IanN Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Posted by Phil Green on 07/04/2016 22:33:01: Thats brilliant David, its great to give these old single-channel designs a fresh airing. And, you now have some photos for the Sleeker re-issue! Yes, back in the day when we flew C/L I often drooled over the S/C designs in the APS plans Handbook, which then seemed like the height of unattainable sophistication to me Thing is, I've never seen a built example of the vast majority of those so this - along with the general S/C revivial that has been gaining ground recently - is of real interest Good pics, very nice looking model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Thanks lads, I'm not sure I'm brave enough to fit one servo quite yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeW Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Are you saying that once you have it trimmed you'll lock up that silly elevator and fly it properly???? Just asking....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ e flyer Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Hi guys. Well I've started building my own sleeker from the free plans (first ever build from just plans). So far both wings are built and with sincere apologies to yourself and your father David I have modified the wings slightly. They are longer by one rib each side, I have added a wing spar for a little more strength, added ailerons and slightly reduced the dihedral. So far it is looking great, just waiting to purchase and install servos on the wings and then I'll apply the top skin balsa and finish shaping. In the mean time I have been carefully studying the plan for the fuselage and I have a couple of beginner questions; The fuselage side walls are double skinned - should each skin have the wood grain direction at 90 degrees to each other? Do you attach the formers to the first (internal) skin, bend to correct shape and then attach the outer skin? Forgive my naivety, as I said earlier it's my first build. I promise as soon as can I will get some photos up of my progress. TP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ e flyer Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 About time I did an update I guess. Nearly 3 months has passed since my last post and my sleeker is still not finished. But its getting close. Its been a slow build but when you work away like I do time is very limited so any build I undertake will be slow. Plus being my first plan build I've been trying to be as accurate as I can and planned each stage carefully. I've really enjoyed building this little beauty so far and I'm certain it won't b my last build. Background: I modified the wing to include ailerons, reduced the dihedral and extended the wing length by one rib distance each side. Total wing length is now 950mm. Fuselage was built to include the undercarriage as per the original drawings however, the plan is to make the nose wheel steerable and instead of having the wheels attached by elastic band, I designed them to slide in to the fuselage and they can be removed the same way. Current weight stands at 400grams without a motor, ESC, Rx, battery or associated wiring so, so far so good. Photos next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ e flyer Posted March 7, 2017 Share Posted March 7, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ e flyer Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Well, it's finished. Now just waiting for its maiden. thoroughly enjoyed the build. Will let you know how the maiden goes in a couple of weeks. Hacker A30-28s 1140kv motor, 30 amp esc, 2200mAh 3s battery, CoG came out pretty much exactly as per the magazine, AUW 770gm. Should go OK I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OZ e flyer Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Sleeker update. Quick note on my Sleeker maiden yesterday. 😁😁 I'll be smiling for weeks. A little bit of trim adjustment to get the dive glide right and it is a thoroughly lovely plane to fly. She is definitely a V12 powered rocket ship and a bit of a hooligan machine (understatement) but so much fun and easy to handle. No nasty surprises at all. The addition of ailerons has I think made rolls really snappy, the additional length on the wing makes it glide a little better I think and leaving a bit of dihedral in makes it gently return to flat attitude making landing very relaxed. Experimented a little with inverted flight which was fine with a reasonable dose of down elevator to hold it. I think there may be opportunity to drop the prop size a touch from 10 x 5 to maybe 9 x5 to tame her down a bit (not sure about this as it's a lot of fun as is) and the 2200 battery gives me at least 15 mins flight time with power to spare so a lighter battery may be beneficial for some weight saving. Not really necessary as it's perfectly lovely as is, but a little tinkering never hurts if it's easily reversed. Couldn't be happier with the outcome given it was my first plan build and it flew so nicely first up. I think there will be many, many flights to come. Thank you David for a lovely machine. Ton's Red Eagle next. 😁 TP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Flyer Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I've nearly finished a build of the Sleeker based on the latest version. i.e. no U/C, tailplane on top and electric power. However according to David's article downthrust and sidethrust are quite critical. I'd appreciate any advice on how best to set these. Is it just a matter of adding washers until it flys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daithi O Buitigh Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 There's a copy of the original Aeromodeller article (and the plan) over on outerzone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Flyer Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Thanks Daithi. I'll re-read that more carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Hi FF, It's all pretty rule-of-feel really. I'd just add a tad, fly then adjust according to taste. It's a pretty forgiving model so it won't bit you if the trim is a little off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Flyer Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Thank you Mr. Editor. I'll let you know how it turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fun Flyer Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Had the maiden flight of the Sleeker today and suffice to say it landed in one piece. It has a very impressive climb rate to say the least! More downthrust required I think. For it size its very stable humming around on quarter throttle. Looks like it will be a very enjoyable model. Thanks to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ashby - Moderator Posted January 9 Share Posted January 9 I've just gone with an aileron wing too OZ e, and dropped the dihedral a bit in the process like you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 But...but....but 😏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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