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Ridge Runt Evo - Build Thread Comments

M

mjgillen

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Comments, suggestions, etc. on "Ridge Runt Evo - Build Thread" go here.

The purpose of this Thread is to comment on Wayne's "Build Thread for the Ridge Runt Evo" in order to not pollute his Thread which is currently in progress and to try to keep all the comments in one place to make it easier on Wayne to find our comments and hopefully incorporate into the official Build Thread and Instructions document.

I will start:

Post #4: When gluing V1 & V2 together be careful and don't get glue in the end of the pushrod housing.

Minor: Post #5: "Use a single drop of thin CA to secure the outer edge of the nut top the bulkhead. This is only used to keep the screw from falling out when mounting the wing. Don't get any glue on the threads." I think you meant "to keep the nut from falling out"
 
Great idea to start a thread like this. My fuselage is sanded and completely finished now, came out pretty decent and almost everything went fairly smoothly. I made a couple dumb inconsequential mistakes, but they were easily rectified.

I think that this is a really great kit and if someone has never built a balsa plane before, or you're like me where it's been decades since you built that Oly 650, it's a great way to start or to get back into building. I've enjoyed the process much more than I thought that I would. I'm looking forward to the rest of the build thread to get posted. I could probably figure out how to get that wing together but knowing me, I'll make some critical error that could have been mitigated if I had just waited for Wayne to show me how to do it.
 
Post #6: The alignment pin for my tail block did not fit and I had to drill out the tail block. I think you should add a step back in Post #4 to test fit the alignment pin to the tail block. Much easier to do it back in Post #4 than Post #6.

Also in Post #6, I see that you have the fuse side positioned on the plans and that is how you are aligning vertical. I was a bit confused however in the next photo its clear you have positioned the side to the plans in order to make the alignment, then CA to the fuse.

Going step by step... it's been 30 years since I built up anything.
 
Thought you guys might get a kick out of this, found on ebay, a truly vintage Monokote iron, looks to be even before my time with that 1950's looking font. I haven't Monokoted a plane in a LONG time. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to my old tricks. We shall see. Also, you can see one of my rookie mistakes that I made on the fuse with the triangular pieces not being flush at the top of the fuse near that bulkhead with the screw. Since been fixed and sanded and looking decent.
iron.webp
 
David - That is fine as you don not need to do much rounding back at the trailing edge of the fuselage.

Good comments. I have made some updates here and there.

Good to hear others are building. Had I known I would have worked on the wing some yesterday, but was a little under the weather and thought I was ahead of folks. LOL It really is a fast build but documenting really slows me down. Thinking about the best way to show things and trying to think of potential pitfalls with a possible building approach.

The wing is very straight forward, again you MUST sand the carbon strips first. That is about the only hidden step on the wing build. Build one side at a time, starting with the center assembly in position. Using the build table is much more handy. It goes together very fast. Now that I think of it, we decided it would be best to center the aileron servos and install them into the center section before construction begins. It is a little harder to get to the screws once ribs are in place. The hardest part of the kit is sanding the wing. We are trying to get custom profiled trailing edge stock to reduce this to a minimum. (The joys of a thin airfoil.)

I personally only use the fuselage plans for the vertical tail and as reference for orientation of some parts. If a part happens to be aligned on the photos it is only that I thought it made a better picture. I think it is probably better to build the fuselage so that you can see the fuselage plans to make sure you do not put a bulkhead in backwards.

p.s. Lets see some pictures!
 
Here is my workbench which has a ceiling tile with some brown paper, then the plans, and then I covered with wax paper. Laying out the parts to see if I have everything...


IMG_4768.webp



Gluing up V1 & V2

IMG_4769.webp




Fuse sides glued up

IMG_4770.webp


Michael
 
Oh, I guess one note is that you'll absolutely have to drill a larger hole for the pushrod housing in all three bulkheads, at least I did. The smallest bulkhead just barely worked and I had to really coax it down the line to get it in the right spot. Drilling that one would have made life easier. The second two there was no chance and so I very carefully drilled a bigger hole. You won't have much room for error when you do this so be wary.
 
Yes, the pushrod issues was discovered during our build. We pulled out the pushrod housing we had used for testing and found it to be thinner. Seems the pushrod housings do not have consistent exterior dimensions. (We like snug fits here, so this bit us in the butt. Future kits will have larger holes.)

for anyone jumping ahead into the wing, there is a little trick to building the center section. So might want to hold off til later today. Sorry, I forgot about this..
 
I used a small round file to open up the bulkheads for the pushrod housing. I also decided to hold off gluing the top rear fuse piece in until I finish the wing to see how the fit is and I elected to glue the triangle stock for the canopy first, rather than trying to push it thru afterwards.
file.webp
 
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Actually think your canopy build step is better than the sliding approach. Will update the build for that in the future.
 
Tahoed said:
I used a small round file to open up the bulkheads for the pushrod housing. I also decided to hold off gluing the top rear fuse piece in until I finish the wing to see how the fit is and I elected to glue the triangle stock for the canopy first, rather than trying to push it thru afterwards. View attachment 22205
Click to expand...
That was a really smart move on gluing the triangle stock in the canopy first. I had to sand the crap out of it to get it to slide through.
 
Oh, also, I'm going out of town for a couple weeks so I'm gonna have to put the build on stand-by until then. I'm sure everything will be posted by the time I get back, so happy building, gang. Post up any tips or tricks you're finding along the way.
 
Question:

Just finished up the vertical tonight, but quit for the night before putting the other bulkheads in. I was wondering, when are you meant to round the leading edge of the fin? Seems like it'd be easier to do before installing the fin on the fuselage, but maybe not?
 
You can do it now if you like. I have been doing all the sanding at the end, and I will be showing that soon. Probably be getting into the sanding stage later today. I need to do some office work today, so may not get very far on the build.

The instructions are just a guide, please feel free to do things as you prefer! It is a pretty simple plane, and there are many different ways to build.
 
We have been including them in the kits. I think we may continue to do that, but probably just the smaller sander. We will also be offering them up on the site as a stand alone with some pre cut sandpapers ready to load. We are going to make a couple of tweaks to the current design to make them a little better.
 

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