Did you ever get this one finished and take it up for its maiden flight ?


Wheels

I was going to wait until it was in the air and do one big final post, but since you asked, here's an update:



So I converted the wing mount block into two blocks to allow the aileron control rods to move freely.




That worked, and everything feels good. Next up, seal the gaps in the wing mount. I chose to cover the wing mount area with wax paper and then put silicone on the wing saddle. When it dries, I've got a nice tight seal. The alternative to this is to use foam tape, which works, just not as sexily.
Here you can see the white line of silicone in the wing/fuse gap.



Over the time this has been on the bench and moved around a bit, it took a little damage in the wing (aka "hangar rash")



So that gets patched up too.

Here she is sitting on the grass for an engine test.



And the engine works!



Balance is very important. I found it was a bit tail heavy, so I added some weight to the nose to keep it balanced.



Now I'm waiting for these #$$%^ winds to die down a bit. I've seen nothing but high teens/20's for (it seems like) weeks!

I've also got some scale things to add - my wife painted the pilot very nicely for me, and I've got a nice Vickers gun for
it as well.



I'll update again when I've got more, hopefully a video of the first flight!

Wow JC you do good work

Sweet

Looking really nice.
Good luck with the maiden flight.


Wheels

It's been quite a treat to read this thread, for the very first time. I've never had much luck with balsa models of any sort, even the little rubber band powered things gave me fits. But it sure looks like you know what you're doing with this kit, JohnnyChemo. I hope it flies smoothly and gives you many, many hours of entertaining flight time.

Did a little Google searching on that engine... Not exactly an entry-level piece of equipment there.

Thanks! I've come to the conclusion that you don't fly a plane, you fly an engine. I've had too many crappy engines that have caused me to
sit on the ground trying to get it to run reliably, so I decided from now on, I buy good engines. I've got another OS46AX in my Ultra Sport (the blue and white plane on the bottom of the first page of this thread) and it flies great. Starts the first time every time, low idle is smooth, and powers up nicely if I have to abort landings. Not to mention it can really burn holes in the sky!

I read through the whole thread again last night, and I found it pretty neat to watch the process. I can't wait until I get it off the ground with some video to go along with it, it will be a nice conclusion!

Ok, some great news!

First, I did some finishing touches - I installed the pilot my wife painted for me as wells as the Vickers gun.




I was able to get to the field today and get it up in the air! Winds were a little troublesome, there was a nasty crosswind that kicked up when I was on final approach on the first flight ( you'll hear the wind in the recording). There was a gentleman there who was kind enough to record it for me, though he had a little trouble keeping it in frame. The second flight went much smoother, as I had trimmed it up pretty well on the maiden. I had much less wind to deal with on the landing, so it was a much smoother affair.

So, without further adieu, here is the maiden flight of my Elder!

congrats on the completion, and successful maiden bud, i'm sure you will enjoy many great flights with her!

Cheers
Craig

well done