Cassiopeia Sera-DX and Sera-Sailing

[Motowncali]

A new line of gliders that Aloft is bringing in from Japan. I saw these on the floor and when I started talking to Wayne, the next thing I knew, we were picking out servos and talking about the build!

 

[Motowncali]

The first thing I did was a quick dry fit of the parts, very nice! Then I put my junk tip in my soldering iron and set it to 500 degrees, to clear the covering out of all the holes. Monokote iron to reattach the covering along a few edges was just over the medium setting.

 

[Motowncali]

The canopy has a carbon rod that slides through two pieces of fuel tubing and fits into tabs on the fuse. You drill two holes in the canopy for the rod, simple, but not clean! This was unacceptable to either of us, so I cut the tabs off. Build a canopy floor out of 1/32 ply and used 4 magnets to attach the canopy. The clear section is attached with canopy glue, or RC56. A small pilot bust would have been cool to add, but I don’t have dolls laying around... The fuses for both planes are the same, different tail feathers and wings, but the rest is the same, so I made two of all parts.

 

[Motowncali]

Next up was installing the V-tail servos, this required a small adapter plate for the KS DS47MG servos we used. The servo plate in the plane is not glued from the factory so you can adjust the height after mounting the servos and putting the control rods to the tail in the plane. This was very slick, you can’t remove the tray, but just a little CA once everything is aligned! I cut an opening under the tail for the fin underneath. There is a center and tail fin that stick out the bottom, to me they look like “Shark Fins”. This also made it very easy to glue the V-tail halves in alignment. I put the wings on to ensure the tail was aligned to the wing and used the TLR meathod for alignment. 110-120 degrees on a V tail looks good. I used BSI Gold CA to glue the tails and fins on. No fumes on the covering this way. To keep the pushrods in the horns at the tail, I used Dubro .035 ez links, I had to open the hole to 1mm, but I wasn’t going to wait to get 1mm versions from China.

 

[Motowncali]

I applied the graphics with a sprits of alcohol and a squeegee. The graphics for the DS are cool, not so much for The Sailing, so it didn’t get any. Besides transparent covering looks cool! Nothing special about the servo install, just took my time, measured it out and used Z-bent pliers for the ailerons and just a right angle bend for the flaps. A couple drops of CA to bond the servo to the wing skin. Don’t get crazy, the CA can get into the servo and bind up the gears. I use an 18 gauge tip on my glue bottles to use it sparingly.

 

[Motowncali]

And now onto the Sera Sailing. Just a repeat of the work done on the SeraDX. I did need make up the extensions for the aileron servos. The flaps stick out the perfect amount. 10” Leads to put in the fuse are on order and will be here soon. Crimping servo ends is not difficult, but requires patience and practice. After 20 years of electronic assembly, I have soldered and crimps a lot of wire!

 

[Motowncali]

Just a dot of CA on one corner of the servo, with the control rod in place. Then I put a dot with a silver sharpie where I need to bend it. Carefully hold with pliers and make the bend. Cut off the excess and deburr with a nail file. Slide into control horn and retract to see how you did, once satisfied with location, finish CAing the servo in, if you bent the wire slightly off, pop the one drop of CA and realign the servo and CA into place. Remember, just a couple drops goes a long way!

 

[Wayne]

So nice.. I can't wait to give these a test flight! What are you doing this weekend.

 

[Johnnashville]

Awesome

 

[Motowncali]

I found some paint that is close to the correct color... white just didn’t look right.
On the SeraSailing, I cut the flap covers from some flat plastic I have, and the aileron covers are glass from Aloft.
On the Sera DS-X, I modified the factory flap covers by warming them up and fattening them back out, left the bump for the servo horn. The aileron covers are glass from Aloft.
Please not the difference in cover shapes on each plane. The servos on the DS-X are closer to the trailing edge since the wing has a bit more taper.

 

[Konrad]

Can you show why the flap geometery is so different as to why one set of wings needs the jelly bean servo cover and the other does fine with a flate plate?

Are these the fiberglass servo hoods?

Fiberglass Servo Covers by Blejzyk

Small fiberglass servo covers. Light weight, flexible and more resistant to cracking than plastic vacuum molded covers. Molded in fiberglass and painted white. Sold in pairs. Includes one right side and one left side cover. Weight: 3.3g for both covers Outside Dimensions: 1.5" X 1.75" for each...

alofthobbies.com

Are the flaps and ailerons solid balsa (TE stock) or are they built up?

 

[Konrad]

...I saw these on the floor and when I started talking to Wayne, the next thing I knew, we were picking out servos and talking about the build!

Wayne tends to do that!

 

[Motowncali]

The Geometry is the same on both planes, but the Sailing version, transparent wings are thicker.

Yes, those are the covers that I used for the ailerons. The stock covers are mad to accommodate thicker servos.

 

[Motowncali]

Made it so that the nose cones can be removed and replaced if necessary. The DX took about three times as much weight to achieve CG.

 

[Wayne]

These little gems have been dropped off at Aloft and Mo did a great job fitting them out. I can't wait to put them into the air. I may have to give them a test glide at my local field as I'm not sure I can wait until Sunset. They are out in the other room, and every time I walk past I have to pick up the plane. Just something about these planes that makes me want to run out to a slope and fly 'em. Maybe I have been away from balsa for too long.

 

[Konrad]

I saw these in person, very nice work there Motowncali.

I was amused that it looked like the only things these two kits have in common is the fuselage. I actually like this, as it is an indication that the designer has flown both models and has adjusted the tail area to meet the specific need of each model.

Generally most designers would have used the same tail feathers across both designs, thinking that the flight demands aren't different enough to warrant different tails. My hat is off to the designer and manufacture for allowing for different sized tails.

 

[Motowncali]

Thank you Konrad.

 

[Wayne]

Set these little guys up with my radio last night. One of the elevator servos does not seem to happy, so will replace it tonight. Otherwise all programmed up and ready to go. I ended up with the batteries in both planes back by the wing to meet CG. I have a 2S 600 Lipo in the Sailing, and currently have a 700 Nimh pack in the DS-X as I wanted a little more weight in that plane. The Sailing is very light, and the DS-X is slightly heavier. They should fly differently enough thanks to the differences in the planes and the weights. Just need to secure the batteries and they are good to go.

 

[Wayne]

OH - Yeah, according to the instructions, the Sailing has a more rearward CG by 5mm. That is odd since the DS-X has more rear sweep to the wing! I have the CG on the wing joiner for the maiden and will adjust as needed. Do wonder how you would balance this plane if built as an electric. Would need some tail weight.

 

[Motowncali]

I noticed that as well and noted it in the build thread.
Completely agree that the recommended CG on the Sera looks a bit forward, but then again, my Rodent flies better with a forward CG, it does not like to be aft at all.
600mAh, you can fly all weekend with that... I had a little 250 in it. Noticed a servo was noisey, but it centered and moved correctly, so I didn’t worry about it.