Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Stevens RingRat 100 Electric Control Line Build



Nostalgic good looks, meets light-weight rugged construction, and electric power system (with ground-adjustable throttle); setting the RingRat™ (100) apart from the competition. Docile enough for use as a control line trainer yet sporty enough for entry into stunting. Simple, quick building, all wood construction, complemented by clear photo illustrated instructions.

Wing span 18 in. | Wing area 100 sq. in. | Flying weight 5.5 oz.


Additional Details Features: Ideal entry into Control Line flying. Quiet clean electric motor fly in neighborhood parks, large backyards, and even indoors! Laser Engineered precision laser cut components for true interlocking construction. Light yet rugged airframe survives the rigors of training. Spring loaded landing gear smooths out the bumps and absorbs those less than perfect landings without damaging the air frame it’s attached to. Ground adjustable throttle combined with electric power system (see “You’ll Need” tab below) allows you to dial in a flying speed from mild to wild and flight duration from one to several minutes. Product Includes: Precision laser cut balsa and hardwood components. Pre-Bent shock absorbing landing gear, control horn, linkage, and bellcrank. Motor mount. Photo-illustrated assembly manual.

Required To Complete: SA Sport 300 (2204-14) Brushless Outrunner Motor and 7×3.5 Prop SA Sport 10A Brushless ESC Control Line Timer 325-350 mAh 7.4V LiPo Battery (20C Minimum) 1/2A control line handle and lines 1-2 rolls AeroFILM or AeroLITE covering Thin, Medium, and Thick CA glue Basic modeling tools.

Kit shortcomings :
Lack of a full size plan with this kit proved to be a definite drawback in building of this kit. It was almost impossible to align wing structural members with the hand build technique, especially the ribs;

The front and rear spar caps were far too flimsy to install in the tight fitting slots and routinely shattered under the finger pressure required to seat the spars into the ribs, these members would have fared much better had they been made of spruce of at the very lease hard balsa;

The construction feet on the bottom surface of the wing ribs which are supposed to aide in keeping the wing free of warps during construction were not well attached because of the very short sections of uncut material, the result was they kept braking off at an alarming rate and had to be reattached with glue throughout the wing buildup phase.





The heart of this little guy is the electronic timer which allows the control of its electric power without using any form of radio control for speed selection.



This is the magic bit that makes electric control line function. The control line timer governs every aspect of the flight. Delayed start, motor run up, flight time, and motor stop are all easily programmable. Our E-Zee timer is the finest on the market - imported from our friends in the UK.

View this video explaining its features, operation and setup.


Motor choice:


Description 1400KV UAV brushless motor Ideal for indoor 3D Flight, 220g and under Efficiency current (maximum): 2-6A (>74%) Current (no load): 0.3A The UAV Brushless Motor A2204/14 1400Kv is an excellent motor for planes up to 220 grams (8 oz) using 2 li-poly cells. Very lightweight at 19 grams including integral prop saver for APC 8x3.8 SloFly or APC 8x4 E propeller and integral firewall mount. Great for small 3D planes weighing around 6 oz, or aerobatic planes up to 8 oz. Use with a 10 Amp brushless ESC and small 7.4V lithium batteries in the 400 mah - 800 mah range. The motor features a 3 mm hardened steel shaft, dual ball bearings, integral prop saver for APC E props and integral firewall mount flange. Countersunk mounting holes have 31 mm spacing on centers.









Learning to Fly: http://www.mat.uc.pt/~pedro/ncientificos/f2/CLfaq.html
Choosing the Lines length : Thirty five feet is a good starting length. Some of the lower powered 1/2 As do well on 28 to 32 foot lines. Higher performance planes are a little easier to fly on 42'. I have a preference for .008" or .010" stranded steel lines. Stay away from the Dacron threads.

I built this CL model for my daughter who intended to fly it with her grandson after reminiscing of the days when she was a kid and flew my CL models for me because I couldn't do it myself because all the turning involved made me dizzy.

 

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    1. Built this electric control airplane for my daughter as a special request, she wanted to teach her grandson how to fly control-line just as I had taught her many years before. Sadly she passed away shortly after the plane was finished. Now if anyone out there wants to teach their child or grandchild this model can be had for a modest price

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