[capt2724]

check out the link below, would make a great power plant for the Farmhand.

CRRC GF55ii Gasoline Aircaft engine (twin cylinder)

[NSS]

Got a CRRC Pro40i to go in mine.

The one you build yourself.

Will do me just about right.

[capt2724]

i have the 50 but still tempted by the twin though   

[NSS]

Made a very small start on mine today. As time is very limited today due to me being off work and SWMBO working I was left a long list of "other" jobs to do.

So the only progress today was to laminate the two E3`s together and F2 and F2A.

I have not used Cyno on these as I much prefer a more traditional approach to doing these. So Aliphatic it is then.

Will update soon. With pictures.

(Does anyone object to me doing my build in this thread or would you rather I started a new one.)

[kcman]

Hi NSS,

Build away mate  , if we keep it all in one place i may remember where i put it 

[paulplane]

I suppose if anyone is building another, then the thread can keep active, saves many loose ends!

Might get one later this year and start building it over Xmas. Probably put a CRRC in it.

Any more field/flying shots around, especially the original thread model?

[NSS]

OK then as promised a few pictures of the work so far.
 

Well I was at work all day today, and did only start it yesterday about 4pm.
As you can see E1 is a snug fit into F2 as it should be.

Apologies for the very poor picture quality.

[capt2724]

Check your fuselage side pieces, ii thought i had glued them ok, but when i took the masking tape off they nearly came a part, there are huge gaps between the parts. I had to fill them with Aliphatic glue.

I hope this is not a bad sign, so many problems with my kit so far with fuselage and its nowhere near together yet and I still have the wings to look at.

[NSS]

As I progress into the build I will provide a running total of the cost.
 
So far the main expenditure has been the kit and the engine.
 
All prices will include P+P as I feel this reflects better on the real price. I will also include the name of the supplier that I used.
Where items are readily avaliable from the "average" scraps box I will not include them.
 
So cost so far.
Kit £149.95  Traplet Publications
Engine £120.00 eBay Hong Kong
Opto petrol engine kill switch 2x Wooden props from Just Engines 18x10 and 20x8 £34.55
 
Running total = £304.50
 
Remember this is my first large build so some of you may already have props etc, which will reduce the total.

[NSS]

Still to purchase.
 
Receiver
Probably AR6200 or an AR7000 (yes I use Spektrum)
 
Servo`s X7 Will need to be fairly high torque, In the order of 6kg.
 
No price given for these as I have yet to purchase them. If I go down the AR6200 route I will rob this from one of my "sport" planes and put an AR500 into it. (I will stress that I have had NO issues with AR500`s before we get into that debate) thus lessening the cost.
 
Covering
Probably Profilm, but may glass and PolyC the wings as they are sheeted. Your comments on this would be much appreciated.
 
Undercarriage
Not looked into that one in to much detail, but probably a nice carbon fibre one from Carbon Copy.

Note:
If some of these posts seem a little similar I am also documenting the build on another forum , of which some of you may be members..

[flysteve]

Hi NSS,
I'll be following your link with interest, as I said earlier on this thread this was my first ever build so I can identify some of your problems.

As for servo's I used spektrum 821's as did Steve Holland on his DVD and they have proved to be more than adequate.  Covering I used Profilm (4 rolls).  The undercarriage I had from a previous "accident".  I was surprised how much sheeting I needed, the wings seem to just swallow sheet after sheet.  The cyparis and sheet I got from Blackburn models, they do the cyparis in 6' lengths which they cut for posting into 4' and 2' lengths.

I also fitted a just engines kill switch, the best £15 I've spent.  I'm going to test my new Just engines wraparound Pitts exhaust tomorrow which I hope will bring down the noise level as I got a reading of 96db on full throttle !!

Steve

[NSS]

Only a small amount completed this evening.
 
The two sets of undercarriage plates UC1 and UC2 were laminated.
The two wing dihedral braces DBF and DBA laminated.
The two wing locater tabs W5 laminated.

I do like to have a kit of parts ready for when I can spend the best part of a day in the workshop. Should be this Thursday all being well.

You can never have enough clamps.

[Comet50]

Hi All

Re parts not fitting on the fuzz....this worries me as the drawing was sent to Traplet and the prototypes were built using the same parts you get. I will get a Farmhand dropped off this week for me to check to see if anything has gone bits up!

When you laser cut there isn't any tooling to wear so can't think that's it. My name is associated with this project still even though Traplet took delivery of the drawings/cad file some time ago, so I will do my best to find out what if anything is going wrong.

Re the noseweight some of you have used the model was designed for older heavier magneto ignition engines so be careful adding weight to the tail end.

Cheers Steve

[capt2724]

Hi Steve,

I dont think any off us who have had issues hold it against you, as when I called Traplet and told them of my parts problem they said it could be that the material may have moved whilst being cut.
My part FC the fuselage crutch has the same problem as our Icelandic fellow modellers pictures in their link. It could be trimmed to fit, but thats not the point in having it laser cut. It has not put me off, just delayed the joy of flying it.   

