A Colonial joining the Revolution

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Mark Mc
Posts: 3
Joined: 19 Nov 2020, 06:27

A Colonial joining the Revolution

Post by Mark Mc »

Howdy, All. A new member from across the pond here. I’ve been interested in doing a SC conversion since I first read about them a few years ago on the Vintage & Old-Timer Designs forum of RCG. I’m looking at making a big move soon, and figure it’s time to join the SC revolution, getting back into R/C and do some SC conversions.

After doing a good deal of reading, I decided to jump in and contact Phil G to get an encoder. Being a Cox fanboy and lifelong 1/2A enthusiast, a Sharkface naturally came to mind as a first SC plane. I emailed Phil and downloaded Sharkface plans. I was going to get a small project box and make a minimum size transmitter using the Futaba Corona module that I have, but I saw an Ecktronics Pacesetter box that I thought would be great for the project.

I gutted the box and started thinking about starting the Sharkface while waiting for encoder to arrive, but then my plans started to morph. I got so many ides that one SC setup wasn’t enough. I decided to go ahead and pull the FrSKY DHT module out of an old 3 channel Airtronics radio that I’d converted a few years ago and use that for another SC setup.

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I taught myself to fly RC back in 1990. I first bought a Cox EZ-Bee and started with that, but for some reason which I don’t remember now I needed another Cox Bee engine. I went to the local hobby shop and asked if they had any for sale. The shop didn’t have one on the shelf, but the owner went into the back and brought out a very sad looking Q-Tee with a Babe Bee on it. He said the plane owner had brought it in for something six months earlier, but never returned to claim it and never paid what he owed. So the owner sold me the plane with two channel radio for $20. The original builder built it as a single channel proportional plane with the elevator joined by small brass strips so the elevator could be trimmed. I immediately got a second servo and converted it to 2 channel control. I fixed all the build problems, and proceeded to log 200 flights on it. After the 200th flight, I gave it away to another guy at the field. I figured I’d pushed my luck by continuously doing “just one more flight” to get to 200, and if I kept going I’d crash it. Besides, 200 flights on a $20 airplane was a good deal.

I started building another Q-Tee in 1995, moved, and didn’t finally finish it until seven years ago. I built it for three channel control using an Airtronics transmitter that I converted to 2.4 using the above mentioned DHT module. Well, now that I got the SC bug, I’ve changed my strategy. I’ll still build a Sharkface, but for nostalgia’s sake, I think I’ll use Phil’s encoder to make the new Q-Tee single channel first. Sort of a tribute to the plane that never flew. Besides, the FrSKY receiver is already in the plane, so I don’t need to replace anything in the flight pack.

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Now I just have to wait for the encoders to come from Phil while I come up with more ideas for SC models. I’m only up to six at the moment. I’ll post threads on the projects once the electronics come and I get busy. I’m excited about the first one following the Q-Tee.

Mark McRiley
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Wayne_H
Posts: 808
Joined: 17 Feb 2018, 05:26
Location: Temora, NSW. Australia
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Re: A Colonial joining the Revolution

Post by Wayne_H »

Hi Mark and welcome to Mode Zero - the more colonials the better :lol: & viva la revolution. Looking forward to following your projects as they progress.

I campaigned a s/c Whizard with a cox Black Widow & OS Minitron radio for a number of years in the late 80s - a truly fabulous combination, I highly recommend it ;)
Cheers,

Wayne
Once a Retrobate, always a Retrobate............ ;)
robinson727
Posts: 3
Joined: 24 Nov 2020, 23:23

Re: A Colonial joining the Revolution

Post by robinson727 »

Hello All
Al here .. also another Colonial, I just joined MZ to.. Greetings one and all from Byhalia MS. (Near Memphis, TN :-)
I also found Phil and Tobe in my quest as a LUDDITE RC'er and I have a Dicks Dream on the way and my old Ace Pulse Commander which is soon to be hacked w/ modern internals.. Later probably my old Ace Silver 7 I built eons ago will most likely undergo the 2.4 gHz knife and be used w/ Tobe's GG actuator in a Jr. Falcon... what fun !!
FWIW.. I have been flying RC since the late 60's, escapement's and regen rx.. but never really had any consistent success until the Ace and the Dicks Dream in '69 or so.. Then last week I found a Dicks Dream on flea bay and had to have it.. So beating the Flea Bay low life snipers back with my own bit of subterfuge, I got it.. Should be here next week and I even have the TD .020 I used and it's been refreshed with a new piston / cyl and runs a peach..
This has been a real pleasure to find this group.. I think that lots of folks who flew RC back when it was a little more difficult have a greater appreciation of what we have now and it shows..
Thank you one and all
Al
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tedbmoss
Posts: 10
Joined: 15 Oct 2020, 07:00
Location: peoria, az

Re: A Colonial joining the Revolution

Post by tedbmoss »

I don't know if I can call myself a revolutionary, my Grandfather MacGee cam over from Scotland after the great war and my grandmother was from a large NY Irish family. They had to elope 55 miles to Philadelphia to get married. I built a KenHi Buzzard in Dec 1952 when I was 9 years old. I had that plane for 20 years and crashed it in Phoenix, AZ. I have built Phil's encoder and converted a 70's Kraft to 2.4GHz. right now I am working on copying Tobe's GG. I bought a kit and while I am waiting on it converting my 50 year old Little Esquire back to GG. Originally I had a Mighty Midget motor actuator and a Cox TD .049 for power. Mostly for the past few years, I have been flying Sig Cadet Seniors and Ugly Sticks. All electric.
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