following procedure assumes that you have some experience disassembling and assembling engines. If you have not done this operation before seek help from an experience air-modeler who have worked with this type of engine. Also, by disassembling the engine you most likely voided the warranty.

The following parts except the carburetor are replaced as a precaution and probably not absolutely necessary. Due to reasonably priced DLE parts I decided to replace the following parts.

Complete crankshaft (includes connecting rod) for $39.99
Both main roller bearings (front and back) for $9.99
Walbro carburetor due to broken throttle shaft for $39.99
Gasket set for $5.99
Screw set for $5.99
Woodruff Key for $1.49


DLE 55 parts after disassemble and clean

Cylinder and carburetor are removed.

DLE 55 Gaskets (bottom left gasket not part of OEM gasket set)

The circular gasket is custom made and goes between the carburetor

and Troy Build Models (TBM) Small Velocity Stack.


Use a pulley extractor to separate the propeller hub from the crank shaft.

From Top clockwise: Reed valve gaskets, Reed valve spacer, spark plug, piston pin retainer clips and reed valve.

Remove the spark plug.
Remove the 2 bolts holding the carburetor and reed valve assembly. Probably the gaskets between the carburetor, reed valve and engine body will brake so make sure you order a new gasket set.
Separate the reed valve from the reed valve spacer and carefully examine the reed valve petals. Be careful not to break them petals. If any of them are missing or cracked you will have to replace the reed valve.
Remove the 4 bolts holding the cylinder.
Gently separate the cylinder from the main body. Do not twist the cylinder too much when removing it from the main body because it can catch the piston ring and brake it.
Remove the 4 bolts behind the main body and gently separate from the crankcase from the back plate.
Using a long socket unbolt the crankshaft extension were the spinner bolt goes.
Remove the propeller hub and careful not to drop the Woodruff Key.
With a plastic tipped hammer gently hit the crankshaft from the front until it is removed from the engine case.
Check the bearings (front and back) for smooth rotation. If any "scratches" are identified the bearing should be replaced. They come in pairs so may as well replace both in this case. I like to warm up the crankcase in a toaster oven for 15 minutes at 450 degrees Fahrenheit and makes the bearing removal easier. Use wooden or plastic dowels to remove the bearings from the case without damaging the bearing seats.
Install the new rear bearing on the crankshaft. To make the operation easier I put the crank shaft in a zip-lock bag and put them in the freezer for a few hours. Now the bearing should slide much easier in the shaft. Insert the spacer sleeve in the crankshaft.
Insert the crankshaft from the rear. To make the operation easier I put the crank shaft with the installed bearing in a zip-lock bag and put them in the freezer for a few hours. I also put the front bearing in the same bag too (for the next step). Now the bearing should slide much easier in the body.
Insert the front bearing from the front of the crankcase. If the crankcase is warmed-up in the toaster oven for a few minutes it could make the installation even easier. Make sure the bearings are fully seated.

Pictures and more details of the rebuild will follow.

Ruby's Hawker Sea Fury RC Nitro

2011-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Below is Ruby's new Hawker Sea-Fury RC model plane powered by a Nitro OS 120 AX engine. This ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) model is from CMP.

2011 Tomcats (SCCMAS) Airshow

2011-08-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

Below is a compilation of images and videos from this years Tomcats aka SCCMAS Airshow.

Some more photos from the event's night flying below:

Walter's amazing light show

Startship Enterprise

Startship Enterprise actually flies!

Leo's Tow Cobra

2011-08-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

Check out the amazing details of this Bell AH-1 Tow Cobra RC helicopter.

The mechanics are from an Align T-Rex 600E and the fusalge is from Century Helicopters.

Also in a video below

iCam Copter video at 2011 SSCMAS Airshow

2011-07-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

The following YouTube video is shot from the amazing iCam Copter. Mike was flying the Camera-ship. This footage is been shot by a few "camera-men". I "shot/flew" the Snoopy House/Red-Baron video sequence.

You can find more information about the iCam Copters at iCam Copters Web site.

Avro Lancaster RC Model

2011-07-16T11:31:00.000-07:00

The RC model of a Avro Lancaster (World War II bomber) was taxing the SCCMAS runway with all 4 engines running well. The following video captures the motion and sounds from all 4 2-stroke ignition engines running. This project will be updated as it progress to the next step.

