I ordered it on Tuesday, and it's been shipped to me.

http://www2.gpmd.com/image/p/pmma0345.jpg

I don't know when it will reach me -- certainly not this week! I'm hoping that it reaches me some time *next* week, with time enough for assembly
for a test flight by next weekend.

This is not a remarkable aircraft in any way, but it is supposed to be F3A pattern-capable, so it must be capable of any move in the aerobatics
'book'. I primarily chose this model because it is only $99.99 which is
quite cheap. The airframe looks slippery, so it should be fast, and I
hear that one of the problems with this model is a high landing speed. Luckily it has separate aileron servos and I've got a good Tx, so I can
mix some flap into the surfaces to slow up the approach.

Fingers crossed against unfortunate delays in shipment!


---
þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!

Re: SeaBee Sport/F3A Pattern
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Thu Jun 02 2005 21:31:35

It arrived this morning! It's actually calles a "Sea Bee" (rather than "Seabee") but no never mind!

It reached FLA yesterday just after mid-day, and I was wondering if it
would reach me late this week (like Friday) or maybe early next week.
They called me at around 9:30 this morning and said "Come and get it!"

I've had a really busy day, and the rain has been pouring, but I've given
it a cursory examination and it looks good. A couple of the club members
have taken a look and they both agree that she should be nice and fast,
and fully aerobatic. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is
*NOT* covered in the nasty, sticky-backed vinyl covering that I was
willing to tolerate only due to the low cost of the model. It seems to be well covered in something ehich if it isn't actually MonoKote brand, is a reasonable clone thereof.

It's got a LOT of rudder, due largely to the fin being very low-profile,
but the rudder is still large. And the taim-moment is not short, so if I
give her a quarter roll to knofe-edge and whack the rudder HARD, it should
do an end-to-end cartwheel-type roll. Full ELE at the same time and the potential for violent snaps is somewhat frightening to contemplate! :-)

Unfortunately, the assembly manual gives a three-step method of joining
the wing with 30-minute epoxy. The working-time for 30-minute epoxy is supposed to be 2 hours, but that main wing-join is not one you want to
take risks with, so I always give wing-joining epoxy 24 full hours to cure before disturbing the joint. A three-step procedure will require a
minimum of 72 hours to join the wing! I could give it up and go for the
more usual single-stem procedure, but... Do I want to rush it? No. I
will take my time, do the job *RIGHT* and hopefully, encounter no problems down the line.

Here's hoping no glitches arise during construction. I'll be posting
photos as usual.

Now, knowing my luck, there will be stormy weather for the next three months..... :-/


---
þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!

Re: SeaBee Sport/F3A Pattern
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Wed Jun 08 2005 23:34:23

The aileron servos have been attached to the bay covers, and the wing
halves have been joined. They shall remain undisturbed until tomorrow afternoon, when I will install the bay covers, as well as the aileron
horns and linkages.

Tomorrow, if I have time, I will start work on the horizontal stabilizer
and elevator, as well as the fin and rudder. That should not be too troublesome unless the fit or alignment of the parts is poor. Shouldn't
bem with a jig-built model.

Photos (not many right now!) at:

http://www.anjo.com/rc/aircraft/seabee/

if you're interested.

---
þ Synchronet þ Made of wood and glue, but mostly glue!

Re: SeaBee Sport/F3A Pattern
By: Angus Mcleod to Digital Man on Thu Jun 09 2005 12:34 am

Unfortunately, the assembly manual gives a three-step method of joining
the wing with 30-minute epoxy. The working-time for 30-minute epoxy is supposed to be 2 hours, but that main wing-join is not one you want to
take risks with, so I always give wing-joining epoxy 24 full hours to cure before disturbing the joint. A three-step procedure will require a
minimum of 72 hours to join the wing! I could give it up and go for the more usual single-stem procedure, but... Do I want to rush it? No. I
will take my time, do the job *RIGHT* and hopefully, encounter no problems down the line.

Good luck!

Here's hoping no glitches arise during construction. I'll be posting
photos as usual.

I'll be checking them out as usual. :-)

digital man

Snapple "Real Fact" #9:
The average speed of a housefly is 4.5 mph.

---
þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ telnet://vert.synchro.net