iX12 Transmitter is on its way home soon!

 

My iX12 has been assigned a tech!

Yay! Should be coming back next week!!!

Wonder what the tech will find?

Hangar 9 Ultra Stick 10cc #2 Ready to Maiden!

The 2S 5000 mAh battery pack arrived ahead of schedule today. Put an EC3 and a Futaba connector on it, charged it a little and installed it for testing  the electronics installation.

All up!

As before the CG is a bit tail heavy, by 2 cm. Based on  my last experience I am not chasing it.  It required a pound of weight to get it, and I  flight it was nose heavy and I removed it, flew fine. So no adjustment this time.

The Pitts Model 12 and the Stick waiting for their maiden. The Waco telling how great a pilot I think I am.

Meanwhile, 14 days at the service enter and my Spektrum iX12 remains unassigned and on the shelf...

 

Hangar 9 Ultra Stick 10cc Second Addition

My second Ultra Stick 10cc arrived and the build began in earnest couple of days ago. Since its pretty much the same as the first one, I'm not posting step-by-step again.

And so it begins.

Started with the wing.

Tail feathers followed.

The Evolution 10cc installed. Changed the throttle control linkage a bit, using a rod and made a pretty straight path. Mine runs inside the mount, the plans have it running laterally.

I used the landing  gear from Version 1, and here she is up un her feet.

Waiting for the 2S 5000 mAh battery pack to arrive, then I can finish and light the fire!

My iX12 Transmitter is still sitting on a shelf at Horizon Hobby Service Center, not yet assigned to a tech, going on 3 weeks now with no radio...

Horizon Spektrum Service is Super Busy....

 

Sent almost 3 weeks ago, its been there nearly 2 weeks, and still hasn't been assigned to a tech for evaluation and repair.  Its never taken this long before. They are super busy, I know they are doing the best they can, its just killing me, not flying...

Replacement H9 Ultrastick is here! Let the resurrection begin!

My replacement Hangar 9 Ultrastick 10cc arrived on schedule!

In an interesting aside, my LHS called me yesterday to tell me it arrived at the shop. I told them that was odd, I had not ordered it from them, and I wasn't expecting it until today and it was coming to my house, not the LHS. They insisted it was there, with my name on it, and that I had called a couple of days ago and ordered it. So I went there and showed them my Tower Hobbies receipt and FedEx notification just to be sure. They got all pissy, asking "Well, how did we get your name and number?" I replied I had no idea. I called two weeks ago for a stock check, since it was on backorder and wondering it they had one laying around. They did not, and I did not give any personal info other than my "Hi, I'm Ken, calling for a stock check."  A week later on 8/1 Tower sent me the "In Stock!" email I had requested, and the next day I ordered it from Tower, on this past Monday 8/2. I don't know how that LHS stuff all happened, but it wasn't me. 

So they called me again a few hours later to let me know my model was at the shop...

Nitroplanes Pitts Model 12 All Up!

Its all done. Dry weight is 10 lbs, CG a touch nose heavy, going to leave that alone and see how it trims out. All that is left is the maiden flight.

My cowl securing shenanigans continue. The cowl securing screws were designed to be tightened from inside the cowl, one at about 10 o'clock and one at 2. I don't have a hex driver long enough for that, so thought I would turn the screws around and put on a nut from inside the fuse, even bought thumb nuts, but I just could not get to the screws, the space was so tight. Plan C. There is about that much space between the cowl frame and the canopy. I made this platform...

... and fixed a screw onto a cross bar I placed inside the cowl, which interfaces with the platform. I secured the cowl leaving the two Plan B screws in place to help support and stabilize the cowl, and on this center one use a bonded washer and one of the thumb nuts. That nut passes through a space in the front of the canopy. Works perfectly.

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All up and ready to go!

The aluminum 3-blade 2.5inch spinner came in. Mounted the Master Airscrew 15x7x3 prop, with my custom painted tips. Balanced the prop yesterday.

The pilot is just the cockpit!

I am going to hold off the maiden until my iX12 comes back from the shop.