Ed Hagedorns DC 3
Page 5
 I did a
bit of research online and found a system that will control the
ailerons without having any linkage protruding out the bottom of the
wing. It is called a Rotary Drive System (RDS), I have never installed
one before, but it went fairly smoothly. It is a simple concept, just
connect a wire out of the top of the servo via a coupler (purchased $5
online for the pair). Put a bend in the end of the wire where it
enters the control surface (aileron) and make a box for the wire to
slide in on the control surface. As the servo turns, it rolls the wire
and makes the angle piece deflect. |
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| This
is what causes the movement in the control surface. The pictures
show it better than I can explain it... The first picture
shows the servo with the linkage and the second picture shows the box
mounted on the leading edge of the aileron. The box is made out
of scrap plywood and Formica for the surface. |
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| This shot shows the bottom view of the wing with the ailerons working and NO Linkage showing! |
My engines have arrived, so I will be installing them next. |
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I have now mounted the engines. I have twin
.40 OS 4-strokes. They are a bit on the small side, but according to the
reasearch, they should be adequate for scale flying. The top of the wing
is now sheeted and I couldn't resist putting the landing gear back on and
setting it on her feet for the first time. The fuse isn't mounted yet, it
is just sitting there. It is really coming along nicely.
Next will be installing the nacelles.
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II'am starting to see the end of the tunnel, I'm not sure yet, but I think I will be painting it as the military C-47, OD Green w/ Haze Gray underneath. The only problem with that is that I have been saying that I have been building a DC-3 this whole time when I'm actually builing a C-47. I don't want to be a liar. |
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| I
have just completed the nacelles. They were fairly easy to
install. I am now sanding the wing and am realizing that I could
have saved myself a fair amount of time with filling, sanding,
repeating, etc, |
if I would have taken a bit
more care installing the sheeting on the nacelles. It will look just
fine, but it is a bit sloppy right now. |
 While doing some reading on the Topflite DC-3, I found that everyone that built one had to add weight in the nose to make it balance. I found an idea that I am going to try. It is a way to mount the battery all of the way up in the nose. I wish I would have known about this before I completed the fuse, it would have been much easier to build if the fuse wasn't currently sheeted. Here are a few shots of the battery mount. The first shot shows how far up the fuse the battery will be when it is in place. The second pic shows the mount in place, connected to the servo mounting rails. |
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