Some historical information about the Lancaster bomber can be found at the Wikipedia page.
Enjoy

A few weeks ago the engines tested at the same location

2011 Reid Hillview Airport Day

2011-07-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

This year's (2011) Reid Hillview Airport Day had some of the usual and new flying and other machines available for everyone to see close-up. The following YouTube clip will give you a summary of the day.

Enjoy

New video on YouTube - 42% Sundancer Reno Air Racer

2011-06-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the pleasure to see an unusual and beautiful RC plane based on a real Reno Air Racing bi-plane called the Sundancer. Below is the video and images of this airplane from my YouTube.

This is one of a kind RC (remote controlled) 42% scale (to the full original size) build by Rich. It is completely constructed of composite materials and features advance aerodynamic building techniques. It is powered by a twin-cylinder Fuji 86cc 2-stroke gasoline engine with electronic ignition.

The above video and pictures are taken at our flying field SCCMAS. All videos and photographs are shot and edited by me.

Enjoy

2011 IMAA Giant Scale RC Planes West Coast Festival

2011-06-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

The following video is from this years (2011) IMAA Gian Scale RC airplanes West Coast Festival at Castle Airport in California. Beautifull and very detailed large RC planes are flown and displayed. From WWI to today's supersonic jets were on display. Also, some amazing aerobatic (3D) mono and bi-planes were flown in this event. On the following video you will be able to sample some images and actual flights from this year's event.

Aeroworks Ultimate 20-300 bi-plane 50cc Giant Scale RC plane

2011-06-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

The following video is about an ARF (almost ready to fly) Giant Scale Ultimate 20-300 RC Giant Scale bi-plane powered by a 55cc 2-stroke gasoline engine with electronic ignition.
The following equipment are used for this particular bi-plane:

1 x DLE 55 engine with ignition module and stand-offs.
1 x Slimline Pitts style muffler for smoke syste
1 x TBM Velocity Stack
7 x Hitec HS-7955TG Version 2
1 x Throttle servo
1 x TBM Engine Carburetor arm set
1 x Smart-Fly PowerSystem Sport Plus with optical kill system
1 x Arizona Sahara regulator (for ignition)
2 x Fromeco Relion 2600 (for receiver/servos)
1 x Fromeco Relion 2600 (for ignition)

2011 California Jets Funfly

2011-04-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

This years California Jets fun fly was a great success. Some highlights from this event can be seen in the following video.

Enjoy

Ruby's Gee Bee Y RC Giant Scale Plane

2011-04-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

Below is a video of Ruby's beautiful RC giant scale plane Gee Bee Y.

Dave's Giant Scale P-40 Warhawk

2011-04-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

Dave's beautiful giant scale P-40 Warhawk video below.

The specifications of this Giant Scale plane are:
Top Flight Giant Scale P-40 Warhawk "Flying Tigers"
Weight 24.5 lbs.
Wing span is 86".
Gasoline engine is Zenoah G-62,Tony Clark carb bend and Slim Line muffler. Sierra main retracts Modified to fit from sky shark P-40.
Robart retractable tail wheel
Futaba digital servos S9252, S3050
Futaba 2.4 GHz 14MZ radio

RC Blue Angels Fat Albert

2010-09-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

The model is an ASM (Advanced Scale Models) C-130 sold by Hobby People. It comes as an ARF(Almost Ready to Fly) and it is done up in the Coast Guard scheme. Don stripped the decals off of it and repainted with automotive paint that was matched to the Blue Angels colors. The model was converted to electric power. The motors are Turnigy 35-42 1000kv outrunners with Turnigy Plush 40amp speed controllers. The batteries are Turnigy 4s 14.8v 5000mah 25c. The radio is a JR 12X with all digital servos. It has pneumatic powered retracts. Weight is 22 lbs with batteries. The plane is co-owned by Tim Jones and Don Coulter.

Align TRex 600 Nitro Pro with VBar Flybarless

2010-09-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

A Hero camera is attached on the top of my TRex 600 Nitro Pro canopy during this flight at the SCCMAS Field. The heli has a VBar flybarless system and JR receiver and servos. The engine is an OS 55 with a MultiGov Pro for rotor speed governing and mixture control.