Pilot 40% 330 Recover and Build

[Snoopy1]

You may be just a little disappointed but it is still one hell of a nice engine. Sure once you get it in the air you will forget everything and fly the pants of it.
Just remember if the 157 is not quite up your standards of power I have first clam on that weak little 110 red that you have stashed away.

 

[stangflyer]

You may be just a little disappointed but it is still one hell of a nice engine. Sure once you get it in the air you will forget everything and fly the pants of it.
Just remember if the 157 is not quite up your standards of power I have first clam on that weak little 110 red that you have stashed away.

I guess I need to elaborate a little bit and maybe explain myself a little better. I am not really disappointed in the 157. It has always been a badass engine. It will Rip the snot out of a Falcon 32x10. So much so that when it unloads in the air it's almost not enough prop. That is why I have been considering a 32x11. It starts good, runs good, and turns the same size prop at or more RPM than the DLE 170 or the DA 170. What I was comparing it to was the difference of what my 170 was before the updates compared to what it is now after the updates. But I have to remember that the only true update I did on the 157 was the new set of reeds and the aluminum Reed block. While the 170 got everything updated from the engine all the way to the carburetor. Both engines start so easy just like my 212. Usually one flip and they are running. This is of course after the first startup of the day. Which it usually only takes 2 to 3 with the choke on and then 2 to 3 with the choke off. The 157 still has the lightning fast throttle response and the smoothness through the mid-range just like it always did. So I guess when I use the word disappointed, it wasn't truly accurate. I shouldn't be expecting perfection from a motor that's already perfect, right? Lol.

And no, sorry! No one gets my dubs. Lol

 

[stangflyer]

I am pretty sure Mother Nature doesn't like me. The forecast for today was supposed to be cloudy. Not rain. Rain all freaking day! Ugh!!

So much the better. I will put the time to good use. I know of two 330 wings that need servos and programming. So... let's do this.

First the servo cutouts covering removal.



Oh yeah, before I forget. What do you do when your hot sock is soiled and stained with covering color bleed through? Well normal people simply put on a new one. Ah but not me. You cut the seams and turn it inside out. Yes normally I would put on a new sock. But unfortunately I did not have one. So I made do with what I have until I can order another one. How's that for "cheap" Kelly? Lol



Ok, back to the wing servos. Covering removed, servos installed and programmed.



I still have final tuning to do, bur for the most part it is setup. One wing done. One to go.

More later...

 

[stangflyer]

Wings done. The left wing setup progressed much quicker than the right. Course there have been three full length movies to get there. Lol.


I really like the servo end safety locks. Makes things much safer and very easy to use.



And the allen head servo screws are too nice to not use them. Thanks to my awesome son who turned me on to them. We pretty much use them exclusively now.


I was able to get some really good deflection. No need to bury them out. I'm thinking I have plenty to hopefully overcome the torque of the beasty 157.


And that does it for the wings. A little fine tuning before the maiden and she'll be good to go.

I'm going to do the last step needed before starting the painting process on the cowl and canopy. I need to make permanent flight pack mounts and the fuse will be good to go.

Stay tuned fellas. We're so close to a maiden. I think we just might make that end of June flight.

 

[stangflyer]

Last little bit of tinkering on the 330 tonight involved cleaning up and finishing the trim in the motor box area. I must say it looks pretty nice.


I still need to add a black plug to each side of the motor box where the previous owner had the DA spark plug leads coming through. I am also going to restrain the 3w (RCEXCL) spark plug leads to the top of the motor box. I also now have the twin Fromeco LiIon 5200 flight packs strapped down. I added bass wood rails under the structure to support the batteries.



With that done, I will now call it a night. The 330 is pretty much done with the exception of the final paint work. I will be working on that over the next week after work. I hope to have everything ready for paint by this weekend.

I am so excited. I am looking forward to seeing this one in the air. I was hoping it would look good when done. I'm thinking it will.

Night fellas.... and by the way, Happy Fathers day to each and everyone of you. I hope you all had a blessed and rewarding day.

 

[Xpress]

And the allen head servo screws are too nice to not use them. Thanks to my awesome son who turned me on to them. We pretty much use them exclusively now.

Same here, especially since a pack of them is dirt cheap from TDRC.

 

[stangflyer]

Tonight I am going to spend some time removing the covering on the canopy and start sanding the old paint off. I had a question or two for Richard at Wings West so I gave him a call on my way home from work. He is just the nicest and most informative guy. As I had figured, his recommendation is to take the paint completely off clear down to the surface. In his words, "it is difficult to know exactly what the previous paint or primer is, so better to take it all off!" So off it all comes.

And away we go...

 

[stangflyer]

I'm always looking for ways to make things easier. Nothing is more irritating than something that won't hold still while you take its...um, covering off. Yes, that's it. Covering.

Anyway, I dug out a few servo boxes filled with buckshot that I use for holding things down. Hey, what do you know about that? Not too heavy yet not so light they won't work. I like it when a plan comes together.

Once the canopy is secured from lifting up, I used my heat gun to warm the Ultracote and started peeling it off.

Once the hatch covering was off, I taped off the outline of the canopy so as to not scratch it with sandpaper should I slip.

I also taped off the balsa sheeting so as to not scar it while sanding.

And away we go with the sanding of the border paint on the canopy. Let's see how far I get tonight before I burn out.

I will keep you all posted as I proceed through the mundane and monotonous task of sanding. Ugh. Lol

 

[Snoopy1]

Little bit of a nasty job but it needs to be done if you want a perfect job, take your time do not rush it.

 

[Jetpainter]

And the allen head servo screws are too nice to not use them. Thanks to my awesome son who turned me on to them. We pretty much use them exclusively now.

I quit using the stock Philips head servo arm screws too for most projects. I use an Allen for those as well. The Hitec servos use a 2.6mm thread. They're available from Secraft with fancy washers, and Servo City has the screws in several lengths. That way you don't need to worry about the Phillips slipping and harpooning that nice covering.