SLEC Funfly Build

[ken anderson.]

hello jeffrey,.....all them years ago my original was the kit,i traced all the bits before i built it ,just in case of ☠️.after a while i built another one from the tracings...and as i wanted it to knife edge from one side of the field to the other i left out the dihedral and gave the rudder an extra 1/2" to do so...apart from that whatever you do with yours you'll be pleased with it as an all rounder.

 

ken anderson...ne...1..funfly dept...

 

PS...no 2 also had a built up wing.....and i made the wing bolt on.

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi Guys
Funfly kit arrived this morning. Only had time for a quick peruse but first impressions good.
Arrived in a box jam packed with what looks pretty good wood.
This kit cost £105 inc postage. Considering you would pay twice that for a couple of lumps of re-cycled ceiling tiles, seems like pretty good value in my book.
As noted, comes with tank and engine mount, but also loads of other bits of hardware, including even a spinner.
Only omission was a pair of wheels. Looking at the box, doubt whether they could have fitted them in anyway. Got loads of spares around, so we'll forgive them that.
Even included some plastic sheet to cover the plan.
Yes, there is a plan, but only for the wings, but that's where the puzzle is.
Two instruction books included.
First is, I presume, the original one for the kit. This has written building instructions but no illustrations.
A supplementary one is also enclosed. This has pictures at various stages of the construction, which will be very useful, but it is titled ' Building Instructions, New Wing', so wondering what's changed.
Main construction appears to be cnc cut lite ply. Ribs have lightening holes, but it also uses cnc cut sub leading edges, trailing edges and shear webs, all tab locked in place.
Should make for a quick and accurate build, but I would question the weight.
Obviously will be tracing round the parts before the build, so, if need be, simple job to make a new wing out of balsa.
Anyway, so far so good.
Nigel
Sorry, forgot to mention, I picked up a used OS40LA from Martin Thompson. That arrived today, seems to have loads of compression, so won't know more until I get it running, but should do the job.
Also you mentioned using 'T' nuts for the motor mount/bulkhead.
SLEC are ahead of you, and include those in the kit. Bit puzzled when I found another set in a bag. Turns out these fit into the u/c plate for the retaining saddles. Most kits would use self tappers for this, so +1 to SLEC.
That's all I have so far. Will highlight any issues as I build.
Cheers
Jeff

[David Davis]

I built a SLEC Fun Fly about six years ago. I can't remember whether the wing had any dihedal or not but the reference to the "New Wing" is a reference to the built-up wing of the modern kit. The first Fun Flys had foam veneered wings.

 

Picture of two pals with their Fun Flys. The one on the left has the foam veneered wing, the one on the right the current built-up wing. I was going to finish mine in yellow too before someone in the club pointed out that three yellow Fun Flys in the air at the same time is just asking for trouble so mine was finished in orange and white. It was powered by an OS 40 FP, the forerunner of your LA.

 

The only problem I had with the kit was attaching the cockpit canopy to the structure. In the end I think I used velcro. I'm not in a position to check because the model was killed in action when the transmitter stopped transmitting, the failsafe cut in but the FunFly does not glide well from fifty feet in a knife-edge!

 

PS. Jeffrey,it appears that you are coming back to glow power after years of flying electric powered models exclusively. Several others are making the same transition.

 

Any idea why?

[Redex]

The FunFly does have a slight dihedal which can just be seen in Pic 29 of the Building Pictures and also W47 in the CNC cut parts pictures. These were all part of the build instructions in my FunFly kit

[ken anderson.]

i made mine with the canopy  glued to the wing, with an access hole in to get to the fixing bolt...

 

ken anderson...ne.....1 .... bolt dept.

[Jeffrey Cottrell 2]

Hi Guys

David

'New Wing'. Had the same thought myself, but the old manual also has instructions for the built up wing, so it's not that. Had a chat with Chris at SLEC, and he says it's a change in the spar webbing.

Apparently the older model had top and bottom spars which you glued the ribs to but then the spar webbing was in sections to be glued in separately. The newer design has a one piece slotted web of cnc ply. The lower spar  is glued to this first, then the ribs added and the upper spar glued to the ribs and the webbing in situ.

Should make for a massively strong structure, but I'm not sure about fitting the upper spar to the webbing and ribs at the same time. Depends how well the slots have been cut. Time will tell.

As Redex pointed out, the wing does have slight dihedral. One odd thing. Neither manual gives how much this dihedral should be, just suggests using a book or similar to hold it at the correct angle.

Not sure if I'll need this. Ken built one with a flat wing, no dihedral, and I'm seriously thinking about going that way too. Not sure whether it will spoil the looks of the model, but I have its stable mate, the Limbo Dancer, which has a flat wing and flies very well on it.

Jury still out on that one.

Not sure about anyone else, but the change back to glow came about through a series on coincidences, and a bite of the nostalgia bug.

Some months back I went to the Wings and Wheels show, with the firm intention of not buying anything (yeah, right). Came back with two second hand models, one or which was a big Excelsior from the DSM stable.

It had a whopping great Thunder Tiger 120 on the front, but came at such a good price I just couldn't resist. Anyway, having been all electric for so long needed to source the ancilliarys, starter, fuel etc.

Had a couple of flights with this one, until a hard landing resulted in large bits falling off. Not too happy with the way it had been put together, so that's in the repair shop for a full refit.

Left me with all the gear and nothing to use it on.

Looking through the BMFA classifieds, scored an OS 40 LA for a very reasonable price, so that only left a suitable airframe to fit it, hence the FunFly.

That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

Jeff