Bill Hempel Yak 55

[Alky6]

Like I said a few posts back, I am extremely happy with my Yak. . . . . . I think it will serve me very well as my first giant scale plane. I would like to make a couple of comments and ask for some advice from you guys on a couple of things. With regards to the aileron extensions, while the wire size is large enough, I am a little concerned that the wires are not twisted like the elevator extensions to help eliminate interference. Granted, the elevator extensions are about a mile longer, I am a little concerned about the ailerons. . . . Should I be concerned? My next concern is the elevator and aileron rods which I forgot to get a picture of. They are carbon fiber rods with threaded ends and metal keepers over the ends. The ends are not the aluminum ends like you get from Central Hobbies and glue into hollow carbon fiber shafts, to me they almost look home made, albeit very well made. I am wondering if I should go ahead and get some turnbuckles to use instead.

Before I forget @Snoopy1, to answer your question from the new avatar thread, If you look at the first picture I posted (the large one of my new avatar), you will notice the front passenger seat down. I have to do this for the plane to fit completely inside my Durango. If I put the cowl on, the tail wheel rests on the back of the front seat and the rear of the rudder is about 9" from the glove box. So it barely fits. . . . .

One last thing Fellas. Thanks for all the positive comments, I really appreciate them.

With the newer radios, I have not noticed any difference between twisted and non-twisted leads, other than twisted leads of the same ga will have a slightly higher resistance due to more length of wire. Looks like you have the taildragger mpx systems in the wings. Same as I use and no issues. Love the ability to plug in one plug per wing and not worry about getting wires crossed up. Even more important if you have to use mixing to match the servos on the ailerons.

 

[Snoopy1]

Like I said a few posts back, I am extremely happy with my Yak. . . . . . I think it will serve me very well as my first giant scale plane. I would like to make a couple of comments and ask for some advice from you guys on a couple of things. With regards to the aileron extensions, while the wire size is large enough, I am a little concerned that the wires are not twisted like the elevator extensions to help eliminate interference. Granted, the elevator extensions are about a mile longer, I am a little concerned about the ailerons. . . . Should I be concerned? My next concern is the elevator and aileron rods which I forgot to get a picture of. They are carbon fiber rods with threaded ends and metal keepers over the ends. The ends are not the aluminum ends like you get from Central Hobbies and glue into hollow carbon fiber shafts, to me they almost look home made, albeit very well made. I am wondering if I should go ahead and get some turnbuckles to use instead.

Before I forget @Snoopy1, to answer your question from the new avatar thread, If you look at the first picture I posted (the large one of my new avatar), you will notice the front passenger seat down. I have to do this for the plane to fit completely inside my Durango. If I put the cowl on, the tail wheel rests on the back of the front seat and the rear of the rudder is about 9" from the glove box. So it barely fits. . . . .

One last thing Fellas. Thanks for all the positive comments, I really appreciate them.

Well fellas he ain’t going to get much sleep tonight. He will planning and measuring and figuring out how it all goes together. Week from now it will be ready and will not be happy that it is still bad weather he may not have wait to long in Virginia . Anyway looks like a winner enjoy yourself putting it together.

 

[49dimes]

Most important.....That's a real good flying plane. Almost got one myself few years back but you all know I have come to deal with
"Not so Big" these days .

I think your really going to like that plane once your knees stop "knocking" after your Maiden. Best wishes David.

 

[HRRC Flyer]

Well fellas he ain’t going to get much sleep tonight. He will planning and measuring and figuring out how it all goes together. Week from now it will be ready and will not be happy that it is still bad weather he may not have wait to long in Virginia . Anyway looks like a winner enjoy yourself putting it together.

Hey @Snoopy1,
I promise you this, as excited as I am, it will not keep me from falling asleep. . . . . . . The Yak probably won't be ready until around the end of the month, maybe a little later. That's OK though because I still need to order a few things for the Yak and I still need to send the engine off to Gerhard in Florida. Also, the springtime weather is a little crazy around here. As the temperatures start to go up, the wind starts to blow harder and this pattern continues for most of the month. . . . . .

Most important.....That's a real good flying plane. Almost got one myself few years back but you all know I have come to deal with
"Not so Big" these days .

I think your really going to like that plane once your knees stop "knocking" after your Maiden. Best wishes David.

Kelly my friend,

The size of the plane has no bearing whatsoever. It's the amount of enjoyment you get out of flying it that means the most. . . . . . Everything I've read tells me its a great flying plane. . . . . . Replying to this post is also going to force me to have to make a confession. . . . . . I have seen that video before. Right after I told the seller that I wanted to buy the Yak, I did a "Bing" Search on the it and a build thread showed up as one of the top results. The only problem was the fact that the build thread was on FG. I told myself after I left that site because of all of the problems and found GSN over 5 years ago, that I would never go back onto that site again. As it turns out, the thread was very good and provided some valuable information and I saw the video in that thread.

