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Pilot - RC Slick 67" first look and build


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On to the main wing servo slots. The slots are pre-cut for mini servos but there is a dotted outline if the slot for standards servos needs to be cut. 

I am using http://www.macgregor.co.uk/macservo/mac7232hv.htm which might seem a bit of overkill, but I had these left from my now trashed Extra 330SC. Fortunately, there were all ok after testing.

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Edited by Adrian Smith 1
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The Main motor box on ours was sheeted in 1mm ply on all four sides as after the first flight you could tell with the same motor, it was twisting the wooden frame on hi energy manoeuvres, The planes fly's quite well but beware of bits coming loose quite early on in the flights. In My opinion if you have ever had Extreme flight  then you get what you pay for, quality wise having had a few Pilot RC I wouldn't buy anymore.

 

Edited by Jason Channing
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Well Jason, I have had a few Extreme Flight aircraft in my time and while Pilot RC are not in the same league, attention at the build stage will head off most problems ( and yes I have had a few Pilot RC aircraft too). One of the problems with EF (apart from cost) is availability at the moment of the size and type of the aircraft that I require, hence this version. One of the objects of this thread is to give folk the heads up of any problems coming down the track then a personal judgement can be made on the kit. Call it being public spirited if you like ?

Anyway, I do agree that thin ply on the main motor box should be considered as other reports online have suggested, therefore I don't see why I should be any different. I'll give it a go when I visit the workshop in the next couple of days. 

 

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First to finish off one job that was started and that is the aileron servos. After fitting the Potenza HV servos (30kg torque/2S) I thought better of it after seeing the smallish gauge of the push rods and couplers. I could see that any high alpha moves would put too much stress on the push rods and probably destroy the whole set up. I would have used thicker gauge push rods but the fixings would be too big for the working surface horns. I think a compromise is on the way. So what to do next?

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Edited by Adrian Smith 1
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Fortunately, I had some Hitec  HS 5645 MG servos that produce 12.1 kg torque at 6v which seem much more reasonable. I will use a voltage regulator to 5.9v attached to the little 2S lipo I am using to power the RX/servos. This is because I am installing an OPTO ZTW ESC up front. The alternative servos now installed after finding some nice metal servo arms to match the Hitec servos. I did put thin cyano into the holes drilled for the servo screws for strengthening the thread in the wood. The other thing I had to do was to put some washers on the nut side of the ball link for safety incase of link failure.  Blue thread lock will be essential here.

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Edited by Adrian Smith 1
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The secret for me, GG is to put it on sparingly  to the extent one might think "that's not enough". Believe me it will be. Just be sure to lightly oil the hinge swivel to keep it turning freely. Two things to do if it still foams slightly is to wipe the joint as the foam reaction starts and if it comes to the worse scenario any small amounts of hardened glue can be cut from the joint with a scalpel. The reason why I use it is because it has never failed me even on a 100cc  airframe, it is that robust. Epoxy is fine, however but the smell gets up my nose and mixing in a cold work shop requires sitting the bottle in warm water to make the glue usable.

 

As a footnote to my changing the servos - it has reduced the AUW by 90 grams swapping metal cased servos for plastic ones ?

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On to enlarging the slots for the elevator and rudder servos. The kit comes with some extension leads for the servos taking the RX connections well into the body of the fuselage. In some ways I would have preferred that more expense was confined to better quality pushrods that supplying these leads which I could have manufactured myself. More of that next.

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Yes GG you can see the ply is laminated with C/F cloth. Also the diagonal brace in the picture is completely C/F rod. Having had both Pilot RC and Extreme Flight models of most sizes pass through my hands you can see that it's the way these things are built these days. With Extreme Flight planes you rarely have to replace bits provided with the kit and the ply laminate is probably better quality than most. But then that's the extra you are paying for.  For the cost of Pilot RC, they are of an acceptable standard with the caveat that a modification or replacement part might be required.  Still pretty good value though. One thing I noticed the other day was the same Pilot RC Slick I bought from Kings Lynn Models 6 weeks ago for £419 is now selling at £499!! ?

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Fitting everything together was a bit of a faff. I first bolted on the wheel axles which was simple enough and then marked and drilled out the spats.

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I had to fit the collets and wheels loosely before adding the spat bolts/nuts as the wheels and collets can't be added latterly.

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A flat spanner and allen key were used to bolt the spats on, using blue thread lock of course.

 

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The collets were then lined up to allow for free running wheels with the grub screws blue thread locked.

 

 

 

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Next I tackled the reinforcement of the motor box. Here I used thin ply on the sides. The top of the main box has already had a rib and triangular stock added. I just added ply to the sides here at least so I had some access to the extension box bolts. I only sheeted the sides of the extension box for the same reasons. In truth having run the motor and putting pressure on the motor box manually by trying to twist it I am not convinced this is at all necessary. Hey Ho bolt & braces and all that! I used 30 minute epoxy by the way.

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Time to give some thought to the layout internally of the electronics. I am using a separate 2S power source for the RX (as the ESC is an Opto version). The Hitec servos are 6volt operating limit there  I will use a voltage regulator with an in line switch. I can then check the working surfaces without the motor being "live" and just use heavy duty connectors to connect the motor directly to a 6S lipo. I can then try various positions for the lipos to get the CoG where I want it on the next workshop visit.

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Edited by Adrian Smith 1
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