FLEW THE 41% WILD HARE EXTRA 300

[wildhare]

The covering is Ultracote.

I am curious if this person (I don't have a name at this point) went over the covering with a heat gun as I suggest in the manual.

These planes come pretty well covered, but any ARF really needs to be gone over with a heat gun and a soft rag. This is best done with two people, one heats a small area and the other rubs it down with a soft cloth like a diaper. This sticks the covering down and takes out any bubbles or wrinkles at the same time.

ARFs are built on an assembly line. To save time they will often just attach the covering around the edges. It's always a good idea to go over the whole plane to be sure everything is stuck down securely.

People who buy ARFs, please try to be aware of the production process. The planes are built in a factory in China. We have a factory that is reliable by Chinese standards, but you should never assume that everything is perfect. Protect yourself by going back over their work. It is impossible for the American importer to be there on the assembly line inspecting every plane, and once it gets here it would drastically increase the price if we had to do this detail work on every plane before it ships.

So do yourself a favor and go over everything, covering, glue joints, hardware, etc. before you declare the plane ready to fly.


TF

[3-d flyer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by SuperDave
	For those who needed to see the tail mounted servo setup for the rudder, here it is. Plenty of authority even with the small rudder. Running two 8611a's, CF pushrods with Dubro 4-40 all thread running the full length (they show this pushrod in the manual). All up weight on mine is 38.5 pounds. With the ZDZ 160 Super and RCS canisters, 3 blade Mejzlik prop, wood wings at 5500 feet MSL; climbs like a homesick angel. Nice plane.

Superdave.... thanks for posting those pix, gives me a better idea where to look now. The plane has just been sitting as i am still waiting for the engine to arrive.... i going with a D/A-150 on stock mufflers. Now i am debating on using the pull pull setup or not as even tho i don't personally like those setups, i feel it would look cleaner...... how did it balance with the servos back there?

[lazyboyflyer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by wildhare
	The covering is Ultracote. I am curious if this person (I don't have a name at this point) went over the covering with a heat gun as I suggest in the manual. So do yourself a favor and go over everything, covering, glue joints, hardware, etc. before you declare the plane ready to fly. TF

Hi Tom, This person did exactly what you wrote on this post and in noway did I ignore this very important step in the assembly and as Tom wrote, go over everything before you fly.
I want to make it clear that I was not complaining about the plane, so far, I'm very happy with it. I was just saying what a pain it is to fix a minor problem and not being able to practice for an upcoming IMAC. I look forward to competing this year with this plane.

[wildhare]

Then please contact me by phone, 817-430-0107. I'd like to know what it was that went wrong so I can tell the factory.

TF

[Fixed Wing]

	Quote: Originally Posted by wildhare
	The covering is Ultracote. These planes come pretty well covered, but any ARF really needs to be gone over with a heat gun and a soft rag. TF

Also, I recommend going over ALL covering seams with Monokote Trim Solvent. It only takes a few minutes and is easily done with a Que-Tip. This will permanently seal all edges and prevent the covering or trim from lifting. I have done this on countless Wildhares and have never had a covering issue.

Dean

[lazyboyflyer]

	Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpea
	Its terrible that it happened to you, but honestly I'm glad it did........no more practice for you.....I don't want to owe another steak

Hi Sam, no problem here, I'll be able to practice this weekend, the forecast for this weekend is good.

[1bwana1]

I was there when the covering blew off lazyboyflyer's plane. I was also working on geting my new plane, an 100cc AeroWorks QB YAK, sorted out and trimmed for IMAC. I saw his plane before it flew. It looked beautiful and we had even talked about how much time he spent ironing during the build. There was not a wrinkle on the plane. His electronic installation was one of the most well thought out I have seen. He spared no expense. Lazyboyflyer did a great build on the plane. After his covering came off we compared the way the two planes were covered. The seams on the AW were well away from the leading edges of the wings and stab. The WH were very close to the leading edges. Still AW was obviously aware that the potential for this to happen exists, maybe from prior experience with China manufacturing as pinted out by WildHare. AW has included clear UltraCoat strips in their kit. They instruct you to both iron down all seams on the plane AND apply this clear strip over the leading edges. It end up being sort of like one of the "clear bra" applications you see on the front of expensive cars. The guys at AW told me that this was just insurance because they know that most of us out here are not the best at keeping our covering properly ironed and maintained. AW supplies the most complete kits on the market and seem to be ahead on things like this. Maybe WH should think about doing this as well. NO bashing of WH intended, the plane looks great.

Sam, you better start saving some money for that steak dinner. The WH plane flies great, and Lazyboyflyer is flying well, getting good coaching, and practicing hard. Looks like game on to me.

Lazyboyflyer, when are you comming down again? We can practice together. If the wind isn't so weird maybe I won't be such a "girlyboy" as you called me and I'll even land my own plane

-STEVE-

[Shawn Berkheimer]

Tom, I have noticed on some of the ARF models that I get coming through the shop that the airframes are not properly cleaned of balsa dust prior to covering. This may be something you could bring up with the factory.


Shawn

[wildhare]

Some of whose models?

We dropped our Thai builder for this reason and a few others, our China built planes have not had a problem with surface prep.

TF

[Shawn Berkheimer]

I guess I should have been more specific, I have not seen this issue with the WH airplanes that I have worked on but have seen it on other brands. The suggestion was just put out there for general info.

Shawn

[3-d flyer]

Is there a chance that Lazyboy's plane was not one of the China planes, or are all the 41% extras from China......

Good tip on the seam sealer.... i think i'll go that route to be on the safe side, I had a GP Cap 580 with all the paint spats on it, GP actually had all the spats sealed with that stuff, it was a great touch and got rid of the worrys of all those spats peeling off in time.....

[sweetpea]

I blame LBF. Its gotta be his fault.

I've flown that WH extra a few times, I really liked it alot. The price is great also.

Howard, I got back all my electronics today and the weekend weather here is supposed to be good. So maybe I'll get to practice also