As for the knee knocking part, when I get nervous while doing a maiden flight, my knees don't knock, thankfully. Instead, my heart starts beating so hard it feels like it's going to come out of my chest. . . . . . I am hoping since the maiden fight with H9 260 was a non-issue, my Yak maiden will be the same. There's only one way to find out. . . . . . Thanks for the well wishes, Buddy.

 

[49dimes]

Hey @Snoopy1,
I promise you this, as excited as I am, it will not keep me from falling asleep. . . . . . . The Yak probably won't be ready until around the end of the month, maybe a little later. That's OK though because I still need to order a few things for the Yak and I still need to send the engine off to Gerhard in Florida. Also, the springtime weather is a little crazy around here. As the temperatures start to go up, the wind starts to blow harder and this pattern continues for most of the month. . . . . .


Kelly my friend,

The size of the plane has no bearing whatsoever. It's the amount of enjoyment you get out of flying it that means the most. . . . . . Everything I've read tells me its a great flying plane. . . . . . Replying to this post is also going to force me to have to make a confession. . . . . . I have seen that video before. Right after I told the seller that I wanted to buy the Yak, I did a "Bing" Search on the it and a build thread showed up as one of the top results. The only problem was the fact that the build thread was on FG. I told myself after I left that site because of all of the problems and found GSN over 5 years ago, that I would never go back onto that site again. As it turns out, the thread was very good and provided some valuable information and I saw the video in that thread.

As for the knee knocking part, when I get nervous while doing a maiden flight, my knees don't knock, thankfully. Instead, my heart starts beating so hard it feels like it's going to come out of my chest. . . . . . I am hoping since the maiden fight with H9 260 was a non-issue, my Yak maiden will be the same. There's only one way to find out. . . . . . Thanks for the well wishes, Buddy.

I'm sure it will be . You should have no problems with it. You getting such a big plane simply reminded me that even good flyers can get really nervous when the price tag gets a few more zeros in it. My case in point is the guy I sold my Alien Extra to. I promised to help him get comfortable with it. He is not a bad flyer but has been flying nothing but forty size glow planes for three years. I have had him up with it 6 times now and the last flight we had his knees and thumbs were shaking so much from "nerves" that I had to take the transmitter and land it. Now this is a guy who can take an uproar and wring it out and land smooth as silk. He told me " I hope I did not bite off more than I can chew". I told him "you need to forget about the wife reminding you how much it cost and enjoy the plane" .

 

[HRRC Flyer]

Good morning Fellas,

I have a question for you gents. Where can I find a large duplex switch to put in the large square hole on the left front top of the fuse in the attached picture?

According to the man I bought it from, the plane had a Power Box Controller and the hole was for the selector switch that came with the Power Box. You can see the original on off switches for the batteries behind it. If I could find a switch that was a little larger than the hole, I would get one and just put a piece of Ultracote over the two small switch openings. The MPI duplex switch is not large enough. There are some combination duplex switches / fuel fillers that are larger, but the plane already has a fuel filler on the opposite side of the fuse. So who makes a good size duplex switch?

TIA

 

[Snoopy1]

Good morning Fellas,

I have a question for you gents. Where can I find a large duplex switch to put in the large square hole on the left front top of the fuse in the attached picture? View attachment 109267
According to the man I bought it from, the plane had a Power Box Controller and the hole was for the selector switch that came with the Power Box. You can see the original on off switches for the batteries behind it. If I could find a switch that was a little larger than the hole, I would get one and just put a piece of Ultracote over the two small switch openings. The MPI duplex switch is not large enough. There are some combination duplex switches / fuel fillers that are larger, but the plane already has a fuel filler on the opposite side of the fuse. So who makes a good size duplex switch?

TIA

I was going to say the dual pole JR switch but I think it will be to small. Just a small piece of plywood that fits the hole CA it in and cut a new hole for the switch you would like to use and put small patch of white over the front, and then 1/64 thick pice of plywood on the inside To secure everything.

 

[WMcNabb]

Good morning Fellas,

I have a question for you gents. Where can I find a large duplex switch to put in the large square hole on the left front top of the fuse in the attached picture? View attachment 109267
According to the man I bought it from, the plane had a Power Box Controller and the hole was for the selector switch that came with the Power Box. You can see the original on off switches for the batteries behind it. If I could find a switch that was a little larger than the hole, I would get one and just put a piece of Ultracote over the two small switch openings. The MPI duplex switch is not large enough. There are some combination duplex switches / fuel fillers that are larger, but the plane already has a fuel filler on the opposite side of the fuse. So who makes a good size duplex switch?

TIA

Welcome to the world of making the model your own!
Wish I had a recommendation for you, but I’m sure someone here at GSN can help.

 

[Bartman]

Here you go

https://www.valleyviewrc.com/electronics/switches

 

[HRRC Flyer]

Here you go

https://www.valleyviewrc.com/electronics/switches

Hey Bart,

As my luck would have it, everything in the link you sent me is out of stock. I sent an email to Tom at Valley View to see how tall those switches are so I can make sure one would cover the hole. Thanks for the link Buddy. . . . .