Jerry's Outlaw build thread

[Flyfalcons]

Well guys after seeing short bits of video of the amazing speed delta Outlaw flying, and watching five of them in the air at once, I knew I wanted one! Problem was, I couldn't get one! For a little while now, no plans have been available and the company that owns the rights to ARF the plane is not doing so at this time. So it was with great excitement that I learned on this very website that Jerry is back in the plans business again! Here's the thread for Jerry's contact info:

http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/f...own-again.html

I ordered a set of plans and a tuned pipe from Jerry, and they arrived a couple weeks later. First order of business was to get the parts cut and check them against the plans. It's important to build against the plans and not the measurements given, because the plans can expand or shrink a little. I checked the 12" mark on the plans against a ruler and it was a little off. Anyway, here's how some of the parts look against the plans. At this point I had not cut the 1/4" ply firewall parts, and a few other parts needed to be cut. It should be noted that I made some tabs for the ribs, which I thought would be sitting against the ground, but as it turns out they are suspended in the air. Even though the tabs ended up serving no purpose, they did help me orient the top and bottom on the inboard ribs, which are close to symmetrical.

[Flyfalcons]

The first order of building the airplane is to set the firewall against the leading edges. It is not necessary to glue the two leading edges together at the front, because you will be cutting that part away anyway. Take the time to line up the rib markings on the leading edges against the plans and don't worry how the two leading edges line up with each other. Because the wing has anhedral, the leading and trailing edges start life as square blocks with lines on them to line up the ribs. Later they are trimmed down, and most of the material is discarded. In these first three pictures, you can see the firewall being glued against the leading edges, and the ribs and trailing edges installed. Before I glued the firewall, I had already cut the engine mount holes and installed the blind nuts. It would be a major pain to do so after starting the build.

[adrian]

what engine bro?

[CSpaced]

He's using a Webra .36

[Flyfalcons]

Next, the firewall braces are installed. They are a combination of 1/4" ply and 1/4" balsa, and really strengthen the front of the airplane. Even though I followed the construction order in the plans, I had to trim the right brace (the bigger one) to fit through the slot in the firewall. It would have been better to have the 1/4" ply braces in place when the firewall is first glued to the leading edges. Either way though, there is plenty of strength in the design even with the brace slightly trimmed. Note that the braces will not be lined up with the line drawn on the leading edges, but rather be sitting flat. The balsa braces also add quite a bit of strength to the front of the plane.

After the motor mount braces are installed, the main and leading spars are installed on the top of the plane. The main spars are 1/8 x 1/4 spruce, and the leading spars can be 1/8 x 1/8 balsa or spruce. I cut some balsa strips and used them for the leading spars. After the top spars are installed, the plane is unpinned from the plans, inverted, and pinned back down. The beauty of the leading and trailing edge square blocks is that you can do this on a flat board and the complex shape of the wing will be kept both upright and inverted.

[Flyfalcons]

Yes Adrian, I have a Webra .36 sitting around waiting to be installed. It was just introduced on Horizon's website and I'm looking forward to trying it out. The mousse can pipe is made for a Webra .32 but I think it'll work on the .36 as well. The engine weight is an important factor, as the plans say that the plane tends to come out nose heavy.

[SmoothFlying]

I used to have one of these planes back way back when. Good flying plane. Not sure if the plans have updated but when I built mine the motors were turned sideways and I forgot to build the front the opposite way because I was using an OS .32 SX. The needle valve was pointing down. On the first landing the needle valve broke off. But it was an easy fix and kept flying. Make sure to remember which way your needle valve is pointing when you build it.

[RobertV]

Ryan,

It's amazing how many new Outlaws are being built in the Raleigh, NC area since Jerry Smith was here for our Fly-for-Tots event in the Fall! And I'm glad to see you are joining the fun too. Let any of the RDRC "Outlaw's" know if we can help you.

Robert Vess

[Flyfalcons]

While the plane is inverted, the 1/16" balsa sheeting is installed. It isn't shown well on the plans, but a piece of 1/64" ply is used at the rear between the two inboard ribs to help the rear sheeting hold its shape when it joins at the center. After the forward sheeting is installed, a 1/16" ply center brace is installed on top of the center ribs. One thing I forgot to mention earlier is a slight change I made to the elevon mounting system. Jerry recommends mounting the servos to the ply hatches, but I decided to mount them directly to the ribs, and had cut the holes in the ribs before installing them. As long as you have a secure mounting surface I'm sure either way will work fine.

The second picture on this post gives you a good idea of the complexity of the design: non-symmetrical ribs on a tapering, swept wing with anhedral and built-in washout.

[Flyfalcons]

I guess it would help if I actually posted the pics I talked about. I also forgot to mention that the lower cap strips are installed after the forward and aft sheeting.

[Flyfalcons]

Well guys that's all the time I have to post right now. I have a crew van in about 20 minutes and I have to run. The airplane is actually very far along now, with the covering almost complete. I'll try to post some more pics later tonight or tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to flying this plane and it looks awesome with the covering scheme I'm using.

[Flyfalcons]

Thanks Robert! Watching all of them go at RDRC flying to "Thunderstruck" was definitely a highlight of that weekend for me!

[adrian]

	Quote: Originally Posted by RobertV
	Ryan, It's amazing how many new Outlaws are being built in the Raleigh, NC area since Jerry Smith was here for our Fly-for-Tots event in the Fall! And I'm glad to see you are joining the fun too. Let any of the RDRC "Outlaw's" know if we can help you. Robert Vess

absolutely marvelous - looks like they go like h....l

[sloanfs]

Looks good Ryan!
I built a couple this winter and am working on the 3rd. I have 4 flights on mine and am tickled with it. It's down right now waiting on a new throttle servo.
Mine came in at 2lb 7oz with a Webra 40 on a pipe with HS 125s on the surfaces.

[Ian]

doesnt the top end mixture needle get in the way of the ground with the side mounted engine?

Ian