i do have an ARTF trainer aircraft but find looks wise its very bland and apart from colour looks just like any other ARTF trainer, having flown a Precedent T180 years ago when i first took up the hobby id allways longed for one,

by chance i spotted one in the back of RCM&E classifieds this month so rang the guy and collected a few hours later

on arrival the plane is fully built and has been flown many a time missing a few bits of hardware but otherwise complete

im not a total begginer when it comes to building and engines but might need some help along the way with mxing and 4 stroke glow motors as shes deffinetly going 4-stroke

it came as an airframe with 3 servo's 2 of which have gone in a glider as im not sure what thier capeable of so opted for the run of the mill Futaba s3003 throughout (when i get round to buying some)

 first off was finding out what on earth was up with the airlons as they had alot of play in them, after stripping some of the covering off i found some badly set up and loose bell cranks

 thats with the servo centered

and the servo clamps down like so

thankfully theres plenty of space to install a servo per airlon hopefully can also put some of my transmitter mixing capabilities into use and have flapperons mixed in with them

think im going to try and re-build the cowling then re-cut to my engine dimensions when i get it, the plane came with no mount but looking at the screw holes in the bulkhead and the mounts on sale at the local model shop it looks to have been fitted with a slec engine mount so just need to measure up and hopefully get one that wil go straight on using the old screw holes

ive also won on ebay today an OS fs52 4-stroke as the one id previosly flown had a 4-stroke and i just loved the chugging sound it made on little more than tick over

well if that's an upper surface view of the bellcrank, then it's a good setup to give differential aileron (more up than down)

if it's a bottom surface view, not do clever....

oh noes........pilot not included, an excuse for some daft soft toy me thinks plenty of spac for servo's radio gear and battery, the fuel tank doesnt appear to be the original as precedent kits came with slec fittings and tanks did they not?

right then first question.....

the tail wheel is 'shopping trolley' spec meaning its free to rotate of its own accord, will it be okay as it is or should i a) fix it solid b) buy one of those ones also joins the rudder to make it steerable

Timbo has a good point there about the authority of the rudder but if your taxiing at low speed you will find a steerable tail wheel an advantage. assuming the current one is secured to its shaft with a collet all you need is some more piano wire and a little bending skill I think I would be tempted to bend the top of the wire support to run under the rudder and after removing some covering bond it to the lower edge of the rudder with some glass tape and a little resin. Just my thoughts on the subject Mr sam

Done a few of these upgrade/renovation jobs and I reckon your going to enjoy this one keep the posts coming

Regards Phil

I built a T180 back in mmmmmmm 2000ish and as my first model it took me a very long time to do it. I got it all finished and Enya 4 stroke run up but never got any further than taxi practice at my local park. So its followed me around from house to house to Mum and Dads house etc etc but as yet has never flown. Only this year i decided that my new years resolution was going to be "learn to to fly". I decided that the way fwd was to buy an ARTF (Boomerang) and learn on that and then to fly my T180 by the end of the year by which time i hope to have cracked this flying business. The weather hasn't been kind but i've just managed to go solo with my Boomer so maybe she'll fly in the next few months. She's in her original condition with all original fixtures and fittings so if its of any help i can send you some pics if you like. Just specify which bit you need the details on. I've still got the box and intructions etc and even the pilot so if i can help just ask. Then when it comes to my turn i can maybe tap you up for some settings etc. On your engine cowl issue i saw somewhere either a plastic or fibre glass one for sale which might save you some time and effort. I'll rack my brains and see if can remember where it was and let you know. Best of luck anyway.

found it straight away thankyou i think ill get myself one of those only trouble is going to be matching the colour

 not done much over the week but picked up a mount and some wheel collets hopefully my engine should arrive this week and started buying radio gear for it

im going to resist flying her until ive passed my A test, im not to worried if i prang the ARTF trainer

well the engine came wrongly advertised its actually an SC 52 but not harm in that, also chucked in a prop spinner mount and tank which was handy, still not botherd installing or running it yet

also been talking to my instructor about the twin servo he reccons its a great idea as the T180 is prone to adverse yaw or something so i can programe the throws better to wipe that out, however though flaperons was a waste of time and if i wanted flaps id be best off cutting some in so we shall see

 hopefully get some more bits for her this weekend i want to get it all ready to go soon as i get a bit more confident with take off and landing

allmost there now radio and engine gear in hopefully give the engine a test run this afternoon and possibly a test flight later in the week allthough the engine sits a little to far forward due to the carb being on the rear of the engine

well after choking her up she fired on first contact with the starter tweaked the needle valve a little and rev's like a good un but not got the idle quite right yet although a new plug might help that?

 appologies for the B+W was using a different camera and couldnt work out how to put it back on colour

nope i bought the airframe ARTF off an old guy who was having to give up the hobby

well ive about got the engine tuned right shes idle'ing lovely and has instant pick up with plenty of grunt

 and now that ive got my A done and ive damaged the trainer (undercarrige come off in long grass) its time to bring out the T180

she fly's!!!

tailwheel is being a bit trouble some but once of the ground is great fun, its not keen on rolls requiring full down elevator when it comes inverted to just keep the nose up.......and deffinetly doesnt do inverted flight!

Hi Mr.Sam, very interested in your set of articles re the T180. Have recently obtained a model of this aircraft myself. Just the airframe. At this present time I'm just in the process of tidying things up prior to looking for a decent 4 stroke engine to power the machine. I haven't any plans or original build info but would be interested to know how you have got along with your 4 stroke that you fitted and what size tank have you used and how is it performing.? Especially from the all weather flying  point of view. Regards................