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Great Planes: U-Can-Do 3D.46

Model Airplane News, Dec 2003 by Royer, Erick

The easy way to master 3D flight!

It seems as if you can't open a magazine, go to an online discussion group or even go to your flying field without someone talking about 3D flight. Why is it so intriguing? Maybe because even full-size airplanes can't do it! Although 3D maneuvers can require a lot of practice, they are very cool to perform and even cooler to watch. Your first step is to get a 3D-capable model, but don't worry about spending a fortune; the engineers at Great Planes have come up with a new 3D-capable sport flyer: the U-Can-Do 3D .46 that costs less than $200! Having heard so many good things about the .46's big brother, the U-Can-Do 3D .60, I was very excited to see how well this .46-size plane would perform.

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KIT CONTENTS

The fuselage and wing are constructed of balsa and lite-ply, and the extra-large tail and control surfaces are high-grade balsa. The fiberglass cowl and wheel pants are painted to match the MonoKote covering. The hardware pack includes the fuel tank, engine mount, landing gear, wheels, control horns and even a spinner. The included manual is so thorough that even a newcomer could assemble this model.

Before I began to assemble the model, I took a few minutes to iron out some of the minor wrinkles in the covering on the fuselage and wing.

WING ASSEMBLY

I used my soldering pencil to open the holes for the wing hold-down bolts, servo openings, servo wires and the leading-edge dowel. I like this method because it seals the covering as it makes the hole. Next, I installed the leading-edge dowel on the front of the wing with some 5-minute epoxy.

I opened all the hinge slots with a sharp hobby knife. The kit comes with a single sheet of CA hinge material that you need to cut into 3/4x1-inch pieces, but I prefer to use Sig Easy Hinges; they come already cut. Next, I test-fit the ailerons, marked the center point of each hinge slot and drilled a 3/32-inch hole in the center of each slot. This helps the CA get to the back of the hinge and provides a stronger bond. I attached the ailerons with several drops of thin CA on each side of the hinges. I left a 1mm gap in the hinge line and sealed it with tape.

I installed Futaba S3004 servos in each wing opening for the ailerons. You'll need a 12-inch extension for each. You could connect both servos to a Y-harness and then into your aileron channel, but I chose to use channels 1 and 6 and mix them using my Futaba 9CAP, so I can mix in flaperons if I want to. At this point, I installed the control horns on each aileron and connected them to the 2-56 pushrods. Each pushrod uses a plastic clevis on the aileron and an L-bend with a keeper on the servo. Be sure to install a piece of tubing on each connector to prevent it from becoming loose during flight.

For the last step, I attached the wing to the fuselage and lined up the belly pan. I traced an outline of it on the bottom of the wing and removed a 1/4-inch-wide piece of covering just inside the lines, and I attached the belly pan with 5-minute epoxy.

TAIL INSTALLATION

Before I installed the tail surfaces, I used my soldering pencil to remove the covering from the slots in the fuselage. To make sure that the horizontal stabilizer was level with the wing, I attached the wing to the fuselage and slid the stabilizer into the slot. I sighted the wing from the rear of the plane and was happy to see that it was perfect.

I aligned the stabilizer, marked the fuse-lage outline on the stab and removed the covering from that area. I added some small perforations to the bare wood with my Great Planes Woodpecker and secured it into place with 5-minute epoxy. I attached the vertical fin the same way.

Before I could attach the rudder, I drilled a hole and made a groove for the tailwheel wire. I temporarily mounted the tailwheel assembly and rudder onto the fin (so I could mark the position of the wire), and I drilled a 5/32-inch hole in the rudder's leading edge. Then, with a piece of 5/32-inch brass tube, I routed a groove from the hole to the bottom of the rudder to hold the tailwheel wire. After I was satisfied with the fit, I permanently attached the rudder with Sig Easy Hinges and thin CA.

I installed the elevator halves the same way as I did the ailerons; I used Sig Easy Hinges and drilled a 3/32-inch hole in the center of each hinge slot. I was careful to make sure that these control surfaces were well secured to handle the potentially high-stress load that they might see in flight.

The U-Can-Do 3D .46 features tail-mounted servos for the elevator and rudder that provide the shortest possible linkages and make setup a breeze. After I removed the covering for each opening, I installed two Futaba S3004 servos for the elevator halves and a Hobbico CS-6S high-torque servo for the rudder. I needed a 24-inch extension for each servo. When I installed the control horns on each elevator half and the rudder, I made sure that the pushrod holes were directly over the hinge line. I wasn't sure how long a servo arm I needed to obtain the required 3D throws. I initially decided to use the long arms that came with the servos; they provide about 30 degrees of surface deflection, but I might upgrade to Du-Bro heavy-duty servo arms, as they are about 1/2 inch longer. I connected the pushrods to the servo arms with the included 2-56 pushrods, but I was a little apprehensive about using them on the tail section because of the possible high-stress loads. I found out later that they were perfect for the job.

Great Planes: U-Can-Do 3D.46

Model Airplane News, Dec 2003 by Royer, Erick

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