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Notes
on buying a CA330L
I
was looking for an upgrade to my Glen's CAP232 which was
coming to the end of it's life, and was looking for a
good build rather than an ARTF. There were a few to choose
from but in the end the build threads on RC Universe for
the 27% version swung the decision.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3513216/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_638513/mpage_1/key_colombo/tm.htm
The
Build
The
instructions are very comprehensive, but make sure you
read them all before doing your own thing. Read the build
threads on RC Universe, read the rest of this review,
and you should be okay.
The
only real difference from the 27% seems to be the bottom
of the fuze is foam rather than balsa stringers.
I
have not deviated from the instructions except to make
the undercarridge plate from 1/4" ply rather than
laminating the two supplied pieces. I may also made a
new firewall from 1/4" ply. I've also added a few
bits of triangle bracing to give me a bit more confidence
(but then everyone does that).
I'd like to thank Ally Young from the Glenluce club for
all his inspearation, help and advice; the guys on 3DRC.info
for all their help; Iain Nicol from IAD and the guys from
Fusion Models who kept me right on the pro's and con's
with regard to Li-po / Li-ion / Nicad batteries. I went
for a 2900mA 4 cell flat Li-ion Duralite with a 5.1v switched
regulator. The ignition is powered by an 1100mAh JR 4-cell
Ni-cad.
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The final model. |
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The
kit arrived in a large, strong cardboad box and had survived
the journey from Argentina to Scotland via Spain with no damage.
All parts are well protected, but remember to keep the foam
protectors for later. |
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Good,
well routed laser cut parts. The lines are not as straight
as the CNC routed parts but did not give too many problems. |
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Fuselage
almost done. |
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Wings
almost done - will probably use a 7mm aluminium tube with
a 5mm bolt epexied into it as both the anti-rotation down
and wing retention mechanism.. |
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The
foam bottom. |
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Hatch
retention fixings -I didn't fancy cutting a hole in the canopy
to go with the method shown in the excellent instructions. |
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Numpty
Award 2006 - remember the fin slopes
backwards when cutting out the slot in the fin support. |
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First
mock assembly. |
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6mm
plastic bolts sunk into the wing. The root former will keep
it from putting out.
When
fitting the wing tube make sure you use complete section
if possible. i had to join two bits together to get the
correct length and itis now a real pain when fitting the
wings onto the aluminium tube.
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Bad
alignment. |
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Good
alignment. |
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Make
sure the elevator arm is long enough to prevent the bar
fowling on the stab.
Carbon
rods and long servo arms from Pete
Tindal
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Getting
the closed loop in place without any slop was difficult
so i had to make up my own rudder bar to get the pivot in
line with the rudder hinge line
The
rudder arm is made from 4mm threaded rod from ModelFixings
and heavy duty Dubro horns. Their 4-40 closed loop threaded
ends are self tapping into the horn.
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Be
really careful when drilling the hole for the rudder arm
as a couple of degrees off-vertical will give uneven cable
lengths.
Also
make sure the hole you drill in aligned with the exit slot
in the fuselage, and don't just go with the position marked
on the rudder. You must make sure the elevator horns don't
foul into the closed loop.
Don't
cut or cover the elevators until you know they will not
foul on the rudder bar. It's a real pain having to cut them
and re-cover them afterwards, especially if you go for the
fixed tailplane option.
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This
is the temporary rudder servo arm. |
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This
shows the 3mm cowl fixings from Pete Tindal and the canopy
fixings which are Sullivan inner-rod cut to about 1/4 inch
then cyno'd in place. |
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This
is the servo tray. The 4 M3 bolts go through fuel tubing
to give a bit of anti-vibration protection to the receiver
etc. The fule tube projects 5mm either side of the plate.
I've
also added a piece of 1/4" triangle stock along the
loading edge.
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picture yet |
JR
servo for the throttle, ignition and receiver on/off switches,
5v regulator, and JR receiver. |
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Some
engine installation pictures. The stand-offs are from Iain
Nicol at http://www.iadmodeldesigns.co.uk/
I have
reinforced the cowl mounting lugs with 1/4 triangle stock.
I've also used it on the firebox and inside. Ive used glass
cloth around the firebox o give a bit more strength.
I was
not brave enough to cut away too much of the firewall so
there is no filter on the carburetor.
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As
you can see here, I forgot about the exhaust before I painted
the cowl and had to cut the opening afterwards, then re-spray
the bottom. |
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Mock assembly. |
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This
is the floating undercart plate with magic foam to provide
a bit of flex |
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The tank is sitting on velcro with a tie-wrap
2just in case". |
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Note
the fuel vent line is looped around the rear of the tank
to prevent fuel pouring out on downlines.
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Here
is the cowl screw with a servo washer from modelfixings. This
gives a bit of compression withoud damaging the paintwork |
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This
is a bit of work, but the c of g line needs to be projected
perpendicular to the centre line, not perpendicular to the
wing root. Here I have attached a spirit level to the fuselage,
then dropped a plumb line to the wing tip. |
Flying
The Extra
(not qute there yet)
Conclusions:
This is a great model to build. I am a slow builder and
with flying and the odd bit of re-building it has taken
me a year to build this model. If you had the engine,
servos, batteries and all the other bits and pieces you
could get this built in a lot less time.
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