*** Andy Steere's Katana 35 ES Assembly Images ***
These are a few images of the assembly process of the 35" Katana ES from www.AccelHobby.com. After months of anticipation, my ordered ARF finally arrived on June 21, 2005. I had hoped to have it ready to fly at the Missouri Profile Brotherhood (MO PRO BRO) event in Bolivar on June 25th. That gave me three evenings to get it ready and test fly before heading out of town.
So, there are not as many pictures as I would have normally taken... and the plane has a bit of a in-a-hurry look to it. I didn't do a bad job, but not up to my normal ARF assembly standards. Part of this was due to a number of fixes or modifications needed and the fact I had no time to spend on them. Wing had cracked ribs, so did the other one at the LHS. So, I fixed them and moved on. The designer of the plane recommended lowering the motor mount in-line to the wing centerline. I did so. Only the laser-cut ply control horns were used, none of the other hardware was up to par.
My mini funtana gave up its power system to go in this plane. The Razor RZ-24-3650, combinded with a Castle Creations Phoenix 35 controller, will make a good powerplant. I used Dymond 200BB servos. Stronger and faster than the HS-55's and HS-56's I used in the funtana, but almost twice as heavy. (Updated note: the Dymond's suck wind... mainly no support from Dymond... get Futaba 3101's instead). Tanic 3s 2150mah lithium polymer batteries, Hitech Electron-6 RX, Cobri-20 gearbox (4:1), and an APC 12x6SF round out the equipment list.
I'm not a fan of white airplanes. Too hard to see on cloudy days. The bad news was only the white ones would be available for several months. Good news was... no decals had been applied at the factory... the plane was a blank slate to create my own scheme. I had first designed a cool patty waggstaff red and white scheme... but ran out of time. I had cut vinyl graphics for the bottom of the plane already... and figured the same treatment but in opposite colors, would stand out pretty well. It does... more so than the PW scheme I had originally planned, or the factory decal scheme. I may add bits of flame or something later to spruce it up a bit.
I'll probably add a list of modifications at some point (really not many).
2272 / 1024 / 640 - One of the cracked ribs. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Opened up bay to reveal damage. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Part of one rib just missing. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - The other broken (poorly glued) |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Quick fix, lite contest-balsa stick. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Ultracote not a good match. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Patches hide ok behind graphics. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Motor mount partially modified. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Saw no need to add filler wood. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - White ultracote not a good match... |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - but I had some paint that did. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Razor/Cobri mounted. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Some right thrust. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Remove covering for glue. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - For wing fairings too. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Fairing installed. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Bottom view. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Top view. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Stab needed 1/32" filler. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Stab installed. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Drill holes for hinges. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Robart 1/2A Hinge Points. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Better than 45-degree throw. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - No bind at extremes like CA hinge. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - The elevator hinged same way. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Good to go. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Same on rudder, clamped till dry. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Used Gorilla Glue. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Install radio gear. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Control horns and tail servos. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Needed 2oz to balance, even |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - with servos moved up. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - All the weight came back off... |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - after the test flight. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Ready to go... just in time. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - 07/09/2005 - new pics |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Mini Funtana and Katana ES 35 |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Adding some additional color. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Flames |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Yellow highlight. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Worthless pilot added. ;) |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - 07/15/2005 New landing gear. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Available from John Eells, aka |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Major_Smackdown on RCGroups. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Damage from old gear. Thin CA'd. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Angled forward to clear battery. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - 2" MPI wheels, 2-56 hardware. |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - Works great! Looks good too! |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - mandatory purchase for this plane! |
2272 / 1024 / 640 - (Factory gear should be this good) |
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Copyright 2005 - Andy SteereLast modified on 07/19/2005