[Hairyflier]

From reading this and other build threads it does seem there can be a problem with laser cut part kits. I am asking as I was about to invest in a set of parts for a large scale Glider. Do the parts supplied match up to the plan drawn ones. is it a problem with the plans or with the CAD files? Adjusting poorly cut parts is worse than cutting your own in the first place in my view.

[capt2724]

Personnaly, i would say that these issues are rare, the blank sheets of wood are at risk of movement but not all the time. It is worth the extra to get laser cut parts as they do fall together and form a very good frame. Although I have had issues with mine, I would buy another if anything happened to thie one I have.

[Fubar]

It looks like a few coordinates have been inadvertantly changed on the machine since the initial run and no Steve it doesn't reflect upon  yourself unless you are stood by the machine checking every time their is a batch run.
Still having said that should the customer be the final QC inspection ?
Great kit . if when mine meets the ground too quickly I would not hesitate to get another Farmhand 90.

[NSS]

Check your fuselage side pieces, ii thought i had glued them ok, but when i took the masking tape off they nearly came a part, there are huge gaps between the parts. I had to fill them with Aliphatic glue.

I hope this is not a bad sign, so many problems with my kit so far with fuselage and its nowhere near together yet and I still have the wings to look at.

I have to say I agree with you on this.

I have just released the fuselage side pieces and notice there is some "slop" in the join. I have found that using the front from one sheet of ply and the rear from the  other I have got a slightly better join. Not glued yet as I am now considering my course of action.

Question for Steve here. Would a doubler over the join cause any issues. Obviously would need to be in two pieces to miss the crutch. Or will there be enough strength without.

The gap I have measured with feller gauges is .38.
See the attached pictures.

[kcman]

Hi All,

Sorry to read about the problems with the cutting on the kits, I had very little in the way of alignment problems with the kit I built and have to say once again it was a total joy to build and far more accurate than many "kits" from some very well known manufactures.

As to having to add weight, I added just shy of 3LBS but would have been amazed if it had not been necessary. The aircraft flies like a big trainer but goes just where you put it. It can be slowed down to walking pace with the flaps and as long as you keep some power in play it is rock steady.

The next test for me after putting some more airtime on the engine will be to try towing 

[gaui]

..... I added just shy of 3LBS .....

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but did you add it to the front or the back?

[capt2724]

Well,  my new parts arrived to replace the wrongly cut ones 

But guess what, they dont fit either, the new parts dont fit together, but they are better, and the new parts dont fit my original parts and my original parts dont fit the new.

[nickr100]

this is cracking advert for traplet!! Steve, it is a great design but the production is falling down somewhere

[capt2724]

Well I am just a little p***ed off with it, and i am going to have totrim all the relevent parts to get it together while I'm fit enough. Its bad enough not being able to fly because of illness, its even worse that you cant get on and do a bit of building when feeling like it. 

[NSS]

I have to say I agree with you on this.

I have just released the fuselage side pieces and notice there is some "slop" in the join. I have found that using the front from one sheet of ply and the rear from the other I have got a slightly better join. Not glued yet as I am now considering my course of action.

Question for Steve here. Would a doubler over the join cause any issues. Obviously would need to be in two pieces to miss the crutch. Or will there be enough strength without.

The gap I have measured with feller gauges is .38.
See the attached pictures.

Well I decided to go with a bit of scrap over the join as the cyano would not wick into the gap. Medium cyno was tried but to no avail. Started again using aliphatic and the scrap cyno`d on.

Seems to hold the join well. Only time will tell once the aliphatic has gone off and I can lift the fuselage halves in one piece. 

[kcman]

Hi Gaui,

No such thing as a stupid question, I put the lead on a plate over the engine stand-off's. I knew the airframe was going to build tail heavy and was in now way supprised or upset about the amount i used.

As i used a DLE-55 and it is a quite light engine with the std silencer (weights nothing) in fact i looked up the weights

DLE-55...............2.888lbs
G62 Zenoah.......5.125lbs

Weight diff of 2.237lbs from the engine Steve used when he first built the farmhand i think  You can see why I'm not bothered by adding the difference in lead 

[NSS]

 
After much deliberation I decided to go with a small doubler over the join. I did try to use Cyano wicked into the joint as per the instruction, but it just would not go off.
 
The gap was to much for medium Cyano So I went with aliphatic in the joint with a small doubler over it held with Cyano

As this area will not be visible on the finished model the joint is purely functional and would not win any beauty contests.
 
Only time will tell if it was the correct course of action to take. Also the 1/4 square that runs along the top and bottom edges will impart some additional strength. As will the crutch which is going to need some trimming to get it to fit!! Not sure yet whether that will be at the front or the rear.
 
Laser cut kit... possibly never again...

