Radiowave Extra 330 Redo!

[capcanuck]

Well I needed a project to work on this winter since I have a beautiful 35% AW Extra 260 and a scratch built Red Bull Edge 540 (33%) that are still in perfect shape after this past contest season
So I bought a friend's 42% J Tech Radiowave Extra 330L for a song (Well Mike I thought it was a great price) to resurrect and turn into a killer IMAC machine for 2008 (or 2009 maybe?).
As you can see in the first few pics, the colour scheme suckedand I have a novel one in mind.
So if people want, I will go in minute detail on what I will do to this plane to modernize it, modify it and make Mike M. regret ever selling this to me.

CapCanuck
MAAC 9551
IAMC 3705
Co-CD for the 2008 Canadian Scale Aerobatics Nationals

[Cracky]

nice uhm.....pink....ailerons!

[capcanuck]

Yeah, pink, green and yellow...who'da thunk it!
Anyway, this will get the regular IMAC treat;

Hitec 5955s all surfaces
Smart Fly Super reg, EQ10 power expander
Fromeco 5200 LiIons for main power and a 2800 on a smart fly ign regulator for ignition

Either ZDZ 160 Super or DA 150 on canisters

Using my trusty Futaba 9CAP Super with (hopefuly) 2.4 module and receiver or a single PCM receiver.

Capcanuck

[capcanuck]

First order of business. Removing the canopy from the deck. Man this sucker was built like a tank! The original builder mounted the entire canopy frame into the deck lip and all
Only took about two hours!

[capcanuck]

OK day three. Starting to see where to cut down the canopy, extend the hatch etc to make this baby into an Extra 300S (or is it an XS since I have counterbalanced tail surfaces?)
To extend the hatch, I used a straightedge to where the new former will be (the one the instument panel will attach to) and marked some 1/8 lite ply. To make formers symmetrical I make a half paper template of the former and flip it over and use a t-pin to mark the other half of the wood. That way you can see the marks, draw a line and sand down the other half to make a perfectly symmetrical former
I then cut it out and lightened it with some Fostner bits in the drill press. These make the nicest holes if you go moslty through one side, flip over and finish the drill out. Almost no sanding required.

[Lowkey3D]

Keep it coming.

[krayzc]

kewl i am watching

[capcanuck]

The saga continues! I made up some sheeting which I true up with a long bar sander. I then join the sheets with masking tape on one side, flip over and ca the other. I then re flip, remove the tape and sand until the joints are smooth. If there's a sharp curve like on a turtledack or here I will re-apply tape to the joints so they won't crack during gluing to the structure.
I wet the sheeting with warm water from a spray bottle and as it relaxes, I place it over the structure and tape it well and let 'er set overnight to dry into the new form.
One tool thats been invaluable over the years is my master airscrew balsa stripper. If you're into any scratch building, get one!

[capcanuck]

OK now that the sheeting has dried I trim to fit and prepare to glue it down. Because the deck's strength is due to the sheeting and I was sheeting an existing structure, I decided to do the process right on the fuselage with the frame bolted on. So wax paper was placed underneath, the frame bolted in and the sheeting was glued on using Probond. I like the polyurethane glues for this kind of work since it expands to fill in gaps, especially if you lightly spray the sheeting beforehand. On a new wood stringer structure the fit is tight and I use a good aliphatic glue instead because its neater and just as strong.
After letting it cure overnight, I did final trimming and cut out the new cockpit area. Looking good!
Capcanuck

[capcanuck]

While waiting to let the deck dry, I decided to start stripping that god-awful green covering off the wings. Thankfully the plane was done in Ultracote which peels off beautifully if you take your time. I use a no.11 knife and slit at the hinge gap, along the wing TE and LE, and aroung the edges of the Ail. That way when you hit things with the heat gun to soften up the glue, and start peeling, it comes off cleanly and in big chunks! The trick is to just warm the covering with the heat gun, peel and use the knife to slit as needed.
Since the previous builder lightened the stabs and rudder, i decided to go one futher and lighten up the ailerons. Using a hole saw, I drilled into the first side, used a straight drill to go right through, then used the hole saw on the other side to finish up without shredding the sheeting and really messing up my finish

[Dan J]

What's the new scheme look like?

[capcanuck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Dan J
	What's the new scheme look like?

I'm still finalizing, but here's a sneak preview
The wing is the top left one (top view so far)

Capcanuck

[Dan J]

No green, no pink, are you sure you want to do this! LOL
Orange, black and white are easy colors to see. Looks like alot of work, but worth it in the end.
This is a good thread thanks for sharing it with us.

Dan J

[capcanuck]

Well things have slowed down a bit for Christmas, but I gave managed to lighten up the fuse some, speckle stoned the inside and the hatch and stripped the other wing I bought a right angle drill to lighten up the fuse since I couldn't get at it with a regular drill. Worked great and using templates made the job look like it was done during construction...neatness counts

Anyway Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone at Flying Giants. Hope Santa brings lots of toys to all the good boys and girls!

CapCanuck

[Extra260]

Looks, pretty darn good!!! I remember when I wanted to buy this plane but the scheme just killed it, looks like you have some good plans for it