Four parts will need to be painted, and


they are the two wheel pants, the under en- gine removable cover, and the front nose piece. I sanded them, then painted them with sanding sealer, and then lightly sand- ed them again, then painted them white, with two coats of paint. I also painted the en- tire interior of the cabin, and you will want to do the same, as SkySport has a lot of win- dows which make the interior very visible. I did all of the wiring before covering, and


you will want to do the same, because espe- cially on the wing, you end up covering the wires when you cover the wing later. Basi- cally, the aileron servos need to be combined in a Y harness, and dropped down at the rear of the wing, so they can attach to the re- ceiver, which should be located in the fuse- lage floor behind the seats. The big black and red wires that go from


the ESCs must be soldered into a Y harness, and into a heavy male connector, such as a Deans, or Traxxas type. Keep the red as pos- itive, and the black as negative. Also, solder


the small wires in the ESC together that go to the receiver, except you will need to cut the red wire on one of the ESCs. Now, when your receiver and radio are activated, wire the motors to the ESC, one at a time, and check rotation. Do not solder these connec- tions yet, as you test the motor rotation. If rotation is wrong for the prop, then just switch any two wires to get the rotation cor- rect. When it is correct, solder these connec- tions. Remember that one motor turns op- posite of the other. Note in Fig. 14, that the ESCs are mount-


ed at the rear of the plywood battery rail. I added some balsa to keep them from slid- ing forward. The wires that go to the re- ceiver from the ESCs should run in the tun- nel between the seats. You will need to do the final mounting of the battery as a last step, to achieve the proper center of gravi- ty, so locate it on the plywood and tie it down with electrical tape. Small balsa pieces could also be glued to keep it from sliding.


Bill of Material Most materials are available at your local hobby or building supply store.


Qty. Description 4 1


1⁄8″ × 6″ × 36″ balsa sheet 1⁄8″ × 12″ × 24″ lite aircraft or birch plywood


2 ¼″ diameter × 36″ hardwood dowel 2 2


3⁄16″ square hardwood dowel, 36″ long 3⁄16″ × ½″ × 36″ balsa strip


1 contra-rotating motor, CR23M* 1 prop set, 8-4, left and right* 1 custom spinner set for CR23M, 2-blade*


2 ESC (Electronic Speed Control) 20-amp, Power Series* *I purchased these from Gorilla Bob’s RC, 1253 Verano Dr., Bullhead City, AZ, 928-234-3846, www.gorillabobsrc.com


1 4-channel radio with 4-channel receiver 4 feather weight servo, Hextronik ,HXT 900 (9-gram) 1 Hobby Zone HBZ7117 tail wheel assembly 1 2.50″ Micro Sport Wheel pair, DUB250MS 1 1300 mAh 3-cell Li-Po battery 2 balsa trailing edge, 1¼ × 5⁄16 × 36 1


3⁄16″ × 3″ × 36″ balsa sheet


2 9″ ×12″ × .015 thick clear acrylic sheet (for windows) I purchased these from KS Engineering, 773-586-8503


2 packages small nylon hinges, DuBro #118 2 rolls MonoKote or equivalent covering material 2 sets Traxxas connector, male-female set 2 packages micro control horns, Du-Bro #848 4 ¼-20 nylon screw, 1″ long 1 6 LED light set, with 9 volt battery holder 1


1⁄16″ × 2″ × 36″ balsa strip


1 balsa block, 1″ × 2″ ×12″ 1 oak piece, ¼″ × 2″ × 12″ 6 #6-32 × ¾″ long screw 4 #6-32 blind nut 2 #6-32 elastic stop nut 5 #4-40 × ¾″ screw 5 #4-40 blind nut 2″


6 #6 washer 1 ¾″ pine, at least 3″ × 6″


FLYING MODELS


The lights are optional, but I installed the


lights all into the wing, except one big white light that is mounted directly under the prop. That front light will require adding a male female connector, so that the wing can be removed. Otherwise the wiring harness supplied with the lights does not have to be modified at all. The 9-volt battery can be mounted exact-


ly in the center of the wing, right in front of the spar. I had two red lights shining through the front part of the wing, and two white lights also shining through the rear part of the wing. Use the plywood LED light mounts for mounting all of the lights. I mounted one white light shining on the tail of SkySport, through the rear facing window. The entire model can now be covered. I


used transparent red on the wings, and the tail surfaces (as you can see by the photos). If you are using the optional lights, you must use transparent covering for the lights to show through the wings. I used white on the fuselage, with some red, and silver strip- ing. Make sure in covering the wing, that you do not introduce any twist into the structure. As you build the wing, the washout is built in, so there is no need to do any twisting as you cover. The windshield and window cutouts are


shown on the plans, and all of the windows can be secured around their perimeter with small wood screws. To save a little weight, the side and top windows could be clear MonoKote. Glue small oak pieces behind the balsa wherever you do secure the windows with the wood screws. The pilot that I added does add a little weight, and she is optional, although I like the way she looks. I cut out her torso, and her upper legs to save weight and so I would- n’t have to ask her to go on a diet. Inciden- tally, the plane does weigh exactly two pounds, which was my goal weight, but that is without lights, and without my pilot. Those two items do add about 2.5 ounces. The plane does fly fine with both items added however.


Flying The maiden flight for SkySport was done


brass welding rod, ¼″ diameter


at a 4,500-foot altitude, about 5 miles west of Logan, Utah, at the Bridgerland RC Club flying sight. A nice smooth runway was put in a few years ago, and is necessary for take- off. The plane took off with about an 80-foot run. My test pilot and friend, Dave Stewart, was used to having to add a little right rud- der on takeoff, but SkySport doesn’t need any because of the counter rotating props. So, the plane did turn sharply to the right immediately after takeoff, which Dave quickly corrected. The plane climbed out nicely at about half throttle. The sound of counter rotating props is very distinctive, but as Dave added more throttle, the sound became very smooth, and the plane does fly nicely. Dave did loops, rolls, both left and right, (which were very equal in duration). Landing was nice, although the plane is not a glider, a lit- tle power was used in landing, and I was very pleased. If you like a plane that looks very realistic, like the new LSAs, and yet can still do loops and rolls, SkySport may be for you.


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