[flysteve]

Hi all,

Further to my earlier post re the DLE exhaust.  As I explained the standard exhaust was very noisy, almost harsh with a mettalic sound.  I've now fitted a Just Engines BCM wraparound pitts exhaust.  The result is a definite reduction in noise with a much more acceptable sound.  The actual reduction was about 6 - 7db.

 I had to add about 1 lb of lead originally to obtain the c of g, but as the new exhaust weighs about 6oz more than the original and is more forward than the lead I've been able to reduce the lead by half.

I bought my Farmhand soon after it was released and I must be lucky because I had no problems with mis-aligned laser cutting.  Don't be disheartened, it really is a fun plane to build and fly, keep at it.

Steve

[capt2724]

Well, I have decided to carry on and use the original parts in my kit. the replacement crutch part was no better, although the fuselage parts were a better fit.

I now have a fuselage with all the formers added but only tack glued, I had to trim 3mm off of all the tabs except those near F6 and 3mm off of the end of the crutch at F1 and where F2 sits. I only hope this is the end of my kit problems and hope the wing builds without a hitch.

[NSS]

I feel a little happier this morning.

I have removed the doubler which I put across the joint. Seems that overnight the combination of Cyno, aliphatic and soft balsa has given me a very good strong joint.

So I have added the 1/4 square top and bottom.

[NSS]

And once I got cracking it goes together very quickly.
 
This first picture shows how much I had to relieve the crutch at the rear.
A similar amount was removed from the front by F1 as well.

[NSS]

Rear fuselage formers added.

As this has gone better than expected I now find myself needing to visit SLEC to get the rest of the wood.

That will not be untill next Tuesday, so very little progress between then and now.

[Norfolk'n'Good]

Hmmm so by the time you done all the adjustments a 8x4 sheet of 2mm lite ply from Slec is looking a good option and cheaper and same work 

[NSS]

Shaun, you could be correct.

Next time probably no laser cut kit for me.

And yes I know its gona be "fugly" 

[NSS]

Booring bits.

Aliphatic drying!!!

That's just the bottom half. Top still to do.

You may notice that the engine box and tank bay is not yet installed. That is because I am fuel proofing it before it goes in as it will be awkward to do in situ.

[agbjarn]

Hi Gaui,

No such thing as a stupid question, I put the lead on a plate over the engine stand-off's. I knew the airframe was going to build tail heavy and was in now way supprised or upset about the amount i used.

As i used a DLE-55 and it is a quite light engine with the std silencer (weights nothing) in fact i looked up the weights

DLE-55...............2.888lbs
G62 Zenoah.......5.125lbs

Weight diff of 2.237lbs from the engine Steve used when he first built the farmhand i think  You can see why I'm not bothered by adding the difference in lead 

Is it a good idea to extend the engine box a little forward if a light engine like DLE-55 is used? 

I will be using my old but unused ZG62, so the balance will be OK.

Regards, Agust

[Comet50]

Hi All

I have two kits here from Traplet and the parts fit OK, they are designed to be a tight fit and these are.

I then left the parts outside in the damp and they swelled and hey presto I had to trim some to fit. I will say that I didn't have to trim as much as some of you.

I built mine by fitting the crutch to the fuzz side and then the rear cockpit former and worked forward from there up to F1 where the slots will need a little fettling probably because of the tolerances in the wood. The wood the Farmhand was designed to use was 3mm and this can vary in size between sheets supplied to Traplet by anything up to 0.25mm +and- because of manufacturing tolerances at the mill. Traplet have changed suppliers to try and get better more consistant supplies and this has worked by and large.

There are now well over 100 Farmhand kits out in the wild now and to be fair to Traplet there have been very few complaints and they have sent out new parts to replace any problems.

The wing goes together well so good luck with your Farmhand's and I'll try and organise a Fly in for any body interested next year(work permitting)on the farm.

Cheers Steve

[RogerK]

Hi Steve,

My early kit also went together very easily, a bit like airfix really. My Farmhand has now flown twice with a new DLE-55 fitted, performance is awesome, (I never did get that CRRC-Pro 45 to run reliably). I am now hoping the Buddy will be available for this winters build ?

[capt2724]

Well, i have decided to just get on with mine even with all the faults (easily rectified), all additional balsa, servos etc have been ordered or received. All I need do now is decide on the colour scheme, as I would like it to be a bit different to other pics that have been posted.   

[nickr100]

Well, i have decided to just get on with mine even with all the faults (easily rectified), all additional balsa, servos etc have been ordered or received. All I need do now is decide on the colour scheme, as I would like it to be a bit different to other pics that have been posted.   

what about doing it in a mainly white with blue trimming and making it look more like a pawnee type of scheme??

[capt2724]

Ah,  i might just have over done the colour thing, I couldn't decide so I have oredered White, Red, Yellow and Dark blue. I must be able to come up with something from that eh.